[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 69 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H3189-H3190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    WAIVING A REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 4(b) OF RULE XI WITH RESPECT TO 
  CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS REPORTED FROM THE COMMITTEE ON 
                                 RULES

  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call 
up House Resolution 155 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 155

       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 any resolution reported before May 23, 
     1997, providing for consideration or disposition of any of 
     the following measures:
       (1) A concurrent resolution on the budget, an amendment 
     thereto, a conference report thereon, or an amendment 
     reported in disagreement from a conference thereon.
       (2) The bill (H.R. 1469) making emergency supplemental 
     appropriations for recovery from natural disasters, and for 
     overseas peacekeeping efforts, including those in Bosnia, for 
     the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other 
     purposes, an amendment thereto, a conference report thereon, 
     or an amendment reported in disagreement from a conference 
     thereon.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor of North Carolina). The gentleman 
from Florida [Mr. Goss] is recognized for one hour.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts 
[Mr. Moakley], the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on 
Rules, 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 extend his remarks and 
include extraneous matter.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, this rule is very straightforward and simple. 
As has actually just been discussed in the extended 1-minute we just 
had, it waves clause 4(b) of rule XI, which requires a two-thirds vote 
to consider a rule on the same day it is reported. That is all it does.
  In this case the exemption is very narrow, as it applies to two 
specific measures, the fiscal year 1998 budget resolution conference 
report and the emergency supplemental bill, as we just heard in the 
colloquy between the gentleman from Massachusetts and the gentleman 
from New York.
  In an effort to avoid postponement of the Memorial Day work period 
restriction, when many Members obviously have important things to do 
back in their districts, this rule will allow for expedited 
consideration of these two important items. That is the purpose of the 
rule, and nothing more sinister than that.
  Negotiations over several extraneous items in the emergency bill 
have, unfortunately, delayed timely release of these funds, and I 
remain hopeful, if not optimistic, that we will be able to get this 
bill to the President's desk before the weekend. I think we all share 
that.
  I understand that the budget agreement had been strained in the other 
body by the proposed addition of a brand new Federal entitlement 
program paid for in tax increases. I hope that the irony of our 
balanced budget agreement being held hostage by unlimited spending and 
higher taxes will not be lost on most American people.
  But that is where we are, as we just hear in the extended 1-minute 
colloquy. In order to be able to move these critical items in a timely 
fashion, the House needs the targeted authority covered in this 
resolution, again, the targeted limited authority. We frankly need to 
be prepared to go forward as expeditiously as possible when that is 
possible.
  It is an ounce of prevention we are taking at this point. I think it 
is the responsible thing to do under the important and somewhat 
extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in on the threshold of 
Memorial Day.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the resolution and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this two-thirds rule. 
Today's rule will allow my Republican colleagues to rush two very 
important bills to the House floor. I believe we should do everything 
in our power to make sure the Midwestern flood relief gets out of 
Washington and into the hands of the people who need it the most as 
soon as possible.
  I also believe that this House should have completed its work on the 
budget over a month ago, when it was actually due. But since no one has 
even laid eyes on the final version of the two bills under question, I 
just cannot lend my support to a rule rushing their consideration 
because I am not sure what else is in those bills. They do not exist, 
Mr. Speaker. I am not sure what has been put into these bills, 
particularly given the unabashedly partisan provisions that were added 
to the supplemental appropriations bill, provisions that all but ensure 
its doom.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to make something perfectly clear. There is no 
problem, no problem at all, with the flood relief money for North 
Dakota. There is no problem, no problem at all, with the money for our 
troops in Bosnia. There is no problem with any of the emergency money 
in this bill, so why did it take so long to get this bill out of 
conference? Why did we have to do this rule today, waiving the two-
thirds requirement for the same day consideration of the rule?
  Because, Mr. Speaker, Republican colleagues insist on holding the 
Midwest flood money hostage in order to make a political point. Despite 
the complete devastation of towns like Red Forks, ND, my Republican 
colleagues still refuse to do what they should do, let this emergency 
relief go forward.
  Even though the flooding is over and the fires are put out, Mr. 
Speaker, hundreds of people are still without their homes, without 
their belongings, without their businesses. These are the people, Mr. 
Speaker, that are waiting for our help. We should give it to them. We 
should give it to them as soon as possible. We should not attach 
political blackmail to a bill this urgent and a bill with this much 
support.
  Weeks ago President Clinton warned that he would veto a bill with 
automatic continuing resolution because he believes, and I agree, that 
my Republican colleagues should fulfill their constitutionally mandated 
responsibilities to pass the appropriation bills by October 1, and not 
close down the Government for silly political gains.
  But they have attached the automatic continuing resolution anyway. 
Today they want to bring it to the House floor without giving Members 
enough time to find out exactly what is in it that they are voting on. 
But my Republican colleagues want to get out

