[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4559-H4562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1361, COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION ACT 
                          FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996

  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call 
up House Resolution 139 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                                H.R. 139

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule 
     XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 1361) to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
     year 1996 for the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. The 
     first reading of the bill shall be dispensed
      with. Points of order against consideration of the bill for 
     failure to comply with section 302(f), section 308(a), or 
     section 401(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are 
     waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and 
     shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled 
     by the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. After 
     general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment 
     under the five-minute rule. It shall be in order to 
     consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment 
     under the five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of 
     a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure now printed in the bill. 
     The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute 
     shall be considered by title rather than by section. The 
     first two sections and each title of the committee 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be 
     considered as read. Points of order against the committee 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute for failure to 
     comply with clause 5(a) of rule XXI or section 302(f) or 
     section 401(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are 
     waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for 
     amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to 
     the House with such amendments as may have been adopted. 
     Any Member may demand a separate vote in the House on any 
     amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole to the 
     bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final 
     passage without intervening motion except one motion to 
     recommit with or without instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss] is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Texas [Mr. Frost], pending which I yield 
myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this 
resolution, all 
[[Page H4560]] time yielded is for the purposes of debate only.
  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks, and to include extraneous matter.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present this wide open 
rule for the fiscal year 1996 authorization of our smallest--but hugely 
important--national armed services, the Coast Guard. I am delighted 
that our Rules Committee, by unanimous voice vote, agreed to bring this 
important bill to the House floor under an open rule, allowing all 
Members the chance to offer amendments under the standing rules of this 
House. I wish to commend Chairman Shuster, Chairman Coble, and ranking 
members Mineta and Traficant of the Transportation and Infrastructure 
Committee for their efforts in bringing us H.R. 1361.

                              {time}  1445

  Mr. Speaker, as Members know, this year marks the first time the 
Coast Guard authorization has been moved through the Transportation 
Committee and, by all accounts, the transition has gone smoothly. This 
rule provides for 1 hour of general debate, to be equally divided 
between the chairman and ranking member of the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee. It makes in order the committee's amendment 
in the nature of a substitute as the original bill for the purpose of 
amendment and provides that the substitute shall be considered as read 
by title. Members should be aware that this rule does provide four
 specific waivers, including three technical budget act waivers related 
to section 205 of the bill, and a waiver of the rule that prohibits 
appropriations within legislative bills, related to section 201 of the 
bill. This waiver should not cause Members any heartache, since it is 
necessary to allow the shifting of funds from pre-existing accounts in 
order to pay for damages to homes of Coast Guard personnel caused by 
hurricane Andrew. I think that is eminently fair and makes great good 
common sense and I do not think it is particularly precedent-setting, 
Let us hope not.

  The budget act waivers are necessary because of a provision in the 
bill that allows Coast Guard officers who were twice passed over for 
promotion, and have 18 years of service, to continue in active duty 
until they have served 20 years and are eligible for retirement.
  Technically this provides new entitlement authority, although 
subcommittee Chairman Coble assured the Rules Committee that this is 
not in any way a budget buster. In fact, the total cost of this 
provision has been estimated to at less than $500,000 a year.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Rules Chairman Solomon and the committee of 
jurisdiction for ensuring that Members have a detailed explanation of 
the waivers needed for this bill. I think it is most important that all 
committees take seriously the standing rules of the House and come to 
the Rules Committee well prepared to discuss any specific rules 
violations in their bills--whether technical or substantive. This to me 
is great progress in the 104th Congress. I think it makes pretty clear 
what the issues are and what is being protected and what is not and 
what the justifications may be.
  Finally, this rule provides the minority with its traditional right 
to a motion to
 recommit with or without instructions.

  Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Coast Guard may be small in size but it is 
mighty in missions. It is something of a jack of all trades--its 
responsibilities cover a broad expanse of activity, from drug 
interdiction and border control to search and rescue. At any given time 
the Coast Guard might be called upon to support military deployments--
as in the Persian Gulf--or respond to disasters--as in the midwestern 
floods of 1993. Especially in coastal areas--but also across this 
land--Americans depend on the reliability and efficiency of the Coast 
Guard. Because of its reputation for excellence and its unfailing 
willingness to tackle new missions, the Coast Guard has repeatedly been 
asked to shoulder more duties. In response to the Haiti crisis in the 
past 2 years, the Coast Guard was asked to become a floating picket 
line to deter desperate Haitians from taking to the seas in unsafe 
boats. Coast Guard personnel became directly involved in rescue 
operations and the very difficult process of repatriation in that 
Haitian affair as we know. While the exodus from Haiti has ebbed 
momentarily, just last week, the administration announced a change in 
its policy toward Cuban refugees that once again places the Coast Guard 
on the front lines of enforcement upon the high seas, to turn back 
Cuban rafters and enforce a more orderly process of immigration. That 
is no small order for them to undertake that. But despite its ever 
expanding list of missions, the Coast Guard has not been given 
corresponding resources to ensure that its traditional
 responsibilities do not suffer. In the last Congress, this House 
adopted language reaffirming our commitment to providing additional 
resources to the Coast Guard if new missions are added to its plate. 
That is just common sense. If we ask them to do more, we are going to 
give them the money to pay for it.

  Today, I am pleased that the committee has agreed to include that 
language in its amendment, so we will have that again this year. On a 
more parochial note, Mr. Speaker, under this open rule all of our 
colleagues will have the opportunity to assist our local communities 
and private citizens who are involved in seeking to navigate the 
confusing bureaucracy of the Jones Act. In my district, we have one 
city and four private citizens who find themselves wound up in redtape 
as they seek to use vessels for legitimate municipal or commercial 
purposes. H.R. 1361 already includes a provision that covers one of the 
southwest Florida victims of the Jones Act redtape in my case, and I am 
pleased that the committee amendment will include waivers to address 
the other three cases I know about, and perhaps the bulk of my 
colleagues' concerns as well will be included in that amendment. If 
not, if there is still more to be done in this area, this open rule 
allows Members the chance to bring their amendments forward. I hope all 
Members will support this open rule, and this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the following for the Record:

  THE AMENDMENT PROCESS UNDER SPECIAL RULES REPORTED BY THE RULES COMMITTEE,\1\ 103D CONGRESS V. 104TH CONGRESS 
                                               [As of May 5, 1995]                                              
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  103d Congress                        104th Congress           
              Rule type              ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Number of rules    Percent of total   Number of rules    Percent of total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open/Modified-open\2\...............                 46                 44                 23                 74
Modified Closed\3\..................                 49                 47                  8                 26
Closed\4\...........................                  9                  9                  0                  0
                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Totals:.......................                104                100                 31                100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\This table applies only to rules which provide for the original consideration of bills, joint resolutions or 
  budget resolutions and which provide for an amendment process. It does not apply to special rules which only  
  waive points of order against appropriations bills which are already privileged and are considered under an   
  open amendment process under House rules.                                                                     
\2\An open rule is one under which any Member may offer a germane amendment under the five-minute rule. A       
  modified open rule is one under which any Member may offer a germane amendment under the five-minute rule     
  subject only to an overall time limit on the amendment process and/or a requirement that the amendment be     
  preprinted in the Congressional Record.                                                                       
\3\A modified closed rule is one under which the Rules Committee limits the amendments that may be offered only 
  to those amendments designated in the special rule or the Rules Committee report to accompany it, or which    
  preclude amendments to a particular portion of a bill, even though the rest of the bill may be completely open
  to amendment.                                                                                                 
\4\A closed rule is one under which no amendments may be offered (other than amendments recommended by the      
  committee in reporting the bill).                                                                             


