[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 2 (Thursday, January 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H75-H76]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  MAKING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO OMNIBUS CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 1997

  Mr. LIVINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I offer a joint resolution (H.J. Res. 
25) making technical corrections to the Omnibus Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 1997 (Public Law 104-208), and for other 
purposes, and I ask unanimous consent that the House immediately 
consider and pass the joint resolution.
  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Louisiana?
  Mr. OBEY. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, I do not intend 
to object, but I simply do so to enable the gentleman from Louisiana to 
explain his request.
  Mr. LIVINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. OBEY. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana.
  Mr. LIVINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I will be happy to explain the changes 
to the fiscal year 1997 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act 
proposed in the joint resolution that is the object of my unanimous-
consent request.
  As the gentleman will recall, one of the last actions of the 104th 
Congress was to pass this Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act. Back 
in late September, even though we were intensely negotiating for 
several consecutive days almost around the clock, we were running out 
of time before the new fiscal year began. We were rushing to complete 
our work. In this rush, several errors and omissions were made during 
the bill preparation so that what was signed into law did not reflect 
the actual agreement on this bill in a few instances.
  The bill was hand enrolled and was over 8 inches thick, plus another 
4 inches for the Statement of Managers. During the preparation and 
reproduction of the bill, one page was omitted in the copy that became 
law. This bill had 1,929 pages, and the Statement of Managers had 
nearly 1,000 pages. While it is unfortunate that this type of error 
occurred, considering the sheer volume of the bill and the time we had 
to put it together, I think we did a pretty good job. Section 1 of this 
joint resolution inserts the matter that was inadvertently dropped.
  Sections 2 and 3 deal with correcting text that did not reflect 
agreement on the bill. These drafting errors resulted from failing to 
change all portions of preliminary text to reflect the intent of the 
final agreement.
  The corrections proposed by this joint resolution reflect only the 
original agreement on this Omnibus Appropriations Act, not any changes 
to that agreement. They are necessary to fully carry out the original 
agreement.

[[Page H76]]

  I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I urge the adoption of 
this joint resolution.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I support the gentleman's motion, and I 
withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from 
Louisiana?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the joint resolution, as follows:

                              H.J. Res. 25

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled,
       Section 1. Title III of the Departments of Commerce, 
     Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 1997 (as contained in DIVISION A, TITLE 
     I--OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS, section 101(a) of the Omnibus 
     Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, Public Law 104-208) is 
     amended under the heading ``Courts of Appeals, District 
     Courts, and Other Judicial Services--defender services'' by 
     striking ``attorneys ap-'' at the end and inserting the 
     following: ``attorneys appointed to represent jurors in civil 
     actions for the protection of their employment, as authorized 
     by 28 U.S.C. 1875(d); $308,000,000, to remain available until 
     expended as authorized by 18 U.S.C. 3006A(i).''. The 
     foregoing amendment shall be considered for all purposes to 
     have taken effect on the date of enactment of Public Law 104-
     208, and any actions taken prior to the date of enactment of 
     this section on the basis that Public Law 104-208 should be 
     interpreted as if it included the amendment made by this 
     section, if otherwise valid, are ratified and approved by 
     Congress.
       Sec. 2. Title I of the Departments of Labor, Health and 
     Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 1997 (as contained in DIVISION A, TITLE 
     I--OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS, section 101(e) of the Omnibus 
     Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, Public Law 104-208) is 
     amended under the heading ``Employment and Training 
     Administration--state unemployment insurance and employment 
     service operations'' by striking ``$23,452,000'' and 
     inserting ``$173,452,000''.
       Sec. 3. Funds available for title IV-A-1 of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education act in title III of the Departments 
     of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and 
     Related Agencies, Appopriations Act, 1997 (as contained in 
     DIVISION A, TITLE I--OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS, section 101(e) 
     of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, Public 
     Law 104-208) under the heading ``school improvement 
     programs'' shall also be available for title IV-A-2 of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Provided, That, of 
     the funds under these headings in that Act available July 1, 
     1997, through September 30, 1998, $25,000,000 shall instead 
     be available October 1, 1996, through September 30, 1997.

  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 
time, was read the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider 
was laid on the table.

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