[House Hearing, 111 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
H. RES. 1363, GRANTING THE AUTHORITY PROVIDED UNDER CLAUSE 4(C)(3) OF
RULE X OF THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO THE COMMITTEE ON
EDUCATION AND LABOR FOR PURPOSES OF ITS INVESTIGATION INTO UNDERGROUND
COAL MINING SAFETY
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON RULES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2010
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Rules
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
56-972 WASHINGTON : 2010
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC
area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC
20402-0001
COMMITTEE ON RULES
LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER, New York, Chair
JAMES P. McGOVERN, Massachusetts, DAVID DREIER, California, Ranking
Vice Chair Member
ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART, Florida
DORIS O. MATSUI, California PETE SESSIONS, Texas
DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina
MICHAEL A. ARCURI, New York
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado
CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine
JARED POLIS, Colorado
Muftiah McCartin, Staff Director
Hugh Nathanial Halpern, Minority Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process
ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida, Chairman
DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART, Florida,
CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine Ranking Member
JARED POLIS, Colorado DAVID DREIER, California
LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER,
New York
Lale Mamaux, Staff Director
Cesar Gonzalez, Minority Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House
JAMES P. McGOVERN, Massachusetts, Chairman
DORIS O. MATSUI, California PETE SESSIONS, Texas, Ranking
MICHAEL A. ARCURI, New York Member
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina
LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER,
New York
Keith L. Stern, Staff Director
Keagan Lenihan, Minority Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
May 19, 2010
Page
Opening Statements:
Hon. Louise M. Slaughter, a Representative in Congress from
the State of New York and Chair of the Committee on Rules.. 1
Hon. David Dreier, a Representative in Congress from the
State of California and Ranking Member of the Committee on
Rules...................................................... 2
Witness Testimony:
Hon. George Miller, a Representative in Congress from the
State of California and Chair of the Committee on Education
and Labor.................................................. 3
Prepared Statement......................................... 4
Prepared Statement of the Hon. John Kline, a Representative
in Congress from the State of Minnesota and Ranking Member
of the Committee on Education and Labor.................... 5
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION HEARING AND MARKUP OF H. RES. 1363, GRANTING THE
AUTHORITY PROVIDED UNDER CLAUSE 4(C)(3) OF RULE X OF THE RULES OF THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR FOR
PURPOSES OF ITS INVESTIGATION INTO UNDERGROUND COAL MINING SAFETY
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2010
House of Representatives,
Committee on Rules,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to call, at 2:02 p.m. in Room
H-313, The Capitol, Hon. Louise M. Slaughter [chairwoman of the
committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Slaughter, McGovern, Hastings,
Matsui, Arcuri, Perlmutter, Polis, Dreier, Diaz-Balart,
Sessions and Foxx.
OPENING STATEMENTS
The Chairwoman. The Rules Committee will please come to
order.
We are here today to conduct an original jurisdiction
hearing, and our witnesses--I will start with the Honorable
George Miller, chair of Ed and Labor; and I believe Mr. Kline
is coming; is he not?
Mr. Dreier. I don't think he is going to be here.
The Chairwoman. He will not be here.
Mr. Miller, we will be happy to hear from you.
OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HON. LOUISE M. SLAUGHTER, A
REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND CHAIR
OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES
The Chairwoman. First, if you will excuse me, Mr. Miller, I
want to make a very brief opening statement. I feel very
seriously about this issue, having been born in eastern
Kentucky.
In April, the whole Nation watched transfixed as an
explosion rocked the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia,
taking the lives of 29 miners.
This accident, like so many before it, raised troubling
questions about how the mine was run and whether precautions
could have been implemented to prevent accidents or, at a
minimum, save some of those lives after the accidents occur.
I was born in Harlan County, Kentucky. Some of my earliest
memories are of hearing the whistle blow at night over the
mine. Even small children, as I was, knew then what that
whistle meant. It was big trouble. And I imagine that routine
hasn't changed much.
