[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 13 (Monday, January 23, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H528-H529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  MOTION TO PERMIT COMMITTEES AND SUBCOMMITTEES TO MEET DURING THE 5-
                MINUTE RULE FOR THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I move that all the committees of the House 
and their subcommittees may have permission to sit for today and the 
balance of the week while the House is meeting in the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union under the 5-minute rule.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a privileged motion. The gentleman 
from Texas [Mr. Armey] is recognized for 1 hour.


                         parliamentary inquiry

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
inquiry.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I understand this motion is debatable for 1 
hour. Will the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey] yield the customary 
time to the minority for the purpose of debate?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. It is the Speaker's understanding that the 1 
hour is to be held in its entirety by the majority leader, the maker of 
the motion, and time will be sought from the majority leader.
  Mr. BONIOR. Continuing my parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker, will 
the gentleman be willing to yield half the time for the minority for a 
discussion of this issue?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. That is not a parliamentary inquiry. The 
request will be made.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. ARMEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, as Members know, the House Republicans have 
an ambitious legislative agenda for Congress' first 100 days. In order 
for the House to complete the action on the contract items, the 
committees and subcommittees have their work cut out for them. The 
purpose of this resolution is to allow this important work to take 
place and to move legislation to the floor for further debate.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution allowing committees to meet during the 
5-minute rule is not a new policy for the House. In the last Congress, 
blanket authority for committees to meet during the amendment process 
was standard procedure.
  In this Congress, we have changed our rules, and therefore it is 
necessary within our rules for me to have sought this exception to our 
rules. It is not something that I expect will be a commonplace practice 
on the part of the majority, but during this contract period, for our 
committees and subcommittees to be able to carry out our work, I have 
made this request.

                              {time}  2150

  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Bonior], the distinguished minority whip.
  Mr. BONIOR. I thank my friend from Texas for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, just 2 weeks ago, the House approved a bipartisan 
package of sweeping reforms that the other side touted as major reform 
in this Congress on the first day. Now what we are finding this evening 
is that the Republicans are backtracking on that reform just 2 weeks 
into this session.
  Mr. Speaker, Members cannot be in two places at one time. They cannot 
be on the floor voting while they are voting in committee and they 
should not have to run back and forth from committee to the Capitol 
every 5 minutes.
  Now it would not be so laughable, Mr. Speaker, if this was not the 
centerpiece that we are going to be discussing next week, the balanced 
budget amendment, of their contract. While they are asking us to be 
here on the floor discussing the contract, they want to have the line-
item veto in the Government Reform Committee. They want to deal with 
the Mexican loan bailout in the Banking Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, we have over 160 amendments on this mandate bill, over 
40 substitutes on the balanced budget amendment. We worked hard for 
those reforms that you were so proud of: ban proxy voting, eliminate 
the three committees, restrict the number of subcommittees.
  All of a sudden we are into 2 weeks of the session and backtracking 
we go. I do not think the American people will agree with the reforms 
that you have put forward and the backtracking that you are about to 
undertake in this very first 2 weeks. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I hope my 
colleagues will vote against this ill-conceived resolution.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts 
[Mr. Frank].
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the majority 
leader's statement that this last year and the year before was blanket 
permission.
  As I understand the rule, unless the House granted such permission, 
any Member in a committee that was sitting in a markup could have 
objected. Any Member could have objected. If you sat during the 5-
minute rule to mark up a bill in committee, the objection of a single 
Member in committee ended that meeting. You had to come to the floor, 
and any 10 Members could block it.
  This is an arrogation to the majority far beyond what we had. I sit 
on the Banking Committee. I do not want to be forced to choose between 
debating safeguards for the American people on the Mexico loan and 
protecting Social Security in the balanced budget amendment.
  What you have done is a brandnew procedure. The intolerance for 
debate is already starting to rise, shout them down, don't yield time. 
The gentleman has an hour.
  May I ask the gentleman from Texas how much time he plans to allow us 
to debate this?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thomas). The time of the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Bonior] has expired.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, once again I would say the people's business 
requires prompt attention to their work from the committees and the 
subcommittees.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.


