[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 97 (Thursday, July 10, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D729-D732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Bills Introduced: 18 public bills, H.R. 2132-2149; 1 private bill, H.R. 
2150; and 2 resolutions, H. Con. Res. 114 and H. Res. 183, were 
introduced.
  Pages H5131-32
Reports Filed: No reports were filed today.
Speaker Pro Tempore: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he 
designated Representative Gillmor to act as Speaker pro tempore for 
today.
  Page H5025
Journal Vote: By a yea-and-nay vote of 364 yeas to 49 nays with 1 
voting ``present'', Roll No. 256, the House agreed to the Speaker's 
approval of the Journal of Wednesday, July 9.
  Pages H5025, H5030-31
Balanced Budget Act: The House disagreed to the Senate amendment to 
H.R. 2015, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to subsections (b)(1) 
and (c) of section 105 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for 
fiscal year 1998, and agreed to a conference.
  Pages H5031-40

[[Page D730]]


  Appointed as conferees for consideration of the House Bill, and the 
Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: 
Representatives Kasich, Hobson, Armey, DeLay, Hastert, Spratt, Bonior, 
and Fazio of California. As additional conferees from the Committee on 
Agriculture, for consideration of title I of the House bill, and title 
I of the Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: 
Representatives Smith of Oregon, Goodlatte, and Stenholm. As additional 
conferees from the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, for 
consideration of title II of the House bill, and title II of the Senate 
amendment, and modifications committed to conference: Representatives 
Leach, Lazio of New York, and Gonzalez. As additional conferees from 
the Committee on Commerce, for consideration of subtitles A-C of title 
III of the House bill, and title IV of the Senate amendment, and 
modifications committed to conference: Representatives Bliley, Dan 
Schaefer of Colorado, and Dingell. As additional conferees from the 
Committee on Commerce, for consideration of subtitle D of title III of 
the House bill, and subtitle A of title III of the Senate amendment, 
and modifications committed to conference: Representatives Bliley, 
Tauzin, and Dingell. As additional conferees from the Committee on 
Commerce, for consideration of subtitles E and F of title III, titles 
IV and X of the House bill, and divisions 1 and 2 of title V of the 
Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: 
Representatives Bliley, Bilirakis, and Dingell. As additional conferees 
from the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for consideration of 
subtitle A of title V and subtitle A of title IX of the House bill, and 
chapter 2 of division 3 of title V of the Senate amendment, and 
modifications committed to conference: Representatives Goodling, 
Talent, and Clay. As additional conferees from the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, for consideration of subtitles B and C of 
title V of the House bill, and title VII of the Senate amendment, and 
modifications committed to conference: Representatives Goodling, 
McKeon, and Kildee. As additional conferees from the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, for consideration of subtitle D of title V 
of the House bill, and chapter 7 of division 4 of title V of the Senate 
amendment, and modifications committed to conference: Representatives 
Goodling, Fawell, and Payne. As additional conferees from the Committee 
on Government Reform and Oversight, for consideration of title VI of 
the House bill, and subtitle A of title VI of the Senate amendment, and 
modifications committed to conference: Representatives Burton of 
Indiana, Mica, and Waxman. As additional conferees from the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure for consideration of title VII of 
the House bill, and subtitle B of title III and subtitle B of title VI 
of the Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: 
Representatives Shuster, Gilchrest, and Oberstar. As additional 
conferees from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for consideration of 
title VIII of the House bill, and title VIII of the Senate amendment, 
and modifications committed to conference: Representatives Stump, Smith 
of New Jersey, and Evans. As additional conferees from the Committee on 
Ways and Means for consideration of subtitle A of title V and title IX 
of the House bill, and divisions 3 and 4 of title V of the Senate 
amendment, and modifications committed to conference: Representatives 
Archer, Shaw, Camp, Rangel, and Levin. As additional conferees from the 
Committee on Ways and Means, for consideration of titles IV and X of 
the House bill, and division 1 of title V of the Senate amendment, and 
modifications committed to conference: Representatives Archer, Thomas, 
and Stark.
Page H5040
  By a yea-and-nay vote of 414 yeas to 14 nays, Roll No. 257, agreed to 
the Spratt motion to instruct conferees (1) on the matters pertaining 
to increasing the age of eligibility for Medicare, reject the 
provisions contained in section 5611 of the Senate amendment; (2) on 
the matters pertaining to the minimum wage, worker protections, and 
civil rights--(A) insist on paragraphs (2) and (3), and reject the 
remainder, of section 417(f) of the Social Security Act, as amended by 
sections 5006 and 9006 of the bill, as passed the House, and (B) reject 
the provisions contained in sections 5004 and 9004 of the bill, as 
passed the House.
Page H5031-40
Taxpayers Relief Act: The House disagreed to the Senate amendment to 
H.R. 2014, to provide for reconciliation pursuant to subsections (b)(2) 
and (d) of section 105 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for 
fiscal year 1998 and agreed to a conference.
  Page H5040-49
  Appointed as conferees for consideration of the House Bill, and the 
Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: 
Representatives Kasich, Archer, Crane, Thomas, Armey, DeLay, McDermott, 
Rangel, Stark, and Matsui. As additional conferees from the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure for consideration of sections 702 
and 704 of the Senate amendment, and modifications committed to 
conference: Representatives Shuster, Molinari, and Oberstar. As 
additional conferees from the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 
for consideration of sections 713-714, 717, 879, 1302, 1304-5, and 1311 
of the Senate amendment, and modifications committed to conference: 
Representatives Goodling, Fawell, and Payne.
Pages H5048-49