It is no surprise to any of us that mining is a job fraught
with dangers, but every miner should trust its government has
done its job to regulate the industry and ensure compliance
with the basic safety requirements. If decisions are being made
within the industry that are causing unsafe conditions at
mines, it is our responsibility to find out about it.
As with previous mining accidents, there are now multiple
investigations unfolding here and in West Virginia. Although
the relevant committees in Congress and executive agencies are
doing a lot of work to get to the bottom of this particular
incident, the Education and Labor Committee believes that its
broader investigation of safety practices in the industry as a
whole could be stronger if staff had the ability to take
depositions.
As in so many cases, there is finger-pointing, a blame
game, and reluctance to talk about the internal workings of an
industry and a government regulator that could use a lot of
oversight, and this investigation will bring some sunlight into
that process.
As I understand it, the resolution will not make any
dramatic changes to the way the investigation is unfolding. It
does not extend beyond this session of Congress, and all the
testimony collected by investigators will be shared with the
minority. The resolution that is the subject of today's hearing
also contains an important oversight provision that will
require the Education and Labor Committee to report on its use
of deposition authority.
In a minute we will hear more from the committee. It
appears the resolution has been specifically drawn to be narrow
in scope and targeted strictly at gaining the facts about
mining safety, and I look forward to hearing from our witness.
I yield to Mr. Dreier for an opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HON. DAVID DREIER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE
COMMITTEE ON RULES
Mr. Dreier. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Let me simply
associate myself with your remarks. Obviously I don't have the
perspective that you do. I wasn't born in Kentucky. But just to
listen to your very moving story of listening to that whistle
and knowing, obviously, there was trouble ahead is something
that does underscore the very important responsibility that we
have for our constitutionally mandated directive of oversight
of these entities which are charged with ensuring the safety of
our fellow Americans who have chosen to work as miners. And as
we proceed with this authority, I will simply say that I know
that Mr. Miller will work very closely with Mr. Kline, the
ranking member of the committee, to ensure that all the rights
of the minority are addressed.
It is not at all unprecedented for us to establish this
kind of deposition authority, but it is unusual, and there is a
lot of work that has been done in the Energy and Commerce
Committee and the Financial Services Committee without
deposition authority to look at issues like highway
transportation safety and regulatory abuse that has taken place
in the delivery of financial services. So while in a perfect
world it would be nice if you could proceed if there are
problems that will only be able to be adequately addressed with
this authority, we obviously are supportive of that so that the
young Louise Slaughters in Kentucky and other places don't have
to listen to that whistle blow, meaning that there is trouble
and, unfortunately, a possible tragedy on the horizon.
So thank you very much, Madam Chair.
The Chairwoman. Thank you, Mr. Dreier.
Any other opening statements? If not, Mr. Miller, we will
be happy to hear from you.
WITNESS TESTIMONY
STATEMENT OF THE HON. GEORGE MILLER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND CHAIRMAN OF THE
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
Mr. Miller. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman and Ranking Member
Dreier, for holding this hearing.
The resolution before the Rules Committee today reflects
the seriousness with which Congress takes the issue of mine
safety as outlined by you, Madam Chairwoman. As you have
pointed out, last month we watched as these tragic events
unfolded at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. The
memory of those 29 miners who lost their lives in this disaster
highlighted the importance of our committee's work and that we
have the tools to properly investigate issues related to mine
safety.
The resolution before you today will be in furtherance of
our committee's broader oversight duties regarding the health
and safety of our nation's coal miners. I believe that our
committee's oversight responsibilities would benefit from the
authority to hold and compel attendance at depositions. A
deposition serves as an intermediate step between a full public
hearing and an informal staff review. It creates a formal
record and allows us to explore issues in a more sustained
manner than would be practical at a hearing.
