[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H4981-H4983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4101, AGRICULTURE, RURAL 
    DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 482 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 482

       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. 4101) making appropriations for Agriculture, 
     Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 
     Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
     1999, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill 
     shall be dispensed with. Points of order against 
     consideration of the bill for failure to comply with clause 
     2(l)(6) of rule XI or clause 7 of rule XXI are waived. 
     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 
     Appropriations. After general debate the bill shall be 
     considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The 
     amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules 
     accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted 
     in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. Points of 
     order against provisions in the bill, as amended, for failure 
     to comply with clause 2 or 6 of rule XXI are waived. During 
     consideration of the bill for further 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, as amended, to the 
     House with such amendments as may have been adopted. 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. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the 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, I am pleased to inform Members that the Committee on 
Rules has provided an open rule for the consideration of this very, 
very important measure, one of the most important appropriation 
measures that come before this body each and every year.
  This means that Members will be able to offer any amendment which 
complies with the standing rules of the House, and that is the way it 
should be.
  In order to expedite the consideration of this legislation, the 
requirement that the committee report be available for 3 days is 
waived. The report was filed on Friday night and was available to all 
Members yesterday morning.
  The rule provides for one hour of general debate, which will be 
equally divided between the chairman and ranking member of the 
committee.

                              {time}  1115

  There are two amendments printed in the report accompanying this rule 
which will be considered as adopted when the rule is passed. The first 
of these amendments provides relief to certain disadvantaged farmers 
whose complaints of discrimination were not considered in a timely 
manner. Through no fault of their own, the statute of limitations ran 
out.
  The amendment limits claims to those between 1993 and 1996. It does 
not settle any cases, nor should it. It only allows these cases to 
proceed to be considered by the Department of Agriculture in spite of 
the statute of limitations.
  What that means, Mr. Speaker, is that this provision is self-executed 
in the rule. So adoption of the rule places the language in the bill to 
be debated in a few minutes. It does not have to be offered as an 
amendment.
  Adoption of the rule also means that the House will adopt sufficient 
spending cuts to pay for the cost of the disadvantaged farmers 
provision as well as paying for a second provision, the Members from 
agriculture States ought to pay attention to this, a second provision 
already in the bill to allow the sale of certain commodities to India 
and Pakistan in spite of the sanctions which recently took effect.

[[Page H4982]]

