[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 101 (Friday, July 24, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H6417-H6418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I ask for this time to 
inquire of the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) about next week's 
schedule.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. I yield to the gentleman from 
California.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that we have 
concluded legislative business for this week. The House will next meet 
on Monday, July 27, at 10:30 a.m. for morning hour, and at 12 noon for 
legislative business. We do not expect any recorded votes before 5 p.m.
  On Monday, July 27, we will consider a number of bills under 
suspension of the rules, a list of which will be distributed to 
Members' offices this afternoon.
  After suspensions, Mr. Speaker, the House will continue consideration 
of H.R. 2183, the Bipartisan Campaign Integrity Act of 1997. We hope 
to, as we did last Monday, make extensive progress on the Shays-Meehan 
amendment in the nature of a substitute on Monday, and we also hope to 
return to campaign finance again at some point during the week.
  On Tuesday, July 28, and the balance of the week, the House will 
consider the following legislation: H.R. 629, the Texas Low-Level 
Radioactive Waste Conference Report. We will finish H.R. 4194, the 
Veterans Administration, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations; 
H.R. 4276, Commerce, Justice Appropriations Act; the Transportation 
Appropriations Act; H.J. Res. 120, a Vietnam Trade Resolution; and 
House Resolution 507, a Resolution Providing Special Investigative 
Authority for the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. Speaker, Members should be prepared to work late next week on 
these appropriation bills. If we can do that, we hope to conclude 
legislative business for the week by 2 p.m. on Friday, July 31.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I wish to further ask of 
the gentleman, we have heard in some places that there might not be 
votes until after 7 o'clock on Monday. Is there any truth to that?
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I believe if Members are not participating 
in the legislation, they should have a relatively high comfort level 
that there would be no votes on Monday prior to 7 p.m.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman very much. How 
late does the gentleman expect the last vote to be on Monday?
  Mr. THOMAS. As we did last Monday night, we are hopeful, under the 
unanimous consent agreement on Shays-Meehan, that we could go as late 
as possible, to cover as many amendments as possible, so that the rest 
of the week would have enough time to move to a conclusion. It will be 
a decision made by the participants.
  As the gentlewoman knows, they went very late last Monday. Our goal 
would be to go as late as we could, to cover as many of the amendments 
as we could, on Monday night, but it would be achieved under some 
mutual agreement.
  Obviously, if they go extremely late, Members would expect that any 
votes that would be ordered would be rolled.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Is it still the intention of the 
leadership on the majority side to finish the Shays-Meehan bill by the 
August recess?
  Mr. THOMAS. I would tell the gentlewoman that is why we are going to 
take a major chunk of time on Monday and, as I stated, reserve another 
piece of time, so that, in fact, the leadership's commitment that the 
Shays-Meehan amendment be concluded prior to the House's August break, 
that is our goal, that is our commitment, and we will meet it.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very 
much.
  Mr. SKAGGS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. I yield to the gentleman from Colorado.
  Mr. SKAGGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding to me. 
I wanted to use this opportunity to advise colleagues of a social event 
for this body that will occur next Tuesday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. in 
the Cannon Caucus Room. It is our more or less regular summer House 
picnic for both Members and spouses and children.
  So I hope since we will be in the middle of some appropriations work 
on Tuesday, it will be a nice opportunity to get together on a 
bipartisan basis, get to know our colleagues and our families a little 
bit. Conveniently located over in the Cannon Caucus Room, very 
reasonably priced.
  Members may contact either my office or the office of the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) or the Members and Family Room to make 
reservations.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I was 
asking about final passage on campaign finance reform, and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas)

[[Page H6418]]

did mention Shays-Meehan. I realize he insinuated that that might be 
acted upon. What about final passage?
  Mr. THOMAS. Well, if the gentlewoman will continue to yield, our 
commitment was to the Shays-Meehan, which had the most amendments 
attached to it. Obviously, once that is dispensed with, in terms of the 
amendments, that is the only amendment that we have under unanimous 
consent agreement. Our hope is that we will have reached a level of 
comity that we could move through the rest of those substitutes 
relatively quickly. But since we do not have a unanimous consent 
agreement on the amendments or the structure, it is extremely difficult 
to pin it down. But our goal is to complete it.
  We now have a clear assignment on Shays-Meehan, and to the degree we 
can meet that next week, we will have a much better understanding of 
what we need to do to agree to finish it. Obviously, my personal 
commitment is to get it done before we leave in its entirety.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.

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