[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 150 (Friday, October 31, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H9832-H9833]
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. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. 
Armey], the majority leader, for purposes of inquiring about the 
schedule for today and next week.
  Mr. ARMEY. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to announce that we have had 
our last vote for the day. I believe all Members will be able to make 
it back home tonight to see their little angels and saints head out for 
Halloween.
  Next week, the House will meet on Tuesday, November 4, at 10:30 a.m. 
for morning hour and 12 noon for legislative business. We do not 
anticipate any recorded votes before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Election Day.
  On Tuesday, November 4, the House will take up a number of bills 
under suspension of the rules, a list of which will be distributed this 
afternoon. After suspensions, we will return to H.R. 2746, the HELP 
Scholarships Act, and H.R. 2616, the Charter Schools Amendment Act.
  The House will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and at 9 
a.m. on Friday to consider the following bills: H.R. 2292, the Internal 
Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1997; H.R. 2195, the 
Slave Labor Productions Act of 1997; H.R. 967, a bill to prohibit the 
use of U.S. funds to provide for the participation of certain Chinese 
officials in international conferences, programs, and activities and to 
provide certain Chinese officials shall be ineligible to receive visas 
and excluded from admission into the United States; H.R. 2570, the 
Forced Abortion Condemnation Act; H.R. 2358, the

[[Page H9833]]

Political Freedom in China Act of 1997; H.R. 2232, the Radio Free Asia 
Act of 1997; H.R. 2605, the Communist China Subsidy Reduction Act of 
1997; H.R. 2647, a bill to ensure that commercial activities of the 
People's Liberation Army of China or any Communist Chinese military 
company in the United States are monitored; House Resolution 188, a 
resolution urging the executive branch to take action regarding the 
acquisition by Iran of C-802 cruise missiles; H.R. 2386, the United 
States-Taiwan Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense Cooperation Act; and H.R. 
2621, the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Authorities Act 1997.
  As Members know, Madam Speaker, there are a number of appropriations 
bills that need to be passed before the House concludes the first 
session of the 105th Congress. I have always been an optimist, and it 
is my hope that the House can agree on these important matters by the 
end of next week, next Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
  I thank the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. BONIOR. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, if the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Armey] will bear with me for a second, I have a series of 
questions I would like to pose to the distinguished majority leader.
  A number of resolutions were filed this morning with regard to the 
Sanchez situation, and I am just wondering when those will be brought 
up.
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman would yield, obviously, we will have to 
look at that. We will try to reconcile that against the schedule. I 
would guess it would be Tuesday or Wednesday.
  Mr. BONIOR. Second, as the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey] knows 
from the long lines on the floor of the House of Representatives, we 
have up to now 187 Members, bipartisan I might add in nature, who have 
come and signed a discharge petition on campaign finance reform. I note 
there is an agreement in the Senate to take up campaign finance reform. 
I am just wondering if the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey] could tell 
us when we will take campaign finance up in the House of 
Representatives.
  Mr. ARMEY. I thank the gentleman for his inquiry. If the gentleman 
would continue to yield, we are looking at that. We have been having 
discussions among ourselves and with our colleagues on the other side 
of the building. I do not have anything to announce at this time.
  Mr. BONIOR. Well, I suspect that my friend, the gentleman from Texas 
[Mr. Armey], took note that we had an additional 20 Members sign this 
week. And I think the movement is moving well. I would just encourage 
my friend from Texas to seriously consider the large number of Members 
who are interested in this. One hundred and eighty Democrats have 
already signed this petition. We are looking forward to a debate on 
that. All sides, all different perspectives on this issue, can have 
their say on the floor of the House.
  Third, can the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey] tell me what day we 
will take up fast track?
  Mr. ARMEY. Madam Speaker, it is our intention to do fast track on 
Friday.
  Mr. BONIOR. Reclaiming my time, fourth, I note that in the comments 
the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey] has just made, there were a series 
of bills related to China on the schedule. I am wondering under what 
structure we are going to consider them.
  Are we going to have one rule to consider them all, or are we going 
to have separate rules on each of the bills that my colleague said we 
will discuss next week as they relate to China?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman will continue to yield, the Committee on 
Rules will be meeting earlier next week and they will be working on 
that in conjunction with the other members of the committee, and the 
minority will be, I suppose, negotiating that.
  Mr. BONIOR. Well, I hope they are brought out here under separate 
rules and we do not have a package rule situation on these very 
important bills.
  Finally, let me just ask my friend, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. 
Armey], I noted in his comments at the end that he seemed optimistic, 
and referred to himself that way, that we will be able to finish by the 
end of the week next week. I am optimistic, as well, and my sense is 
that that is where we are heading. If the gentleman from Texas [Mr. 
Armey] has any other thoughts on that, I would like to hear them. And 
if not, does he anticipate an additional continuing resolution to take 
us into next year?
  Mr. ARMEY. It is my belief at this point to continue to talk to all 
the people related to these conferences on spending bills that we can 
complete that work by sometime next weekend. I see no reason to depart 
from that belief. But I must advise the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Bonior] that I hold that belief and punctuate it with both a knock on 
wood and a prayer.
  Mr. BONIOR. I will take both. Have a good weekend.
  Mr. RIGGS. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. RIGGS. Madam Speaker, with the passage of the rule making in 
order both the HELP scholarships bill, which I know is of genuine 
interest and even some concern to Members on both sides of the aisle 
and on both sides of the issue, pro and con, through the majority whip 
to the majority leader, is it our intention to resume that debate and 
have the debate on the HELP scholarships bill between 4 and 6 on 
Tuesday, so Members know they should be back at that time for debate, 
and that the vote would then occur on the HELP scholarships bill at 
approximately 6 p.m.?
  Mr. ARMEY. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. ARMEY. The gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] is correct.
  Let me again reiterate. We will begin the general debate then on the 
HELP scholarships bill around 4 on Tuesday.
  Mr. RIGGS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. 
Bonior] for yielding.

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