                         parliamentary inquiry

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary 
inquiry.
  [[Page H529]] How much time of the hour did the gentleman from Texas 
consume?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey] 
consumed 5 minutes of his time and he yielded 3 minutes, which the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] consumed.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. And yielded back 55 minutes.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey].
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.


                             recorded vote

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 17-minute vote maximum.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 232, 
noes 187, not voting 15, as followings:
                             [Roll No. 29]

                               AYES--232

     Allard
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker (CA)
     Baker (LA)
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Bereuter
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bliley
     Blute
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Brownback
     Bryant (TN)
     Bunn
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Canady
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Chrysler
     Clinger
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins (GA)
     Combest
     Cooley
     Cox
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cremeans
     Cubin
     Cunningham
     Davis
     DeLay
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Doolittle
     Dornan
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Ensign
     Everett
     Ewing
     Fawell
     Fields (TX)
     Flanagan
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fowler
     Fox
     Franks (CT)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frisa
     Funderburk
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Goss
     Graham
     Greenwood
     Gunderson
     Gutknecht
     Hamilton
     Hancock
     Hansen
     Hastert
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Heineman
     Herger
     Hilleary
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hoke
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Istook
     Jacobs
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kildee
     Kim
     King
     Kingston
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Lightfoot
     Linder
     Livingston
     LoBiondo
     Longley
     Lucas
     Manzullo
     Martini
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McDade
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McKeon
     Meyers
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Molinari
     Moorhead
     Morella
     Myers
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oxley
     Packard
     Paxon
     Petri
     Pombo
     Porter
     Portman
     Pryce
     Quillen
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Riggs
     Roberts
     Roemer
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roth
     Roukema
     Royce
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaefer
     Schiff
     Seastrand
     Sensenbrenner
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Shuster
     Skeen
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Solomon
     Souder
     Spence
     Stearns
     Stockman
     Stump
     Talent
     Tate
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Thornton
     Tiahrt
     Torkildsen
     Upton
     Vucanovich
     Waldholtz
     Walker
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     White
     Whitfield
     Wolf
     Yates
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Zimmer

                               NOES--187

     Ackerman
     Andrews
     Baesler
     Baldacci
     Barcia
     Barrett (WI)
     Becerra
     Beilenson
     Bentsen
     Berman
     Bevill
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boucher
     Brewster
     Browder
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant (TX)
     Cardin
     Chapman
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coleman
     Collins (IL)
     Collins (MI)
     Condit
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Danner
     de la Garza
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeLauro
     Dellums
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doyle
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fazio
     Filner
     Foglietta
     Frank (MA)
     Frost
     Furse
     Gejdenson
     Gephardt
     Geren
     Gibbons
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green
     Gutierrez
     Hall (TX)
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hayes
     Hefner
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Holden
     Hoyer
     Jackson-Lee
     Jefferson
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnston
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennelly
     Kleczka
     Klink
     LaFalce
     Laughlin
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lincoln
     Lipinski
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Luther
     Maloney
     Manton
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McDermott
     McHale
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek
     Menendez
     Mfume
     Miller (CA)
     Mineta
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Montgomery
     Moran
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Orton
     Owens
     Pallone
     Parker
     Pastor
     Payne (NJ)
     Payne (VA)
     Pelosi
     Peterson (FL)
     Peterson (MN)
     Pickett
     Pomeroy
     Poshard
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reed
     Reynolds
     Richardson
     Rivers
     Rose
     Roybal-Allard
     Sabo
     Sanders
     Sawyer
     Schroeder
     Schumer
     Scott
     Serrano
     Sisisky
     Skaggs
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Stark
     Stenholm
     Stokes
     Studds
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Tejeda
     Thompson
     Thurman
     Torres
     Torricelli
     Towns
     Traficant
     Tucker
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Volkmer
     Ward
     Waters
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Williams
     Wilson
     Wise
     Woolsey
     Wyden
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--15

     Abercrombie
     Bishop
     Fields (LA)
     Flake
     Ford
     Hall (OH)
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Lantos
     Martinez
     Metcalf
     Rush
     Spratt
     Wicker
     Zeliff

                              {time}  2207

  So the motion was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  

                          ____________________