Last Congress, the House granted our committee deposition
authority for our investigation of the Crandall Canyon Mine
disaster in Utah. This successful investigation led to a
criminal referral to the Department of Justice in large part
because of the evidence our staff obtained in the depositions.
I understand that the Department of Justice continues to
investigate our referral. I believe that that deposition
authority is equally justified this time around.
In recognition of the usefulness of this investigative tool
in the last Congress, the Education and Labor Committee has
already adopted rules governing depositions. The committee's
deposition procedure is a result of a bipartisan process that
began last Congress and reaffirmed with the adoption of our
committee rules this Congress. It respects and affirms the
rights of those individuals being deposed, and it respects the
rights of the minority on our committee.
The Education and Labor Committee has used the tool
sparingly and effectively in the past, and should the House of
Representatives again grant the committee deposition authority,
I will assure the Rules Committee it will be used sparingly and
efficiently and effectively as part of our oversight duties.
I want to thank the Ranking Republican John Kline and his
staff, who have worked closely with me and my staff on this
matter, and thank both you, Madam Chair, and Ranking Member
Dreier for allowing me to present this important resolution.
And I would urge the committee to bring this matter to the
floor.
The Chairwoman. Thank you very much, Mr. Miller.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Miller follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HON. GEORGE MILLER, A REPRESENTATIVE
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND CHAIRMAN OF THE
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
Thank you Chairwoman Slaughter, Ranking Member Dreier, and the
members of the committee for holding this hearing.
The resolution before the Rules Committee today reflects the
seriousness with which Congress takes the issue of mine safety.
Last month, we watched as the tragic events unfolded at the Upper
Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
The memory of the 29 miners who lost their lives in this disaster
highlight the importance of our committee's work and that we have the
tools to properly investigate issues related to mine safety.
The resolution before you today will be in furtherance of our
committee's broader oversight duties regarding the health and safety of
our Nation's coal miners.
I believe that our committee's oversight responsibilities would
benefit from the authority to hold and compel attendance at
depositions.
A deposition serves as an intermediate step between a full public
hearing and an informal staff interview.
It creates a formal record and allows us to explore issues in a
more sustained manner than would be practical at a hearing.
Last Congress, the House granted our committee deposition authority
for our investigation of the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster.
This successful investigation led to a criminal referral to the
Department of Justice in large part because of the evidence our staff
obtained in the depositions.
I understand that the Department of Justice continues to
investigate our referral.
I believe that deposition authority is equally justified this time
around.
In recognition of the usefulness of this investigative tool in the
last Congress, the Education and Labor Committee has already adopted
rules governing depositions.
The committee's deposition procedure is the result of a bipartisan
process that began last Congress and reaffirmed with the adoption of
our committee rules this Congress.
It respects and affirms the rights of those individuals being
deposed.
It respects the rights of the minority on our committee.
The Education and Labor Committee has used the tool sparingly and
effectively in the past.
Should the House of Representatives again grant the committee
deposition authority, I can assure the Rules Committee that it will be
used sparingly and efficiently and effectively as part of our oversight
duties.
I thank Ranking Republican Kline and his staff who have worked
closely with me and my staff on this matter.
Again, thank you Chairwoman Slaughter and Ranking Member Dreier for
allowing me to present this important resolution.
I urge the Rules Committee to advance this resolution to the full
House of Representatives.
The Chairwoman. Mr. Dreier.
Mr. Dreier. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I would like
to first ask unanimous consent that Mr. Kline's statement be
included in the record----
The Chairwoman. Without objection.
Mr. Dreier [continuing]. And to say that we have submitted
minority views.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Kline follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HON. JOHN KLINE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA AND RANKING MEMBER OF THE
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
Thank you Madam Chair, Ranking Member Dreier, and Members of the
Committee, for allowing me to submit this statement for the record
regarding the Education and Labor Committee's request for limited
deposition authority to investigate compliance with the Mine Act. I
appreciate the opportunity to share my views on this important matter.
