[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 29, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H6601-H6602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4328, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 
             AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 510 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 510

       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. 4328) making appropriations for the Department 
     of Transportation and related agencies 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 7 of rule XXI or section 401(a) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 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 amendments 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 except as follows: beginning with ``, of which'', 
     on page 11, line 19, through ``Fund'' on line 20; page 16, 
     lines 20 through 24; beginning with ``: Provided'' on page 
     18, line 2, through ``motor carriers'' on line 5; and page 
     54, lines 4 through 8. Where points of order are waived 
     against part of a paragraph, points of order against a 
     provision in another part of such paragraph may be made only 
     against such provision and not against the entire paragraph. 
     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 further 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 (Mr. LaHood). The gentleman from California 
(Mr. Dreier) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Dallas, Texas (Mr. Frost), 
my friend, and pending that I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
Mr. Speaker, all time that I will be yielding will be for debate 
purposes only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material in the Record on the resolution now 
being considered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, this rule makes in order H.R. 4328, the 
Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill 
for fiscal year 1999 under an open rule containing a number of 
noncontroversial waivers against points of order. The rule also self-
executes two noncontroversial changes in the bill, of which one is 
technical in nature.
  I would like to commend the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, as well as the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Livingston), chairman of the full 
committee, and the other members of the committee for the tremendous 
job that they did in producing a bill that adequately funds our 
Nation's priorities within the constraints imposed by both the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1997 and the Transportation Equity Act of 1998.
  Although 70 percent of the bill consists of spending mandated by the 
T.E.A. 21, resulting in a substantial increase in funding for highway 
and transit programs, the subcommittee was also able to increase 
funding for drug interdiction efforts and transportation safety 
programs.
  A total of $406 million is provided for Coast Guard counter-drug 
activities, an increase of $73.8 million over the President's request. 
Funding to reduce fatalities on the Nation's roadways is increased by 
more than 8 percent.
  Despite this balanced effort, I find it hard to believe that the 
administration, which signed the T.E.A. 21 bill into law, could be 
critical of the funding levels that are in this appropriations bill. 
Unfortunately, this seems to be par for the course for an 
administration that proposes to pay for more government spending with 
$9 billion in new taxes and user fees that are political nonstarters.
  Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Appropriations produced a fair and 
balanced bill, and the Committee on Rules was equal to the task of 
reporting this rule. Therefore, I urge adoption of both the rule and 
the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. FROST asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, it is my intention to make a fairly brief 
opening statement and then to yield back all of our time in an effort 
to try and move this along.
  Mr. Speaker, while I rise in support of this rule and this bill 
making appropriations for the Department of Transportation for fiscal 
year 1999, I am concerned that a point of order may lie

[[Page H6602]]

against an amendment which seeks to limit expenditures of funds for a 
highway project funded in this bill. Mr. Speaker, should this point of 
order be pursued and ultimately upheld, the House will set a terrible 
precedent which may have ramifications far beyond this transportation 
appropriations.
  The matter is now being negotiated, but I do want to express my 
concern that a major change in the rules that govern this House was 
included in T-21 and was never even considered by the Committee on 
Rules. That being said, Mr. Speaker, while the funding level of this 
appropriations bill is slightly below the levels requested by the 
President in several areas, overall, the Committee on Appropriations 
did a good job of providing adequate funding for most of the programs 
and services in the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the rule, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the resolution.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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