[[Page D731]]


  By a yea-and-nay vote of 199 yeas to 233 nays, Roll No. 258, rejected 
the Rangel motion to instruct conferees to work in a bipartisan fashion 
to provide fair and equitable tax relief to working families and avoid 
large and growing out-year revenue costs. In doing so, the conferees 
shall within the scope of the conference: 1. Recede from their 
insistence on the provision of the House bill that provides for 
indexing of capital assets; 2. Support tax relief that provides a 
family credit commonly referred to as the $500-per-child credit, to 
working families, who pay Federal taxes; 3. Support tax provisions 
designed to assist working families in meeting the costs of college 
education and those provisions shall: a. Include a HOPE Scholarship 
credit for the first 2 years of postsecondary education consistent with 
the objectives of the HOPE Scholarship credit proposed by the President 
so that students attending low-cost community colleges are not 
disadvantaged; b. Include tax benefits for families paying tuition 
costs for the second 2 years of postsecondary education out of wages 
and salary income, and c. Not include the provisions of the House bill 
that impose new taxes on graduate students receiving tuition waivers. 
                                                         Pages H5040-48
Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act: The House completed 
debate and began consideration of amendments to H.R. 2107, making 
appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998. Consideration of 
amendments will resume on Friday, July 11.
  Pages H5062-H5128
Agreed To:
  The Skaggs amendment that increases funding for state energy 
efficiency and conservation programs by $8 million and reduces wildland 
fire management funding accordingly;
Pages H5097-98
  The Dicks amendment to the Porter amendment that reduces Forest 
Service funding for forest road construction and reconstruction by $5.6 
million and reduces from $50 million to $25 million the amount to 
remain available for the construction of forest roads by timber 
purchasers (agreed to by a recorded vote of 211 ayes to 209 noes, Roll 
No. 262); and
Pages H5100-16
  The Porter amendment, as amended by the agreed to Dicks amendment 
that reduces Forest Service funding for forest road construction and 
reconstruction by $5.6 million and reduces from $50 million to $25 
million the amount to remain available for the construction of forest 
roads by timber purchasers (agreed to by a recorded vote of 246 ayes to 
179 noes, Roll No. 263).
Pages H5098-H5117
Rejected:
  The Sanders amendment that sought to increase payment in lieu of 
taxes (PILT) funding by $19 million and reduce fossil energy research 
and development program funding by $47.5 million with the remaining 
$28.5 million reduction to be applied toward deficit reduction 
(rejected by a recorded vote of 199 ayes to 230 noes, Roll No. 260) ; 
                                                  Pages H5077-82, H5095
  The Gutierrez amendment that sought to increase urban energy 
conservation program funding by $2 million for the Urban Heat Island 
Research Program and Highly Reflective Surfaces Programs and reduce 
Bureau of Land Management Public Domain Forestry Program funding by 
$4.6 million with $2.6 million to be applied toward deficit reduction; 
and
Pages H5085-87
  The Maloney of New York amendment that sought to increase National 
Park Service funding by $500,000 for the Susan B. Anthony House and to 
decrease National Wildlife funding accordingly (rejected by a recorded 
vote of 77 ayes to 351 noes, Roll No. 261).
Pages H5089-90, H5095-96
Points of Order Sustained Against:
  The Miller of California amendment that sought to derive up to $700 
million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to carry out priority 
Federal land exchange agreements and land acquisitions; and 
                                                         Pages H5083-85
  Language in the bill that limits purchaser road credit to those 
companies that meet the Small Business Administration definition of 
small business as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations part 121. 
                                                             Page H5098
Votes Postponed:
  The Klug amendment that seeks to reduce funding for the clean coal 
technology program by $292 million by increasing the amount rescinded 
by that amount (the vote was postponed until Friday, July 11); and 
                                                         Pages H5119-23
  The Royce amendment that seeks to reduce funding for fossil energy 
research and development programs by $21.014 million (the vote was 
postponed until Friday, July 11).
Pages H5123-26
  The House agreed to H. Res. 181, the rule that provided for 
consideration of the bill, by a yea-and-nay vote of 217 yeas to 216 
nays, Roll No. 259.
Pages H5049-62
Meeting Hour: Agreed that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to 
meet at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 11.
  Page H5128
Amendments: Amendments ordered printed pursuant to the rule appear on 
page H5132.
Quorum Calls--Votes: Four yea-and-nay votes and four recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of the House today and appear on pages 
H5030-31, H5039-40, H5048, H5061-62, H5095, H5095-96,

[[Page D732]]

H5116, and H5116-17. There were no quorum calls.
Adjournment: Met at 10:00 a.m. and adjourned at 12:30 a.m. on Friday, 
July 11.