THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 24, 1996 TAG: 9606240074
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 125 lines
Timber roads: On a tie vote of 211-211, the House rejected an amendment to eliminate funding for new logging roads in national forests. This occurred during debate on a bill (HR 3662) to appropriate $12.1 billion in fiscal 1997 for the Interior Department and related agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service. As later passed and sent to the Senate, the bill included more than $42 million for logging road construction.
Joseph Kennedy, D-Mass., said: ``The American taxpayer has already paid for 379,000 miles of roads that crisscross our national forests, which is more than eight times the size of our U.S. interstate highway system. We do not need any new taxpayer-subsidized logging roads.''
Richard Pombo, R-Calif., said the amendment was ``furthering an extremist agenda'' that is ``nothing more than locking up our public lands'' against ``resources extraction as well as locking them up so that the American public does not have an opportunity to enjoy our public lands.''
A yes vote was to eliminate fiscal 1997 funding for road building in national forests.
Bateman No Pickett No Scott Yes Sisisky No Clayton Yes Jones No
Spending cut: By a vote of 128 for and 291 against, the House rejected a proposed 1.9 percent cut in a bill to appropriate $12.1 billion in fiscal 1997 for the Interior Department and related agencies (HR 3662, above). The amendment sought across-the-board reductions totaling about $230 million in the budget year beginning in October.
Mark Neumann, R-Wis., said: ``This amendment is about 1.9 percent. Now listen to the cries we're hearing on the floor. . . . Is there anyone outside the city of Washington, D.C., that does not honestly believe there is not 1.9 percent of waste in every government program?''
Sidney Yates, D-Ill., said ``the defense appropriations bill is $13 billion over the president's budget. . . . Why didn't proponents of this amendment offer their amendment to the defense bill? You could've achieved a much greater amount of money.''
A yes vote was to cut the bill by 1.9 percent.
Bateman Yes Pickett No Scott No Sisisky No Clayton No Jones Yes SENATE
Alan Greenspan: Voting 91 for and 7 against, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Alan Greenspan to serve a third four-year term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, the independent agency that sets U.S. monetary policy. Greenspan was first appointed by President Reagan.
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, called Greenspan's reappointment ``nothing but good news for jobs and the economy. He has had the confidence of three presidents of different philosophies. He has proven himself to be an effective inflation fighter. He has given a very good stewardship of the American financial system.''
Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said the ``Greenspan Fed has stifled economic growth and the incomes of average Americans. Interest rates have been kept artificially high and middle-class families and businesses have been forced to pay the price. It is time for the Federal Reserve to pursue a more balanced policy.''
A yes vote was to confirm Greenspan as Fed chairman.
Robb Yes Warner Yes Faircloth Yes Helms Yes
Pennsylvania Avenue: Voting 39 for and 59 against, the Senate repudiated the administration's decision to barricade a two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. The effect of the vote was to urge President Clinton to reopen the avenue to vehicles. The Secret Service closed it in May 1995 following the Oklahoma City federal building bombing. This vote occurred during debate on a bill (S 1745) authorizing a $267.3 billion defense budget for fiscal 1997.
Harry Reid, D-Nev., called it ``bad policy for the U.S. Senate to start handling security for the White House. . . . Pennsylvania Avenue remains accessible to visitors, and the area will be converted to a pedestrian park, which I think people coming to visit Washington will certainly be well served by rather than the traffic jams we have had there since I can remember.''
Calling the closing ``a national embarrassment,'' Rod Grams, R-Minn., said visitors to Washington ``would hardly recognize the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue that has stood for nearly 200 years as America's Main Street. Today, it is a vacant lot, empty of any traffic. Gone is the thrill for visitors of driving by the White House for the first time - the concrete barricades have put an end to that.''
A yes vote supported the administration's closing of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Robb No Warner Yes Faircloth No Helms No
Missile defense: The Senate rejected, 44 for and 53 against, an amendment to cut fiscal 1997 missile defense funding from $808 million, the level sought by the Armed Services Committee, to $508 million, the amount requested by the Pentagon. This occurred during debate on the 1997 defense budget (S 1745). At issue was how rapidly the United States should move on a new anti-missile system based on land and sea and in space to defend against a deliberate or accidental attack. The cost of the National Missile Defense is projected at $60 billion by 2010.
Carl Levin, D-Mich., said ``the $500 million that the administration asked for is what our uniformed military say is needed to produce and develop a national missile defense in a timely way.''
Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., said the Armed Services Committee was told by the head of the project ``that about $800 million per year is needed to support a robust technology development effort.''
A yes vote was to reduce 1997 missile defense funding by $300 million to $505 million.
Robb Yes Warner No Faircloth No Helms No
Spending issue: Voting 83 for and 13 against, the Senate tabled (killed) an amendment to strip the fiscal 1997 defense budget of $600 million for base construction such as building family housing units and recreational facilities. The money was not requested by the Pentagon but added by the Senate Armed Services Committee. The amendment was proposed to S 1745 (above), which remained in debate.
Wendell Ford, D-Ky., who voted to kill the amendment, said the Pentagon ``does not have exclusive wisdom to determine the finality'' of military construction projects. ``Without the $600 million included in this bill, the Guard and Reserve will again be shortchanged, quality of life for our service members would be greatly deterred. . . .''
John Glenn, D-Ohio, said: ``There is not a single senator here who does not go back home and talk all the time about how we want a balanced budget. . . . Yet, when it comes down to actually doing something practical . . . if we are not able to bring home some of the pork . . . then our talk about budget balancing gets pretty thin around here.''
A yes vote opposed removing $600 million for military construction from the 1997 defense budget.
Robb Yes Warner Yes Faircloth Yes Helms Yes ILLUSTRATION: ROLL CALL: How area members of Congress voted for the
week ending June 21.
[Photos, telephone numbers and addresses of senators and
representatives from Virginia and North Carolina.]
To reach any representative or senator on any issues that concern
you, call (202) 224-3121. by CNB