Congressional Record, Volume 145 Issue 82 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)

[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 82 (Thursday, June 10, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H4107-H4125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). Pursuant to House Resolution
190 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of
the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the
bill, H.R. 1905.

{time} 2141

In the Committee of the Whole

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill
(H.R. 1905) making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, and for other purposes, with Mr.
Hansen in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having
been read the first time.
Under the rule, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor) and
the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor).
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to present the legislative branch
appropriations bill for fiscal year 2000. I want to begin by thanking
the members of my subcommittee for all the hard work in writing this
bill. They include the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp); the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis); the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Granger); the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson); the ranking
minority member, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor); the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha); and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr.
Hoyer).

{time} 2145

I also want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), the full
committee chairman, and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the
ranking member on the full committee, for their assistance.
The bill was considered by the full committee on May 20 and reported
to the House on May 21. No roll call votes were taken in full
committee. The Fiscal Year 2000 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill
totals $1.9 billion in new obligational authority of which $1.178
billion is for congressional operations exclusive of Senate items.
The balance of the bill, $739 million is for the operations of the
other legislative branch agencies.
The bill, Mr. Chairman, is $116 million below the budget request, a
5.7 percent reduction. Also, it is $135 million below the current
fiscal year, including the supplementals, a 6.6 percent reduction. Now,
if a further amendment is passed, which I will support later tonight,
it will be reduced by 9.3 percent.
Major items in the bill: The House of Representatives is funded at
$769 million. Primarily, this includes funds for staff COLA's, merit
increases, and benefits. There is also an increase for communications
costs.
The Joint Economic Committee is funded at the request level, an
increase of $104,000. The Joint Committee on Taxation is funded at $6.2
million. The attending physician is funded at $1.9 million. That is the
amount requested.
The funding for the Capitol Police is $85.2 million. That includes
$78.5 million for salaries and $6.7 million for expenses. The CBO is
funded at $26.2 million.
The Architect of the Capitol receives $154 million. The operating
budget increase of about $4 million will cover staff costs. The capital
budget is lower than 1999 due to one-time costs for the Capitol
Visitors Center.
Except in a few instances, funding has not been provided for projects
which have not been 100 percent designed. The Architect has asked for
construction funds for 39 projects that have not been designed,
including phase 2 of the Dome Project.
We have several instances where the Architect's design team has
significantly increased their funding requests after the original
construction was funded. So a policy not to provide construction funds
until design is finished will create more discipline and fiscal
prudence in the process.
The Dome will not be delayed. We will still be on schedule if funds
are provided in the Fiscal Year 2001 cycle.
The Congressional Research Service will receive $71.3 million, and
the Library of Congress, $315 million. This provides funds for the
current employment level. We have asked the Library to fund $3.4
million of requested program increases through savings.
The Government Printing Office will receive $107 million, and a limit
of 3,313 FTEs has been set.
The GAO will be funded at $372 million plus authority to spend $1.4
million in receipts from audits that they do for other agencies. The
GAO funds include COLAs for 3,245 FTEs, a slight decrease under the
current level projected for 1999.
General administrative provisions have been included. We have also
made some technical corrections asked for by the Committee on House
Administration.
We have included a provision of permanent law, section 101, that
gives House counsel comparable authority and notification as the Senate
counsel now has.
The bill equals the subcommittee 302(b) allocations. The bill
continues with constraint. The bill is substantially under our
appropriations of last year, not counting the supplemental, and is
substantially under the 1995 bill. I urge all Members to support the
bill.
Mr. Chairman, I include the following tables for the Record:

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH10JN99.002

[[Page H4111]]

Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to present the legislative branch
appropriations bill for fiscal year 2000. I want to begin by thanking
the members of my subcommittee for all their hard work in writing this
bill.
They include myself, as Chairman, Zach Wamp of Tennessee; Jerry Lewis
of California; Kay Granger of Texas; John Peterson of Pennsylvania; and
Ed Pastor, the ranking minority member from Arizona; John Murtha of
Pennsylvania; and Steny Hoyer from Maryland. I also want to thank the
full committee chairman, Bill Young of Florida; and David Obey, the
full committee ranking minority member from Wisconsin, for their
assistance.
The bill was considered by the full committee on May 20 and reported
to the House on May 21. No rollcall votes were taken in full committee.

recommendations for fiscal year 2000

The fiscal 2000 legislative branch appropriations bill totals $1.9
billion ($1,916,967,000) in new obligational authority of which $1.178
billion ($1,178,027,000) is for congressional operations exclusive of
Senate items.
The balance of the bill, $739 million ($738,940,000), is for the
operations of the other legislative branch agencies.
The bill is $116.2 million ($116,162,000) below the budget request, a
5.7% reduction.
Also, it is $135.2 million ($135,150,100) below the current fiscal
year (including supplementals)--a 6.6% reduction.

