[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H10943-H10944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONSIDERING AS ADOPTED REMAINING MOTIONS TO SUSPEND THE RULES 
                CONSIDERED ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1997

  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House be 
considered to have adopted a motion to suspend the rules and pass each 
of the following measures in the form considered by the House on 
Monday, September 29th, 1997:
  S. 1161, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize 
appropriations for refugee and entrant assistance for fiscal years 1998 
and 1999;

[[Page H10944]]

  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8061.)
  H.R. 2233, to assist in the conservation of coral reefs;
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8066.)
  H.R. 2007, to amend the Act that authorized the Canadian River 
reclamation project, Texas, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
allow use of the project distribution system to transport water from 
sources other than the project;
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8067.)
  H.R. 1476, to settle certain Miccosukee Indian land takings claims 
within the State of Florida;
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8069.)
  H.R. 1262, to authorize appropriations for the Securities and 
Exchange Commission for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, and for other 
purposes;
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8084.)
  H.R. 2165, to extend the deadline under the Federal Power Act 
applicable to the construction of FERC Project Number 3862 in the State 
of Iowa, and for other purposes;
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8087.)
  H.R. 2207, to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
concerning a proposal to construct a deep ocean outfall off the coast 
of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico;
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8088.)
  S. 819, to designate the United States courthouse at 200 South 
Washington Street in Alexandria, Virginia, as the ``Martin V.B. 
Bostetter, Jr. United States Courthouse'';
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8090.)
  S. 833, to designate the Federal building courthouse at Public Square 
and Superior Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, as the ``Howard M. Metzenbaum 
United States Courthouse'';
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8091.)
  H.R. 548, to designate the United States courthouse located at 500 
Pearl Street in New York City, New York, as the ``Ted Weiss United 
States Courthouse'';
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8091); and
  H.R. 595, to designate the Federal building and United States 
courthouse located at 475 Mulberry Street in Macon, Georgia, as the 
``William Augustus Bootle Federal Building and United States 
Courthouse''.
  (For text of bill see proceedings of the House of Monday, September 
29, 1997, at page H8095), and that in each case a motion to reconsider 
be considered as laid on the table.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, this bill is similar to legislation, H.R. 
2036 which the House considered, but did not vote, on September 29.
  S. 1193 reauthorizes the War Risk Insurance Program until December 
31, 1998 and supersedes language in the Department of Defense 
Authorization bill regarding this program.
  This shorter extension of the program is a compromise worked out with 
the other body and with the administration in order to develop an 
alternative to a borrowing authority provision that was in the original 
House reported bill.
  The Administration has agreed to develop in the coming months an 
alternative to the borrowing authority that would ensure that air 
carrier insurance claims could be paid in a timely manner.
  And we look forward to working with them on that.
  Mr. Speaker, the war risk insurance program was first authorized in 
1951, and, over the years, has been improved upon during the 
reauthorization process.
  On May 1 of this year, the Aviation Subcommittee held a hearing to 
review this very important program, which expired on September 30 of 
this year.
  Of course, we rarely hear about this program until a conflict arises, 
like Vietnam, the gulf war, or Bosnia. This insurance program was an 
integral part of our Nation's military response in those cases.
  The Reauthorization of this program is also very essential for a 
viable Civil Reserve Air Fleet program which meets the Nation's 
security needs.
  The Department of Defense depends on the CRAF program for over 90% of 
its passengers, 40% of its cargo, and nearly 100% of its air medical 
evacuation capability in wartime. These flights could not be operated 
without the insurance provided by this bill.
  So it is very important that we reauthorize this program as soon as 
possible.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation authorizes the Secretary of 
Transportation to be guided by reasonable business practices of the 
commercial aviation insurance industry when determining the amount for 
which an aircraft should be insured.
  This change is intended to recognize that there may be instances in 
which an aircraft's market value is not the appropriate basis for 
determining the amount of insurance.
  The bill also states that the President's signature of the 
indemnification agreement between the DOT Secretary and the head of 
another U.S. government agency will constitute the required finding 
under current law that the flight is necessary to carry out the foreign 
policy of the United States.
  Section 4 of the bill permits a war risk insurance policy to provide 
for binding arbitration of a dispute between the FAA and the commercial 
insurer over what part of a loss each is responsible.
  And finally, the bill includes a very simple provision designed to 
fix a problem experienced by defense contractors who lease back their 
planes from the military in order to fly them in air shows or other 
similar demonstrations.
  Although this practice has been going on for many years, some in the 
FAA have interpreted the law in a way that would prevent this from 
occurring.
  This bill would allow these flight demonstrations, which are 
important to product development and company sales, to take place.
  I strongly urge the House to support this legislation so that we can 
reauthorize this very essential program.

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