[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 31 (Thursday, March 19, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1304-H1306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2870, TROPICAL FOREST CONSERVATION 
                              ACT OF 1998

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the 
Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 388 and ask for its 
immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 388

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule 
     XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 2870) to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 
     1961 to facilitate protection of tropical forests through 
     debt reduction with developing countries with tropical 
     forests. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed 
     with. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall 
     not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the 
     chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
     International Relations. After general debate the bill shall 
     be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. It 
     shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the 
     purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment 
     in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
     International Relations now printed in the bill. The 
     committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be 
     considered as read. During consideration of the bill for 
     amendment, the chairman of the Committee of the Whole may 
     accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the 
     Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in 
     the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that 
     purpose in clause 6 of rule XXIII. Amendments so printed 
     shall be considered as read. The chairman of the Committee of 
     the Whole may: (1) postpone until a time during further 
     consideration in the Committee of the Whole a request for a 
     recorded vote on any amendment; and (2) reduce to five 
     minutes the minimum time for electronic voting on any 
     postponed question that follows another electronic vote 
     without intervening business, provided that the minimum time 
     for electronic voting on the first in any series of questions 
     shall be 15 minutes. At the conclusion of consideration of 
     the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report 
     the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been 
     adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote in the House 
     on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole to the 
     bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage 
     without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with 
     or without instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The gentleman from Washington 
(Mr. Hastings) is recognized for 1 hour.
  (Mr. HASTINGS of Washington asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate 
only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Hall), 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, House Resolution 388 is an open rule providing for the 
consideration of H.R. 2870, the Tropical Forest Protection Act of 1998. 
The rule provides 1 hour of general debate, equally divided between the 
Chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on International 
Relations.
  The rule makes in order as an original bill for the purpose of 
amendment the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute now 
printed in the bill, which shall be considered as read. The rule also 
allows the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole to accord priority 
and recognition to Members who have printed their amendments in the 
Congressional Record. Such amendments will be considered as read.
  In addition, the rule permits the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole to postpone votes on any amendment and to reduce to 5 minutes the 
time for voting after the first of the series of votes, provided that 
the first

[[Page H1305]]

vote is not less than 15 minutes. Finally, the rule provides for 1 
motion to recommit, with or without instructions.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2870 would amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
to facilitate the protection of tropical forests by reducing the debts 
owed to international development banks by certain foreign countries, 
in exchange for commitments by those countries to preserve, maintain 
and restore tropical forests within their borders.
  Thanks in no small measure to the leadership and vision of the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman), the House will have before it later 
today an innovative proposal that addresses two very serious problems: 
the large volume of uncollected debts owed by foreign countries 
experiencing difficulties repaying those debts in a timely fashion; and 
the disappearance of some tropical forests throughout the world.
  The legislation of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) recognizes 
that the two problems are in many cases directly related. All too 
often, Mr. Speaker, developing countries in which many of the tropical 
forests are located feel they have little choice but to sacrifice their 
magnificent forests in response to mounting financial pressures at home 
and abroad.
  By authorizing what had become known as ``debt-for-nature'' swaps, 
this Congress can ease the financial burdens now hampering economic and 
social advancement in many of these countries while, at the same time, 
preserving for current and future generations essential natural 
resources.
  Mr. Speaker, the Committee on International Relations reported H.R. 
2870 to the House with broad bipartisan support. The Chairman and the 
ranking member of that committee are to be commended for requesting an 
open rule on this bill in order that Members of the House wishing to 
offer germane amendments may do so.
  House Resolution 388 reported by the Committee on Rules is consistent 
with the request of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), chairman 
of the committee, and accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support both 
the rule and the bill we will shortly consider, H.R. 2879, the Tropical 
Forest Conversation Act of 1988.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) for yielding me this time. 
This is an open rule, and as my colleague from Washington described, 
this will be equally divided relative to general debate between the 
ranking and minority member of the Committee on International 
Relations.
  Under this rule, amendments will be allowed under the 5-minute rule, 
which is the normal amending process in the House. All Members on both 
sides of the aisle will have an opportunity to offer amendments.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is creative problem-solving at its 
best, and it brings credit to the House.
  One of the world's long-term environmental challenges is maintaining 
tropical forests. Tropical forests are the source of many of our foods 
and life-sustaining drugs. New uses are still being discovered for the 
plants and animals which can only be found in tropical forests.
  Unfortunately, the world's tropical forests are shrinking at the rate 
of 30 to 50 million acres each year. This represents a huge loss of 
plant and animal life.
  Forests also absorb large quantities of carbon dioxide which helps 
maintain the stability of the world's environment. Cutting down the 
forests could contribute to global warming.
  Many of these at-risk forests are located in developing nations with 
large debts to the United States, and international creditors. These 
debts are hurting those countries' ability to develop and to provide 
for their people.
  This bill addresses both of these problems by forgiving some debt in 
developing countries in return for those countries protecting their 
forests. This debt-for-nature swap is a win for the people of the 
developing nations and a win for the global environment at a relatively 
low cost.
  This is a bipartisan bill with support on both sides of the aisle. 
The Committee on Rules approved this open rule by voice vote, and I 
would urge adoption of the rule and of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have no 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 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. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the 
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a 
quorum is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  Without objection, the Chair will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum 
time for electronic voting, if ordered, on approval of the Journal on 
which proceedings will resume immediately after this 15-minute vote on 
adoption of the resolution.
  There was no objection.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 411, 
nays 0, not voting 20, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 59]

                               YEAS--411

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Andrews
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baesler
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berman
     Berry
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Cannon
     Capps
     Cardin
     Carson
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cubin
     Cummings
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Ensign
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fawell
     Fazio
     Filner
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fossella
     Fowler
     Fox
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Furse
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Green
     Greenwood
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hamilton
     Hansen
     Harman
     Hastert
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Hooley
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Inglis
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (WI)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kim
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Manton
     Manzullo
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McDade
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHale
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (CA)
     Miller (FL)
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Paxon

[[Page H1306]]


     Payne
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pickett
     Pitts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Redmond
     Regula
     Reyes
     Riley
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Rush
     Ryun
     Sabo
     Salmon
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaefer, Dan
     Schaffer, Bob
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Sisisky
     Skaggs
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (OR)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith, Adam
     Smith, Linda
     Snowbarger
     Snyder
     Solomon
     Souder
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stokes
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sununu
     Talent
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Torres
     Towns
     Traficant
     Turner
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Waters
     Watkins
     Watt (NC)
     Watts (OK)
     Waxman
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wexler
     Weygand
     White
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wynn
     Yates
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--20

     Crane
     Cunningham
     Engel
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Gephardt
     Gonzalez
     Gutknecht
     Hefner
     Hyde
     Lewis (GA)
     Livingston
     Martinez
     Parker
     Poshard
     Rangel
     Riggs
     Schiff
     Strickland
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1059

  Mr. BRADY changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  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.

                          ____________________