[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 40 (Thursday, March 21, 1996)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D246-D248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page D246]]




                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Bills Introduced: 18 public bills, H.R. 3134-3151; and 3 resolutions, 
H.J. Res. 166-167, and H. Res. 387 were introduced.
  Pages H2664-65
Reports Filed: Reports were filed as follows:
  H. Res. 388, providing for consideration of H.R. 125, to repeal the 
ban on semiautomatic assault weapons and the ban on large capacity 
ammunition feeding devices (H. Rept. 104-490);
  Conference report on S. 4, to grant the power to the President to 
reduce budget authority (H. Rept. 104-491); and
  Supplemental report on H.R. 2202, to amend the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to improve deterrence of illegal immigration to the 
United States by increasing border patrol and investigative personnel, 
by increasing penalties for alien smuggling and for document fraud, by 
reforming exclusion and deportation law and procedures, by improving 
the verification system for eligibility for employment, and through 
other measures, to reform the legal immigration system and facilitate 
legal entries into the United States (H. Rept. 104-459, Part IV). 
                                                         Pages H2640-52
Speaker Pro Tempore: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he 
designates Representative Waldholtz to act as Speaker pro tempore for 
today.
  Page H2561
Tea Importation Act: House passed H.R. 2969, to eliminate the Board of 
Tea Experts by repealing the Tea Importation Act of 1897.
  Page H2577
Privileged Resolution: House agreed to H. Res. 387, returning S. 1518, 
to eliminate the Board of Tea Experts by prohibiting funding for the 
Board and by repealing the Tea Importation Act of 1897. 
                                                         Pages H2577-78
Continuing Appropriations: By a recorded vote of 244 ayes to 180 noes, 
Roll No. 83, the House passed H.J. Res. 165, making further 
appropriations for fiscal year 1996.
  Pages H2578-88
  Rejected the Obey motion to recommit the bill to the Committee on 
Appropriations with instructions to report it back forthwith containing 
an amendment to provide the necessary funding during the period of the 
joint resolution to avert all layoffs of instructional school personnel 
whose salaries are paid in whole or in part by programs of the 
Department of Education for the 1996-1997 academic year (rejected by a 
yea-and-nay vote of 192 yeas to 230 nays, Roll No. 82). 
                                                         Pages H2578-87
  H. Res. 386, the rule under which the joint resolution was considered 
and which waived the requirements of clause 4(b) of rule XI of the 
House with respect to consideration of certain resolutions, was agreed 
to by a recorded vote of 237 ayes to 183 noes, Roll No. 81. Earlier, 
agreed to order the previous question on the resolution by a yea-and-
nay vote of 234 years to 187 nays, Roll No. 80.
Pages H2565-77
Permission to Sit: House agreed to the Armey motion that, pursuant to 
clause 2(i) of rule XI, for today and the balance of the week all 
committees be granted special leave to sit while the House is reading a 
measure for amendment under the five-minute rule.
  Pages H2588-89
Immigration Reform: By a recorded vote of 333 ayes to 87 noes Roll No. 
89, the House passed H.R. 2202, to amend the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to improve deterrence of illegal immigration to the 
United States by increasing border patrol and investigative personnel, 
by increasing penalties for alien smuggling and for document fraud, by 
reforming exclusion and deportation law and procedures, by improving 
the verification system for eligibility for employment, and through 
other measures, to reform the legal immigration system and facilitate 
legal entries into the United States.
  Pages H2589-H2640
  Rejected the Bryant motion to recommit the bill to the Committee on 
the Judiciary with instructions to report it back forthwith containing 
an amendment that sought to make changes relating to H-1B nonimmigrant 
worker regulations designed to protect United States workers from being 
laid off and replaced by temporary foreign workers (rejected by a 
recorded vote of 188 ayes to 231 noes, Roll No. 88).
Pages H2636-39
Agreed To:
  Agreed to the Chrysler amendment, as modified, that strikes language 
placing new limits on the number of legal immigrants allowed into the 
country annually, and the specific categories of those immigrants 
(agreed to by a recorded vote of 238 ayes to 183 noes, Roll No. 84); 
and
Pages H2589-H2603
  The Rohrabacher amendment that repeals a provision in current law 
allowing certain illegal aliens to apply for permanent status and 
remain in the United States while their applications are being 
adjudicated.
Pages H2603-04

[[Page D247]]

