[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14036-14038]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I wish to rise for a few moments today 
before we adjourn the Senate for the weekend to speak about one of the 
appropriations bills that we are going to be dealing with when we 
return next week and that we will work on through this summer session 
into the fall. That appropriations bill is the District of Columbia 
appropriations, which I have the great honor and privilege and 
opportunity to serve now as Chair, along with my distinguished 
colleague from Ohio, Senator DeWine, the ranking member. He and I have 
worked together very closely for the last several months on that 
appropriations committee. With the change in leadership, I find myself 
as Chair of this important committee. I want to spend a minute talking 
about that role and about some of the responsibilities that I see 
coming along with that role.
  First, let me say that Senator DeWine and I have been in close 
communication on many issues that are important to the District. I have 
great respect for the Mayor and members of the city council, and for 
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton for the great work she does for the 
District. I look forward to working with them, along with the business 
leaders, the community leaders, and the labor leaders in the city to 
help this city be all that it can be and all that it should be.
  I am a supporter of home rule and am a supporter of city leaders 
making decisions for themselves in great measure about how this city 
should be run, and I have great confidence in the ability of those 
leaders that I just mentioned.
  Particularly, I share the Mayor's vision for this city in large 
measure. But one of the things that Senator DeWine and I, and others, 
have spoken about--there are many Members of the Senate and the House, 
not the least of whom is the Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Robert 
Byrd, the Senator from Ohio, Mr. Voinovich, and the Senator from 
Illinois, Mr. Durbin, all of whom play a vital role in the oversight, 
if you will, of the District of Columbia. I have shared many of my 
thoughts with them about proceeding in this particular role.
  I want to outline a few issues that I would like to focus on and that 
I will be conducting hearings on--and the many discussions with Members 
of Congress on some of these issues.
  One is the proper role of the chief financial officer. I think it is 
the cornerstone of our post-Control-Board reform. The District has made 
tremendous progress--4 years of surpluses, 4

[[Page 14037]]

years of better management, and 4 years of developing policies that are 
helping the District to regain its financial footing.
  I think it is very important for us to focus on the role of the chief 
financial officer to make sure that the new responsibilities he has 
been given--it is my understanding that about 26 weighty 
responsibilities for the financial operations of this District have 
been handed to him by the city council and by our own laws here in 
Congress--are matched with the proper authority and a proper power to 
carry out those responsibilities.
  I have spent a good bit of this week reading a very excellent report 
by the DC Appleseed Center, entitled ``After the Control Board: The 
Chief Financial Officer and Financial Management of the District of 
Columbia,'' which is the sole focus of this report:
  The DC Appleseed Center is an independent non-profit advocacy 
organization dedicated to making the District of Columbia and the 
Washington Metropolitan area a better place to live and work, focusing 
primarily on strengthening the financial health of the District and 
enhancing the performance of governmental institutions that affect the 
District.
  I ask unanimous consent that the list of the board of directors and 
staff be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                           Board of Directors

     Daniel M. Singer, Chair, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & 
         Jacobson
     Jacquelyn V. Helm, Vice-Chair, Law Office of Jacquelyn V. 
         Helm
     Roderic L. Woodson, Secretary, Holland & Knight
     Peter D. Ehrenhaft, Treasurer, Ablondi, Foster, Sobin & 
         Davidow
     Nicholas W. Fels, Past-Chair, Covington & Burling
     Robert B. Duncan, Hogan & Hartson
     Bert Edwards, (retired), Arthur Andersen
     Gary Epstein, Latham & Watkins
     Curtis Etherly, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Bottling Companies
     Rev. Graylan S. Hagler, Plymouth Congregational, United 
         Church of Christ
     John W. Hechinger, Sr. (retired)
     Richard B. Herzog, Harkins Cunningham
     Carolyn B. Lamm, White & Case
     Edward M. Levin (retired), U.S. Department of Commerce
     Claudia L. McKoin, Verizon--Washington
     Alan B. Morrison, Public Citizen Litigation Group
     John Payton, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
     Andrew Plepler, Fannie Mae Foundation
     Gary M. Ratner, Washington Meeting Facilitators
     Michael C. Rogers, Metropolitan Washington, Council of 
         Governments
     Lawrence R. Walders, Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy

     Affiliations listed only for purposes of identification

                                 Staff

     Joshua S. Wyner, Executive Director
     Lori E. Parker, Deputy Director
     Emily Greenspan, Program/Development Associate
     Adam I. Lowe, Program Associate
     Sara Pollock, Program Associate

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, it is an outstanding board of directors 
with a very able staff.
  I believe the District of Columbia council and the Mayor have 
referred very positively to this report. I myself will use it as a 
guideline as I take responsibility of this committee because there are 
many terrific suggestions outlined here about this particular issue--
about the proper authority and power of the CFO.
  It is important that the financial officer who is assuming much of 
the responsibility of the Control Board be properly balanced between 
being responsive to the Mayor, the chief executive officer of this 
city, if you will, and his responsibility to the public generally to 
give independent, accurate, and timely financial information so we can 
continue on this road to reform. This report will serve as great 
guidance, and it will be the subject of much of our discussion.
  Second, as I said in a public meeting last week with the Mayor and 
with Delegate Norton, I agree with them on the structural changes that 
the District needs to come to grips with that are necessary to provide 
long-term financial health and prosperity for the District. There are, 
indeed, some real problems, some structural flaws and some structural 
deficits that are preventing the city from gathering the tax base and 
the revenue base necessary to support such a strong and vibrant 
community. That will be subject to some of our focus.
  In addition, I assure all who look to the District of our continuing 
push for modernization, streamlining operations of the District, and 
reform of regulatory operations so that we minimize regulation and 
maximize good results for everyone who lives and works here. That is 
important.
  I commend the Mayor for his extraordinary vision about what the 
schools can be and should be in the District of Columbia. We have this 
challenge everywhere around the Nation--every city, large and small, 
every community, particularly a community with the large population of 
citizens who may be under the poverty line; where citizens who may be 
at some disadvantage economically and are struggling with how to create 
vibrant, well-run and well-managed schools; where teachers are highly 
motivated, well paid, and highly skilled; where students are getting 
the kind of nurturing and support they need as well as a place where 
time-honed values are presented to children with the right combination 
of discipline and nurturing for them so they can grow, develop, and be 
all that God intended when he created them.
  I share the Mayor's vision for strengthening of the schools. I look 
forward to working with the new initiatives on the development of 
charter schools--with more flexibility and choice for parents and a 
stronger academic outcome. I commend him for the work he is doing.
  Also, of great interest, not only to me but to many Members of the 
Senate, is the push for reforming the court system in the District. 
Unfortunately, we have had these problems everywhere in our Nation. 
There have been some real breakdowns in our child welfare system. We 
have let many children down. We have not always come to their rescue 
when they have cried. We have sometimes left children languishing in 
foster care. We have taken their only parent they knew away from them, 
and then failed to provide them with another one.
  The system in the United States has caused a lot of pain and a lot of 
grief. We have not supported our courts and our social workers and our 
front line staffers the way we need to around this Nation. It is no 
different here in the District.
  So I am going to work very closely with Senator DeWine, the father of 
eight children, who is a great leader for child welfare on the other 
side of the aisle, and with Delegate Norton and Congressman DeLay, who 
are very focused on this issue, to modernize and strengthen the courts, 
to create a family- and child-centered court system so we stop letting 
children fall through the cracks.
  I read in a book recently that when we say, oh, well, the children 
just fall through the cracks, actually that is not true because there 
are no real cracks for children to fall through. What they fall through 
are our fingers. They fall through our hands, hands that once held 
them. They have fallen through. So it is our responsibility to make 
sure the court system at every level and the child welfare system at 
every level, as much as we can, are strengthened in the District.
  Finally, in terms of issues, because of the great support and 
feedback I have gotten from a wide variety of people--elected leaders, 
as well as friends and neighbors of mine as a resident here in the 
District, and actually living on Capitol Hill--I believe in the 
importance of the recreational opportunities for children of the 
District, to enhance those recreational opportunities to be 
commensurate with the surrounding suburbs. In the State of Maryland and 
in the State of Virginia, there are outstanding facilities where 
children of those States are able to participate in first-class and 
world-class sports and recreational activities. I think that is very 
important for the children and families of this District. We want them 
to have the same kinds of opportunities that children have in this 
region and across the Nation.

