[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H6600-H6601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. ARMEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask for this time for the purpose of 
reporting on the schedule.
  Mr. Speaker, let me begin by saying I appreciate all the Members for 
their patience. Working this time of the year in appropriations season 
is always difficult, we know. We are about to begin consideration of a 
rule for the transportation appropriations bill.
  We have a little bit of difficulty with that bill, but the principals 
who are involved in it are, in fact, actively, and I think effectively, 
working towards a solution of that. So I would suggest that we could 
move forward with the rule and then by the time we have the vote on the 
rule I am sure we will be ready to begin our work and complete our work 
on transportation.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ARMEY. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Michigan.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, if I might say to the majority leader, most folks have 
been working on both sides of the aisle. We are going on probably the 
14th hour of a workday today. In addition to that, we have had an 
extraordinary week, an emotional and stressful week, as we all know. 
Folks have been working long hours and long shifts, including the 
Capitol Police, as the gentleman is fully aware and appreciates.
  I do not know what we gain by going into at 10:30 in the evening a 
contentious rule that has not been worked out yet, and even if it is 
worked out I am not sure that we are in a position to even proceed on 
the appropriation bill itself.

[[Page H6601]]

  I am cognizant of the pressures that the majority has with respect to 
finishing these appropriation bills, and I can appreciate that having 
once been in the majority, but I think I would say to my friend, the 
gentleman from Texas, that in consultation with many of my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle, I think they have expressed a desire to me 
anyway that the prudent thing today and this evening would be to leave 
and come back and start fresh after the funeral in the morning.
  I would just offer that to my friend, the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for suggesting 
that. I appreciate the gentleman for his concern, not only for the 
Members but for the staff, in particular our Capitol Police who are 
still standing their stations around the Capitol. It is because we, as 
a group, have clearly indicated our desire, rightly so, to spend the 
time tomorrow and then again on Friday in attendance to these very 
important funerals, that we feel the compulsion to complete the work as 
best we can this week and to try to do so in maximum consideration of 
all people.
  I just would like to assure the gentleman from Michigan that all of 
these matters are of concern to me and I am working the best I can.

                              {time}  2230

  We are ready now, though, to begin to move forward on the rule; and 
given the progress that I am confident I am seeing with the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Nadler) and others, I think we can be confident we 
can complete our work tonight and all get some rest.
  I thank the gentleman.

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