H 2784 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 7, 1995 A, 27th Armored Infantry Battalion. Cleaned Well, if that graph is a little difficult penny of the $12 billion taken away out machine gun nest on bridge. to grasp quickly, look at the second from those 48 million families whose First Lieutenant Hugh B. Mott of Nash- one. Under this graph, in the same cat- income is below $30,000 per year. ville, Tennessee, platoon leader in Company egories of income what this shows is B, 9th Armored Engineer Battalion. Led en- f gineers who ripped out demolition wires and that the Republican tax cut will pro- cleared the bridge of explosives. vide $5,000 to the average family, who b 1930 Sergeant Eugene Dorland of Manhattan, presently make more than $200,000 per The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. year. That would be $12 billion of tax Kansas, Company B, 9th Armored Engineer VUCANOVICH). Under a previous order of Battalion. One of engineers who helped clear cuts each year. the House, the gentleman from Califor- the bridge of explosives. Down at the other end of the scale nia [Mr. RIGGS] is recognized for 5 min- Sergeant John A. Reynolds of Lincolnton, there are 49 million families that, to- utes. North Carolina, Company B, 9th Armored gether, get $57 on average per family Engineer Battalion. One of engineers who per year. That is about $1 per week per [Mr. RIGGS addressed the House. His helped clear the bridge of explosives. family. remarks will appear hereafter in the Captain George P. Soumas of Perry, Iowa, Extensions of Remarks.] company commander of Company A, 14th Now, the Republicans claim that Tank Battalion, the first tank company to they are not going to make the deficit f cross the bridge. larger. So, we will be debating the $17 First Lieutenant C. Windsor Miller of Sil- billion rescission bill next week. Under FORT MCCLELLAN AND ANNISTON ver Spring, Md., platoon leader in Company NEWT GINGRICH’S Contract on America, ARMY DEPOT A, 14th Tank Battalion, the first tank pla- spending cuts which hurt children and The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a toon to cross the bridge. elders and make it harder for youth previous order of the House, the gen- Sergeant William J. Goodson of Pendleton, Indiana, Company A, 14th Tank Battalion. and teenagers to get the education and tleman from Alabama [Mr. BROWDER] is Tank commander of the first tank which skills and training so that they can get recognized for 5 minutes. crossed Remagen Bridge. jobs, those spending cuts will be used Mr. BROWDER. Madam Speaker, a 1st Lieutenant John Grimball of Columbia, to give tax breaks to the wealthiest of few nights ago I spoke on this floor, South Carolina, platoon leader in Company Americans. and I said that the Secretary of De- A, 14th Tank Battalion. Head of first tank In NEWT GINGRICH’s America, Repub- fense’s recommendation to close Fort platoon to reach the bridge. licans are going to cut infant mortality McClellan, AL, was a mistake with sig- Sergeant Michael Chinchar of Saddle River prevention, prenatal, children’s foster nificant and dangerous consequences. Township, New Jersey, platoon leader of 1st platoon, Company A, 27th Armored Infantry care, safe and drug-free schools for To be specific tonight, Madam Speak- Battalion. One of first group of infantrymen children and education for disadvan- er, I would like to talk about the mis- across the bridge. taged children and domestic violence take of this recommendation that Sergeant Joseph S. Petrencsik of Cleve- prevention and shelters for homeless breaks faith with hundreds of thou- land, Ohio, assistant squad leader in 3d pla- families. But they will do it without sands of civilians in Alabama who live toon, Company A, 27th Armored Infantry my vote. around a dangerous chemical stockpile Battalion. One of first group of infantrymen In NEWT GINGRICH’s America, these which is slated to be destroyed by the across the bridge. Republicans will cut vocational and United States as part of an agreement Sergeant Anthony Samele of Bronx, New York, squad leader in 1st platoon, Company technological education and with Russia. A, 27th Armored Infantry Battalion. Third Americorps, the National community Let me tell my colleagues something man across the bridge. service corps, school drop-out preven- about this stockpile. This chemical The following is a sample of the citation tion, and college scholarships, summer stockpile stored in this same commu- for the Distinguished Service Cross: jobs for teenagers who are at risk of nity with Fort McClellan, has poisons f dropping out of school, and school-to- such as sarin and VX. A small drop of work job training. But, again, they will sarin on a man’s skin can be fatal. VX NOT WITH MY VOTE do that without my vote. is several times more lethal than sarin, The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a In NEWT GINGRICH’s America, the Re- and a small drop of the liquid evenly previous order of the House, the gen- publican extremists will cut rental as- distributed can kill many people. tleman from Massachusetts [Mr. sistance to low-income families and Among the weapons stored at the An- OLVER] is recognized for 5 minutes. public housing maintenance and safety niston Army Depot, each M–23 land Mr. OLVER. Madam Speaker, in just and home heating assistance for 6 mil- mine contains 101⁄2 pounds of VX. Each a couple of weeks we are going to start lion families, every one of whom, every 155 millimeter artillery projectile can debate on one of the cornerstones of one of whom falls in that category of