[[Page 14038]]

  I am pleased that the National Soccer Association, the U.S. Chamber 
of Commerce--a broad bipartisan group of citizens around this city--are 
rallying to the cause of creating this kind of atmosphere that is not 
only important to children and families, but it is important to the 
business community. It gives children something to say yes to.
  I think, as adults, we have a responsibility to not just say no to 
them but to give them some things to say yes to, such as outdoor 
activities and recreation and team sports that build character and keep 
children occupied at very positive activities.
  So with those issues I just outlined, I want to conclude by simply 
expressing, again, my support for the concept of home rule, but also to 
recognize my role as the Chair of this subcommittee, to say that every 
citizen in our Nation--every citizen, from every walk of life--has a 
special interest in the District of Columbia. This city has to 
function, obviously, and be responsive to the residents who live here--
the approximately 500,000 residents--but this District has a special 
responsibility.
  Unlike any other city--unlike New York or Philadelphia or New Orleans 
or San Francisco or Chicago, or smaller communities around the Nation--
this city has a particular responsibility to every citizen of the 
Nation because every citizen of this Nation looks to this city as the 
Capital. It is part of our democratic heritage that we share as a 
nation of citizens. So I will be trying to represent the interests of 
those citizens in this debate as much as my ability will allow.
  Finally, in my role as chair, I also see responsibility to the 
Federal Government as an employer. We are the largest employer in this 
District. In relation to large employers anywhere--whether it is Boeing 
in Seattle or another large employer in another city somewhere in 
America--the Federal Government employs more people in the District of 
Columbia directly and indirectly, by far, than any other employer.
  As an employer, we have an inherent interest in the financial 
management of the city that we are in about its daily operations, and 
we have standing in those discussions. So there is a balance between 
home rule and the Federal Government's proper and legitimate 
expressions, as the largest employer in this city, of how this 
community should operate and how it should function.
  Then, thirdly, there is a place at the table for the citizens in 
every State and community about the District. I hope to be able to 
balance those three truths as carefully as I can as chair.
  I want to say one more thing about large employers. If Boeing is 
dissatisfied with the way the city of Seattle was being run, they have 
tremendous leverage. They can basically pick up and move their 
operations. We have seen large corporations use that leverage many 
times. We have seen employers pick up literally 10,000, 15,000 
employees, and move out of a city to another place. They vote with 
their feet. If they do not like the way things are run, they have that 
opportunity, and employers everywhere exercise that option.
  But I will point out, for this discussion, the Federal Government, as 
an employer, does not truly have that option. We cannot move the 
Capital. Some Senators have tried, but the Capital is here, and it is 
going to stay here. We cannot move the central operation of this 
Nation.
  So while I would not want to use the word ``hostage'' in the wrong 
way, we are subject to not have the same leverage that other large 
employers have. So in the role as chair of this committee, I take on 
extra responsibility to try to communicate, in as constructive a way as 
possible, the views of the Federal Government as an employer. 
Particularly in the areas of public safety and transportation, our 
employees who work in the District, who are employed by the Federal 
Government, have a legitimate standing in those debates.
  So let me say, in closing, that I look forward to working with many 
of my colleagues. Senator Byrd, himself, the distinguished Senator from 
West Virginia, served for 7 years in the capacity as chair of this 
committee. I cannot say at this date that I will serve as chair for 7 
years--for as long as Senator Byrd served--but I can promise you, it 
will be no less than 4 years. If I can make it 7, I may try, because it 
is a lot of responsibility and it is a lot of work.
  But I come to this chair at a time of great promise for this city, 
and with a great leadership team to work with, the Mayor and the city 
council, and who are poised for reform, some men and women who have 
literally given blood, sweat, and tears to lift this District to a 
place that holds great promise for not only the residents who live 
here, including every single child who lives here today, but for 
families everywhere.
  So I am looking forward to that with great anticipation and great 
enthusiasm and will, again, focus on these important issues.
  I thank the Presiding Officer. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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