This year has been a tragic one for the mining community, with 35
coal miners losing their lives since the beginning of 2010. The dangers
of underground coal mining were brought into sharp focus last month
with the devastating loss of 29 miners in an explosion at the Upper Big
Branch Mine in West Virginia. It was the worst coal mining disaster in
four decades.
We do not yet know the cause of the explosion at the Upper Big
Branch Mine. When I met with MSHA Assistant Secretary Joe Main a few
weeks ago, he reiterated these investigations can take up to a year.
With media accounts detailing a parallel FBI investigation, I believe
strongly we need to allow MSHA and other investigators to do their
jobs, and I appreciate Chairman Miller's assurances that he does not
intend to use this deposition authority to impede any ongoing
investigations.
However, I am in agreement with Chairman Miller that Congress has a
duty not only to write the laws, but to exercise oversight to determine
whether those laws are being obeyed and enforced. As such, I appear
before you today in support of this resolution. Having tough mine
safety laws on the books is not enough--those laws must be observed.
My staff was consulted by the majority in crafting this resolution
as a tool to assist the committee with its investigation into
compliance with federal mine safety laws. I have received assurances
from Chairman Miller that Republicans will be involved in shaping and
conducting the investigation, and both sides will have access to all
interviews, documents, and other information and materials resulting
from our inquiry. I thank the Chairman for those assurances and look
forward to maintaining this spirit of cooperation as this investigation
proceeds.
Deposition authority is an extraordinary tool not regularly used by
congressional committees other than the Oversight and Government Reform
panel, and I would note it is being requested in addition to the
numerous other investigatory powers already available to our committee.
This request demonstrates our commitment to providing robust oversight
in the name of worker protection--it also reinforces the importance of
acting prudently with this tool.
Again, I thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on this
resolution. My staff has briefed the Rules Committee staff about our
position on the appropriate use of this authority, and I'm confident
this committee will proceed wisely.
Mr. Dreier. But one of the things I would like to point
out, I have raised the concerns that we have and just a
cautionary note, which I have every confidence that you will
address. One of the things that we say in our minority views is
we are encouraged by the inclusion of section 2 in this
resolution. That section requires the chairman of the Committee
on Education and Labor to report back to the Committee on Rules
on use of the authority granted by the resolution. This
provision will enable us to evaluate the use of staff
deposition authority in this case and have a benchmark to
compare for future requests.
So I do very much appreciate the fact that you will come
back to us, because, as I said, in looking at the work of the
Energy and Commerce Committee and the Financial Services
Committee that have been able to address it without the
authority, and as you correctly say in dealing with the Utah
case, you know, you have come to us; so I think it is very
important for us to look at the authority and make sure that it
is implemented as effectively as possible.
Mr. Miller. Thank you. And our discussions with the
Republicans is that for us this is sort of an evolving----
Mr. Dreier. Right.
Mr. Miller [continuing]. That we sort of do lessons learned
from each time we use this and then see what of our committee
rules should be changed or if there are concerns by this
committee about the House rules with respect to this.
Mr. Dreier. So while you are doing the very big picture
thing of looking at the oversight of this tragedy, I guess we
will be looking at the oversight of the work that you all are
doing from this committee.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
The Chairwoman. Are there any questions of Mr. Miller?
Mr. Arcuri.
Mr. Arcuri. Mr. Chairman, I just have a couple questions
now. The Oversight Committee does have subpoena power; is that
correct?
Mr. Miller. Yes.
Mr. Arcuri. Your committee does not have standing subpoena
power?
Mr. Miller. I believe we do for documents, but in terms
of--of deposing individuals.
Mr. Arcuri. And do you believe that your committee is in a
better position because of the background of your committee and
the expertise of your committee to investigate this particular
accident?
