[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H10575-H10577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS IN PREPARATION FOR 
             THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE FIRST SESSION SINE DIE.

  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, by the direction of the Committee on 
Rules, I call up House Resolution 311 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 311

       Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it 
     shall be in order to consider in the House a joint resolution 
     waiving certain enrollment requirements with respect to 
     certain specified bills of the One Hundred Fifth Congress. 
     The joint resolution shall be considered as read for 
     amendment. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the joint resolution to final passage without 
     intervening motion except: (1) One hour of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by the majority leader and the 
     minority leader or their designees; and (2) one motion to 
     commit.
       Sec. 2. Upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in 
     order to consider in the House a joint resolution appointing 
     the day for the convening of the second session of the One 
     Hundred Fifth Congress. The joint resolution shall be 
     considered as read for amendment. The previous question shall 
     be considered as ordered on the joint resolution to final 
     passage without intervening motion except: (1) One hour of 
     debate equally divided and controlled by the majority leader 
     and the minority leader or their designees; and (2) one 
     motion to commit.
       Sec. 3. The Speaker, the majority leader, and the minority 
     leader may accept resignations and make appointments to 
     commissions, boards, and committees following the adjournment 
     of the first session sine die as authorized by law or by the 
     House.
       Sec. 4. A resolution providing that a committee of two 
     Members of the House be appointed to wait upon the President 
     of the United States and inform him that the House of 
     Representatives has completed its business of the session and 
     is ready to adjourn, unless the President has some other 
     communication to make to them, is hereby adopted.
       Sec. 5. A concurrent resolution providing that the two 
     Houses of Congress assemble in the Hall of the House of 
     Representatives on Tuesday, January 27, 1998, at 9 p.m., for 
     the purpose of receiving such communication as the President 
     of the United States shall be pleased to make to them is 
     hereby adopted.
       Sec. 6. House Resolution 306 is laid on the table.

                              {time}  0100

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The gentlewoman from Ohio [Ms. 
Pryce] is recognized for 1 hour.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I 
yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentlewoman from New 
York [Ms. Slaughter], pending which I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is 
for the purpose of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, on Friday night, with little debate, the Committee on 
Rules reported House Resolution 311 by voice vote. This rule provides 
for the consideration and adoption of resolutions in preparation for 
the adjournment of the first session of the 105th Congress sine die. 
The rule includes a laundry list of items that the House must take care 
of in preparation for the end of the year, when it is time for us to 
leave Washington and go home to our families and constituents.
  For example, the rule makes in order a joint resolution that would 
waive certain enrollment requirements with respect to specified bills, 
so that after legislation is passed, it can be sent to the President 
for his signature without delay.
  Further, the rule provides for consideration of a joint resolution 
that specifies the day when the 105th Congress will reconvene for a 
second session. Each of these resolutions will be debatable for 1 hour, 
equally divided between the majority and minority leaders, and will be 
subject to a motion to commit.
  Further, with the adoption of this rule, a resolution to provide for 
the appointment of two Members of the House to inform the President 
that the House is ready to adjourn, unless he has some other 
communication to make to the House, will be adopted. Other housekeeping 
items this rule provides for will allow the Speaker, majority leader, 
and minority leader to accept resignations and make appointments to 
commissions, boards, and committees following adjournment.
  This rule also disposes of H. Res. 306, which the House has no need 
to consider.
  Finally, this rule looks forward to the time when we will return to 
Congress next year, refreshed and renewed, ready to work, by setting 
the date for the President's State of the Union on Tuesday, January 27, 
1998, at 9 p.m.
  Mr. Speaker, as we plan for adjournment, it is worthwhile to reflect 
on the accomplishments of the first session of the 105th Congress. And 
we have a lot to be proud of. Perhaps most notably, the 105th Congress 
passed legislation to provide tax relief for the first time in 16 
years. Through your efforts, we have given 41 million children a tax 
credit, we have slashed the capital gains tax to promote economic 
growth, and we have reined in the death tax to provide relief to 
family-owned farms and businesses.
  At the same time, we reached our goal of enacting a balanced budget 
that will eliminate the deficit by slowing the growth of government 
spending and creating a small, more effective Federal Government. 
Through that same legislation, we saved the Medicare program from 
bankruptcy, extending its life for at least 10 years, so that today's 
seniors and future generations will have the affordable, quality health 
care they so strongly deserve.
  And that is not all. This House has passed legislation to move 
children from foster care to permanent homes. We passed legislation to 
give workers the flexibility of opting for time off rather than 
overtime pay, and we passed housing reforms to help low-income 
families.
  In recent days, we have started down the path to overhauling our 
onerous tax system by passing legislation to reform and restructure the 
IRS. And the education reform measures we have adopted will give hope 
to children eager to learn and the promise of choice to parents who 
want the best for their kids.
  Mr. Speaker, we have worked hard, and it shows. Now it is time to 
wrap up our work, go home to our families and constituents, and renew 
ourselves for the legislative challenges that lie ahead. Adoption of 
this rule will take us one step closer to the completion of a very 
productive first session, and I urge its swift adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Ms. Slaughter asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the two of us are about 
as popular as we can get this evening, holding this crowd. However, it 
is necessary for us to do this or the business of the Republic cannot 
go on; it is that important.
  Mr. Speaker, for the most part, the rule provides for usual 
housekeeping duties that are required to bring a session of Congress to 
a close. I do not oppose those provisions, but I do believe that they 
should only be brought up at the appropriate time, when we have 
completed all of our vital pending business.
  A major issue that needs to be addressed before we leave is campaign 
finance reform. The 1997 elections merely enforce the obvious problems 
with our campaign finance laws that we learned in the 1996 elections. 
The use of massive amounts of soft money on supposed ``issue 
advertising,'' which was intended and succeeded in affecting the 
outcome of individual races; the failure of disclosure rules to 
adequately inform the public, because of noncompliance and delayed 
compliance with the current rules; the continued laundering of money 
through supposed nonpartisan, nonprofit interest groups must stop.
  House Members on both sides of the aisle know it is necessary, 
because 187 Members of this Congress have taken the extraordinary step 
of signing Discharge Petition 3 to force a full discussion of a variety 
of proposals. The American public deserves better than

