The Very Bad Debt Boxscore (Sen. Helms)

The EPA Has Gotten Out of Hand (Rep. Traficant)

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to address several topics that I think may be of interest to those who are following the debate in the Senate. One in particular has become a focal point of the news media across the United States and literally around the world. That was the crash of the EgyptAir aircraft just a few weeks ago and the loss of over 200 lives.

I find it interesting, as we try to piece together all the information to determine what happened in that aircraft disaster, how limited we are with respect to investigative tools. We have the so-called black box which has the flight data information. We are poring through that to try to determine what was happening mechanically on that plane when it went down. Then we have the audio recording which is now the focus of all sorts of international speculation. We listen to that audio recording for sounds, for words, and then try to piece together this mystery to determine what happened in the cockpit of that plane which led to this loss of life.

This is more than just to satisfy curiosity. This investigation is being undertaken, as most are, to determine whether there is something we can or should do to change the way aircraft are maintained and flown to protect those who are passengers. These investigations are critically important. We often come up with information about a mechanical failure. We then set out to repair it. We decide that planes won't go back up in the air until that is taken care of. If there is human error--that will happen in most accidents--we at least get to the bottom of the equation and understand what is going on.

The thing I find absolutely incredible, in 1999, is that we are dealing with such primitive tools when it comes to investigating aircraft disasters. The idea of an audio recording in a cockpit goes back to the 1930s. That was the state of the art then. But today, technology is far more advanced and I would suggest that we need to update plane safety by putting a video camera in the new planes' cockpits so we can determine what is happening in a crash.

The obvious is not being used. If you walk into a bank, if you walk into most office buildings, a casino, a convenience store, or stand in front of an ATM machine, you will be on a video camera which will reflect your conduct and your activities. Think what a difference it would make today if there had been a video camera in the cockpit of the EgyptAir aircraft.

The obvious question is, Why haven't we done this? The technology is there. It is a question of will. It may be a question of legislation. That is why I have written not only to the head of the Federal Aviation Administration as well as the Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board, urging them to expedite this question about whether or not we can safely install a video camera in the cockpit of aircraft to make certain that if there is an accident, so that we have another tool available to determine the reason for the disaster. We wouldn't be involved in all this speculation with the people of Egypt about the utterance of a prayer and whether that meant this was a suicide mission or something far different if we had a videotape we could refer to. We could find out who was at the controls and what they did at those controls. We would have an obvious clear answer to the question.

As I went through this, I was amazed. I stopped and thought for a moment, why in the world are we still stuck with a tape recording of voices and sounds in the investigation of this aircraft disaster? I am urging my colleagues, those who feel as I do, to join me in this effort to make certain we bring the very best technology to the cockpits of aircraft, not only in the United States but those who serve the United States, so the day may come that if there is a disaster, we will have a final and complete answer, not just to satisfy curiosity but, even more important, to make sure passengers across the world can at least have some piece of mind knowing we have done everything we can to make airline safety our top and highest priority.

THE EPA HAS GOTTEN OUT OF HAND (House of Representatives - November 05, 1999)
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(Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, in 1995, the EPA came crying to Congress saying they needed more money to clean up our air and our water and our Superfund sites. Shortly after that appeal for cash, records show that the EPA gave a $160,000 grant to facilitate wind energy technologies in China. Unbelievable. While American taxpayers are busting their buns to pay the bill around here, the EPA gave our hard-earned taxpayer dollars for projects in China.

WHEN WILL THE REPUBLICANS RESPOND TO AMERICA'S DEMAND FOR HMO REFORM? (House of Representatives - November 05, 1999)
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(Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, when the House passed a few weeks ago the HMO reform bill, we thought our day had finally come. But this week we learned that the vote was really only the first step. The Republican leadership appointed the conference committee to negotiate with the Senate with only one member who voted for HMO reform.

Instead of responding to the needs of the American people, the Republican leadership has chosen a path to ignore the will of the majority of this House and the needs of the American people.

This week's Newsweek magazine cover story talks about it: HMO Hell. How much longer does the Republican leadership intend to keep American families living in this HMO hell?

The bipartisan bill that passed this House overwhelmingly would provide for no gag rules, direct access to specialists, a binding external appeals process, access to emergency care, but also the accountability of that decisionmaker.