[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 107 (Friday, August 5, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. MICHEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. MICHEL. Mr. Speaker, I ask for this time in order that I might 
inquire of the distinguished chairman of the Democratic Caucus the 
program for next week.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. MICHEL. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished minority leader, my 
good friend, the gentleman from Illinois.
  The schedule for next week is we will go in at 10:30 for morning 
hour. After the morning hour, we will then go to a series of 
suspensions. We have on the list now some 27 suspensions, a list of 
which I believe the gentleman's side has. We will do those suspensions. 
There will be no votes until 5 o'clock, not before 5 o'clock. And I 
have had pointed out, in addition to the 27 suspensions, we will also 
be considering the District of Columbia appropriations conference 
report.
  Then Tuesday and the balance of the week, the House will meet at 
10:30 a.m. for morning hour on Tuesday, and the House will go into 
session at noon on Tuesday, and we will consider, during Tuesday and 
the balance of the week, the following bills: The Energy and Water 
Development Appropriations bill conference report, the resolution 
regarding China's MFN, which is, of course, subject to a rule, the 
Omnibus Crime Control Act conference report, also subject to a rule, 
the Congressional Accountability Act, subject to a rule as well, the 
Social Security Administration Reform Act of 1994 conference report, 
the Full Budget Disclosure Act of 1994, which deals with baselines, the 
Emergency Spending Control Act of 1994, subject to a rule, H.R. 3433, 
to provide for the management of the Presidio, which is also subject to 
a rule, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1994 conference report, the 
Superfund Reform Act of 1994, subject to a rule, and the Hydrogen and 
Fusion Research and Development Programs Authorization, subject to a 
rule.
  There may be additional conference reports. We do not know at this 
time.
  Mr. MICHEL. I thank the gentleman.
  I have to make the observation that, noting several of them, 
considerable authorizations of agencies, departments of government, not 
necessarily departments, but agencies of government that involve 
considerable sums of money. We are going to have to start looking over 
these suspensions very carefully, because instead of having a measure 
that ought to be debated out here involving $10 billion, $12 billion, 
$13 billion on Suspension Calendar, I have real reservations about 
that, and I know that sometimes it is done to foreclose so-called 
unfriendly amendments. But also it tends to demean the whole 
legislative process when we shortchange the debate on a measure that is 
as important as some of these are to 20 minutes for, 20 minutes 
against.
  As is always the case as we get near the end of a session or of the 
Congress, we have the inclination to pile onto the Suspension Calendar. 
But just a note of caution.
  Mr. HOYER. If the gentleman will yield further, I very much 
appreciate the minority leader's observations. I understand his 
concern.
  I want to assure him, as he knows, that all of these have been done 
in consultation, as he knows, with the ranking members on your side of 
the aisle on the committees. It is obviously generally the belief that 
these are relatively noncontroversial. But the gentleman's point is 
well taken.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. MICHEL. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished minority leader 
for yielding.
  I have asked him to yield so that I might inquire where we stand on 
the issue of congressional reform. I note that my colleagues, the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Fowler] and the gentlewoman from 
Washington [Ms. Dunn] and the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. 
Torkildsen], have just put a discharge petition in the well, Discharge 
Petition No. 26, which I have just signed, which will actually bring 
forward the entire congressional reform package, H.R. 3801.
  Throughout calendar year 1993 we had the opportunity to listen to my 
friend, the gentleman from Maryland, and a wide range of others who 
came before our committee and testified on the need to bring about 
reform of the institution, and we have been promised the bill in the 
fall of last year, early spring of this year, late spring, the summer, 
and here we are now waiting for some action to take place upstairs in 
our Committee on Rules. We had a plan to mark it up today, and that has 
not worked out.
  I just wondered where we could expect this thing to proceed in the 
weeks to come as we charge toward adjournment.
  Mr. HOYER. If the gentleman will yield further, I thank the gentleman 
for his observations.
  I know he has been concerned about this issue, as we have on this 
side of the aisle. As you know, next week we have on the calendar for 
consideration the Congressional Accountability Act dealing with the 
coverage of the Congress on those items dealing with worker safety, 
worker working conditions, issues of discrimination against employees, 
and applying those fully to the Congress of the United States as they 
have been applied to the private sector.
  In addition, it is the Speaker's intention, and he has made it known, 
that he is hopeful and believes and is committed to this matter coming 
to the floor, the balance of the reform package, which is being 
considered in the gentleman's committee, in the Committee on Rules, 
currently to come to the floor in the early fall.
  Mr. DREIER. If my friend would yield further, I would just like to 
say for the record that I am very concerned about this issue of 
breaking it up into bits.
  My colleague, the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton], who served 
with me on the committee, said that he thought it necessary that the 
sweetener of congressional compliance, the bill to which my friend 
referred, was very important if we were going to succeed in getting the 
other equally important, but very tough, reforms which I believe a 
majority of the Members of this institution want to have put into 
place. But I just want the record to show that, and I am very, very 
disappointed in that we have made this decision to break the measure 
into bits.
  Mr. HOYER. If the gentleman will yield further, I thank the minority 
leader for yielding, I appreciate the gentleman's concern. As the 
gentleman knows, this bill is a bipartisan bill; the gentleman from New 
Hampshire [Mr. Swett] on our side, the gentleman from Connecticut [Mr. 
Shays] on your side, and others; of course, that was considered by the 
Committee on House Administration, broad-based support of its, and I 
think broad-based support on the floor, and it was felt that this ought 
to move ahead, because it is a matter of great concern to the American 
public, as you know, and great concern to many Members of the Congress.
  But there is also a continuing concern about the package that has 
been put together by the joint committee, and I appreciate the 
gentleman's concerns.
  Mr. MICHEL. As the gentleman well knows, we are going to be devoting 
then the week following next week's program to health care. I suspect 
it is no secret that what we would probably like to see is a couple of 
days, Monday and Tuesday, of general debate, and then a rule that gets 
us to a voting situation for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and, you 
know, earlier at leadership meetings and in this program, I see nothing 
about GATT. Does that assume that is pretty well put off until we come 
back in September?
  We want to be working together, and that is very important for the 
country's welfare, and I know there is some angst in various quarters 
about the particulars of that measure.
  The gentleman may want to volunteer an observation on that one.