[[Page H3190]]

of Washington for the Memorial Day recess, and they will not drop this 
political blackmail.
  For my Republican colleagues to consider going away for Memorial Day 
when these people are waiting for their flood relief money, which 
absolutely nobody opposes, is disgraceful.
  Mr. Speaker, simply and plainly, the people in North Dakota need our 
help. They do not need anymore political gains, they need our help. I 
urge my colleagues to oppose this rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1230

  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
would again remind our colleagues that this is a rule to keep our 
options open.
  It does nothing except change the two-thirds vote requirement, and 
any further measure that would have to come forward would have to be 
covered by another rule which, of course, the distinguished gentleman 
from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as the ranking member of the 
Committee on Rules, would have significant input in the shaping in 
order that we could get the best possible job done.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon], distinguished chairman of the 
Committee on Rules, who can expand further on this rule we are 
discussing today.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I had not even intended to speak, but I was 
moved by the ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules, the 
former chairman of that committee, whose place I took. And I must say, 
I learned an awful lot from him over the preceding decade when he was 
the chairman, but he talks about this continuing resolution and how the 
President has vowed to veto the continuing resolution.
  Well, just briefly we ought to discuss what is a continuing 
resolution. Let us digress for a minute. If Members recall, a couple 
years ago, when the Republicans and Democrats could not get together, 
they could not come to an agreement. Consequently, various departments 
of Government were not funded when the fiscal year began on September 
30. And when that happens, if the Congress has not authorized and 
appropriated the money for the operation of these departments, those 
departments shut down.
  That is what happened, and it was a great inconvenience to many 
Americans. Many of them, if they were waiting for passports to be 
expedited, they could not get them. If they have reservations on 
airways and boats, many of them, because they did not have their 
passports, they lost their tickets. They could not get refunds. That 
was just one area.
  In the IRS, many people were waiting for refunds from the Government 
and they did not get them on time. If they were visiting Washington, 
the Washington Monument or if they were going into the various State 
parks, one of them is like the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park and the 
Vanderbilt mansion up in Hyde Park, NY, they could not operate. People 
were hurting; the areas were hurt in tourism. And so we decided right 
then and there, we ought to do something about that.
  If we cannot get together, then we ought to make some provision to 
keep the Government operating, if we and the President cannot come to 
an agreement.
  Well, that is exactly what this debate is all about. Sometime between 
now and September 30, we will have to act on the appropriation bills 
that fund the various 13 departments of Government across this country.
  And should one or two of those not be agreed to, then this continuing 
resolution would continue to keep those departments operating, keep 
those very, very good Federal workers at their jobs getting their 
paychecks each month until the Congress could come to an agreement. 
That is what this debate is all about.
  Now, if the President wants to veto this bill simply because it has 
this continuing resolution, then let the President be responsible to 
the American people and to these Federal workers for having shut down 
the Government. I do not think he should do that.
  And, second, I really think he is bluffing. I do not think he will 
veto this bill for that reason. That, to me, would be a disgrace.
  So, having said that, let us get on with this resolution. Let us pass 
it. We are prepared to yield back our time, if the gentleman is, and 
get on with the day's business.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
say that I am a little puzzled. We just went from a hard-fought battle 
on adjournment, at the gentleman's request over there, which we beat 
back.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. GOSS. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I told the gentleman from Florida that the 
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley], sitting over there, looks 
like Santa Claus and not the Grinch that stole Christmas. I still think 
he is Santa Claus.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. GOSS. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts, who could be 
misidentified as Santa Claus.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to be compared with Santa 
Claus. I hope the gentleman is not referring to my girth.
  I think that the gentleman from Florida and the gentleman from New 
York and myself have adequately described this, and, thus, I have 
yielded back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, 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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