House of Representatives

February 24, 1987 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE 3959 HOUSE _OF REPRESENTATIVES-Tuesday, February 24, 1987 The House met at 12 noon and was tistics I thought would hammer home comfortable Japanese retirement: that called to order by the Speaker pro with Members the need for reducing is what our continued deficit spending tempore CMr. FOLEY]. the budget deficit. is ·coming to mean, Mr. Speaker. I am sure every Member of this body DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO knows that the fastest growing part of TEMPORE the budget is interest on the national H.R. 1049-DEALING WITH BIL debt, having increased 240 percent be LIONS IN REFUNDS FROM The SPEAKER pro tempore laid tween fiscal years 1980 and 1986. But UTILITY COMPANIES before the House the following com not every Member may know that munication from the Speaker: <Mr. DORGAN of North Dakota almost half of the total Federal indi asked and was given permission to ad WASHINGTON, DC, vidual income tax paid goes to finance February 24, 1987. dress the House for 1 minute and to interest payments-nearly 50 percent revise and extend his remarks.) I hereby designate the Honorable THOMAS of the income taxes our constituents S. FOLEY to act as Speaker pro tempore on pay, Mr. Speaker, go only to finance Mr. DORGAN of North Dakota. Mr. this day. payment on the debt. Speaker, I have introduced H.R. 1049 JIM WRIGHT, whiGh deals with $15 billion in money Speaker of the House of Representatives. By fiscal year 1991, if we continue on our current spending trend and don't that the utility companies in this cut this deficit, interest payments will country now have that should be re PRAYER be the single largest expenditure in funded to their custo:r:ners. Now here is The Chaplain, Rev. James David the budget. the issue: The electric, gas, and tele Ford, D.D., offered the following Earlier this Congress, I introduced a phone companies charge their custom prayer: measure, H.R. 805, the Pay-as-You-Go ers for a kilowatt-hour, telephone Let us pray. As we focus on the expe Budget Act, that mandates a hard service and so on. In that charge are riences of our lives, 0 God, we are spending freeze. By keeping spending their estimated income tax payments grateful for the gift of love. We know for next year at this year's level, we to the Federal Government. The trick that many good things that come to us can reach the targets in the Gramm is that they do not then make those do so because of this most wonderful Rudman law, and reduce interest pay payments to the Federal Government, gift. For relationships broken and ments. because they defer those taxes. healed; for covenants rent apart and I invite Members to cosponsor this Sixty billion dollars now exist in the then confirmed; for anger now real measure. We must take serious steps hands of the utility companies that and yet conquered, we give our thanks to reduce our dependence on borrowed they collected from their customers to for that gift that is greater than money. pay Federal taxes. The corporate either faith or hope, the gift of love. income tax was reduced last year. The This we pray. Amen. result is $15 billion of that $60 billion WHAT OUR DEFICITS MEAN TO will never be paid to the Federal Gov THE JAPANESE ernment. That amount must be re THE JOURNAL <Mr. PORTER asked and was given funded to the customer. However, a The SPEAKER pro tempore. The permission to address the House for 1 little barrier was put in that tax Chair has examined the Journal of minute and to revise and extend his reform bill that prevents the utility the last day's proceedings and an remarks.) companies from paying it back to their nounces to the House his approval Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, each customers on time. It is going to be thereof. year the Federal Government adds normalized. That means, it might take Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the new debt to old; we're quickly headed up to 30 years to refund that money to Journal stands approved. for the $2.5 trillion mark. But few ask the customer. who is buying that debt-to most of So there is good news and bad news. The good news is, the utility customer MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE us, it is just a big number of little meaning in our lives. should get a refund of $15 billion. The A message from the Senate by Mr. But that debt does affect your life. bad news is some folks may not live Hallen, one of its clerks, announced Last month, we passed a historic mile long enough to collect it. My bill that the Senate had passed a concur stone without notice or fanfare. The changes that. My bill says that the rent resolution of the following title, Federal Reserve held its quarterly auc State regulators have the ability to in which t he concurrence of the House tion of American treasury bonds and, force that refund to be made to the is requested: for the first time in history, two Japa utility customers on a timely basis. S. Con. Res. 18. Concurrent resolution to nese firms acted as primary dealers. I would hope my colleagues would authorize the printing of "United States join me in H.R. 1049. It is the right ap Senator Robert C. Byrd's Addresses on the The Japanese-whom we love to bash for our trade problems-have moved proach. The right approach for the History of the United States Senate: Bicen customers of the utility companies in tennial Edition." to the forefront to finance our fla grant spending. this country to get refunds that they Over 30 percent of all recently sold are owed by those companies. REDUCING THE BUDGET American bonds were bought by Jap DEFICIT anese institutional investors. Clearly, <Mr. PENNY asked and was given Japanese retirement fund managers YOU CANNOT CURB A DOG BY permission to address the House for 1 are confident that future Presidents TYING HIM TO HIS OWN TAIL minute and to revise and extend his and Congress will raise our children's <Mr. DANNEMEYER asked and was remarks.) taxes to cover the whopping interest given permission to address the House Mr. PENNY. Mr. Speaker, I recently bills on these bonds. Taxing future for 1 minute and to revise and extend came across some very interesting sta- generations of Americans to ensure a his remarks.> D This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., D 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. 3960 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE February 24, 1987 Mr. DANNEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, The SPEAKER pro tempore <Mr. new government could function, would not the only legal money we have today is DORGAN of North Dakota). Is there ob fragment at the first sign of severe dissen money "secured" by debt. What is the jection to the request of the gentle sion, and that a chief executive of a nation difference between fiat money and man from Mississippi? could voluntarily leave office in a totally peaceful exchange of power. His dedication debt-secured money? Only the chica There was no objection. to the Constitution and to the people's right nery and hocus-pocus surrounding the WASHINGTON MONUMENT, WREATH-LAYING to govern themselves made it possible for us issuance of the latter. Fiat money is CEREMONY, 11 A.M., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, to be the powerful nation that we are. printing-press money, pure and simple. 1987, THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT, WASH He summed up the great cause of America Debt-secured money involves swapping INGTON, DC in his First Inaugural Address: "The preser truckloads of Government bonds for SCENARIO vation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the truckloads of bank notes between the This year's 255th birthday anniversary of destiny of the republican model of govern Treasury and the Federal Reserve President George Washington features com ment, are justly considered as deeply, per System. The Treasury issues promises memorative speeches by two U.S. Congress haps as finally staked, on the experiment to pay dollars, and the dollar is de men and the Honorable Russell E. Train, entrusted in the hands of the American fined as a liability of the Federal Re First Vice President of the Washington Na people." tional Monument Society. Even then, George Washington knew that serve, secured by the said promises. In the best, perhaps the only hope for the re other words, one promise is security The program is as follows: 10:30 A.M. spect, dignity and rights of all free people for the other, but neither is redeem lay in the hands of America. If our founding able in anything except the other, so Participants and members of the Wash ington National Monument Society assem fathers had failed to make democracy work, that the ultimate value of neither can ble in the Monument waiting room. who knows when or where else it would be independently verified. On the face have been tried again. Could Hitler have of it, both promises are honored. But 11:00 A.M. been stopped? Could the global spread of in effect the Treasury and the Federal Presentation of colors: Joint Armed Serv Communism be retarded? Reserve outbid each other in defraud ices Color Guard. It is a good thing to reflect on how impor Welcome: Master of Ceremonies, Mr.

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