[[Page H10576]]

our current out-of-control system, and we need to work on reform now. 
We all know the process will be difficult and contentious, but, 
nevertheless, reform is essential to ensure that citizens and not money 
decide who wins elections.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on the last section of 
the rule, which lays on the table H.R. 306. H.R. 306, as we all 
remember, was the resolution that this House should have considered to 
expedite procedures at the end of the session. It was similar to the 
resolutions in previous Congresses.
  Instead, this majority demonstrated its utter disregard for Members' 
basic right to assert their constitutional prerogatives as 
representatives elected by their constituents. For the first time in 
the 218-year history of the House of Representatives, we voted last 
Thursday to strip from Members the right to raise before the whole body 
questions of privilege affecting the rights of the House collectively, 
its safety, dignity, and integrity of its proceedings. And I am 
saddened that this dangerous precedent was set.
  I would like to say that I think we also need to say before the close 
of this session of Congress that to drag on the question of the 
gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez] in District 46 of California, 
to drag that on is the penultimate case of not being able to adjourn to 
go home, to leave unfinished business.
  I regret with all my heart that we are at that state. And I hope when 
we come back next week we can remedy that problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, as everybody is as tired and interested in 
going home as I am, it bears repeating that, and I did not know that 
the gentlewoman from New York [Ms. Slaughter] was going to mention the 
gentlewoman from California [Ms. Sanchez], but, as we leave, to repeat 
that this is the longest pending case in history under the Federal 
Contested Election Act, the longest in history.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Let me remind my colleagues who are focused so loud on campaign 
finance reform that the House will have that debate when we return in 
the spring. Currently, there is no consensus on what campaign finance 
should look like, as was evidenced by hearings held in the Committee on 
House Oversight.
  Our hope is that by March or April, the House will find some 
consensus on this issue so that meaningful campaign finance reform can 
be passed and signed into law. I want to remind my colleagues who are 
focusing on what we have not done of what we have accomplished in the 
first session. And once again I will remind them.
  We have passed legislation to provide for tax relief for the first 
time in 16 years, a balanced budget that eliminates the deficit by 
2002, adoption reforms for children in foster care, comp-time for 
America's workers, housing reform for low-income families, education 
reform for children eager to learn, and IRS reform for the taxpayers. I 
have to say very proudly that much of this has been accomplished in a 
bipartisan manner.
  So, Mr. Speaker, we should be proud of these accomplishments and 
recognize that while we see a break in the action here soon, this 
resolution does not signify the end of the 105th. We will be back next 
year to add to our good works.
  Further, Mr. Speaker, this resolution, in and of itself, should not 
be controversial. There were no objections heard in the Committee on 
Rules. So I urge my colleagues to support the rule.
  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 SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 257, 
nays 159, not voting 17, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 628]

