[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 55 (Friday, March 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3791-H3792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. GEPHARDT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask for this time to inquire of the 
distinguished majority leader about the schedule for the following 
week.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey].
  Mr. ARMEY. I thank the gentleman from Missouri for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, the House will not be in session on Monday, March 27.
  On Tuesday, March 28, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for morning 
hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business to consider five bills under 
suspension of the rules:
  H.R. 849, the Age Discrimination Employment Act Amendments of 1995;
  H.R. 529, the Targhee National Forest Land Exchange;
  H.R. 606, the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act Amendments;
  H.R. 622, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Convention Act of 1995; 
and
  H.R. 256, the Fort Carson and Pinyon Canyon Land Withdrawal.
  If any recorded votes are ordered, they will not take place before 5 
p.m. on Tuesday. After we complete action on the five suspensions, we 
will take up the rule for House Joint Resolution 73, the term limits 
constitutional amendment.
  For Wednesday, March 29, and the balance of the week, the House will 
complete consideration of House Joint Resolution 73.
  Meeting times for the House are 11 a.m. on Wednesday and 10 a.m. on 
Thursday.
  The House will not be in session on Friday, March 31.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, first, it is probably clear, but maybe we 
need to make it clear, I take it there are no more votes today?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will yield, that is correct.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. I thank the gentleman.
  Second, I would like to ask regarding the days off next week, can the 
gentleman advise whether or not he expects votes on Thursday? I assume 
that he will be meeting on Thursday on some of these matters.
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will yield, yes, that is correct. We do 
expect 
[[Page H3792]] votes on Thursday. If everything goes well, we are 
hopeful we will be able to make a 3 o'clock departure time on Thursday.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Again, the intent is not to have votes on Friday? That 
is the clear intent?
  Mr. ARMEY. The gentleman is correct.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. A further question, can the gentleman give any advice 
to Members on whether other days will be given away prior to the April 
recess? In particular, I am thinking of Monday, April 3, or Friday, 
April 7. Does the gentleman have any advice on that at this point?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will yield, at this point I can only tell 
the gentleman with respect to both of those days I have only high 
hopes, but no clear enough picture to be able to advise you.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. And then, fourth, regarding the rule on the tax bill 
which is coming in the last week, it is my understanding that the 
Committee on Rules will meet on the tax bill on Wednesday. I would like 
to ask if it is true that just one substitute may be made in order; 
will Members on both sides of the aisle be permitted to offer 
substitutes for that bill?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will yield, we have made no decisions 
regarding that. I think that it is true that the committee will meet on 
that and, I believe, start taking testimony on Wednesday, if that is 
correct, 10 o'clock in the morning next week.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Ten o'clock on Wednesday. So Members who want to offer 
substitutes or amendments should be willing to appear on Wednesday 
morning?
  Finally, I would like to ask about the timing on the budget 
resolution. As the gentleman knows, it is traditional under our rules 
to have completed a budget resolution by the middle of April. I am told 
that you intend to start in the first part of May, and I just am 
wondering when you are thinking of trying to bring
 a budget to the floor.

  Can the distinguished majority leader give me a sense of when we 
might get to the floor on the budget?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will yield, of course, as the gentleman 
knows, in many, many instances in the past several years it has been 
impossible to make that exact deadline, and we certainly intended to 
move on a budget bill as soon after our reconvening after the April 
work period as possible. So I would say as early in May as we can get 
our work done we will be announcing that to the floor.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Sabo], the 
ranking member of the Committee on the Budget.
  Mr. SABO. I am curious as it relates to the tax bill, what other 
bills will be combined with that? I am thinking particularly of the 
bill we voted out of the Committee on the Budget and other bills that 
have come out of Energy and Commerce and other committees, the 
additional changes in Medicare out of Ways and Means. Are those all 
going to be combined in one bill?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will yield, I can only tell you that the 
Committee on Rules will be meeting on Wednesday. They will be taking 
testimony on Wednesday, and we will begin to see what form that takes 
as that proceeds.
  Mr. SABO. So we do not know yet what the exact form of the 
legislation of the final week before the recess will be, whether it is 
one bill or several bills?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will yield, that is correct.
  Mr. SABO. If the minority leader will yield further, I would only 
indicate to the House that in recent years the House has completed its 
action on budget resolutions well in advance of April 15.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. I just have one additional last question. Does the 
gentleman expect us to go to conference on the line-item veto bill next 
week?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will yield, as the gentleman knows, 
conference reports may be brought up at any time. We would certainly 
want to move as quickly as we can on that, and having the Senate's 
action only just last night, we will get to it as soon as we can. I 
cannot make an announcement at this time.
  Mr. GEPHARDT. I thank the gentleman.
  

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