major items in the bill

The House of Representatives is funded at $769 million
($769,019,000).
Primarily, this includes funds for staff COLA's, merit increases, and
benefits.
There is also an increase for communications costs, some of which are
made necessary by the cyber Congress initiative.
The Joint Economic Committee is funded at the request level, an
increase of $104,000 for committee staff COLA's.
The Joint Committee on Taxation is funded at $6.2 million
($6,188,000).
The Attending Physician's funding is $1.9 million ($1,898,000). That
is the amount requested.
The funding for the Capitol Police is $85.2 million ($85,212,000).
That includes $78.5 million ($78,501,000) for salaries and $6.7 million
($6,711,000) for expenses.
The Congressional Budget Office is funded at $26.2 million
($26,221,000).
The Architect of the Capitol receives $154 million ($154,327,000).
The operating budget increase of $4 million ($3,973,000) will cover
staff costs. The capital budget is lower than FY1999 due to one time
costs for the Capitol Visitors Center.
Except in a few instances, funding has not been provided for projects
which have not been 100% designed. The Architect asked for construction
funds for 39 projects that have not been designed, including phase 2 of
the dome project.
We have several instances where the Architect's design team has
significantly increased their funding requests after the original
construction funding.
So, a policy not to provide construction funds until design is
finished will create more discipline and fiscal prudence in the
process. The dome will not be delayed--we will still be on schedule if
funds are provided in the FY 2001 cycle.
The Congressional Research Service will receive $71.3 million
($71,255,000) and the Library of Congress $315 million ($314,953,000).
This provides funds for the current employment level. We have asked
the library to fund $3.4 million of requested program increases through
savings.
The Government Printing Office will receive $107.7 million
($107,690,000) and a limit of 3,313 FTE's has been set.
The General Accounting Office will be funded at $372.7 million
($372,681,000) plus authority to spend $1.4 million ($1,400,000) in
receipts from audits they do for other agencies.
The GAO funds include COLA's for 3,245 FTE'S, a slight decrease under
the current level projected for FY 1999.
General and administrative provisions: Several standard general
provisions have been included. We have also made some technical
corrections asked for by the House Administration Committee.
And we have included a provision of permanent law, section 101, that
gives House counsel comparable authority and notification as Senate
counsel now enjoys.
Bill summary: BA compared to:
1999 level: A reduction of 6.6%, or $135.2 million--(-$135,150,000).
2000 request: A reduction of 5.7%, or $116.2 million--
(-$116,162,000).
302b: The bill just equals the 302B allocation (Senate excluded).
Here are some additional interesting comparisons:
Since 1995, the legislative bill has produced savings of $1.2 billion
below the trend of appropriations levels during the previous 5 years.
If all Federal outlays had been constrained at the same rate as the
legislative budget, the entire Federal budget would have produced a
cumulative additional surplus beyond those currently projected of $1.1
trillion during these past 5 years.
Since 1994, the legislative branch has downsized by 4,412 employees.
That is a 16% reduction.
The bill continues that constraint, but it will provide the Congress
and our support agencies the resources needed to carry out our jobs.
I urge all Members to support the bill and I reserve the balance of
my time.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin
(Mr. Obey) for the purpose of a motion.

Motion To Rise Offered By Mr. Obey

Mr OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.
The CHAIRMAN. The motion during general debate is in order because
the minority manager yielded for that purpose. The question is on the
motion to rise offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).
The question was taken; and the Chairman announced that the noes
appeared to have it.

Recorded Vote

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 130,
noes 263, answered ``present'' 1, not voting 41, as follows:

[Roll No. 201]

AYES--130

Abercrombie
Ackerman
Allen
Andrews
Baldwin
Barrett (WI)
Becerra
Berkley
Berry
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson
Clement
Clyburn
Coyne
Crowley
Cummings
Danner
DeLauro
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley
Edwards
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Ford
Frost
Gejdenson
Gephardt
Gonzalez
Hall (OH)
Hastings (FL)
Hill (IN)
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hoeffel
Holt
Hooley
Hoyer
Inslee
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
John
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kleczka
Lantos
Larson
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lowey
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Martinez
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McDermott
McGovern
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Millender-McDonald
Miller, George
Mink
Moakley
Nadler
Napolitano
Oberstar
Obey
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Phelps
Pickett
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Reyes
Rivers
Roybal-Allard
Sabo
Sanders
Sawyer
Schakowsky
Serrano
Sisisky
Slaughter
Spratt
Stark
Strickland
Stupak
Tanner
Tauscher
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Towns
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Velazquez
Vento
Visclosky
Waxman
Weiner
Wexler
Weygand
Woolsey
Wynn

NOES--263

Aderholt
Armey
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Bereuter
Berman
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Borski
Boswell
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Bryant
Burr
Burton
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Canady
Cannon
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth
Clayton
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Condit
Cook
Costello
Cramer
Crane
Cubin
Cunningham
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeGette
Delahunt
DeMint
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Everett
Ewing
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Fowler
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Gekas
Gibbons
Gillmor
Gilman
Goode
Goodlatte
Goodling
Gordon
Goss
Granger
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill (MT)
Hobson
Hoekstra
Holden
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Isakson
Istook
Jenkins
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Kelly
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Klink
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
Kuykendall
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach

[[Page H4112]]

Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas (KY)
Manzullo
Markey
Mascara
McCollum
McCrery
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McIntyre
McKeon
Metcalf
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Minge
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Ose
Packard
Paul
Pease
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Porter
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Regula
Reynolds
Riley
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sanchez
Sandlin
Sanford
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaffer
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Simpson
Skeen
Skelton
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Snyder
Souder
Spence
Stabenow
Stenholm
Stump
Sununu
Sweeney
Talent
Tancredo
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Toomey
Traficant
Turner
Upton
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watkins
Weldon (FL)
Weller
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wise
Wolf
Wu
Young (AK)
Young (FL)

ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

DeFazio

NOT VOTING--41

Archer
Bentsen
Bishop
Bonior
Bono
Boucher
Brown (CA)
Buyer
Clay
Conyers
Cooksey
Cox
DeLay
Dixon
Frank (MA)
Ganske
Gilchrest
Graham
Green (TX)
Hilleary
Jefferson
Kasich
Largent
Lofgren
Lucas (OK)
Luther
McKinney
Neal
Nethercutt
Olver
Oxley
Pombo
Rangel
Salmon
Scott
Shuster
Smith (WA)
Stearns
Watt (NC)
Watts (OK)
Weldon (PA)

{time} 2208

So the motion was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, first of all, I also would like to commend and thank
the staff that helped us develop this bill and the members of the
subcommittee who worked on this bill and produced a bill that is fair
and meets the needs of the House.
This bill basically deals with the safety of the buildings, Mr.
Chairman. It also ensures security for the personnel that work in this
building and those who visit this building. But this building is mainly
about personnel, and that is how we treat our employees who work in our
offices to make sure that we are effective and efficient.
I have to tell my colleagues that I commend the chairman of the
subcommittee, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor). He was
very fair, very bipartisan. We had the hearings, we developed this bill
in a bipartisan manner, and we were cognizant of the needs of this
House. It is a responsible bill.
Through the subcommittee, as my colleagues were told earlier, by
unanimous vote, this bill was forwarded to the full Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on Appropriations unanimously, on a
voice vote, forwarded it to the House.
It is with great disappointment I must now vote against this bill. We
thought this was a fair bill; that the Members would accept it and
adopt it. We did not expect a long time in its debate or in bringing it
forth. In fact, we were so confident that this bill would be accepted
that as we talked about the calendar, we thought that it would take a
few minutes, it would get adopted, and the Members would be able to
leave early. Well, here we are, late at night, and it is taking a while
to get this bill through the House.
It is a fair bill, and the reason I have to ask the members of the
Democratic Conference to not support this bill is that the late
developments are that they are requesting a big reduction in the
Members' allowance. We had in that allowance considered a cost-of-
living increase for our employees. These are the men and women who work
for us, who make sure that we represent our constituents very well. It
is our feeling that what was a reasonable bill, a fair bill, now is
something that we cannot support. I know there will be debate, but it
is our position that our employees who work very hard for us, long
hours, also deserve consideration when it comes to a cost-of-living
increase.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble).
Mr. COBLE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time. If the chairman would engage with me in a colloquy, I would ask
the chairman if he would tell me and the Members of the House how the
appropriated amount in this bill compares to the amount that was last
passed when the Democrats were in the majority. That would have been
fiscal year 1995, I presume.
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. COBLE. I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina.
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Well, Mr. Chairman, I would tell my
colleague that since 1995, my predecessors, the last two chairmen, have
saved over $1.2 billion in this bill. Now, that is a savings trend
established in the 1990 to 1995 period.
In addition, the FTEs have been substantially reduced, and we have a
work force that is about 16 percent lower than it was in 1994, the last
year that the majority party was in power, which at that time were the
Democrats.
So we have had both a savings in substantial dollar savings and in
FTE employment savings.
Mr. COBLE. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague for
that information.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), and respond to the previous comments by saying
that, as was shown, the bill itself has produced reductions in the past
and continues to reduce the funding for the legislative branch.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, this argument that we have had tonight is not
about cuts in this bill, it is about the way we make choices or should
make choices in a bipartisan manner on issues that affect this
institution and our constituents.
Last month, the majority passed a budget resolution, which it has
every right to do, which cut $36 billion below current services for
domestic programs. The issue is how those cuts are going to be
distributed both between departments and programs and within
departments and programs, and it is about whether those cuts will be
fair or unfair.
After that budget resolution was passed, the Republican majority
again, as is its right, divided that money between the 13 subcommittees
on the Committee on Appropriations, and the committee began to report
its bills. First, we reported agriculture. We reported a bipartisan
bill, supported on both sides of the aisle, and I think the committee
did a good job in distributing the cuts within the Department. But then
the Republican leadership, in response to concerns expressed by some
members in its caucus, responded unilaterally by unilaterally changing
that bill, by cutting agriculture research, by cutting food and drug
funding without consultation with anyone on this side of the aisle. And
in the process they turned a bipartisan bill into a partisan one.

{time} 2215

Now we have the same process, unfortunately, being repeated on this
bill. Again, this bill that funds the Congress itself was reported out
of committee on a bipartisan basis.
Again, the Republican leadership now unilaterally made changes in
that bill only a few hours earlier today. Those changes protect
committee staff. They leave plenty of room for cost-of-living
adjustments for people who work for committees. Those changes leave
plenty of room for staffers who work for the leadership on both sides
of the aisle. But they really leave very little room for cost-of-living
adjustments for people who happen to work for rank-and-file Members.
That is one issue this is about, whether people who work for this
body are going to be treated fairly and whether the squeeze on the
budget is going to be distributed equitably between all of the folks
who work very hard for all of us on both sides of the aisle.
I have two points I would like to make. First of all, if the majority
wants to make additional cuts, fine, let us make them. But do not do it
unilaterally. Sit down with us, sit down with

