Congressional Record United States of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 107Th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 107th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 147 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2001 No. 147 House of Representatives The House met at 12:30 p.m. and was first time I heard that term, as a war from the Federal Government, all in called to order by the Speaker pro tem- profiteer. the name of let us take care of Sep- pore (Mr. PETRI). I remember the night of September tember 11 and what is happening with f 11, 2001, when service stations around the economy. my district in Ohio and other States in Now we are seeing some leaders in DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO the Midwest, when gas station owners this Congress, particularly Republican TEMPORE raised their price on that evening to $4, leaders in the Committee on Ways and The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- $5, $6 a gallon, also something you Means and the Speaker, have said that fore the House the following commu- might call war profiteering. in order to counter terrorism, we need nication from the Speaker: Then I have watched this Congress to pass Fast Track, we need to give respond to the events of September 11; Trade Promotion Authority to the WASHINGTON, DC, President, we need to extend NAFTA October 30, 2001. and while in many cases the Congress I hereby appoint the Honorable THOMAS E. and the President have worked well to- to Latin America. PETRI to act as Speaker pro tempore on this gether, bipartisanly, putting dif- So what we are saying is we are send- day. ferences aside, I have seen that same ing our young men and women in J. DENNIS HASTERT, kind of profiteering, let us call it polit- harm’s way in Afghanistan; then when Speaker of the House of Representatives. ical profiteering, in the way that many they come back to this country look- f people in the majority party have ing for jobs, some of those jobs will have been sent abroad because this MORNING HOUR DEBATES acted in response to September 11. For instance, Congress spent $15 bil- Congress has passed failed trade agree- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- lion to bail out America’s airlines. ments for those workers laid off. There is not unemployment compensation; ant to the order of the House of Janu- They required no shared sacrifice from there is no help with their health care. ary 3, 2001, the Chair will now recog- the executives, no give-backs from ex- nize Members from lists submitted by When you talk about the events of ecutives in bonuses and salaries. They September 11, Mr. Speaker, most of us the majority and minority leaders for spent not a dollar on airport security morning hour debates. The Chair will talk about shared sacrifice. When this in this $15 billion gift to the airlines, Nation has been troubled in World War alternate recognition between the par- and they gave nothing to the 100,000 I and World War II, there was shared ties, with each party limited to not to workers laid off as a result of Sep- sacrifice. Wealthy people actually paid exceed 30 minutes, and each Member, tember 11. a higher proportion of taxes, working except the majority leader, the minor- Turn the clock up a little bit further people got some breaks on their taxes, ity leader, or the minority whip, lim- and look at what happened last week working people got some benefits. ited to not to exceed 5 minutes. when Congress considered the bill to This is all different this year; and the The Chair recognizes the gentleman stimulate our economy. Instead of tak- response to September 11, we have seen from Ohio (Mr. BROWN) for 5 minutes. ing care of workers through health in- that kind of political profiteering from f surance, instead of taking care of laid the majority party. When Democrats off workers with unemployment com- have worked with the President MISSED OPPORTUNITIES TO RE- pensation, instead of taking care of bipartisanly, we have seen instead bail- SPOND TO TRUE NEEDS OF workers who got no tax break, people outs for the airlines with nothing for AMERICANS making $20,000 to $40,000 a year, instead the airline workers; we have seen tax Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, of taking care of them, this Congress cuts for the richest people in our soci- many years ago I was attending church again, in the name of answering the ety, but no health care for laid-off with my father in the early 1960s; and problems of September 11, this Con- workers; no tax breaks for middle-in- he pointed to a gentleman sitting in gress again gave huge tax cuts to the come and working-class workers. And the back of the church whom he had richest people in our society. now this week we are going to see an gone to high school with, and my dad Eighty-nine percent of the tax relief ideological battle where the most con- said during World War II, when my dad in the Republican stimulus package servative members of this body, in op- and most people in the community went to tax breaks for corporations, in- position to bipartisan legislation in the went off to war, my dad told me this cluding a $25 billion gift to the largest Senate, with airline security, we are gentleman stayed home, feigned some companies in the country. IBM got $1 going to see Republicans in the House injury and made a lot of money during billion, General Motors got between continuing to try to push forward a the war. My dad referred to him, the $800 million and $900 million in checks failed airline security bill. 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. H7359 . VerDate 13-OCT-2001 02:04 Oct 31, 2001 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A30OC7.000 pfrm01 PsN: H30PT1 H7360 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 30, 2001 In fact, I know people who are mak- Dr. Hoffmann indicated years ago, has do they not do that? Because they are ing $6 and $7 an hour that work at air- removed them from people. Their skills mindful of protecting themselves. But port security, and some of them actu- for communication, Mr. Speaker, have they do not care quite so much about ally have left to go work at McDonald’s been adversely affected. the traveling public. They care more because it pays better. Instead, we My mom was an outstanding parent about their political sponsors. should federalize airport workers and and wife, despite having been deprived Let us look at who the political spon- security workers at the airports. They of normal hearing. Rush Limbaugh, sors are here. There are three foreign should be paid a living wage, they hopefully, will not be removed from owned, hear that, foreign owned huge should be paid health insurance, they contact with his vast listening audi- companies that do most of the private should be paid other benefits, and they ence. airport security in the United States; should be trained better so they are Finally, permit me to urge my col- and one of them, Securicor of Europe, there for a long time and they will do leagues in this House and in the other threatened last week to sue the United their job. body as well to be consciously aware of States Government if we usurp their Why should we continue this failed difficulties encountered by those who function at the airports. system of airline security, of airport are visually and hearing impaired. We Let us look at how their subsidiary is security, all in the name of a conserv- who enjoy normal vision and hearing doing in the U.S. Their subsidiary is ative ideology? Mr. Speaker, it is time oftentimes take these luxuries for Argenbright, one of the three largest we believe in shared sacrifice. It is granted. security firms providing airport secu- time we federalize the airport security These are indeed luxuries which we rity to more than 40 major airports in people, that we build a tax system fair should not embrace casually, and those the United States of American, includ- to all people, and that we take care of who do not enjoy these luxuries de- ing Boston’s Logan, Washington’s Dul- workers laid off and victimized by the serve a tip of our hats for the extra ef- les and others. events of September 11. fort they are required to expend to Well, they have got a few problems. f make it through life. Most of the blind They were criminally convicted just a and deaf people I know are upbeat, op- year ago of hiring known felons, main- HONORING THE PHYSICALLY IM- timistic and rarely bitter as a result of taining known felons on staff, fal- PAIRED AND THOSE THAT WORK their infirmities. They are indeed un- sifying documents as to the screening WITH THEM sung heroes and thoroughly deserve and training of the known felons that The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under our admiration and respect, as do the they had hired. At Dulles Airport, 84 the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan- men and women who work with the vis- percent of their workers are foreign na- uary 3, 2001, the gentleman from North ually and hearing impaired to make tional; but, they assure us, most of Carolina (Mr.