January 7, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E5 I am encouraged that the House leadership THE INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR case loads. It is my understanding that em- has not abandoned this worthy cause. We will MEDICARE AND MEDICAID ACT ployees in the IG's office do not specialize in have an opportunity in the opening days of OF 1997 Medicare and Medicaid fraud, but must focus this Congress to vote on a proposed amend- on several issues at one time. With a more ment to the U.S. Constitution to limit our terms HON. JACK QUINN specialized personnel, other HHS programs and send a message to the public that we are OF NEW YORK such as welfare and head start stand to bene- dedicated to building upon last Congress' re- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES fit as well. By magnifying our focus to Medi- forms. care and Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse, I Tuesday, January 7, 1997 Mr. Speaker, support for term limits remains am confident that we will see an increased re- strong among voters. I encourage my col- Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to in- turn of our investment. leagues to favorably respond to their call and troduce the Inspector General For Medicare f vote to limit congressional terms. and Medicaid Act of 1997. f I was prompted to introduce this legislation ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL when seniors in western New York continu- PARK WILDERNESS INTRODUCTION OF LIVABLE WAGE ously approached me at my town meetings ACT last year with concerns about this issue. Many HON. DAVID E. SKAGGS of us in Congress and throughout the country OF COLORADO HON. BRUCE F. VENTO share their concerns that waste, fraud, and IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MINNESOTA abuse within Medicare and Medicaid Pro- Tuesday, January 7, 1997 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES grams have reached an excessive level which Mr. SKAGGS. Mr. Speaker, today I am in- Tuesday, January 7, 1997 threatens the financial stability of our most vul- nerable populations. troducing the Rocky Mountain National Park Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, today I am intro- For instance, one of my constituents gave Wilderness Act of 1997. ducing legislation intended to take a major me copies of his personal medical statements This bill, essentially identical to ones that I step forward toward a livable wage for working which showed that he was billed three times introduced in the 103d and 104th Congresses, men and women in our country. Too often for the same procedure, amounting to $2,367 is intended to provide important protection and American workers are forced to take jobs that in charges. Most people do not scrutinize their management direction for some truly remark- pay substandard wages and have few or no medical statements; which helps for fraud to able country, adding some 240,700 acres in health benefits. At a time when U.S. corpora- be easily overlooked. in the end, seniors are the park to the National Wilderness Preserva- tions are making record profits and the econ- forced to dip into their life savings. tion System. omy is strong and stable, it seems unreason- My bill would establish an exclusive, full- Covering 91 percent of the park, the wilder- able that working families must struggle and time and independent Office of Inspector Gen- ness will include Longs Peaks and other major cannot make ends meet. It is unconscionable eral [IG] for the Medicare and Medicaid Pro- mountains, glacial cirques and snow fields, for corporations to sacrifice fair wages for their grams. This office would be charged with de- broad expanses of alpine tundra and wet workers in pursuit of inflated profit margins, tecting, identifying and preventing waste, fraud meadows, old-growth forests, and hundreds of and it is doubly so when these businesses are and abuse within the Medicare and Medicaid lakes and streams. Indeed, the proposed wil- performing work on behalf of the Federal Gov- Programs. derness will include examples of all the natural ernmentÐwhen the workers' taxes which pay This IG office would be required to issue ecosystems present in the park. for Federal services and products perpetuate semiannual reports to Congress consisting of The features of these lands and waters that such depressed compensation. recommendations on preventing waste, fraud make Rocky Mountain a true gem in our na- My legislation is straightforward, simple and and abuse within the Medicare and Medicaid tional parks system also make it an outstand- just; if you are a Federal contractor or sub- Programs. ing wilderness candidate. contractor you will be required to pay wages The IG office would also be responsible for The wilderness boundaries for these areas to your employees that exceed the official pov- coordinating any audits, investigations, and are carefully located to assure continued ac- erty line for a family of four. This would be fair other activities which promote efficiency in the cess for use of existing roadways, buildings and equitable compensation achieved by law. administration of the Medicare and Medicaid and developed areas, privately owned land, When a business contracts for services or ma- Programs. and water supply facilities and conveyancesÐ terials with the Federal Government and bene- The need for this legislation comes down to including the Grand River Ditch, Long Draw fits from working families' taxpayer dollars, at dollars and cents. According to a 1995 GAO Reservoir, and the portals of the Adams Tun- the very least it should be required to pay its report, unchecked and improper billing alone nel. All of these are left out of wilderness. employees a livable wage. would cost Medicare in excess of $3 billion The bill is based on National