                                                                                                                
[[Page H4561]]
                          SPECIAL RULES REPORTED BY THE RULES COMMITTEE, 104TH CONGRESS                         
                                               [As of May 5, 1995]                                              
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  H. Res. No. (Date                                                                                             
       rept.)               Rule type             Bill No.                 Subject           Disposition of rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H. Res. 38 (1/18/95)  O...................  H.R. 5..............  Unfunded Mandate Reform..  A: 350-71 (1/19/   
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 44 (1/24/95)  MC..................  H. Con. Res. 17.....  Social Security..........  A: 255-172 (1/25/  
                                            H.J. Res. 1.........  Balanced Budget Amdt.....   95).              
H. Res. 51 (1/31/95)  O...................  H.R. 101............  Land Transfer, Taos        A: voice vote (2/1/
                                                                   Pueblo Indians.            95).              
H. Res. 52 (1/31/95)  O...................  H.R. 400............  Land Exchange, Arctic      A: voice vote (2/1/
                                                                   Nat'l. Park and Preserve.  95).              
H. Res. 53 (1/31/95)  O...................  H.R. 440............  Land Conveyance, Butte     A: voice vote (2/1/
                                                                   County, Calif.             95).              
H. Res. 55 (2/1/95).  O...................  H.R. 2..............  Line Item Veto...........  A: voice vote (2/2/
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 60 (2/6/95).  O...................  H.R. 665............  Victim Restitution.......  A: voice vote (2/7/
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 61 (2/6/95).  O...................  H.R. 666............  Exclusionary Rule Reform.  A: voice vote (2/7/
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 63 (2/8/95).  MO..................  H.R. 667............  Violent Criminal           A: voice vote (2/9/
                                                                   Incarceration.             95).              
H. Res. 69 (2/9/95).  O...................  H.R. 668............  Criminal Alien             A: voice vote (2/10/
                                                                   Deportation.               95).              
H. Res. 79 (2/10/95)  MO..................  H.R. 728............  Law Enforcement Block      A: voice vote (2/10/
                                                                   Grants.                    95).              
H. Res. 83 (2/13/95)  MO..................  H.R. 7..............  National Security          PQ: 229-100; A: 227-
                                                                   Revitalization.            127 (2/15/95).    
H. Res. 88 (2/16/95)  MC..................  H.R. 831............  Health Insurance           PQ: 230-191; A: 229-
                                                                   Deductibility.             188 (2/21/95).    
H. Res. 91 (2/21/95)  O...................  H.R. 830............  Paperwork Reduction Act..  A: voice vote (2/2/
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 92 (2/21/95)  MC..................  H.R. 889............  Defense Supplemental.....  A: 282-144 (2/22/  
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 93 (2/22/95)  MO..................  H.R. 450............  Regulatory Transition Act  A: 252-175 (2/23/  
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 96 (2/24/95)  MO..................  H.R. 1022...........  Risk Assessment..........  A: 253-165 (2/27/  
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 100 (2/27/    O...................  H.R. 926............  Regulatory Reform and      A: voice vote (2/28/
 95).                                                              Relief Act.                95).              
H. Res. 101 (2/28/    MO..................  H.R. 925............  Private Property           A: 271-151 (3/1/95)
 95).                                                              Protection Act.                              
H. Res. 104 (3/3/95)  MO..................  H.R. 988............  Attorney Accountability    A: voice vote (3/6/
                                                                   Act.                       95)               
H. Res. 103 (3/3/95)  MO..................  H.R. 1058...........  Securities Litigation      ...................
                                                                   Reform.                                      
H. Res. 105 (3/6/95)  MO..................  ....................  .........................  ...................
H. Res. 108 (3/6/95)  Debate..............  H.R. 956............  Product Liability Reform.  A: voice vote (3/8/
                                                                                              95)               
H. Res. 109 (3/8/95)  MC..................  ....................  .........................  PQ: 234-191 A: 247-
                                                                                              181 (3/9/95)      
H. Res. 115 (3/14/    MO..................  H.R. 1159...........  Making Emergency Supp.     A: 242-190 (3/15/  
 95).                                                              Approps..                  95)               
H. Res. 116 (3/15/    MC..................  H.J. Res. 73........  Term Limits Const. Amdt..  A: voice vote (3/28/
 95).                                                                                         95)               
H. Res. 117 (3/16/    Debate..............  H.R. 4..............  Personal Responsibility    A: voice vote (3/16/
 95).                                                              Act of 1995.               95)               
H. Res. 119 (3/21/    MC..................  ....................  .........................  A: 217-211 (3/22/  
 95).                                                                                         95)               
H. Res. 125 (4/3/95)  O...................  H.R. 1271...........  Family Privacy Protection  A: 423-1 (4/4/95)  
                                                                   Act.                                         
H. Res. 126 (4/3/95)  O...................  H.R. 660............  Older Persons Housing Act  voice vote (4/6/   
                                                                                              95).              
H. Res. 128 (4/4/95)  MC..................  H.R. 1215...........  Contract With America Tax  A: 228-204 (4/5/95)
                                                                   Relief Act of 1995.                          
H. Res. 130 (4/5/95)  MC..................  H.R. 483............  Medicare Select Expansion   A: 253-172 (4/6/  
                                                                                              95)               
H. Res. 136 (5/1/95)  O...................  H.R. 655............  Hydrogen Future Act of     A: voice vote (5/2/
                                                                   1995.                      95)               
H. Res. 139 (5/3/95)  O...................  H.R. 1361...........  Coast Guard Auth. FY 1996  ...................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Codes: O-open rule; MO-modified open rule; MC-modified closed rule; C-closed rule; A-adoption vote; PQ-previous 
  question vote. Source: Notices of Action Taken, Committee on Rules, 104th Congress.                           