Rejected:
  The Pombo amendment, as amended by the Condit amendment, that sought 
to modify the current temporary agriculture worker program by replacing 
the labor certification requirement with a labor attestation 
requirement; create an alternative pilot program, authorized for three 
years, requiring employers to file a form with the area's State 
employment security agency stating the wage rate of jobs which must be 
tied to comparable prevailing wages for that area, that the job is 
seasonal i.e., not more than 10 months in a 12-month period, and that 
the jobs will not adversely affect other area workers; provides for a 
two-year phaseout of the guest worker program should the pilot program 
become permanent; require employers to offer temporary agriculture 
workers reasonable housing; directs employers to hold twenty-five 
percent of the temporary agriculture worker's salary in a trust fund 
administered by the Justice Department which would be available to 
workers when they returned to their home countries; and require 
employers to pay Federal unemployment tax and make Federal insurance 
contributions on behalf of the workers to reimburse Justice, Labor and 
State Departments for the costs of administering the funds (rejected by 
a recorded vote of 180 ayes to 242 noes, Roll No. 85);
Pages H2604-21
  The Goodlatte amendment that sought to modify the current 
agricultural guest worker program by transferring from the Labor 
Department to the Immigration and Naturalization Service; to provide 
for no more than 100,000 foreign workers to be admitted under the 
program each year; to shorten from 60 days to 40 days the maximum 
amount of the time in advance of needing workers that employers could 
be required to submit petitions; and to limit to 20 days the time 
period during which the Department could require an employer to conduct 
active recruitment efforts for eligible workers (rejected by a recorded 
vote of 59 ayes to 357 noes, Roll No. 86); and
Pages H2621-26, H2629
  The Burr amendment that sought to extend the H-lA nonimmigrant nurse 
program for six months after the date of enactment; (rejected by a 
recorded vote of 152 ayes to 262 noes, Roll No. 87).
Pages H2626-30
  The Clerk was authorized to correct section numbers, cross-
references, the table of contents, and punctuation and to make such 
other stylistic, clerical, technical, and conforming changes as may be 
necessary in the engrossment of the bill.
Page H2640
Further Appropriations: Agreed to the Livingston motion to take from 
the Speaker's table H.R. 3019, making further appropriations for fiscal 
year 1996 to make a further downpayment toward a balanced budget, 
disagree to the Senate amendment and agree to a conference. Appointed 
as conferees:
  For consideration of the House Bill (except for section 101(c)) and 
the Senate amendment (except for section 101 (d)), and modifications 
committed to conference: Representatives Livingston, Myers of Indiana, 
Young of Florida, Regula, Lewis of California, Porter, Rogers, Skeen, 
Wolf, Vucanovich, Lightfoot, Callahan, Walsh, Obey, Yates, Stokes, 
Bevill, Murtha, Wilson, Dixon, Hefner, and Mollohan.
  For consideration of section 101(c) of the House bill and section 
101(d)) of the Senate amendment, and modifications committed to 
conference: Representatives Porter, Young of Florida, Bonilla, Istook, 
Miller of Florida, Dickey, Riggs, Wicker, Livingston, Obey, Stokes, 
Hoyer, Pelosi, and Lowey.
Pages H2652-54
  Rejected the Obey motion to instruct the managers on the part of the 
House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses to 
agree to the Position in the Senate amendment increasing funding above 
the levels in the House bill for programs of the Department of 
Education; agree to the position in the Senate amendment increasing 
funding above the levels in the House bill for programs of the 
Environmental Protection Agency; agree to the position in the Senate 
amendment that provides a minimum of $975 million from within the $1.9 
provided for Local Law Enforcement Block Grants within the Department 
of Justice for the Public Safety and Community Policing grants pursuant 
to title I of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 
(COPS on the beat program); agree to the position in the Senate 
amendment increasing funding above levels in the House bill for job 
training and worker protection programs of the Department of labor; 
agree to the position in the senate amendment deleting Title V of the 
House bill; agree to the position in the Senate amendment specifying a 
maximum grant award to $2,500 under the Pell Grant Program; and agree 
to the position in the Senate amendment providing fiscal year 1997 
funding of $1 billion for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program of 
the Department of Health and Human Services (rejected by a yea-and-nay 
vote of 194 yeas to 207 nays, Roll No. 90).
Pages H2652-54
Referral: One Senate-passed measure was referred to the appropriate 
House committee.
  Page H2663
Senate Messages: Messages received from the Senate today appear on 
pages H2561, H2652.
Amendments Ordered Printed: Amendments ordered printed pursuant to the 
rule appear on page H2665.

[[Page D248]]

Quorum Calls--Votes: Three yea-and-nay votes and eight recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of the House today and appear on pages 
H2576, H2576-77, H2587, H2587-88, H2602-03, H2621, H2629, H2629-30, 
H2638-39, H2639-40, and H2653-54.
Adjournment: Met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 9:41 p.m.