[[Page H4113]]

people on both sides of the aisle, sit down with the House Committee on
Administration that has jurisdiction over most of these issues so that
we can make sure that the cuts that are made are fair.
I would like to make another more basic point. The cuts that are made
in this bill are really, with the exception of its impact on the folks
who work for us, relatively minor. But the cuts that will be required
for bills that are yet to come will be far deeper in education, they
will be far deeper in health, they will be far deeper in veterans'
benefits, especially in the out years. And that, in my view, is not
fair.
If these bills are to be changed from the amount that was just agreed
to in the 302 allocation process, then, in our view, this bill should
not be considered until we know how other Government agencies are going
to be treated. Congress should be treated no better and no worse than
any other Government agency.
Second, this bill should not be passed until we know how deep the
cuts are that are being contemplated for veterans, for education, for
health care, and other areas of major responsibility to our people.
Because in the end, if this bill is one of the first out of the gate
and if it is signed into law before those other cuts are made, then the
American people are really going to have a right to ask whether we are
more concerned with taking care of ourselves than we are with taking
care of their own problems.
The most basic issue we have before us is that we have a long way to
go in the appropriations process. There are a number of appropriation
bills which we expect to be handled in a bipartisan manner. It would be
sad indeed if every bill that is brought before this House winds up
being dealt with in a partisan manner because the leadership on that
side of the aisle makes unilateral choices. We were all elected to
represent our people and it is not right to cut half of us out of that
process.
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly).
Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the bill before the
House but also to personally pay tribute to the House Page Program
funded in this bill. Especially, I wish to acknowledge the service and
dedication of this academic year's House Pages.
Today marks the last legislative day before the end of duty for this
class, and tomorrow is their last day to be enrolled in the Page
Program.
Mr. Chairman, I want these special young people to know how grateful
I, the members of the Page Board, and all of the Members of Congress
are for their marvelous efforts on behalf of the American people. Their
tireless work and dedication to this House allow for work to be done in
a more efficient and professional manner.
We are all truly grateful to each individual page for their
willingness to leave the comfort and security of home to live, work,
and attend school in an environment that certainly requires a
tremendous adjustment. These exceptional young men and women, who stand
in the back of the chamber today, have made an incredible sacrifice,
Mr. Chairman, by dedicating their minds and enthusiasm during their
service to our Nation.
From the beginning, we had great expectations of this Page class.
They have not disappointed us. We have asked for their loyalty. And
again, they have not disappointed us. Now, as they return to their home
communities and schools to continue their studies, we wish them all the
best of luck and ask them to hold this House in the same high regard
and esteem as we do their contributions to the House's works.
It is with great pride and appreciation, as chairman of the House
Page Board, that I rise to salute our pages and wish them the best in
their future endeavors.
Mr. Chairman, I insert into the Congressional Record the official
listing of names of the departing House pages.

1998-1999 u.s. house page class

Graham Babbitt, Joel Bagwell, Kyle Becker, Nicholas Bronni,
Ashley Bumgarner, Dan Cosman, Bernadette Cullen, Becca
Daltan, Tina Dannelly, Sheila Davies, Nick Dexter, Mike
DiRoma, Leif Erickson, Caroline Evans, Rebecca Forster,
Benjamin Foster, Andrea Green, Jay Greenbaum, Lauren Haller,
Danny Hanlon, Gillian Hanson, Haley Hobbs, Patrick Janelle,
Adam Jones, Glenn Kates, Amy Kennedy, Megan Kennedy, Janel
Koehler, Rebekah Krieger, Michael Lanzara, Robert Leider,
Scott Levine, Jonovan Luckey, Emilie Mague, Mike Mahoney,
Natalie Mariona, Kareem Merrick, Megan Miller, Lindsey Much,
Billye Nelson, Cristie Neubert, Dave Newcomb, Frank Nicklaus,
Daniel Ortega, Kari Peterson, Patrick Pugh, George Robinette,
Tracy Robinson, Katy Rosenberg, Noah Sanders, Jen Sauers,
Karen Schulien, Jay Schwarz, Harlan Scott, Jacob
Shellabarger, Elizabeth Smith, Kathy Smith, Robert Smith,
Tristan Snyder, Cody Specketer, Sara Steines, Michelle
Sullivan, Blair Sweeney, Micah Thompson, Darius Underwood,
Matt Wagner, Kara Wenzel, Will Whitehead, Robyn Willie, and
John Yarborough.

Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I commend the gentlewoman for her comments and our
pages for the excellent work they have done.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I also would like to commend these young men and women
and thank them for the great service they did to the membership of this
House. We wish them the best.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr.
Hoyer).
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Chairman, during my career I have had the opportunity to serve on
the Page Board. And as I say each year, when we take an opportunity
such as this to thank the departing pages for the service that they
have given to this people's House, I had the opportunity to serve as
president of the Maryland Senate, and in that capacity ran the page
program in that body. It was one of the best duties that I had.
Not only do our pages provide extraordinary service, but they learn a
lot. They observe the dedication of the men and women who have been
selected by their neighbors to serve in the Congress of the United
States, in this, the greatest example of democracy in this world.
Vaclav Havel came and gave a speech on that second rostrum, and he
pointed out that the Constitution of the United States, the Declaration
of Independence, the Capitol itself, and the legislative process that
occurs in this Capitol are inspiration for all the world.
There are only a few young Americans who can have the opportunity to
witness democracy in action firsthand. The process of 435 individuals
coming together, representing roughly 600,000 people each, over 260
million people collectively, to resolve the questions that confront our
country is truly extraordinary.
You have had a unique window on that operation. I believe that
experience places upon our departing pages a special responsibility, a
special responsibility to return to their communities, their schools,
and their neighborhoods, and to impart to their friends what they have
learned.
I believe that each of our pages leaves with a conviction that our
democracy works pretty well and that it produces representatives who
really care. They may differ, and they may fight, and on C-SPAN
sometimes they appear overly contentious. But our pages have an
opportunity to see a broader participation than C-SPAN affords most of
the public; and, therefore, they can impart a much more accurate
picture of this institution.
I hope that each of our pages is as proud of this institution as each
of us who serves within it. I hope that each of them leaves this
institution with the intention to tell other Americans, whether they be
young people, or their parents, or their uncles and aunts and
relatives, and all of their peers, about how precious this democracy is
and how important to its success is their participation in it.
We have had a number of people who have served in the Congress who
started their careers as pages. The late Bill Emerson is a specific
example. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dale Kildee) is another, who
used to chair this Page Board. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Kanjorski) is another.
Any one of our fine pages standing in the well may stand here where I
stand, or where the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly) stands, and
speak on behalf of his and her neighbors and friends.

[[Page H4114]]

The only way to get to the House of Representatives as a Member is to
be elected. One cannot be appointed. Our Founding Fathers wanted to
make sure that it was constituents who selected their representatives,
not governors, not presidents, but the people. That is why we proudly
call this the people's House.
Our pages have served here with us. They have served not only us, but
America. We urge them to go back and continue to help us build a better
country for us all. I know they will.
Thank you and Godspeed.
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).
Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I would like to speak for two Members who
are not here tonight at the moment who I know would like to be here, my
colleague the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), who serves on the
Page Board, along with my good friend the gentleman from Arizona (Mr.
Kolbe). And for all Members, we are so appreciative of all the work
that you did.
You do see us long days, long hours, early in the morning, and
certainly again late at night. I have had the opportunity to appoint a
number of students, wonderful students, from my district that have
served. And it is terrific to watch them work and know who the Members
are and understand a little bit of the process.
After they have left here, I have often seen them back at their
schools back at home. And I correspond with them after they have left,
even many years after they have left. And as I talk to their parents, I
know that it is an opportunity that they will never ever forget.
It is a great privilege for all of you to be here. It is a privilege
for us to have you be here, as well. And even though some of us might
look like a page from time to time, particularly if we wear a blue
coat, I just wanted to say for all of us, thank you. You do a wonderful
job.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor) has 16 minutes
remaining. The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor) has 19\1/2\
minutes remaining.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Chairman, I have a speech that is written here on this bill. Let
me read my colleagues the first paragraph.

Mr. Chairman, I urge the Members to support this bill. The
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor) and the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Pastor) have fashioned a bill that will
serve the legislative branch well next year.

That paragraph, of course, was written before a determination was
made unilaterally to change this bill, to undermine the premise on
which that paragraph was written.

{time} 2230

I regret that unilateral change which, as the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has pointed out, was not taken in a bipartisan
way. I said this earlier on another bill. The gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Taylor) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) both
led this bill through its two phases, subcommittee and full committee,
in a bipartisan, fair fashion. It was that procedure that I respected
and that bill that I was going to support. Unfortunately, however,
after it left the bosom of our committee, other forces were brought to
bear, the bill will now be changed, and I do not believe it will serve
this institution as well as it should.
There are some things in this bill that I am pleased about, such as
the transit subsidy program for the roughly 4,000 employees of the
Library of Congress. Approximately 140 Federal agencies, including the
House and Senate, and numerous private-sector employers, offer their
employees similar benefits to encourage use of public transportation.
Last year we extended those benefits to our own employees at the option
of each Member. That was a good step for us to take. This year we are
extending it to the employees of the Library of Congress, another
significant step forward. By expanding this transit-subsidy program to
Library employees, we can help to ease highway congestion, reduce
demand for scarce parking, reduce pollution.
I was very pleased that the bill, as reported, funded the succession
initiatives in the Library and the Congressional Research Service, and
hope the reductions to be taken in the Young amendment can be restored
in conference. Over the next few years, numerous senior Library/CRS
employees will leave Federal service for their well-earned retirement.
These succession initiatives would enable the Library to ensure that
key personnel pass their knowledge and expertise on to successors prior
to their departure.
I am also pleased, Mr. Chairman, that the reported bill includes the
amendment offered in the committee by the gentleman from California
(Mr. Farr). The committee adopted it by voice vote. But as the
gentleman from California, I am sure, will observe and as I will
lament, the only provision in this bill that is not protected by the
rule is a provision to say that we will protect the environment and
recycle paper, as we expect every other Federal agency to do.
It is a shame that the Committee on Rules would not see that as a
sufficiently important policy position for this bill to take for our
institution. This is not extraneous. This is about the legislative
body.
I would hope that no one would rise to make the point of order. I
would say that this matter is in the jurisdiction of the committee of
which I have the privilege of being the ranking member. I would hope
that we would not claim jurisdiction on this issue. It ought not to be
controversial.
As the gentleman from California pointed out, the House recycling
program does not work as well as it should. One year it earned $7.51.
Last year, however, it earned $25,000. But it has been suggested, Mr.
Chairman, that the program could earn $150,000 if we recycled just 60
percent of our high grade paper. Think of that, $25,000. Now, the good
news is what happens with this $25,000 under the Farr amendment. Mr.
Chairman, the bill provides that recycling proceeds would go to our
child-care center. Is there one of us that does not have an employee
with a problem getting proper child care, and therefore needs the House
child care center? Under the Farr amendment, not only do we get the
opportunity to recycle, and to help our environment by reusing
materials that are fully reusable, but we can also get to help our
employees' children and be a more family-friendly institution.
Mr. Chairman, most Members and staff want to recycle, and they
deserve a program that will facilitate it.
Finally, there is one item not in this measure but which I believe
should appear in the final version. I thank the gentleman from North
Carolina, our chairman, who has been very receptive to this issue. I
believe in the final version we should include funding for the U.S.
Capitol Police Information Technology Services. These services are
mission-critical, but are now provided through the Senate Sergeant at
Arms at whatever level of funding and support he has available after
his primary responsibilities to the Senate are met. This item ought to
be included in our bill and I look forward to working with the chairman
on this issue in conference.
Mr. Chairman, I ask the Members to oppose the Young amendment and
support the bill as originally reported by the subcommittee and full
committee.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Farr).
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Pastor) for yielding me this time. I want to associate
myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer). As
a member of the Committee on Appropriations, I was very pleased with
the bill that was worked out in a bipartisan fashion. In that bill I
offered an amendment, and the amendment was adopted, and the amendment
requested that the House put itself into a serious mode of trying to
recycle, because the recycling program that the House now has is not
running very well. We are an embarrassment in the Federal system. We
are really an embarrassment. All other Federal agencies operate under a
Federal Executive Order 12-873 which requires all Federal agencies to
implement recycling programs. The legislative branch is the only branch
that is not required to participate. The reason

