[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 116 (Thursday, August 1, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H9775-H9776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




WAIVING REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 4(b) OF RULE XI WITH RESPECT TO SAME DAY 
                 CONSIDERATION OF A CERTAIN RESOLUTION

  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call 
up House Resolution 500 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 500

       Resolved, That the requirement of clause 4(b) of rule XI 
     for a two-thirds vote to consider a report from the Committee 
     on Rules on the same day it is presented to the House is 
     waived with respect to a resolution reported before August 2, 
     1996, providing for consideration or disposition of a 
     conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 3103) to amend 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve portability and 
     continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and 
     individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in 
     health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use 
     of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term 
     services and coverage, to simplify the administration of 
     health insurance, and for other purposes.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss] is 
recognized for 1 hour.

[[Page H9776]]


  Mr. GOSS. For purposes of debate only, Mr. Speaker, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California 
[Mr. Beilenson], pending which I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is 
for purposes of debate only.
  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks and include extraneous material.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 500 is a straightforward 
expedited procedures rule--agreed to by the minority members of our 
Rules Committee--designed to allow for prompt consideration later today 
of the conference report on H.R. 3103, the Health Insurance Portability 
and Accountability Act of 1996.
  This rule waives the requirement of clause 4(b) of Rule XI regarding 
same-day consideration of a resolution reported from the Committee on 
Rules. That requirement, which provides that two-thirds of the House 
must agree to such a resolution, is generally observed to provide 
Members time to digest the legislation under consideration. I share the 
interest of our minority in ensuring that we do not waive that 
requirement often--or lightly.
  However, in this case, we are under serious time constraints to 
complete our work on an extremely important measure, which has had 
significant debate and public airing over the many months it has been 
under consideration in both Houses of Congress and the conference 
committee. In fact, every major portion of this bill, every painstaking 
step in the negotiation has, I believe, been thoroughly reported by the 
media, given the enormous public interest in this subject. I think 
Members should agree that, since there is finally bipartisan agreement 
about the provisions of this bill, we should not delay in approving it 
and getting it onto the President's desk for his signature.
  Mr. Speaker, last night a milestone was achieved on behalf of the 
American people. An agreement was reached on legislation to improve the 
availability and portability of health care insurance. This legislation 
resolves problems of job-lock, denial of coverage, lack of choice, 
fraud and abuse--addressing the fundamental concerns of millions of 
Americans. We struggled for many, many months with this bill--and at 
times it seemed like some were willing to risk never getting it done in 
order to make political points. That would have been a tragedy for all 
of us. But in the end, the deafening call from the people we represent 
to tackle the most obvious problems with health insurance availability 
and accountability was heeded.
  Mr. Speaker, during the upcoming debate members will discuss the 
details of the agreement and explain how it will expand health 
coverage, broaden choice, and reduce anxiety for countless Americans. 
This rule allows that critical discussion to proceed.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEILENSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this rule waives the two-thirds' vote requirement, as we 
have heard, for the same-day consideration of the rule on the health 
care conference report. The rule is necessary because the conference 
report was not available yesterday when the House completed legislative 
business.

                              {time}  1715

  This is not obviously the best way to consider important legislation. 
Conference reports should lay over for a few days, certainly two or 
three if possible so that people can read them and understand what they 
are voting on, but we do, of course, understand the need for this kind 
of rule in the rush toward starting the August District Work Period.
  Mr. Speaker, we have no objections to this rule and urge Members' 
support for it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I have no 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.

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