                               YEAS--257

     Aderholt
     Allen
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Bass
     Bateman
     Bereuter
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Brady
     Bryant
     Bunning
     Burr
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Cannon
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Clement
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins
     Combest
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Cox
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     Delahunt
     DeLay
     Dellums
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dixon
     Doolittle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Ensign
     Everett
     Ewing
     Fawell
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fossella
     Fowler
     Fox
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goodlatte
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Greenwood
     Gutknecht
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hansen
     Hastert
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill
     Hilleary
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Kim
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Lantos
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     Livingston
     LoBiondo
     Lucas
     Maloney (CT)
     Manzullo
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDade
     McGovern
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Minge
     Moakley
     Moran (KS)
     Morella
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pappas
     Parker
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Paxon
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Redmond
     Regula
     Riggs
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Royce
     Ryun
     Sabo
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Schaefer, Dan
     Schaffer, Bob
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Skeen
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith, Adam
     Smith, Linda
     Snowbarger
     Solomon
     Souder
     Spence
     Stabenow
     Stearns
     Stokes
     Stump
     Sununu
     Talent
     Tauzin
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Tiahrt
     Traficant
     Upton
     Walsh
     Watkins
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     White
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wolf
     Wynn
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                               NAYS--159

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Andrews
     Baesler
     Baldacci
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop
     Blumenauer
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Cardin
     Carson
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clyburn
     Condit
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cummings
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fazio
     Filner
     Ford
     Furse
     Gejdenson
     Gephardt
     Goode
     Green
     Gutierrez
     Hamilton
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hefner
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Holden
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Johnson (WI)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     Lampson
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Luther
     Maloney (NY)
     Manton
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McHale
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (CA)
     Mink
     Mollohan
     Moran (VA)
     Nadler
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Payne
     Peterson (MN)
     Pickett
     Poshard
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Reyes
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Salmon
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Scarborough
     Schumer
     Scott
     Serrano
     Shays
     Sherman
     Sisisky
     Skaggs
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Snyder
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stenholm
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Taylor (MS)
     Thompson
     Thurman
     Tierney
     Torres
     Towns
     Turner
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Wamp
     Waters
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Wexler
     Weygand
     Wise
     Woolsey

[[Page H10577]]



                             NOT VOTING--17

     Barton
     Burton
     Cubin
     Dingell
     Flake
     Foglietta
     Gonzalez
     Goodling
     Klug
     Martinez
     McCrery
     McDermott
     Murtha
     Riley
     Schiff
     Smith (OR)
     Yates

                              {time}  0143

  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  H. Res. 306 was laid on the table.
  The SPEAKER. Pursuant to House Resolution 311, House Resolution 320 
and House Concurrent Resolution 194 are adopted.
  The text of House Resolution 320 is as follows:

                              H. Res. 320

       Resolved, That a committee of two Members of the House be 
     appointed to wait upon the President of the United States and 
     inform him that the House of Representatives has completed 
     its business of the session and is ready to adjourn, unless 
     the President has some other communication to make to them.

  The text of House Resolution 194 is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 194

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the two Houses of Congress assemble in the 
     Hall of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, January 27, 
     1998, at 9 p.m. for the purpose of receiving such 
     communication as the President of the United States shall be 
     pleased to make to them.

                          ____________________