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, MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 1995 No. 18 House of Representatives The House met at 12:30 p.m. and was I find it a little interesting that at a American feels that if you are making called to order by the Speaker pro tem- time we are cutting out some of the what a Member of Congress makes, you pore [Mr. EWING]. poorest of the poor, we have now said can probably afford a little place f that we have to extend compassion to around here. Members of Congress because they are Furthermore, most people are paying DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO only making $133,000 a year and cannot their staff a whole lot less and they are TEMPORE possibly afford to live in Washington, able to live in Washington, DC, so I do The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- DC. At least people in my district not think it quite passes the straight- fore the House the following commu- would find that a little startling in faced test. nication from the Speaker: they do not find that that is a poverty Mr. Speaker, I also am not too sure WASHINGTON, DC, wage and are a little shocked by that that it is the kind of image and deco- January 30, 1995. discrepancy as to what is poor and rum that we would like to show for this I hereby designate the Honorable THOMAS what is not. House and the respect that it has had W. EWING to act as Speaker pro tempore on But the other thing that I keep won- for over 200 years. It is kind of amazing this day. dering about as apparently we are en- to me that for over 200 years we have NEWT GINGRICH, Speaker of the House of Representatives. gaging in this new congressional slum- gotten by without Members having to f ber party, things that we do not know: sleep in their office and, suddenly in Is the House restaurant going to do 1995, things have gotten so tough for MORNING BUSINESS room service? Are we going to rename Members that this has to be extended. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- the office buildings the House office But I think it also falls into part of ant to the order of the House of Janu- buildings and dormitories? Does this the whole gift rule debate that we have ary 4, 1995, the Chair will now recog- qualify under the gift rule? Is this a been trying to have on this House nize Members from lists submitted by gift from the Speaker to Members who floor. Suddenly we get this gift, and the majority and minority leaders for use this? Will there be bed checks? Will being able to have free housing here ap- morning hour debates. The Chair will staff be allowed to come or is this parently, because the IRS has not spo- alternate recognition between the par- going to be income tested? Do you have ken, but apparently we are going to be ties, with each party limited to not to to make at least as much as a Member given this gift, but we still do not have exceed 30 minutes, and each Member to be this impoverished? Do we have to time to deal with the gift rule as to except the majority and minority lead- report this on our income tax? what kind of gifts we can get from lob- er limited to not to exceed 5 minutes. Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Mem- byists. The Chair recognizes the gentle- bers in the last term decided that we Mr. Speaker, I think it is time to end woman from Colorado [Mrs. SCHROE- would be taxed on our cars, where we the freebie culture. I think the Amer- DER] for 5 minutes. park our cars, because that was the ican people think it is time to end the f only fair thing to do and to treat our- freebie culture. I think they thought it selves like the private sector. was time to end it last term when we TIME TO END THE FREEBIE In the private sector, I assume that passed it over and over again, and I CULTURE the IRS would tax us if we were given hope that we could take time out to Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I free room and board. So will the IRS get to some of the real core issues be- come to the floor today to try and get tax us here? And since we are already fore we see even more gifts being dis- some answers to a new policy that was paying taxes if we have an assigned pensed and more perks being dispensed announced today in the National Jour- parking place, what if we sleep in our to Members of Congress. nal's Congressional Daily. In that car? Does that then come in under I find it amazing that a lot of people daily, it says that the Speaker will now that? Or do we get a new IRS ruling? would get very upset about an ice be allowing Members of Congress to I find this new announcement very bucket being delivered to different sleep in their office. This is a new pol- confusing, and I hope that we get a rooms and still not being upset about icy and I have a lot of questions as to clarification as to what all of this is Members then converting them into an what is transpiring. going to entail as we start this new apartment. We are now going through this period bunk-in-the-House program. Are people going to be able to bring where we are seeing draconian cuts in I also hope maybe it gets reconsid- families to the House? If you have your all sorts of social service programs, and ered, because I think the average family in Washington, can you convert 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 841 H 842 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð HOUSE January 30, 1995 your office into kind of a family living quar- gentleman form Michigan, the ranking with the CPI index as presently stated. ters where they can all stay? member of the Committee on the Judi- If he does that and they refigure the All of these things, I think come ciary, stated, ``May I remind the gen- CPI based upon what Mr. Greenspan from this new pronouncement, and I tleman,'' and he is referring to the gen- and others have suggested, we are talk- hope that we get a clarification later in tleman from Illinois [Mr. HYDE], ``that ing about a $2,000 hit for Social Secu- the day from the Speaker, because I Social Security was a Democratic So- rity recipients. There is no way around find this a very, very interesting new cial Security insurance policy.'' Fur- it. proposal that will probably make won- thermore, he goes on to say that it was I want the folks to be clear on that. derful material for new sitcoms. If I opposed by the Republicans. If the Speaker and the gentleman from were a sitcom writer and I read this, I Once again, we have the same Texas [Mr. ARMEY] and the Repub- would think, ``Wow. We've been wait- strawperson being resurrected to say licans want to fool around with Social ing for 200 years for the Congress to do that the Republicans opposed Social this.'' Can you imagine? ``They eat to- Security and the CPI index, it is going Security, when in fact the record clear- to cost seniors dollars. gether, they sleep together, they legis- ly shows that 83 percent of the Repub- late together.'' But I do not think that Mr. Speaker, I rise today because we licans in 1935 voted for the Social Secu- saw one more example of why we need is what I want as the image of this rity Act. House, and I hope we get some more in- an outside counsel to look into the Mr. Speaker, I hope that we do not Speaker's ethics problems. The Los An- formation on this very soon. have the old false information of last f geles Times ran a story this morning year resurrected again this year. Let that raises disturbing new questions GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS us be sure that we deal with the facts. about GOPAC. GOPAC, of course, is a DUE Let us give credit where credit is due. multi-million-dollar political action I have a chart here which I would be The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under committee run by Mr. GRINGRICH which happy to give to any Member of the at its very heart is part of the ethics the Speaker's announced policy of Jan- other party who wants to review the uary 4, 1995, the gentleman from Michi- complaint that is being filed against facts, pointing out that in fact on such him. gan [Mr. EHLERS] is recognized during things as the Water Pollution Control Over the past 9 years, GOPAC has morning business for 5 minutes. Act of 1972, 93 percent of the Repub- Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, last year raised between $10 million and $20 mil- licans voted for it.