Mr. Miller. I think so. I think, again, we went through
this for the first time on a bipartisan basis in the
unfortunate disaster last year, so I think we do. And our
ongoing, all-the-time involvement with the Mine Safety Act,
with the Department of Labor and with the industry on how this
Act is to evolve, there have been two substantial changes to
the Act. Clearly, there have been additional changes as a
result of this disaster, but this is probably a more complex
case than we have witnessed. The others are--well, this was a
very powerful, powerful explosion that took place, but this
raises questions about the corporate governance of the safety
rules as opposed to just sort of the on-site quick decisions
that people make, and that is why the deposition----
Mr. Dreier. Will the gentleman yield on that point?
Mr. Arcuri. Yes.
Mr. Dreier. I thank my friend for yielding. And I was just
reminded by our Staff Director Mr. Halpern that your committee
does have authority for both documents and witnesses at this
point. Apparently this authority is for staff to engage in
this.
Mr. Miller. Yes.
Mr. Dreier. So the authority does exist today for both
documents as well as witnesses to come before the committee.
Mr. Miller. Yes.
Mr. Dreier. I thank you for yielding.
Mr. Arcuri. Reclaiming my time, basically this also enables
your staff to be able to conduct depositions, I take it?
Mr. Miller. Yes. Well, the joint, both the majority and
minority.
The Chairwoman. Majority and minority.
Mr. Arcuri. And the last question is the subpoena power
that you are requesting is only specifically for this
particular investigation.
Mr. Miller. The deposition authority is just for this
investigation, correct.
Mr. Arcuri. Thank you. I have nothing further. I yield
back.
The Chairwoman. Mr. Sessions.
Mr. Sessions. Thank you very much, Madam Chairwoman.
Mr. Chairman, the rig that was out in the gulf had a number
of employees that were in danger as a result of the explosion
and subsequent spill in the gulf, and there were a number of
employees who had to jump off a very high platform into oil, a
very, very dangerous circumstance, that deals with, I believe,
also perhaps labor, employees of this country. Have you
considered doing some sort of investigation into that?
Mr. Miller. The personal safety that--the safety operations
of the rigs are under the Minerals Management Service. There
have been a number of articles and comments by people about
whether or not that is the best place, or whether they should
be combined within the other workplace safety operations of
OSHA. I have no ability to pass on that at this time. We
haven't yet taken a look at that. The people of jurisdiction
haven't yet had a chance to take a look at that.
This was a very, very tragic accident, as you pointed out,
where those 11 people, and even the people who escaped, had to
do--something that you never want to do is fall off an oil rig.
They had to jump off an oil rig. But all the attention has been
taken to the oil spill and the cleanup, and at some point we
have got to get back to was this a safe or not safe workplace?
The record has been improving on the MMS from what I see,
but there also is a series of concerns that have been raised,
but we have not talked to the Minerals Management Service about
how they do their work. One of the things we have found on the
shore side of investigations in terms of refineries and others
is that there is a concern that you have that a lot of small,
little mistakes, so-called small accidents--this happened to
British Petroleum in the Texas City explosion--they add up to a
dangerous workplace, and then the next thing that happens is a
very serious event that takes place in those workplaces, and
they don't think they have those procedures for offshore rigs,
as I understand it. But this is all sort of a preliminary
impression.
Mr. Perlmutter. Would the gentleman yield?
Mr. Sessions. I will yield.
Mr. Perlmutter. The gentleman's questions brought up some
concerns that I have, which is okay--and I am going to support
this particular rule and authority. But we have had the cranes
that have fallen off the buildings in New York. I mean, how
far--how often do you want to do this? Because we do have a
committee that their general thing is to do investigations, do
depositions, do the subpoenalike work.
