[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 21 (Thursday, March 5, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H878-H879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE--RETURNING TO THE SENATE THE BILL S. 104, 
                    NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT OF 1982

  Mr. ENSIGN. Madam Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of 
the House, and I send to the desk a privileged resolution (H. Res. 379) 
and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 379

       Resolved, That the bill of the Senate (S. 104) to amend the 
     Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, in the opinion of this 
     House, contravenes the first clause of the seventh section of 
     the first article of the Constitution of the United States 
     and is an infringement of the privileges of this House and 
     that such bill be respectfully returned to the Senate with a 
     message communicating this resolution.

  The CHAIRMAN. The resolution constitutes a question of the privileges 
of the House under rule IX.
  The gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Ensign) and the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Cardin) will each be recognized for 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Ensign).
  (Mr. ENSIGN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. ENSIGN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I am joined by the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) 
here today in support of this resolution.
  This resolution is necessary to return to the Senate the bill S. 104, 
the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997. S. 104 contravenes the 
constitutional requirement that revenue measures shall originate in the 
House of Representatives. It would repeal a revenue provision and 
replace it with a user fee.
  The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 imposes a fee of one mill per 
kilowatt hour on electricity generated by nuclear energy. S. 104 would 
repeal this fee and replace it with a new fee that would be limited to 
the amounts appropriated for nuclear waste disposal.
  The current one mill per kilowatt hour fee is unquestionably a 
revenue measure. Regardless of the stated intent of the fee, the amount 
of fee proceeds collected have greatly exceeded costs. The fee is being 
used to raise revenue to finance the Federal Government generally.
  Therefore, the Senate bill, by repealing what is in effect a tax, 
constitutes a revenue bill. The provision would have a direct effect on 
Federal revenues. The proposed change is ``revenue affecting'' and 
therefore constitutes a revenue measure in the constitutional sense. 
Accordingly, I am asking that the House insist on its constitutional 
prerogatives.
  Madam Speaker, I want to emphasize that this action speaks solely to 
the constitutional prerogative of the House and not to the merits of 
the Senate

[[Page H879]]

bill. The proposed action today is procedural in nature and is 
necessary to preserve the prerogatives of the House to originate 
revenue measures. It makes clear to the Senate that the appropriate 
procedure for dealing with revenue measures is for the House to act 
first on a revenue bill and for the Senate to accept it or amend it as 
it sees fit.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. The Constitution 
places the responsibility of initiating revenue measures in the House 
of Representatives. This resolution merely preserves the prerogatives 
and responsibility of the House.
  S. 104, as noted, would contravene the constitutional restriction 
since it would repeal a present-law revenue measure and create a user 
fee.
  It is my understanding that today's action will have no effect on 
efforts to move nuclear waste legislation since the House has already 
passed legislation to address this issue.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 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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