| Welcome to
this week's edition of Inside Congress, a chance for me to tell you a
little of my work in the United States Congress on behalf of you and our
neighbors in Eastern Washington.
THE BATTLE FOR SANCTION RELIEF IN THE 106th CONGRESS:
Food and medicine should not be used as weapons in U.S. foreign
policy. That is the foundation upon which I started a push, three years
ago, to lift unilateral U.S. sanctions on food and medicine currently in
place against Iran, Libya, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba. It has been a slow
but steady progression from the legislation I first introduced in the
105th Congress. Last year, only an eleventh hour parliamentary maneuver
denied passage of a bill that would have accomplished my goal. This year,
I have successfully attached my sanctions amendment to the FY 2001
Agriculture Appropriations Bill and so far, have been able to block
efforts to eliminate the provision. At presstime of this newsletter, we
are waiting for this bill to be considered by the House. Certainly,
momentum is on our side.
Briefly, the Nethercutt amendment excludes agricultural commodities
and medicine from unilateral U.S. sanctions. It gives Congress a voice in
the imposition of any such sanctions in the future; the President may not
sanction food and medicine unless he receives Congressional consent. U.S.
exporters may sell to either private sector buyers or government entities
on a commercial basis.
There is no provision for credit guarantees or loans. In other words,
we offer our food and medicine for sale to these countries as a merchant
offers products in a store.
The aggregate market opportunity of these five countries for food is
estimated by Department of Agriculture to be valued at $7 billion.
Presently, these countries are able to purchase food and medicine from our
allies around the world; Canada, for example, is a primary exporter of
wheat to many of these countries. The philosophy behind sanctioning
"rogue" nations is born of a Cold War mentality which maintains that
sanctions somehow force these governments to their knees. In the case of
Cuba--after 40 years of sanctions--this has not happened. Still,
leadership in the House of Representatives has been vehement in its
opposition to my amendment, saying Cuba has not progressed far enough in
improving its behavior to warrant a change in our sanction policy. To be
clear, my amendment only allows the export of U.S. food and medicine,
nothing more. This is a very modest change in overall policy and in no way
threatens our national security.
Coincidental to the sanction debate, this year, are two events that, I
believe, have helped the cause of sanction relief tremendously--the move
to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China and Elian Gonzalez.
The former shows there is strong support for creating new international
market opportunities for American businesses. In a May 26th guest
editorial in the New York Times, I wrote "In reflecting on the arguments
in the China trade debate, I don't see the difference. Those who promoted
normal trading relations with China said that trade promotes
democratization. Change in Communist regimes is slow, but eventually
democratic norms take hold. Dialogue and engagement with the United States
are central to this transition, as is exposure to our processes. If this
is true for China then why not for Cuba?"
The latter has changed the face of Cuba from that of a screaming
zealot in fatigues to that of a smiling 6-year-old boy. In the name of
everything it means to be America, how can we oppose the notion of
providing food and medicine to the children of the world? Public
sentiment, and the will of the House, I believe, has come around to the
idea of trying something new.
And so we stand poised for a vote on the House floor which I am
increasingly confident will open five nations to our food and medicine and
to the opportunity to export a little democracy along the way. This is
good news for Eastern Washington farmers and rural communities which
depend on successful family farms. It is also good news for the receiving
nations which will soon be able to put healthy American food on their
tables and quality medical supplies in their hospitals.
Great nations are known by the little things they do to make a
difference in the world. Let us continue to be a great nation and reform
our sanction policy now.
ENERGY AND WATER: SAVING OUR DAMS:
I was successful in getting language in the FY 2001 Energy and Water
Appropriations Bill that effectively blocks any effort to begin planning
now to breach four federal dams on the Lower Snake River.
The Nethercutt language, added to content concerning the Columbia
River Fish Mitigation Program, reads: "The amount provided for the
Columbia River Fish Mitigation Program does not include funds for
engineering and design, or other post-feasibility phase activities,
associated with breaching Lower Snake River dams."
This direction by Congress is intended to keep the Administration's
focus on how to improve salmon runs now, not on the extreme idea of
breaching which would have long term negative consequences to our region.
Also included in this bill, at my request, is a change in the original
language which had directed $2 million in BPA ratepayer funds for the
testing of fish-friendly turbines. Rather than mandating the ratepayer
dollars be spent on this technology, the bill now simply encourages it be
spent. While I strongly support turbine research and testing, the original
language would have bypassed the Pacific Northwest Power Planning Council
process which was set up by the region to determine how ratepayer dollars
are spent.
The FY 2001 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill provides $80 million
for Columbia River Fish Mitigation, $1 million for Lower Snake River Fish
and Wildlife Compensation and $923,000 for Columbia River Navigation
Channel Deepening. All three projects are funded through the Corps of
Engineers. Within the Bureau of Reclamation, $4.6 million is provided for
the Columbia-Snake River Salmon Recovery Project. Traditionally, the House
Subcommittee has proposed lower levels of funding for Northwest projects
since there is no Northwest Member representation on the Subcommittee.
Both changes passed the Committee by a voice vote. The bill is
expected to be considered by the full House of Representatives next week.
NEW BORDER PATROL HIRES:
I am pleased to announce that three new Border Patrol Agents have been
funded by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to serve communities
in the Inland Northwest.