hold either 6 pounds of VX or 61⁄2 the Republican Contract on America. people with incomes under $30,000 a pounds of sarin. Each of the 78,000 M55 That cornerstone, the tax cut of $200 year. But, again, they will do it with- 115-millimeter rockets; that is 78,000 of billion over 5 years. out my vote. those, contains either 10 pounds of VX Never mind that the deficit is al- In NEWT GINGRICH’s America, at least or 10.7 pounds of sarin. That is a pretty ready $200 billion per year, put aside $12 billion in tax cuts are going to be dangerous mixture. that the tax cuts add to the deficit, transferred, $12 billion of wealth, will That is why one newspaper had this never mind that these tax cuts make be transferred from people down in this headline, Madam Speaker, that said, balancing the budget harder, and never area who now have under $30,000 of in- ‘‘Army, An Army Study Leaking Nerve mind that not a responsible economist come per year, and it will be trans- Rockets, Could Explode on Their Own.’’ agrees that cutting taxes is the right ferred into tax cuts for the wealthiest That is why another newspaper head- way to start on reducing the deficit 2 percent of Americans, giving them line said, ‘‘Living with Chemical Weap- and balancing the budget. $5,000 a year, on average, in tax cuts. ons. Best Hope If There’s an Accident: But putting those things aside, let us At least $12 billion in services, in the Run for Your Life.’’ examine the proposal. First of all, on services that I have mentioned, will be The Army knew this in 1990 when it this chart we can see who gets the tax cut from these 48 million families down filed a permit request with the Ala- benefits from the tax reductions being there at the lower end of the scale, who bama Department of Environmental proposed. If you would look at the first have under $30,000 of income per year. Management called Resource Conserva- 2 columns down on the left-hand side, That is over $250, on average, per fam- tion and Recovery Act hazardous waste less than 20 percent of the tax reduc- ily that is going to be cut. permit application for the Department tion is given to some 71 million Amer- Madam Speaker, if people who are of the Army, Anniston Army Depot ican families that are almost two- watching have not already guessed it, chemical stockpile disposal system. thirds of all the American families. and probably many of them have, every This is in 1990. This is all of the contin- In the upper side there you find 50 Member of Congress, every Senator, gency plans they have if there is an ac- percent of the tax reductions to less every Member of the House falls in the cident in this place. than 10 percent of the families, whose upper categories on this graph, and not Fort McClellan chemical response income is now over $100,000 per year. one Member of Congress will lose a plan says, March 7, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H 2785 This plan establishes a required organiza- Madam Speaker, for 40 years the I say to my colleagues, Yes, if you tion, responsibilities and procedures in the Army has dumped these dangerous were told otherwise, you’re not being event of an accident or incident at Anniston chemicals on Alabama. They pledged told the truth. For example, Repub- Army Depot. The purpose of this plan is to Fort McClellan as our rescue squad. licans want to reduce the rate of in- establish procedures and actions to be em- ployed by Fort McClellan reaction teams in Now they want to close down the res- crease in the school lunch program. support of a chemical accident or incident cue squad and strike a match to that This year we’re spending about $4.5 bil- occurring on the Anniston Army Depot and pile of dangerous chemicals. I will not lion on this program, and we’re propos- which is or will become a potential hazard to allow that to happen. I will do every- ing a spending level of $4.7 billion for the depot and surrounding community. thing I can to stop that from happen- fiscal year 1996. Now if that sounds to Madam Speaker, several hundred ing unless this dangerous mistake is you like an increase, you have got it thousand people are in that surround- reversed. right. ing community of Anniston Army f My colleagues, only in Washington Depot, and Fort McClellan’s resources can an increase of $200 million be con- have been committed by that permit BY SLOWING GROWTH IN SPEND- sidered a cut, and that is what our op- request in case we have a problem ING FROM 7.6 TO 3 PERCENT WE ponents are claiming. there. CAN BALANCE THE BUDGET BY Let us look next at the Child Nutri- I had a meeting last year, almost a 2002 tion Program. We are currently spend- year ago, with Deputy Secretary of De- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a ing at a level of $3.47 billion. fense John Deutsch. I would like to previous order of the House, the gen- The American people need to know read a letter he wrote to me in August. tleman from New Jersey [Mr. SAXTON] that Republicans want to slow the rate He said: is recognized for 5 minutes. of growth in this program by proposing a 1996 spending level of $3.68 billion, an- DEAR MR. BROWDER: In our meeting on Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I June 16, 1994, you and I discussed Depart- would like to talk for just a few min- other $200 million increase. It is an in- ment of Defense policy and intentions on utes about the rate of increase that we crease over present levels, but it is not several matters related to the Chemical De- have seen in Federal spending and what the astronomical rate of increase that militarization