[[Page H4115]]

it is not working is because it is totally voluntary here.
The failure to operate the program has been pointed out by our own
House Architect, his own numbers. In testimony before the Committee on
Appropriations last year, he pointed out that in this House building,
in our employment of the House building, and these are the 1997
figures, we employed 8,000 workers. That is quite a figure. I do not
think many people realize that that many people work for the House of
Representatives. Our 8,000 workers in our building generated 4.4
million pounds of waste. For this in 1997, we earned $7.51. As was
pointed out earlier, people collecting bottles on the streets, almost
any Girl Scout unit earns more than that in a week or a day than we
earned in an entire year. By comparison, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, which is just down the street, in 1997 employed 7,000
workers who generated 1 million pounds of waste. And for this they
earned $29,730. They produced one-fourth the amount of waste that we
did and earned thousands of times more. They use that revenue for child
care purposes in the Department of Agriculture.
So I offered the amendment in the Committee on Appropriations. The
amendment does four things:
It requires the House, Members and the administrative offices, to
participate in the existing recycling program. Requires them to, not
just it is up to you. It tasks the Architect with developing strategies
so that the recycling program is flexible, user friendly and effective.
The third thing it does is require the architect to report semiannually
to the Committee on House Administration and Committee on
Appropriations on the status of the program, how is it working, so we
can get feedback. Fourth, it dedicates the proceeds that we would earn,
and they could be considerable, from this program to the House child
care center. Or, we left it in the bill, as may be determined by the
Committee on Appropriations. So if we want to put that money someplace
else, we have the flexibility to do it.
The amendment was adopted by voice vote in a bipartisan fashion. It
is necessary that we have this program because you cannot run a
recycling program and just let some offices do it and other offices do
not. After all, it is the same janitorial staff that cleans all of
these offices. So in order to eliminate the excuses of why we cannot be
what we have mandated on the rest of America, why we cannot be what all
other Federal agencies have done, why we cannot be what America expects
us to be, we have adopted this amendment.
Now, we have before us in the rule that was just adopted the ability
to strike this. No other provision of this bill, they waived all the
points of order for all the others except this one. I think it is kind
of a mean, reckless error. What you are saying is that we can waive
points of order and, my God, we do that every week here. I remember in
the supplemental just a few weeks ago, we have 3,000 Soviet scholars
coming to this country, that was certainly the jurisdiction of other
committees, it was never heard in committee, never debated, it was just
put in the supplemental, and we all support it and nobody ever raised a
point of order that it was a jurisdictional issue.
We do this all the time. I think it is foolish of us to expose
ourselves to the public on the embarrassment of our House. I think we
all agree, we ought to be doing it. There was a lot of testimonial in
the Committee on Appropriations how bad the program is working and how
we can do a much better job. We know in our own homes that our kids
force us to do it. We participate in this stuff. We have just praised
these future leaders of America who have been our pages. Why can we not
demonstrate to them that there is some meaning in our words by
demonstrating that we can run this House like most people run their
homes, like most businesses around this country run themselves and
certainly like all other Federal agencies.
Mr. Chairman, I came here with great hope that we could support this
bill. But with this rule that is adopted and a point of order is
raised, we are going to have to urge our colleagues to defeat it, and I
think it will be an embarrassment to the United States Congress.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise also to commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) who
through his insistence the full Committee on Appropriations adopted a
mandatory recycling program. As he explained, a program such as this is
required in many cases of our constituents and I think that we as
Members of the House should also have a recycling program that is
mandatory, efficient and effective and will produce the moneys.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Dakota
(Mr. Pomeroy).
Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Chairman, we all know as Members of this institution
that this is a troubled House of Representatives. At times in the
history of this institution it has also been similarly troubled. But I
have heard from many who have served longer than the 3\1/2\ terms I
have served that they have never remembered the place being as mean-
spirited, as venal, as partisan as it is now. I think we ought to be
working on ways to change that, and I know many of the Members on both
sides of the aisle are men and women of good spirit that would very
much like to work to get a greater comity of views, even across the
wide divergence of opinion in this body. That really depends upon
process, rules of fair play. There is a majority. There is a minority.
But if the rules of fair play are engaged in, losing votes is something
the minority will understand, just as long as the process is a fair
one.
Now, what is so objectionable about the amendment offered by the
chairman is that it completely blows up any notion of fairness in the
appropriations process. The process for appropriations is that you have
allocations. Each of the subcommittees is given a certain amount of
money to spend. It is set by the budget that was earlier passed by this
body. This once again just like the agriculture budget a few days
before, agriculture appropriations of a few days before, is a budget
brought that comports with the allocation. Hearings have been held.
Bipartisan votes have been cast. The subcommittee has reached an
agreement. They have brought a recommendation to the floor. That is the
process working as it should.

