Rod Grams: “Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Goss amendment to terminate Federal funding for the Appalachian Regional…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Goss amendment to terminate Federal funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission. I had planned to offer sunset amendments to H.R. 2442, which would have prohibited the Appropriations Committees from circumventing the will of the authorizing committees--or the will of Congress--and would have ensured funding for the EDA and the ARC is established under the legitimate oversight process. But in the interest of time, I will not offer these amendments today. I do, however, want to take this opportunity to reemphasize the importance of sunset amendments. Too often in the past, the Appropriations Committee has skirted the legislative process by appropriating funds to unauthorized programs or programs whose authorizations had expired and not been extended. By abusing this tactic, the Appropriations Committee has on many occasions cut into the jurisdiction of many authorizing committees, and violated the rules of the House. The programs before us today are perfect examples of this abusive practice. Both the EDA and the ARC have gone without reauthorization since September 30, 1982. That's right, 1982. Since that time, Congress has appropriated $5.3 billion--$3.4 billion for the EDA and $1.9 billion for the ARC--for these programs without a single review. That, my colleagues, is not good government.…”