                              {time}  1440

  Mr. HOYER. I appreciate the minority leader's observation on both of 
these issues, which are both obviously very, very important issues and 
about which we are very concerned. First as to the minority leader's 
observation on health care, we do expect and plan to have that matter 
up on the floor the week after next. As you know, the minority leader 
is absolutely correct. On Monday there will be no votes, Monday, the 
15th. However, we do expect to start the debate on the health care bill 
and have, not only on the bill that is currently being considered, but 
the House Democratic leadership bill, so-called Gephardt bill, but in 
addition the minority leader's bill and any other bills on your side of 
the aisle will be discussed.
  We hope to continue that debate on Tuesday, consider the rule on 
Wednesday, and for the balance of the week consider the health care 
legislation.
  But again I would stress there are no votes on Monday, the 15th.
  With respect to GATT, as the gentleman I am sure knows, there is a 
lot of preconferencing going on, trying to work out some of the 
disagreements which are substantial in terms of a number of matters 
dealing with GATT. We are hopeful that that will move ahead. Until such 
time, however, as the various committees advise us on the progress they 
are having, we have not added that to the calendar because we do not 
know whether we can move forward on it.
  We realize the importance of this issue. The leadership is very much 
committed to moving this ahead. As soon as we have an indication from 
the committee that they are ready, we are going to try to move ahead 
and make room.
  Now, quite clearly it would be doubtful that we could do this in 
conjunction with health care in that week. But we do not want to 
preclude it at this point.
  Mr. MICHEL. I appreciate the gentleman's response. It has been my 
understanding that because we have orchestrated the program the way it 
will unfold, hopefully, in the next 2 weeks, that that second week is 
pretty much confined to health care, not to have our attention 
distracted by any other, conceivably controversial, piece of 
legislation. I think what we will be dealing with that week will be 
controversial enough. But at least it will focus the attention of the 
American people and Congress where it ought to be, on that biggest of 
all issues for this year. And we can dispose of it, hopefully, amicably 
whatever the bill is.
  Mr. HOYER. I would like to say, on our side, if the gentleman will 
continue to yield, that we appreciate the cooperative spirit that we 
have discussed, the consideration of this for the week of the 15th. We 
both agree, on both sides of the aisle, that this is an issue of 
sufficient magnitude to really warrant fully focusing on it during that 
week, having full debate on it, full exposition of the issues, so that 
the American public and every Member of the House can understand the 
bill and the legislation, what it does and what it does not do.
  Mr. MICHEL. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my extended minute.

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