[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 35 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES

  (Mr. SOLOMON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules is planning to meet 
early next week on two bills to improve the federal regulatory process. 
Next Monday, February 27, the committee will meet at 5 p.m. to consider 
a rule for H.R. 926, the Regulatory Reform and Relief Act, better known 
as the Reg Flex Act. Members should be aware that this rule may include 
a provision giving priority in recognition to Members who have caused 
their amendments to be printed in the amendment section of the 
Congressional Record prior to their consideration. In this case, the 
preprinting of amendments is optional.
  On Tuesday, February 28, at 2 p.m., the Committee on Rules will meet 
to consider a rule for H.R. 925, the Private Property Protection Act. 
In this case the rule may include, and I would just emphasize this, may 
include a requirement as opposed to an option that amendments be 
preprinted in the Congressional Record prior to consideration of the 
bill for amendment.
  Amendments to be preprinted should be titled, ``Submitted for 
Printing Under Clause 6 of Rule XXIII,'' signed by the Member, and 
submitted at the Speaker's table.
  Each of these bills may be considered for amendment under the 5-
minute rule, with a possible overall time limitation on the amending 
process.
  Members should use the Office of Legislative Counsel to ensure that 
their amendments are properly drafted and should check with the Office 
of the Parliamentarian to be certain that their amendments comply with 
the rules of the House.
  It is not necessary to submit amendments to the Committee on Rules or 
to testify.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SOLOMON. I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, was I correct in understanding that 
amendments that are preprinted will have priority under the proposal?
  Mr. SOLOMON. Amendments for the first, for the Reg Flex Act would 
have priority of recognition, but it is only optional that they be 
filed, be printed.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will continue to yield, 
would my understanding be correct though, that a Member of the House, 
not a member of the committee, who has his amendment printed in the 
Record would have priority over a member of the committee?
  Mr. SOLOMON. The gentleman would please restate that.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Would a Member, not a member of the committee, have 
priority, who has his amendment printed in the Record, have priority 
over a member of the committee in offering such an amendment?
  Mr. SOLOMON. Not over the committee chairman, no.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Would a Member who has his amendment printed have 
priority over a member of the committee whose amendments were not 
printed in the Record.
  Mr. SOLOMON. That would be subject to the recognition of the chair, 
but in most cases, yes.
  Mr. BEREUTER. If the gentleman will continue to yield, the reason 
this gentleman was so upset when we took up the crime bill, block 
grant, is that the parliamentarian informed the Chairman of the 
Committee of the Whole that no matter how long I stood here, and I 
waited for nearly 7 hours to offer an amendment, but not being a member 
of the Committee on the Judiciary, the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole was informed by the parliamentarian that the Chairman had no 
option but to continue to recognize members of the Committee on the 
Judiciary for amendments, be they printed or not printed. And many, 
many, many were nonprinted, and they continued to be offered. And 
Members of the House who were not members of the Committee on the 
Judiciary were shut out from offering amendments.
  In fact, I just directed a letter to the chairman of the Committee on 
Rules about how this process does not serve Members well who are not 
members of the committee debating the bill before us.
  So I would hope that the Committee on Rules might at least give all 
Members priority whose amendments are preprinted. I understand that the 
members of the committee and certainly the chairman should have 
priority for amendments that are printed in the Record, but you see we 
can be completely shut off from offering our amendments if we are not 
members of the committee. That is exactly what happened to this 
gentleman.
  So I would like to ask the chairman of the Committee on Rules if he 
would give that matter some consideration.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Mr. SOLOMON. We most certainly will. Of course, the recognition is 
always subject to the Speaker, to the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole. But certainly, I would just advise the gentleman that we would 
try to work with the managers of the bill to make sure that we are 
going to get the proper recognition.
  Of course, if there are dilatory tactics, stalling tactics, that 
sometimes can put the gentleman in that particular position, in an 
awkward position. We would hope that that would never happen.


                          ____________________