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my Republican colleagues for the rule 
they are recommending today. So far this year, the rules they have 
recommended have been 70 percent closed. This is in spite of their 
promises to open the process in the House.
  However, since the rule before us today is an open rule, I must 
commend the Republican majority.
  As my colleague described, this rule provides for the consideration 
of a relatively noncontroversial Coast Guard authorization.
  It authorizes $3.7 billion for the Coast Guard--exactly the amount 
requested by the administration and only slightly more than last year's 
authorization.
  The 37,000 members of the Coast Guard provide this Nation with 
invaluable maritime service for everything from search and rescue to 
drug interdiction and this $3.7 billion will support their good work.
  I would like to commend Chairman Shuster and ranking member Mineta 
for putting together a truly bipartisan bill which should pass the 
House with little opposition.
  I urge my colleagues to support this rare open rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to yield 4 minutes 
to my colleague, the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida [Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen].
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to denounce the Clinton 
administration's decision to use this great American institution, the 
U.S. Coast Guard, to serve the purposes of a tyrant.
  We in south Florida are very knowledgeable about the Coast Guard 
because of the wonderful work they perform during periods of natural 
disasters such as during Hurricane Andrew where they played a crucial 
role in the rescue operations.
  Those of us who are residents of south Florida also know the Coast 
Guard as a humanitarian institution because, for years, the Coast Guard 
has rescued freedom-seeking Cubans from the waters of the Florida 
Straits while on their journey to freedom.
  This humanitarian aspect of the Coast Guard, for which all of America 
should be proud, was surprisingly reversed last week when the Clinton 
administration announced the United Stated will now repatriate freedom-
seeking Cubans back to the island prison they risked their lives to 
escape.
  The President has now made the Coast Guard an extension of the Cuban 
authorities, in order to keep the Cuban people under the Castro 
repression.
  Just this afternoon, the first victims of the President's latest 
flipflop were turned over to the bloody henchmen of Castro.
  Mr. Speaker, this change of policy is an embarrassment to the 
longstanding record of the United States as the beacon of hope and 
freedom for the oppressed of the world.
  With one swift and misguided decision, the Clinton administration has 
successfully allied itself with the bloodiest tyrant the Americas has 
ever known, and has crushed the aspirations of freedom for millions of 
Cubans.
  The administration has once again proven that it does not comprehend 
how to deal with Cuba.
  Instead of attacking the root of the problem, Fidel Castro, the 
President continues to treat Cuba as an immigration problem, not as 
legitimate foreign policy matter.
  Most disturbing is that the President is using the Coast Guard to 
help maintain Cubans under the oppressive hand of Castro.
  This accord, Mr. Speaker, was reached in secret negotiations led by 
Assistant Secretary of State, Peter Tarnoff.
  Not even the head of the Cuban Affairs desk of the U.S. Department of 
State knew about these dealings, nor the Assistant Secretary for 
Interamerican Affairs at State.
  Moreover, Congress was never consulted on the matter and the 
administration has been stalling on details about the talks.
  Many questions still remain unanswered such as what concessions were 
given to Castro, and whether it is just a simple coincidence that, just 
few days before the new policy announcement, the administration 
publicly declared its opposition to the Helms-Burton bill.
  The administration must come forth with answers to these and other 
questions which are critical to untangling the purpose of this new 
policy.
  Mr. Speaker, the Coast Guard has been an exemplary institution of 
this country for decades.
  We should not allow the administration to use it as a tool to aid a 
totalitarian tyrant.
  I urge my colleagues to raise their voices against this distortion of 
the Coast Guard's mission.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio 
[Mr. Traficant].
  (Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule, and I 
rise in 
[[Page H4562]] support of this bill and in support of the new chairman 
of this subcommittee, the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Coble]. I 
do not believe there is anybody better prepared in the Congress to head 
the mission of this Congress in deliberating these matters, save for 
maybe the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Studds], his vast knowledge 
of working with the committee over the years.
  However, I have one concern with the bill. I am going to vote for 
this bill regardless if the amendment I propose passes or not, but the 
Coast Guard, Congress, has been known for safety. There is a provision 
in this bill that allows for the closing of 23 small boat stations.
  The bill gives an opportunity for the Coast Guard to work out all 
kinds of safety parameters here, to ensure that there will be adequate 
safety, et cetera, et cetera, but the truth of the matter is, 
``Scarlett, quite frankly, I don't buy it.''
  We have had testimony offered to us that the last time some of these 
small boat stations were closed, there was an accompanying loss of 
life. The Coast Guard has one mission. That is safety.
  What the Traficant amendment is dealing with financially, Congress, 
is $3 million; $3 million could be taken out of transportation, taken 
out of some expense account. Under the Traficant amendment, it says 
they could transfer everything out of these small boat stations but 
they must leave one pair of eyes of a Coast Guard full-time official, 
one pair of hands, one pair of eyes.
  Let me caution Congress: With all of these beautiful ideas of these 
weekend warriors, be careful, Congress. There are an awful lot of other 
good amendments, after the Traficant amendment is considered, that will 
put some extenuating circumstances and criteria that speak to safety.
  The truth of the matter is there is only one amendment today that 
will stop these closings. Every one of those other amendments will get 
a quick-over, fancy report and they will close those small boat 
stations.
  The Traficant amendment says those small boat stations will not be 
closed. They could transfer everything they want out of there, but they 
must leave one full-time personnel to coordinate those local efforts.
  Congress, that is good sense. We are here to set policy. We have 
given the executive branch so much authority in so many areas, we are 
now not even getting votes on major issues, including bailouts of 
Mexico.
  I am recommending to the Congress that the policy of the Congress be 
the Coast Guard is an excellent, excellent American service. Its No. 1 
mission is safety. We will retain it and keep its mission as safety. 
When you get a chance, consider that in any regard.
  I will support this bill under any circumstances. It is a good bill. 
I commend the chairman, the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Coble] 
for his outstanding effort.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Pallone].
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to commend the Committee on 
Rules, as well as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and 
Maritime Transportation, for supporting an open rule on this Coast 
Guard authorization bill.
  I did want to say, though, that I totally, 100 percent agree with the 
gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant], the ranking member, that his 
amendment, the Traficant amendment, if you will, is the only amendment 
that will assure that the 23 small boat unit stations are not closed.
  I remember because when I was first elected to Congress back in 1988, 
they had recently, the Coast Guard had recently proposed closing a 
number of stations, Coast Guard stations around the country, including 
the one that I represent at the Shark River Inlet. The effects of those 
closures at the time were widespread.
  I think many Members know that over the years, the Coast Guard 
committee and this Congress have added more and more responsibilities 
to the Coast Guard, whether it be to enforce against drug trafficking, 
to enforce our environmental laws, to enforce our fishing laws. More 
and more work every year goes to the Coast Guard, and at the same time 
we have been providing some additional funds for the Coast Guard.

