[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10968-H10969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE--RETURNING TO THE SENATE S. 361, RHINOCEROS AND 
                     TIGER CONSERVATION ACT OF 1998

  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to raise a question of the privileges 
of the House, and I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 601) 
returning to the Senate the bill S. 361, and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 601

       Resolved, That the bill of the Senate (S. 361) entitled the 
     ``Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1998'', in the 
     opinion of this House, contravenes the first clause of the 
     seventh section of the first article of the Constitution of 
     the United States and is an infringement of the privileges of 
     this House

[[Page H10969]]

     and that such bill be respectfully returned to the Senate 
     with a message communicating this resolution.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gutknecht). In the opinion of the Chair, 
the resolution constitutes a question of the privileges of the House.
  The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane) is recognized for 30 minutes.
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution is necessary to return to the Senate the 
bill S. 361, because it contravenes the constitutional requirement that 
revenue measures shall originate in the House of Representatives. S. 
361 would create a new basis for applying import restrictions and 
therefore violates this constitutional requirement.
  S. 361 proposes amending the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 
1994 to prohibit the sale, import and export of products intended for 
human consumption or application that contain, or are labeled as 
containing, any substance derived from rhinoceroses or tigers. The 
legislation passed by the other body would have the effect of creating 
a new basis and mechanism for applying import restrictions. The 
provision would have a direct effect on tariff revenues. The proposed 
change in our import laws is a ``revenue affecting'' infringement on 
the prerogatives of the House which constitutes a revenue measure in 
the constitutional sense. Therefore, I am asking that the House insist 
on its constitutional prerogatives.
  There are numerous precedents for the action I am requesting. For 
example, on April 16, 1996, the House returned to the Senate S. 1463, 
amending the definition of industry under the Safeguard Law with 
respect to investigations involving imports of perishable agricultural 
products. On February 25, 1992, the House returned to the Senate S. 
884, requiring the President to impose sanctions, including import 
restrictions, against countries that fail to eliminate large-scale 
driftnet fishing.
  I want to emphasize that this action does not constitute a rejection 
of the Senate bill on its merits. In fact, the House passed H.R. 2807 
on April 28, 1998, which contains an import ban on the same products 
covered by the Senate bill. S. 361, however, was passed by the other 
body as a freestanding bill in contravention to the constitutional 
requirement that revenue measures originate in the House of 
Representatives. Since the passage of S. 361, the Senate amended the 
House-passed bill, H.R. 2807, on October 13, 1998, and on the following 
day the House agreed to the Senate amendments. By amending a House-
passed bill which already contained a revenue provision, the Senate 
acted on this matter in compliance with the Constitution and the House 
has responded by concurring in the Senate language.
  Accordingly, the proposed action today is purely procedural in nature 
and is necessary to preserve the prerogatives of the House to originate 
all revenue matters. It makes clear to the Senate that the appropriate 
procedure for dealing with revenue measures is for the House to act 
first on a revenue bill and for the Senate to accept it or amend it as 
it sees fit.
  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 resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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