Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 104 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 104 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 141 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1995 No. 205ÐPart II House of Representatives DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, est crime fighting budget in the Na- $125 million more. We fully fund the JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDI- tion's history, just one day after the program. And what does the President CIARY, AND RELATED AGENCIES FBI announced that crime rates are fi- do? He says ``no.'' APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1966Ð nally starting to drop. It is a sad day Why is he vetoing the bill? He says VETO MESSAGE FROM THE today, when all of the Federal employ- PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED ees in the Departments of Justice, we do not spend enough money on some STATES (H. DOC. NO. 104±149) State, and Commerce, the Federal programs. Even while he is meeting now to reduce spending, he wants us to The SPEAKER. The unfinished busi- Courts, and 20 related agencies, more than 200,000 of them, have their jobs include and increase spending for ness is the further consideration of the left in doubt because the President re- things like the Ounce of Prevention veto of the President on the bill (H.R. fused to sign the full year appropria- 2076) making appropriations for the De- Council, $2 million; the Globe Program, tion for them. $7 million. Great international organi- partments of Commerce, Justice, and Two-thirds of the funding in this bill, State, the Judiciary, and related agen- zations he wants money spent for, and Mr. Speaker, nearly $18 billion, would among the reasons he vetoed the bill, cies for the fiscal year ending Septem- have gone to putting criminals behind are things like the Bureau of Inter- ber 30, 1996, and for other purposes. bars. The Clerk read the title of the bill. Think about the programs that will national Expositions; and, get this one, MOTION OFFERED BY MR. ROGERS not go into effect because of this veto: the International Office of Epizootics. Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, I offer a $14.6 billion for law enforcement, a 19 That is why he says he is vetoing the preferential motion and I ask for its percent increase, including $3.6 billion bill, and for corporate welfare pro- immediate consideration. for state and local law enforcement to grams he says we did not fund, like the The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. give them the resources to fight crime Advanced Technology Program. That is UPTON). The Clerk will report the mo- where it counts, on our streets. That is corporate welfare. I think we were all tion. a 57-percent increase over last year. The Clerk read as follows: An $895 million increase to combat il- determined to cut it and we did in this bill. And he is vetoing the bill, he says, Mr. ROGERS moves that the message, to- legal immigration and secure the Na- gether with the accompanying bill, be re- tion's borders; $146 million more than because of his pique over the COPS pro- ferred to the Committee on Appropriations. the President requested, including 3,000 gram. As we have said so many times, The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gen- more INS personnel and 1,000 more bor- this is not a debate over putting more tleman from Kentucky [Mr. ROGERS] is der patrols on the border. We need to police on the streets. The conference recognized for 1 hour. get these people hired and trained. Oth- report fully funds the request of $1.9 GENERAL LEAVE erwise the money will be wasted. billion, giving our local communities Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask The bill includes $500 million for the resources to hire every single po- unanimous consent that all Members California, Texas, Florida, New York, liceman on the beat that the President may have 5 legislative days within and other States most impacted by proposed, and then some, as the Presi- which to revise and extend their re- criminal aliens, and the President is dent says. The difference is over who marks and that I be allowed to include telling those states, ``tough luck.'' controls the program. Is it a Washing- In the bill vetoed is also $175 million tabular and extraneous material on ton-based, one-size-fits-all program, for violence against women programs, 7 that the President wants; or do we em- H.R. 2076. times more than we provided this year, The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there power local communities to decide the full amount of the President's re- what they need most to fight crime? objection to the request of the gen- quest. Now he is vetoing the money for tleman from Kentucky? violence against women. We have heard the problems with the There was no objection. On October 15, the President accused President's COPS program. According Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 15 the Congress of reducing domestic vio- to the General Accounting Office, 50 minutes to the gentleman from West lence programs by $50 million, hamper- percent of the communities do not par- Virginia [Mr. MOLLOHAN] for the pur- ing ``our efforts to protect battered poses of debate only, and I yield back ticipate because they cannot afford to women and their children, to preserve participate. It costs them 25 percent of 30 minutes. families, and to punish those crimes.'' Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time the total cost the first year; more in as I may consume. b 1230 the second; and after that, they are en- Mr. Speaker, it is a sad day today, Well, Mr. Speaker, that $50 million is tirely on their own. They simply can- after the President has vetoed the larg- included in this conference report, plus not afford it. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H 15239 H 15240 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE December 20, 1995 What we do in our program is make the floor 2 weeks ago, it was clear that ready to go as soon as this money is re- them put up 10 percent, and they can the President was going to veto it. In leased. It can be released with a con- use the money for cops, if they want, fact, when this bill passed the House in tinuing resolution. or for cop cars, if they need that, or for July, the President clearly indicated If the majority wants to debate the other things. that he would veto any version of the priorities, if it wants to debate block COPS is a discretionary grant pro- bill that did not fund the Cops on the grants, fine, let us debate block grants. gram, so communities cannot predict Beat Program in its already-authorized Let us debate priorities before this bill whether they will receive funds or not. last-year form. passes. Let us allow these policemen to And the COPS program that the Presi- The President has, from the begin- get on the street by debating a CR, get- dent wants, and here is the rub, re- ning of this process this year, indicated ting a CR out and passed so we can im- quires a whole brand new Washington his priorities for the bill, and the bill plement some of these crime-fighting bureaucracy. In fiscal 1996, 236 posi- Congress sent to him does not fund programs that the majority alludes to. tions; $26 million. They have rented a those priorities. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of 10-floor, 51,000 square foot building Now, Mr. Speaker, this is a perfunc- my time. where the rent alone costs $1.5 million. tory motion we debate this afternoon. Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 The block grant program, which we It is absolutely perfunctory. We should minutes to the gentleman from Louisi- put in the bill, corrects all of those not even be here debating this motion ana [Mr. LIVINGSTON], the great chair- problems, but the President objects be- to send this bill back to the commit- man of the Committee on Appropria- cause Washington knows best. tee. We ought to be debating a continu- tions. So for those reasons, not spending ing resolution so that we can get the (Mr. LIVINGSTON asked and was enough on lower priority programs, a Government up and operating, so that given permission to revise and extend dispute over who gets credit for put- we can get these agencies funded, so his remarks.) ting more police on the streets, the that we can get this COPS program Mr. LIVINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I President has vetoed the bill, the big- funded. thank my great chairman of the Sub- gest crime fighting appropriation in Mr. Speaker, there are 8,000 addi- committee on Commerce, Justice, the Nation's history, putting at risk tional community policemen, on top of State and Judiciary for yielding time the jobs of some 200,000 Federal em- the 26,000 that the President has al- to me. ployees. ready gotten out during the last year. Mr. Speaker, the President vetoed I wish the President would get over There are 8,000 new cops that have been this bill, but it was no surprise to the this pique, this political pique. We are appointed, but they cannot be funded President what was in this bill.