So I appreciate your committee wanting to go forward with
this, but I also think from a general principle, how often do
we want to do something like this? Because the platform in the
gulf, I mean, that is, in my opinion, a bigger disaster----
Mr. Miller. As I understand it, the Oversight Committee,
based upon its subcommittee jurisdiction, which is essentially
the U.S. Government when you whack it up, can go anywhere and
everywhere they want to go. But this is our oversight
responsibility with respect to the law under our jurisdiction,
in this case the Mine Safety Act, or it could be the
Occupational Safety Act. Whatever those laws are within our
jurisdiction, we have an obligation both by the House and by
the Constitution to oversee those laws.
We do that on a regular basis. We are engaged in a whole
series. We did the crane investigations where you found an
immense amount of fraud and criminal behavior taking place in
some of those jurisdictions. We have done the dramatic loss of
life in the Las Vegas City Center construction project, where
you saw really just a shredding of the Nevada safety processes
that were there when the State was delegated to run that. I
mean, we do this--we did the refineries. We have done the
mining accidents. Those are all within in our ongoing
jurisdiction of oversight, and we have subcommittees that are
specifically----
Mr. Perlmutter. Do you think--if the gentleman would
continue to yield to me.
Mr. Sessions. I yield.
Mr. Perlmutter. Do you think that we should have a general
principle then that would allow your committee to have
deposition powers, period, as opposed to case by case, just,
you know, get it over with and you guys go do it?
Mr. Miller. I think that is the determination. I mean, that
is why we are sort of going through this process of evolving
the rules. When we passed our rules this time for this session
of Congress, we looked at what we did last time, and now I
think because of that is the comfort we have on both the
majority and minority side are coming forward and saying, we
would like to have that same authority that we used last time.
This was the result. This is how it was handled. And it allows
you encouragement in this business--a deposition sometimes
allows you to get additional information. If somebody is under
subpoena, and then all of a sudden they are standing in front
of the hearing table, you just may not get that information.
So these are complex layers of people who have
responsibilities, responsibilities that are compromised or
intimidated very often in the workplace even amongst,
tragically, the government enforcement agencies. So I think we
are feeling our way in terms of this particular deposition
power. We can always be rather crude and send out a subpoena
and, you know, give us all you have got, and turn things upside
down, but that sometimes doesn't--it's dramatic, but it may not
take you where you want to go.
Mr. Perlmutter. Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Sessions. I appreciate the gentleman asking and getting
time. Madam Chair, I yield back my time.
The Chairwoman. Are there any further questions? If not,
the chair will be in receipt of a motion.
Mr. Miller. And you have a statement from the minority,
right?
Mr. Dreier. Yes. Thank you.
Mr. McGovern. Madam Chair.
The Chairwoman. Mr. McGovern.
Mr. McGovern. I move the committee favorably report House
Resolution 1363, granting the authority provided under clause
4(c)(3) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives
to the Committee on Education and Labor for purposes of its
investigation into underground coal mining safety.
The Chairwoman. Thank you, Mr. McGovern.
You have heard the gentleman's motion. Are there any
amendments?
Mr. Dreier.
Mr. Dreier. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I don't have
an amendment to the rule, but I just wanted to say that we are
obviously in complete support of this effort. As I said, we
have minority views that we have submitted for this.
But we are going to be making an attempt to defeat the
previous question on this so that we will be able to make in
order an amendment which was addressed in an on-line vote with
over a quarter of a million Americans voting in the last week
that is a proposed spending cut, and I just wanted members to
know that that will be a big part of the debate on this issue
when the rule comes forward. And I hope very much the members
will join us in establishing this opportunity for a spending
cut on a measure that deals with the welfare reform question.
The Chairwoman. Thank you, Mr. Dreier.
Any other comments? If not, the vote occurs on the motion
by Mr. McGovern. All in favor, say aye.
Opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
I will carry this on the floor for the majority.
Mr. Dreier. And I will be managing for the Republicans.
Let me say apparently I need to formally make a request to
you that we would be able to submit our minority views.
The Chairwoman. Without objection.
Mr. Dreier. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
The Chairwoman. The Rules Committee is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 2:24 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]