{time} 2245

Now it totally blows away that process when the majority says, ``Oh,
by the way, without any advanced notice to you all in the minority,
we're going to give another whack right across the board without so
much as a discussion in committee about what we are doing.''
The chairman of the Committee on Appropriations is a man that we know
well, he served long, we respect him deeply, and really it is beneath
his leadership to subvert the process of fair play in the fashion the
amendment to the agriculture appropriations bill and this amendment
represent.
I believe that if this body, if this majority, wants to take
additional sums out, go back and revise the allocations, send the
appropriation subcommittees back to work, and at least we again have
the process functioning; but this last minute, eleventh hour, blind
side, irrespective of consequences, totally shutting out minority
opinion, is the very type of foul play that makes the minority feel
utterly disenfranchised, that makes the constituents we represent
totally shut out of the process and that creates and contributes to the
vile, bad spirit that plagues this place.
Treat us fairly. Adhere to process. Let the legislative function
work.
Mr. Chairman, that would mean rejecting this amendment tonight.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of the time.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Hansen). The gentleman from Arizona is
recognized for 1 minute.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I would like to again thank the staff, the
members of the subcommittee; I would like to thank the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Taylor) for the fairness in developing this bill.
It was a reasonable bill, it was a fair bill, and due to last-minute
decisions that were beyond our control, it has now become a very harsh
bill, especially when it deals with the House Members not being able to
provide COLAs to our staff.
So, Mr. Chairman, I would ask that the Democrat side oppose this
bill.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H4116]]

Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, when I came here in 1991, this House was much more
troubled than the last speaker before the gentleman from Arizona (Mr.
Pastor) indicated. We had a House bank that had been corrupted by
abuses of some former Members of this body, we had drugs being sold in
the post office, we had purchases being made by former Members of this
body. There were a number of perks that were abusive of this body.
Members of both parties got together and eliminated those abuses. We
have worked to see that this House is a House that we can all be proud
of. We have done that in points of law, and we have done that by
cutting our own budget to respect what is happening in the public
generally. Most people are having to cut their budgets, and we will
have to wrestle with a lot of problems in the other 12 bills that will
be coming before us. We have done it in a bipartisan way, and I am
proud of our bill that we have now.
I appreciate the work of both parties of the committee in this area.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Hansen). All time for general debate
has expired.
Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read for amendment under
the 5-minute rule.
The text of H.R. 1905 is as follows:

H.R. 1905

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Legislative
Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2000, and for
other purposes, namely:

TITLE I--CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Salaries and Expenses

For salaries and expenses of the House of Representatives,
$769,019,000, as follows:

house leadership offices

For salaries and expenses, as authorized by law,
$14,202,000, including: Office of the Speaker, $1,740,000,
including $25,000 for official expenses of the Speaker;
Office of the Majority Floor Leader, $1,705,000, including
$10,000 for official expenses of the Majority Leader; Office
of the Minority Floor Leader, $2,071,000, including $10,000
for official expenses of the Minority Leader; Office of the
Majority Whip, including the Chief Deputy Majority Whip,
$1,423,000, including $5,000 for official expenses of the
Majority Whip; Office of the Minority Whip, including the
Chief Deputy Minority Whip, $1,057,000, including $5,000 for
official expenses of the Minority Whip; Speaker's Office for
Legislative Floor Activities, $406,000; Republican Steering
Committee, $757,000; Republican Conference, $1,244,000;
Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, $1,337,000;
Democratic Caucus, $664,000; nine minority employees,
$1,218,000; training and program development--majority,
$290,000; and training and program development--minority,
$290,000.

Members' Representational Allowances

Including Members' Clerk Hire, Official Expenses of Members, and
Official Mail

For Members' representational allowances, including
Members' clerk hire, official expenses, and official mail,
$413,576,000.

