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“PASS THE EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H3644-H3646 on June 10, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PASS THE EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Maine [Mr. Allen] is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, a few moments ago I told my wife I was coming to this Chamber to talk on the supplemental appropriations bill. And she said, why do they not just pass a clean supplemental bill? Why do they not do it? There are flood victims out there who are waiting for relief. Why do they not do it?
I think that those who have been following this issue over the last few weeks are asking the same question. Why do we not have a clean supplemental appropriations bill? Because clearly there are people in need.
The Republican leadership's failure to pass a clean supplemental appropriations bill has today prompted a Presidential veto. It is not surprising. The President made his position perfectly clear. That Presidential veto is denying our people at home the resources they need to rebuild their lives. Moreover, it is denying our troops in the field the resources they need to carry out their mission. The supplemental appropriations bill provides $5.8 billion to individuals in 33 States hard-hit by disasters. It also provides $1.8 billion to peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia and southwest Asia.
Eighty-three days ago, that is when the President asked this Congress for a disaster relief bill, 83 days ago. Since then the Republican leadership has been persistent in forging ahead with a relief bill that is so loaded down with extraneous and harmful positions that frankly that guaranteed the veto. I do not believe that many people around this country understand that position. Why are we loading up this bill?
I can guarantee you, I do not think a disaster relief bill, if it came to this House pure and clean, disaster relief only, it would pass without a single dissenting vote. The Members in this Chamber want disaster relief. Civic leaders from Grand Forks, ND, and East Grand Forks, MN, and from numerous other communities have cried out that disaster relief is critical and that every day a disaster bill is not enacted is one more day that Americans are denied the necessary resources to rebuild their communities.
I am also holding letters here from Secretary of Defense Cohen and the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and the Air Force which describe the effects on the military of the Republicans' failure to pass a clean bill. Training is curtailed. Maintenance is delayed. Rotations are canceled. Inventories are drained. Our soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen need a clean supplemental bill.
Mr. Speaker, there is a time for partisan politics and a time to set it aside. But when Americans are hit by a natural disaster, we must act together and act quickly. The American people and American troops need our support. We must do our job, and we must do it today. Let us pass a clean supplemental appropriations bill to support our troops in Bosnia and our people at home.
There are two provisions I want to mention quickly in that bill that ought to be stricken. One is a provision that would prevent, permanently would prevent the U.S. Census Bureau from using statistical sampling in trying to determine how many people in the year 2000 live in this great country. Statistical sampling. Everyone in this Chamber knows what that means. Every one of us do polling. Every one of us knows that you cannot find out how many people live in a community by knocking on doors and counting. It is a very inefficient way to do it. You need something else, and statistical sampling is the way to go and do it.
The Department of Justice under the Carter administration, under the Bush administration, under the Clinton administration has made it clear that statistical sampling is constitutional and appropriate as a way of determining the size of the population.
Second, there is another provision in here that needs to go. That is a provision that sounds good on its face, which would prevent a Government shutdown, but in fact it removes the incentive for this Congress to pass a budget. We do not need another obstacle to passing a budget. We need to get down to business and do it.
Mr. Speaker, to delay any longer is irresponsible. Playing with other people's lives is wrong. I urge my colleagues to pass a clean disaster relief bill. Only a clean bill will provide the disaster relief necessary and the resources our troops need in Bosnia and southwest Asia in order to do their jobs. Eighty-three days ago the President asked us for disaster relief and we passed a bill that was guaranteed to draw a veto. It is time to get serious, time to pass a clean bill.
Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the following:
Department of the Air Force,
Office of the Chief of Staff,
Washington, DC, June 3, 1997.Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense
From: HQ USAF/CC, 1670 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC
20330-1670
Subject: FY97 DoD Contingency Supplemental
I understand that quick passage of the Supplemental may be in jeopardy. The purpose of this memorandum is to make you aware of the impacts of delayed passage (beyond June) on Air Force day-to-day operations.
The Air Force is currently cash flowing over $700 million in support of Bosnia and SWA operations. We are doing so out of third and fourth quarter funding but are fast running out of flexibility and must soon take very dramatic action to avoid incurring an anti-deficiency in our O&M appropriation. On or about 1 July, Air Force commanders must begin taking the following kinds of actions:
Severely curtail or cease non-flying training--skill and proficiency levels reduced, e.g., weapons maintenance.
Severely curtail or cease flying training--squadrons and wings stand down--aircrew readiness degraded.
Cease all non-mission critical travel.
Defer further depot maintenance inductions--aircraft grounded.
Terminate benchstock fills--aircraft spares and consumables inventories drained.
Park non-mission critical vehicles.
Place moratoriums on all but safety related facility maintenance, including runway repair.
Impose civilian hiring freezes.
I know you are aware of the importance of this issue. We are well beyond the point where we can avoid serious disruption to Air Force operations if there is no supplemental. Timing is now critical.
Ronald R. Fogleman,General, USAF, Chief of Staff.
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U.S. Army,
The Chief of Staff,
Washington, DC, June 3, 1997.Hon. William S. Cohen,Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Secretary: I need your assistance in expediting the Bosnia Supplemental currently on the Hill. In early April, I advised Congress that in the absence of supplemental funding or the clear assurance that such funding would be forthcoming, I would be forced to begin actions in early May that would result in a degradation of readiness. I have not initiated the panned actions to deal with the lack of supplemental funding because the progress made had convinced me that supplemental funding would be forthcoming.
Recent developments indicate passage of the supplemental may be at risk. This puts the Army in the position of having to provide fourth quarter resource allocation to the field without having supplemental funding in hand. We have a fiscal responsibility to ensure that the allocation of fourth quarter resources is done within current limitations. There are several actions presently under consideration to cope with this situation. Each will have direct readiness and quality of life implications. Actions include the cancellation of Army participation in JCS exercises, Combat Training Center (CTR) rotations, home station training, weapons qualification training, and the deferral of some real property and depot maintenance. Some of these actions could carry over into the next fiscal year. For example, canceling home station training in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year could impact on CTC rotations in the first quarter of FY 1998.
We continue to monitor the supplemental very closely. As the situation develops, the Army will initiate any and all actions necessary to train and operate within the means available to us.
Very Respectfully,
Dennis J. Reiner,General, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff.
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The Secretary of Defense,
Washington, DC.Hon. C. W. Bill Young,Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security, Committee on
Appropriations, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Bill: I want to thank you for your action to date on the FY 1997 Bosnia/Southwest Asia Supplemental request, but I want to share with you my concern and that of the Service Chiefs about the impact on operations and training if the supplemental is not approved soon.
In my testimony and discussions with Congress, I have emphasized the need for early action on the supplemental. Based on its likely passage by Memorial Day, few actions were taken by the Department to offset supplemental costs. However, since our request was not approved last month, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army and the Air Force have renewed their concern over the possibility of delayed passage of the supplemental. I have enclosed copies of recent memoranda from them. To ensure that their overall operations are properly funded, the Chiefs have indicated that they cannot risk being left with no options for funding Bosnia/Southwest Asia costs if the supplemental is delayed much longer.
I remain hopeful that quick action can be taken on the supplemental to preclude the disruptive impact to the Department's programs, especially those related to maintaining our readiness capability.
Sincerely,Bill.
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