Park Service As of March 4, 1996, the official poverty line over the next 5 years. Furthermore, health recommendations. Since these recommenda- for a family of four is $15,600. This is obvi- fraud has been estimated to cost between 3 tions were originally made in 1974, the north ously not an exorbitant wage. Imagine a family and 10 percent of every $1 used to meet the and south boundaries of Rocky Mountain Na- of four trying to live on this amount or less. It health needs of America's seniors and indi- tional Park have been adjusted, bringing into may not seem possible, but it is done every gent populations. I think you would agree that the park additional land that qualifies as wil- day in this country. There are serious dispari- this funding would be better spent as a rein- derness. My bill will include those areas as ties in our society when hard-working men and vestment in providing healthcare to our Na- well. Also, some changes in ownership and women, holding down full-time jobs, cannot tion's elderly, disabled, and poor citizens. management of several areas, including the earn enough to bring their families out of the To further compound the problem, GAO removal of three high mountain reservoirs, poverty cycle, while company executives earn also reported that physicians, suppliers, and make it possible to include designation of an average of 70 times that of their average medical laboratories have about 3 chances out some areas that the Park Service had found employee. of 1,000 of having Medicare audit their billing inherently suitable for wilderness. My bill does not attempt to alleviate this dis- practices in any given year. In 1993, we in the Colorado delegation fi- parity throughout the business sector, but it At the conclusion of the July 1995 GAO re- nally were able to successfully complete over does require those corporate entities receiving port to Congress, one of the main policy rec- a decade's effort to designate additional wil- taxpayer dollars to be accountable to their ommendations was to ``enhance Medicare's derness in our State's national forests. I antici- workers. This is a reasonable and practical antifraud and abuse efforts.'' pate that in the near future, the potentially bill. It allows companies to count any benefits, My bill simply responds to this need. I con- more complex question of wilderness designa- such as health care, which they provide for tend that with a separate IG office we can only tions on Federal Bureau of Land Management employees as part of their wage determina- expand on identifying and preventing fraud, lands will capture our attention. tion, and it provides an exemption for small waste, and abuse in healthcare. Based on Meanwhile, I think we should not further businesses and bona fide job training or ap- HHS data, within a 4-year time frame, we postpone resolution of the status of the lands prenticeship programs. have saved $115 for every $1 spent on in- within Rocky Mountain National Park that have I urge my colleagues to join me in support- spector general operations. been recommended for wilderness designa- ing this legislation to help ensure the Amer- In 1995, the Office of the IG saved $9.7 mil- tion. Also, because of the unique nature of its ican worker receives a fair day's pay for a fair lion per employee. This savings was accom- resources, its current restrictive management day's work. plished with employees working on diversified policies, and its water rights, Rocky Mountain E6 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks January 7, 1997 National Park should be considered separately this provision would apply in the eastern half acres. This section includes forested moun- from those other Federal lands. of the park. IfÐas I expectÐthe water court tainside of lodgepole pine, Englemann spruce We all know that water rights was the pri- with jurisdiction over the western half of the and subalpine fir, and the park’s trademark mary point of contention in the congressional expanse of alpine tundra and sub-alpine for- court makes the same ruling about the park's est. debate over designating national forests wil- original water rights that the eastern water Another fairly small section west of the derness areas in Colorado. The question of court did, then this provision would apply to Grand River Ditch, which comprises approxi- water rights for Rocky Mountain National Park the entire park. mately 9,260 acres, is generally above timber- wilderness is entirely different, and is far sim- The bill also specifically affirms the authority line, featuring steep slopes and peaks of the pler. of Colorado water law and its courts under the Never Summer Mountains, including 12 To begin with, it has long been recognized McCarran amendment. And the bill makes it peaks reaching over 12,000 feet in elevation. under the laws of the United States and of clear that it will not interfere with the Adams This area adjoins the existing Neota Wilder- ColoradoÐincluding in a decision of the Colo- ness on the Roosevelt National Forest and Tunnel of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, Never Summer Wilderness on the Routt Na- rado Supreme CourtÐthat Rocky Mountain which is an underground tunnel that goes tional Forest. National Park already has extensive Federal under Rocky Mountain National Park. The largest portion of the wilderness—ap- reserved water rights arising from the creation Why should we designate wilderness in a proximately 144,740 acres—is south of Trail of the national park itself. national park? Isn't park protection the same Ridge Road and generally bounded on the Division One of the Colorado Water Court, as wilderness, or at least as good? east, south, and west by the park boundary. which has jurisdiction over the portion of the The wilderness designation will give an im- This area contains