[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 65 (Friday, May 10, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H4836-H4837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. BONIOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished majority whip 
to inquire of the schedule for the rest of the week and for next week.
  Mr. DeLAY. I am pleased to announce that we have concluded our 
legislative business for the week.
  On Monday, May 13, the House will not be in session. On Tuesday, May 
14, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for morning hour and 2 p.m. for 
legislative business. Members should note that we do not anticipate 
votes until after 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14.
  Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday next, we will consider a number of bills 
under suspension of the rules. I will not read through the list at this 
time, but a complete schedule will be distributed to all Members' 
offices this afternoon.
  After consideration of the suspensions, we will take up H.R. 3230, 
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997, the rule 
for which was just passed today.
  On Wednesday, May 15, the House will meet at 9 a.m. and recess 
immediately for the Former Members' Day annual meeting. We expect to 
resume legislative business by 10 a.m. and complete consideration of 
H.R. 3230, the National Defense Authorization bill.
  On Thursday, May 16, the House will meet at 10 a.m. to consider the 
fiscal year 1997 budget resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, we should finish legislative business and have Members 
on their way home by 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 16.
  I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. BONIOR. I thank the gentleman for the information and would ask 
him if he plans to consider next week either of these two bills, the 
ballistic missile defense bill or the United Nations command and 
control bill.
  Mr. DeLAY. We do not anticipate consideration of either of those 
bills next week.
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman from Indiana.
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to ask the distinguished 
gentleman from Texas a few questions. As we enter into the weekend and 
Mother's Day, certainly many of us are glad that we are out now to 
spend time in our home districts and see our families. We would just 
like to be able to next week have a certain schedule, so that it is not 
a repeat of this week when the gentleman told us that we would start 
votes at 2 and be out at 6 on Tuesday, and then we did not start votes 
until 7 and we were going until about 11.

[[Page H4837]]

  Certainly on Tuesday of next week, from the distinguished majority 
leader's comments to us, he said we would come in at 12:30 and start 
votes at 5.
  Does the gentleman know what time, then, that we will conclude 
business Tuesday night? Will it be 10 or 11? We certainly do not mind 
working hard Tuesday night, but if we could just have some certainty as 
to what the time is.
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman will yield further, the gentleman's 
concerns are well founded. We found ourselves in circumstances that 
were beyond our control that caused us to work later than we 
anticipated this week. But I think the gentleman can count on, at least 
Tuesday night, going until 10 or 11 at night. We hope to get through 
the general debate on the defense bill and start votes somewhere around 
5 and go until 10 or 11 Tuesday night.
  Mr. ROEMER. If the gentleman will continue to yield, would the 
gentleman from Texas be open to starting much earlier in the morning 
Tuesday, instead of starting at 12:30, start working, like people in 
Indiana, about 7:30, 8 a.m. in the morning, and we get business going 
then to get into this complicated defense bill?
  Mr. DeLAY. I understand the gentleman's suggestion. I appreciate the 
suggestion. I do not think other Members would, in that we are trying 
to hold to the schedules as announced many weeks ago. And Members, 
particularly those Members from the West Coast, need the time to get 
here by 5 o'clock Tuesday night or they would have to fly the ``red 
eye'' Monday night.
  It is an announced schedule, it has been preannounced. Members have 
already planned their schedules back in their districts, and I think it 
would be very difficult to start earlier.
  Mr. ROEMER. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. BONIOR. I have another question on the schedule. There have been 
discussions and rumors on the floor that the 3 days at the end of the 
week, the last week of May, the 29th, 30th and 31st, might be days that 
the House may not meet.
  Can the gentleman enlighten us on the schedule in the latter part of 
the Memorial Day weekend schedule?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman will yield further, right now we are 
hoping to get our work done on the appropriations bills, and those 3 
days, at least at this point, we are planning on using to pass 
appropriations bills. So we anticipate working those 3 days.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlemen yield?
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would like to ask 
the gentleman from Texas a little more clarification about Tuesday 
night.
  Does he anticipate votes Tuesday night on the Defense Authorization 
Act as well as the others?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman will yield further, that is correct. 
There will be amendments to the Defense Authorization Act as laid out 
in the rule, and we anticipate votes on those amendments.
  Mr. ENGEL. On Tuesday night?
  Mr. DeLAY. On Tuesday night, starting about 5. The votes could come 
as soon as 5.
  Mr. ENGEL. So not just votes Tuesday night on the suspensions, votes 
also on the Defense bill?
  Mr. DeLAY. That is correct.
  Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. BONIOR. I thank the gentleman from Texas.

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