Project scheduled for Annis- some of us would like to do to stop some of our colleagues on the other ton Army Depot. You requested that I pro- that from happening. side of the aisle want. vide assurances on these matters, and I am Last summer House Republicans held What I am saying is that we are not pleased to respond to this request. As you decimating or gutting these programs. know, the Department is eager to conduct a series of meetings and decided that someone had to step up to the plate We are slowing the rate of growth for its business in a manner that is open and them from an average of 7.6 percent to meets community concerns to the maximum and do something about this very seri- extent possible. The ‘‘safeguard’’ assurances ous fiscal problem. Without question, about 3 percent. you request serve this purpose and therefore Madam Speaker, one of the most im- Let us look at one more program. Let deserve the positive responses provided portant issues we face today is our us go to veterans benefits as a final ex- below. soaring national debt. I think both par- ample where in 1995 we spent about Please rest assured that we share your con- ties agree with that. Today it has $17.73 billion. The spending level for cern for safe and environmentally sound de- reached epidemic proportions in that veterans benefits under our Republican struction of chemical weapons at Anniston. program for 1996 is $17.78 billion, an- Specifically . . . we have a national debt of almost $5 trillion, $4.8 trillion to be more exact. other increase this time of $50 million, Madam Speaker, under the heading Think about the magnitude of it. We but a reduction in the rate of growth. of Fort McClellan Support Resources: are not talking about millions or bil- By doing this we are doing something By separate correspondence I’m asking the lions that we throw around here daily. different to bring spending under con- Secretary of the Army to work closely with We are talking about trillions, almost trol. We are doing something different Alabama Department of Environmental $5 trillion. because we recognize that there are Management to respond to the State require- I realize that it is difficult for most limits to taxes Americans should be ex- ment and to be fully responsible to their con- people to think in terms of trillions. it pected to pay, and there are limits to cerns. is for me. But look at it this way. Five the debt we should create. He closed: trillion is a 5 with 12 zeroes behind it. We need to get real. We need to be I assure you that the Department of De- Or look at it in terms of what $5 tril- straight with the American people, fense will continue to insure that the de- lion means if we divide it equally particularly with those who are the struction of our chemical weapons stockpile among the American citizens. In those beneficiaries of the worthy programs is accomplished in full cognizance of the on- terms $5 trillion means $18,000 for that we are talking about. going need to protect our people and our en- Join with us in bringing about a real- vironment. every man, woman and child in the United States, and, unless we deal with istic, long range spending plan that Then the Undersecretary of Defense will provide the level of benefits needed that same month issued its memoran- this problem now, by the turn of the century the United States will spend but will not bankrupt our children and dum for the Secretary of the Army. our grandchildren. Subject: Chemical Weapons Demili- more on interest on the national debt tarization Facility at Anniston Army than we spend on the defense of our f Depot: country. That is why Republicans, and I might REPUBLICAN PARTY, A PARTY OF Efforts are ongoing to ensure the success- say some Members of both parties, are CONTRADICTION ful start of chemical weapons demilitariza- tion operations at Anniston Army Depot. In offering a fresh approach. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a order to gain the requisite support for these If we simply slow the growth in previous order of the House, the gen- operations, we must ensure the application spending from what it has averaged tleman from Maryland [Mr. WYNN] is of certain safeguards which will satisfy local over the last 10 years, 7.6 percent; that recognized for 5 minutes. concerns and enhance the safety of the de- is right, 7.6 percent every year increase Mr. WYNN. Madam Speaker, now militarization process. over the last 10 years, if we slow it to that the first 50 days are past, I think Madam Speaker, this lists all the re- about 3 percent, we can balance the we are beginning to see the true colors quirements, the decontamination budget by the year 2002. Programs that of the Republican Party. Once again team, the medical assistance team, have been growing by leaps and bounds they are playing Robin Hood in re- says we need to be fully responsive to must be reined in. verse, taking from the poor to give to the Alabama Department of Environ- Now if we are being honest with our- the rich. When I thought about some of mental Management, and we must selves and with the American people, the things that have occurred over the commit appropriate military resources we and our critics must make it clear last couple of weeks, it appeared to me such as the following which have been that the Republicans are simply limit- that what we have is a party of con- identified at the current location to ing the rate of growth in a broad vari- tradictions. This is a group that said, support the demilitarization effort. ety of programs. What we are is pro-life. We believe in