I have been interested in beefing up Border Patrol enforcement along
our Northern border ever since I came to Congress. This is movement in the
right direction. These hires will serve communities throughout our
district, including Colville, Washington. The Spokane Sector, however,
needs a dozen more agents to reach full staffing so we still have a ways
to go before I feel we are adequately staffed.
The Spokane Sector manages 350 miles of the U.S./Canada border between
the Cascade Mountains and the Continental Divide. This sector is
experiencing a dramatic increase in narcotic seizures, criminal arrests
and illegal immigration. A Washington State Trooper was killed in the line
of duty by an illegal alien, last fall. Adequate staffing by Border Patrol
Agents may have prevented this murder.
The INS deployed 616 new positions across the country in this latest
round of hires, 430 of these are new Border Patrol Agents. Congress
directed and funded the hiring of 4,000 new Border Patrol Agents since
1997. Unfortunately, as of April 2000, only 2,253 of these had been hired,
leaving 1,747 funded positions unfilled. I will continue to work on the
House Appropriations Committee to secure additional agents along the
Northern border.
LEGISLATION:
Tuesday, the House voted 264-159 on H.R. 4201 -- the Non-commercial
Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act of 2000. I voted to support this
bill which bars the Federal Communications Commission from imposing
content requirements on non-profit groups with non-commercial educational
radio or television licenses. This bill resulted from a case, last year,
in which the FCC tried to dictate what type of content a religious
broadcaster (Cornerstone Television) would have been able to air over its
new non-commercial station WQEX-TV in Pittsburgh. In the end, Cornerstone
never acquired the station and the FCC rescinded its decision. This bill
makes sure that the FCC has no statutory authority to make such a decision
again.
Wednesday, the House voted to pass H.R. 4635 -- the FY 2001 VA-HUD and
Independent Agencies Appropriation Act. This bill, which I voted to
approve, provides $101.1 billion in new budget authority for veterans'
benefits, housing programs, and various agencies dealing mostly with
science, space, and the environment. Of particular interest is an $18
million increase in VA medical research, an extra $73 million to expedite
VA claims processing and a $149 million increase in the National Science
Foundation for research.
Friday, the House considered H.R. 4690 -- the FY 2001 Departments of
Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act. I plan to support this spending bill which
appropriates $34.9 billion in FY 2001 discretionary budget authority for
the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Federal Judiciary,
and 18 related agencies, including the Department of Justice.
I am co-sponsoring HR 4270, the Advanced Technology Motor Vehicle Fuel
Economy Act of 2000. This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
provide incentives for the production, sale and use of highly
fuel-efficient, advanced-technology motor vehicles. It also amends the
Energy Policy Act of 1992 to undertake an assessment of the relative
effectiveness of current and potential methods to further encourage the
development of the most fuel efficient vehicles for use in interstate
commerce in the United States.
To read more about these bills and other legislation, please visit: http://www.thomas.loc.gov/
GOP DRUG BENEFIT PLAN ADVANCES:
Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a plan to add a
prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. The full House is
expected to vote on the proposal before the Fourth of July Congressional
recess. I will vote to support it.
This Republican plan, which I plan to support, encourages private
insurance companies to offer drug benefit policies to Medicare patients. A
rival plan, which would have created a drug benefit within the Medicare
program itself–advanced by Democrats--was defeated.
Adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare is the most fundamental
revision of the government health plan for seniors since its inception 35
years ago. This benefit is a necessary and overdue component of Medicare.
I believe the Republican plan makes the most sense. It offers at least two
prescription drug plans to all seniors, backed by government subsidies. It
avoids a government bureaucracy dictating to seniors what drugs they can
or cannot have. Monthly premiums would be about $40 in 2003, the first
year of the plan. The plan would carry a $250 deductible and pay for half
of a recipient's drug costs up to $2,100 per year and offer catastrophic
coverage if annual costs exceed $6,000. The Democrat alternative talks
about adding a catistrophic stop loss provision, but is not implimented
until after 2006 and left to another Congress and another President to
develop and approve.
2000 THOMAS JEFFERSON AWARD:
I was honored with the 2000 Thomas Jefferson Award by Food
Distributors International. This award is given to Members of Congress who
have voted consistently in support of sound fiscal policy, minimal
government regulation and other free market principles.
Food Distributors International represents 232 companies which supply
and service independent grocers and foodservice operations around the
world.
The award program was inspired by our third President, Thomas
Jefferson, who, in his first inaugural address, described the sum of good
government as that which "shall leave men otherwise free to regulate their
own pursuits of industry and improvement and shall not take from the mouth
of labor the bread it has earned."
MY SCHEDULE:
I had meeting with Dr. James Bianco with Cell Therapeutics, Inc.; Chin
Phong Wang, Magistrate and delegation from Hualien County, Taiwan; Ed Wood
and members of Communications Workers of America; ; Tim McKenna of the
Sheridan Group and Cynthia Stroum of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network;
Colleen Cawson with the Colville Confederated Tribes; Doug Henken with the
Washington Food Industry Association; members of the Washington Barley
Commission; Kimberly Cathcart (Spokane), Kayla Himmelber (Dayton) and Carl
Niggemeyer of the Congressional Youth Leadership Council; J. T. Wilcox of
Wilcox Dairy Farms; and spoke to the Exchange Club of Capitol Hill. I also
enjoyed meeting with the Riggs family and the Connelly family.
Thank you for reading this update. I welcome your comments. You may
contact me by clicking REPLY to this message. Feel free to forward this
newsletter to your friends.
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