                              {time}  1500

  But to suggest, as this small boat unit closure plan does, that all 
of a sudden now there are this minute 23 stations around the country 
that are no longer needed at a time when the amount of incidents, 
search and rescue incidents as well as all of the other jurisdiction 
the Coast Guard now has, and that traffic increases every year, to 
suggest this is the time to make these kinds of closures I think makes 
no sense.
  In addition, although I understand there are amendments out there and 
the rule provides for an open rule where all of these amendments can be 
heard, all of the other amendments, as the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. 
Traficant] said, will basically allow the Coast Guard to close these 23 
stations and others and look for some sort of alternative, either the 
State or locality or auxiliary, to step in and perform those functions 
also, let me assure my colleagues in the State of New Jersey it is not 
possible through our State of New Jersey through our marine police or 
Coast Guard auxiliary or local fire departments or whatever to step in 
and take over the responsibilities that the Coast Guard has at these 
various stations. That is why it is very important we pass the 
Traficant amendment today.
  I appreciate the fact we have an open rule, and I also appreciate the 
fact that the chairman, Mr. Coble, has tried very hard to do what he 
can to cooperate with those of us who are concerned about these 
closures. But I sincerely believe the only way we can make sure that 
the closures do not occur is by passing the Traficant amendment.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I have no other Members in the Chamber 
requesting time at this point, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, I yield 
back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the 
resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________