  Mr. Speaker, both of these provisions have bipartisan support. The 
Republican Conference last week settled on a policy that requires that 
increased spending should be offset with cuts and not labeled as 
emergency spending. This provision in the rule implements that policy 
for the agriculture appropriation bill, and I hope will be implemented 
in all the other appropriation bills that come on this floor.
  Because there are some provisions in this bill which constitute 
legislation on an appropriation bill, and some appropriations for which 
the authorization has not yet been signed into law, the rule waives the 
necessary points of order.
  This bill also includes a few transfers of funds from one purpose to 
another, and the rule waives points of order to permit this.
  In order to encourage Members to print their amendments in the 
Congressional Record before they are offered, the rule also provides 
priority and recognition to Members who do preprint their amendments.
  Also under this rule, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole has 
the authority to postpone and to stack votes so that Members can make 
more efficient use of their time.
  Finally, this rule preserves the right of the minority to offer their 
final alternative in a motion to recommit just before the vote on 
adoption of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the distinguished gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Skeen), chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, one of 
the most admired and respected Members of this body, sitting here next 
to me, and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), who we have equal 
admiration and respect for, for their long hours that have been put 
into producing this piece of legislation.
  They have done yeoman work, they and their staffs, over a number of 
years now. Again, as I mentioned earlier on, this is one of the most 
important bills that will come before the Congress each and every year.
  I particularly want to thank them for upholding the 1995 farm bill as 
it concerns milk marketing orders, which is the lifeblood of every 
small dairy farmer in America. This provision will prohibit the 
Department of Agriculture from changing the rules until we have gone 
through both a legislative and an appropriations cycle next year.
  The Committee on Agriculture, the authorizing committee, has assured 
me and others who have deep concern about this that they will look at 
this in a very favorable way.
  The agriculture appropriation bill provides the necessary funding 
also for agricultural programs and related programs such as school 
lunch programs and the WIC program, which is the assistance for women 
and infants and children.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this rule, and I support the constructive bill 
that it makes in order.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Solomon), chairman of the Committee on Rules, for yielding me the time.
  This is an open rule. It will allow full and fair debate on H.R. 
4101, which is a bill that appropriates $55.9 billion for agriculture, 
rural development, and food and nutrition programs in the fiscal year 
beginning October 1, 1998.
  As my colleague the gentleman from New York described, this rule 
provides for 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by 
the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Appropriations.
  The rule also contains five self-executing amendments. One of those 
waives the statute of limitations for African American farmers to file 
discrimination claims against the Agriculture Department. This 
amendment will help us resolve this lingering injustice.
  The Committee on Rules reported the rule by a voice vote. Overall, 
this is a good rule. It is crafted under difficult circumstances, and I 
intend to support it. I recognize that the gentleman from New Mexico 
(Mr. Skeen), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies was 
forced to make difficult choices because the funding allocation for 
agriculture programs is so low. He worked in a bipartisan fashion, 
carefully balancing many needs.
  However, I am particularly disappointed that this bill cuts $10 
million in the Emergency Food Assistance Program which purchases food 
for needy Americans. The demand is growing for services by the Nation's 
food banks, emergency feeding centers, and soup kitchens. A survey by 
the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed that one out of five requests for 
emergency food in 1997 went unfilled. Now is not the time to cut this 
vital program. Later, during consideration of the bill, I intend to 
offer an amendment that will restore the $10 million for the Emergency 
Food Assistance Program.
  I am also concerned that the bill does not adequately fund the WIC 
program which helps feed infants, children, and their mothers. This 
bill would cut off benefits to more than 100,000 needy people, at risk, 
low-income women and their babies.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen) 
and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the subcommittee's ranking 
minority member, did everything possible to produce a fair bill. The 
problem lies not with the subcommittee, but with the larger budgetary 
decisions by this House to constrain so severely discretionary 
spending. Because the targets are so low, we are forced to pit the 
needs of the hungry against the needs of farmers and food researchers 
and everyone else who is funded in this bill.
  We have the money. Our economy is booming at rates that have rarely 
been seen in history, creating hundreds of billions of dollars in the 
last few years. Not only are we the wealthiest nation in the world, we 
stand today as the wealthiest nation the world has ever seen.
  Surely we can find an extra $10 million to help reduce the food lines 
in front of our soup kitchens. Surely, out of this new wealth, we can, 
at the very least, maintain the same level of spending for the 
emergency needs of poor, hungry people.
  This is a disgrace, if we cannot take a tiny percentage of this 
enormous wealth to feed the needy. We are talking about a $60 billion 
to $100 billion tax cut. This is unbelievable. We cannot find $10 
million more for the EFAP program. That is what our budget agreements 
are forcing us to do.
  This is the bill which feeds our Nation and hungry people around the 
world. This is the bill which contributes to our agricultural bounty. 
We should not set such low spending targets.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, let me just say to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Hall) that we are prepared to close, get on with the regular 
business, if the gentleman wants to proceed.
  Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, again let me just say that this is one of the most 
important appropriation bills to come before this House each and every 
year. I again want to just praise the work of the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Skeen) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), ranking 
minority member, and their staffs for the yeoman work that they have 
done on this legislation. It is very important. I hope the Members will 
come over and vote for the rule and then vote for the bill.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule allowing 
consideration of H.R. 4101, the Fiscal Year 1999 Agriculture 
Appropriations Bill.
  This rule allows for the orderly consideration of the Agriculture 
Appropriations Bill.
  It waives points of order against unauthorized programs in the bill.
  The rule also self-executes an amendment that waives the statute of 
limitations for minority farmers who have complaints against the 
Department of Agriculture for discriminatory actions that occurred in 
the past. This language has been cleared with the Judiciary Committee 
and the Administration, and we support its inclusion in this bill.
  The amendment self-enacted by the rule also provides the necessary 
offsets for scoring against the bill resulting from both the lan- 

[[Page H4983]]

guage providing relief to minority farmers and the scoring created by 
the provision excluding agricultural exports from sanctions against 
India and Pakistan.
  Again, I support this rule and the amendment it provides for.
  My only disappointment is that the rule did not make in order an 
amendment by Congresswoman Lowey which would provide for civil 
penalties to be used a tool against meat and poultry plants which 
violate food safety laws. I support the efforts of the gentlelady from 
New York on behalf of American consumers, and will work with her to 
ensure the enactment of that provision.
  Mr. Speaker, again I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the 
Agriculture Appropriations Bill. I thank my colleagues on the Rules 
Committee, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  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 resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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