examples of every eco- park that is east of the continental divide, has portant additional level of protection to most of system present in the park. The park’s dra- already decided how extensive the water the national park. Our National Park System matic stretch of the Continental Divide, fea- turing Longs Peak (which has an elevation rights are in its portion of the park: the court was created, in part, to recognize and pre- of 14,251 feet) and other peaks over 13,000 has ruled that the park has reserved rights to serve prime examples of outstanding land- feet, dominate this area. Former reservoir all water within the park that was unappropri- scape. At Rocky Mountain National Park in sites at Blue Bird, Sand Beach, and Pear ated at the time the park was created. As a particular, good Park Service management Lakes, previously breached and reclaimed, result of this decision, in the eastern half of over the past 82 years has kept most of the are included in the wilderness. The new wil- the park there literally is no more water with park in a natural condition. And all the lands derness incorporates a portion of the Indian regard to which either the park or anybody that over covered by this bill are currently Peaks Wilderness that was transferred to the else can claim a right. being managed, in essence, to protect their park in 1980, when the boundary between the park and the Arapaho-Roosevelt National So far as I have been able to find out, this wilderness character. Formal wilderness des- Forest was adjusted to follow natural fea- has not been a controversial decision, be- ignation will no longer leave this question to tures. cause there is a widespread consensus that the discretion of the Park Service, but will AREAS EXCLUDED FROM WILDERNESS there should be no new water projects devel- make it clear that within the designated areas DESIGNATION oped within Rocky Mountain National Park. there will never be roads, visitor facilities, or The following areas are not included in the And because the park sits astride the con- other manmade features that interfere with the wilderness designation: tinental divide, there's no higher land around spectacular natural beauty and wilderness of Roads used for motorized travel, water from which streams flow into the park, mean- the mountains. storage and conveyance structures, build- ing that there is no possibility of any upstream This kind of protection is especially impor- ings, and other developed areas are not in- diversions. tant for a park like Rocky Mountain, which is cluded in wilderness. Parcels of privately owned land or land On the western side of the park, the water relatively small by western standards. As sur- subject to life estate agreements in the park court has not yet ruled on the extent of the rounding land development and alteration has are also not included. park's existing water rights there. However, as accelerated in recent years, the pristine nature Water diversion structures (see below). a practical matter, the Colorado-Big Thompson of the park's backcountry has become an in- WATER RIGHTS Project has extensive, senior water rights that creasingly rare feature of Colorado's land- The legislation explicitly creates a federal give it a perpetual call on all the water flowing scape. reserved water right for a quantity of water out of the park to the west and into the Colo- Further, Rocky Mountain National Park's sufficient to fulfill the purposes of the wil- rado River and its tributaries. Thus, as a prac- popularity demands definitive and permanent derness designation. The priority date is the tical matter under Colorado water law, nobody protection for wild areas against possible pres- date of enactment of the bill. This general can get new consumptive water rights to take sures for development within the park. While provision is identical to the provision in- water out of the streams within the western only about one-tenth the size of Yellowstone cluded in the 1988 legislation designating part of Olympic National Park, in the state side of the park. National Park, Rocky Mountain sees nearly of Washington, as wilderness. And it's important to emphasize that any wil- the same number of visitors each year. The legislation, however, includes special derness water rights amount only to guaran- This bill will protect some of our Nation's fin- provisions reflecting the unique cir- tees that water will continue to flow through est wild lands. It will protect existing rights. It cumstances of Rocky Mountain National and out of the park as it always has. This pre- will not limit any existing opportunity for new Park, where a reservation on wilderness serves the natural environment of the park. water development. And it will affirm our com- water rights is probably just a theoretical But it doesn't affect downstream water use. mitment in Colorado to preserving the very matter. A Colorado water court with juris- Once water leaves the park, it will continue to features that make our State such a remark- diction over the portion of the park east of the Continental Divide has ruled that the be available for diversion and use under Colo- able place to live. federal government already has rights to all rado law. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK previously unappropriated water in the park, Against this backdrop, my bill deals with wil- WILDERNESS ACT OF 1996—FACT SHEET through the federal reserved water right derness water rights in the following ways: WILDERNESS BOUNDARIES arising from the creation of the national First, it explicitly creates a Federal reserved The bill will designate the Rocky Moun- park. Recognizing this, a special provision of water right to the amount of water necessary tain National Park Wilderness, which will the bill provides that for this area those ex- to fulfill the purposes of the wilderness des- include 91 percent of the park. The wilder- isting reserved water rights shall be deemed ignation. This is the basic statement of the re- ness area will include a total of 240,700 acres, sufficient to serve as the wilderness reserved served water rights doctrine, and is the lan- in four separate sections: rights; this will prevent unnecessary water The northernmost section of wilderness is rights adjudication. guage that Congress used in designating the 82,040 acres north of Fall River Road and east West of the Continental Divide, where a Olympic National Park Wilderness, in Wash- of the Grand River ditch. It includes large different water court has jurisdiction, a de- ington, in 1988. areas of alpine, sub-alpine-forest, wet-mead- termination has not yet been made of the ex- Second, the bill provides that in any area of ow, and montane-forest ecosystems. The tent of the national park’s existing reserved the park where the United States, under exist- dominant geographic features are the rights in that portion of the park. If that ing reserved water rights, already has the right Mummy Range and Specimen Mountain. water court determines (as the water court to all unappropriated water, then those exist- This portion of the wilderness extends to the in the east already has) that the federal gov- ernment already has reserved water rights to ing rights shall be deemed sufficient to serve park’s north boundary, adjoining the exist- ing Comanche Peak Wilderness on the Roo- all previously unappropriated water in the as the wilderness water rights, too. This sevelt National Forest. western portion of the park, then those means that there will be no need for any cost- A relatively small section of the wilderness water rights, too, would be deemed sufficient ly litigation to legally establish new water lies between Fall River Road and Trail Ridge to satisfy the reservation of new wilderness rights that have no real meaning. Right now, Road, and includes approximately 4,300 water rights for that portion of the park. January 7, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E7 However, as a legal and practical matter, Requirement to Recruit in the U.S. Labor eligible Americans voted, the lowest voter the Colorado-Big Thompson Project of the Market (Section 2(a)(3)—Each petitioning turnout since 1924. More than 90 million reg- Bureau of Reclamation has senior water employer will have to attest that it had at- istered voters failed to vote. rights outside and downstream from the tempted to recruit a U.S. worker, offering at While voter apathy under motor voter is un- park that are so extensive that the project least 100 percent of the actual wage or 100 has a perpetual call on all water flowing into percent of the prevailing wage, whichever is settling, there is another, more compelling, the Colorado River and its tributaries from greater, paid by the employer for such work- reason to rethink the soundness of the law. It all portions of the national park west of the ers, as well as the same benefits and addi- has allowed for voter fraud on a national Contential Divide. As a result, it is not pos- tional compensation provided to similarly- scale. The law does not contain a provision to sible under Colorado law for anybody to ac- employed workers by the employer. preclude illegal registration and voting. More- quire new consumptive water rights within Special rules for Dependent employers over, motor voter creates obstacles for State the western half of the park, so there could (Section 2(b))—A petitioning employer who election officials who are dedicated to main- is dependent on H–1B workers (4 or more H– not be any new water development that taining the accuracy of their voter rolls. It re- could be affected by the new wilderness 1B employees in a workforce of less than 41 water rights. workers or at least 10 percent of employees if quires States to keep registrants who fail to Further, of course, the new wilderness at least 41 workers): vote or who are unresponsive to voter reg- water rights would be only for in-stream a. would have to take ‘‘timely, significant, istration correspondence to be maintained on flows (not for diversion and/or consumption), and effective steps’’ to recruit and retain suf- voter registration rolls for years. As a result, and therefore would amount only to a guar- ficient U.S. workers to remove as quickly as children, cats, dogs, a pig, deceased people, antee or continued natural water flows reasonably possible the dependence on H–1B and noncitizens registered to vote. In North through and out of the park. Once water foreign workers. Carolina, thanks to motor voter, a 14-year-old leaves the park, it would continue to be b. would be required to pay an annual fee available for appropriation for other pur- (based on the H–1B’s annual compensation) boy registered and voted. Mr. Speaker, partici- poses of the same extent as it is now. in order to employ an H–1B worker—5% in pation in the electoral process is one of our EXISTING WATER FACILITIES the first year; 7.5% in the second, and 10% in most precious rights of citizenship. We should Boundaries for the wilderness designated the third. Fees will be paid into private in- not make a mockery of voting by unneces- in this bill are drawn to exclude existing dustry—specific funds that would use the sarily exposing it to fraud. water storage and water conveyance struc- money solely to finance training or edu- The National Voter Registration Act is noth- tures, assuring continued use of Grand River cation programs for U.S. workers to reduce ing more than a costly and dispensable Fed- Ditch and its right-of-way; the east and west the industry’s dependency on foreign work- eral mandate on the States. The States carry portals of the Adams Tunnel of the Colorado- ers. Increased penalties (Section 2(c)—Pen- the responsibility of administering all elections. Big Thompson Project (CBT); CBT gaging They should, therefore, be allowed to exercise stations; and Long Draw Reservoir. The bill alties are increased for false H–1B employer includes an explicit provision guaranteeing attestations. their discretion over registration procedures that it will not restrict or affect the oper- Job contractors obligations (Section free of unwarranted Federal intervention. ation, maintenance, repair, or reconstruc- 2(a)(5))—Petitioning employers who are job Motor voter has been tested and it failed tion of the Adams Tunnel, which diverts contractors (as defined by the Department of miserably. I strongly encourage my colleagues water under Rocky Mountain National Park Labor), would be required to make the same to join me in repealing the law. attestations as would the direct employers. (including lands that would be designated as f wilderness by the bill). The bill also deletes Peirod of admission reduced (Section a provision of the original national park des- 2(d)(2))—The maximum stay under an H–1B TRIBUTE TO THE LATE BRIAN D. ignation legislation that gives the Bureau of visa is reduced to 3 years, instead of the ex- MYERS, SR. Reclamation unrestricted authority to de- isting 6 years. velop water projects within the park. Residence abroad requirement (Section 2(e))—H–1B workers required to have a resi- f HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON dence abroad that they have no intention of OF NEW YORK abandoning. PROTECTING AMERICAN WORKERS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES For many years the hardworking American ACT OF 1997 Tuesday, January 7, 1997 worker has been forced to compete with HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR. underpriced foreign workers. The current H± Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, it's with the OF MICHIGAN 1B program allows this unfair competition to deepest sorrow that I note the loss of a volun- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES occur even on our own soil. I urge the expedi- teer fireman in the line of duty in our district on the first day of the year. Tuesday, January 7, 1997 tious adoption of this measure during the 105th Congress. Brian D. Myers, Sr., was a hero in every Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, the Protecting f sense of the word. They are all heroes, these American Workers Act of 1997 will reform the men and women from all walks of life who current temporary employment immigration H± REPEAL THE NATIONAL VOTER give so generously of their time and who, as 1B program and eliminate abuses by employ- REGISTRATION ACT Brian Myers' loss reminds us, risk their lives to ers which hurt American workers. A recent give their rural communities outstanding fire audit by the Department of Labor's inspector HON. BOB STUMP protection. general found that the programs which allow OF ARIZONA Brian Myers, Sr., was a member of the entry to thousands of temporary and perma- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Schuyler Hose Co., which responded to a res- nent foreign workers fail to adequately protect taurant fire on New Year's Day. The details the jobs, wages, and working condition of U.S. Tuesday, January 7, 1997 are still not known, but we do know that Myers workers. Mr. STUMP. Mr. Speaker, I am again intro- was last seen inside the burning structure For far too long, employment based immi- ducing legislation to repeal the National Voter fighting the blaze. His son, Brian Jr., and an- gration has been used to displace American Registration Act of 1993, the so-called ``motor other fireman were also injured. workers, instead of filling temporary employ- voter'' bill. Mr. Speaker, as a former volunteer fireman ment shortages. My legislation will permit the The law went into effect on January 1, myself in my hometown of Queensbury for Department of Labor to administer an employ- 1995. It requires States to establish voter reg- over 20 years, I know the sacrifices these vol- ment based immigration program that serves istration procedures to allow individuals to reg- unteers make. Every year, they save count- the temporary needs of employers while at the ister to vote through the mail and when they less lives and billions of dollars worth of prop- same time protecting the American worker. are conducting other government-related busi- erty in New York State alone. Their dedication The bill will amend the H±1B skilled tem- ness, such as applying for a driver's license or is matched by their increasing professionalism. porary visa program as follows: at certain public assistance agencies. We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude. No-Layoff provision to the H–1B program Supporters of motor voter have argued that Tragically, our debt to Brian Myers, Sr., cannot (Section 2(a)(2))—Under this section of the easing voter registration requirements would be repaid. bill an employer will have to attest that an invigorate voter turnouts. However, as last Typical of volunteer firemen, Myers was ac- American worker was not laid off or other- wise displaced and replaced with H–1B non- year's elections clearly displayed, the law did tive in other community endeavors, especially immigrant foreign workers within 6-months not meet its goal. Although massive numbers at his church. He will be missed by his family, prior to filing or 90 days following the appli- of new voters were placed on the rolls under his fire company, and his community. cation and within 90 days before or after the motor voter, they did not take the initiative to Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to join me filing of a petition based on that application. cast their ballots. In fact, a mere 49 percent of in expressing heartfelt condolences to his