Committee Employees

Standing Committees, Special and Select

For salaries and expenses of standing committees, special
and select, authorized by House resolutions, $93,878,000:
Provided, That such amount shall remain available for such
salaries and expenses until December 31, 2000.

Committee on Appropriations

For salaries and expenses of the Committee on
Appropriations, $21,308,000, including studies and
examinations of executive agencies and temporary personal
services for such committee, to be expended in accordance
with section 202(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of
1946 and to be available for reimbursement to agencies for
services performed: Provided, That such amount shall remain
available for such salaries and expenses until December 31,
2000.

salaries, officers and employees

For compensation and expenses of officers and employees, as
authorized by law, $90,633,000, including: for salaries and
expenses of the Office of the Clerk, including not more than
$3,500, of which not more than $2,500 is for the Family Room,
for official representation and reception expenses,
$14,881,000; for salaries and expenses of the Office of the
Sergeant at Arms, including the position of Superintendent of
Garages, and including not more than $750 for official
representation and reception expenses, $3,746,000; for
salaries and expenses of the Office of the Chief
Administrative Officer, $57,289,000, of which $2,500,000
shall remain available until expended, including $25,169,000
for salaries, expenses and temporary personal services of
House Information Resources, of which $24,641,000 is provided
herein: Provided, That of the amount provided for House
Information Resources, $6,260,000 shall be for net expenses
of telecommunications: Provided further, That House
Information Resources is authorized to receive reimbursement
from Members of the House of Representatives and other
governmental entities for services provided and such
reimbursement shall be deposited in the Treasury for credit
to this account; for salaries and expenses of the Office of
the Inspector General, $3,926,000; for salaries and expenses
of the Office of General Counsel, $840,000; for the Office of
the Chaplain, $136,000; for salaries and expenses of the
Office of the Parliamentarian, including the Parliamentarian
and $2,000 for preparing the Digest of Rules, $1,172,000; for
salaries and expenses of the Office of the Law Revision
Counsel of the House, $2,045,000; for salaries and expenses
of the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House,
$5,085,000; for salaries and expenses of the Corrections
Calendar Office, $825,000; and for other authorized
employees, $688,000.

allowances and expenses

For allowances and expenses as authorized by House
resolution or law, $135,422,000, including: supplies,
materials, administrative costs and Federal tort claims,
$2,741,000; official mail for committees, leadership offices,
and administrative offices of the House, $410,000; Government
contributions for health, retirement, Social Security, and
other applicable employee benefits, $131,595,000; and
miscellaneous items including purchase, exchange,
maintenance, repair and operation of House motor vehicles,
interparliamentary receptions, and gratuities to heirs of
deceased employees of the House, $676,000.

child care center

For salaries and expenses of the House of Representatives
Child Care Center, such amounts as are deposited in the
account established by section 312(d)(1) of the Legislative
Branch Appropriations Act, 1992 (40 U.S.C. 184g(d)(1)),
subject to the level specified in the budget of the Center,
as submitted to the Committee on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives.

Administrative Provisions

Sec. 101. (a) Compliance With Admission Requirements.--The
General Counsel of the House of Representatives and any other
counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of the House of
Representatives, including any counsel specially retained by
the Office of General Counsel, shall be entitled, for the
purpose of performing the counsel's functions, to enter an
appearance in any proceeding before any court of the United
States or of any State or political subdivision thereof
without compliance with any requirements for admission to
practice before such court, except that the authorization
conferred by this subsection shall not apply with respect to
the admission of any such person to practice before the
United States Supreme Court.
(b) Notification by Attorney General.--The Attorney General
shall notify the General Counsel of the House of
Representatives with respect to any proceeding in which the
United States is a party of any determination by the Attorney
General or Solicitor General not to appeal any court decision
affecting the constitutionality of an Act or joint resolution
of Congress within such time as will enable the House to
direct the General Counsel to intervene as a party in such
proceeding pursuant to applicable rules of the House of
Representatives.
(c) General Counsel Definition.--In this section, the term
``General Counsel of the House of Representatives'' means--
(1) the head of the Office of General Counsel established
and operating under clause 8 of rule II of the Rules of the
House of Representatives;
(2) the head of any successor office to the Office of
General Counsel which is established after the date of the
enactment of this Act; and
(3) any other person authorized and directed in accordance
with the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide
legal assistance and representation to the House in
connection with the matters described in this section.
Sec. 102. Section 104(a) of the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105-275; 112 Stat. 2439)
is amended by striking ``(2 U.S.C. 59(e)(2))'' and inserting
``(2 U.S.C. 59e(e)(2))''.
Sec. 103. (a) Clarification of Rules Regarding Use of Funds
for Official Mail.--
(1) In general.--Section 311(e)(1) of the Legislative
Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 59e(e)(1)) is
amended--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``There is established'' and all that follows through ``shall
be prescribed--'' and inserting the following: ``The use of
funds of the House of Representatives which are made
available for official mail of Members, officers, and
employees of the House of Representatives who are persons
entitled to use the congressional frank shall be governed by
regulations promulgated--''; and
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``the Allowance'' and
inserting ``official mail (except as provided in subparagraph
(B))''.
(2) Limitations on availability of funds.--Section
311(e)(2) of such Act (2

[[Page H4117]]

U.S.C. 59e(e)(2)), as amended by section 104(a) of the
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999, is amended--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``The Official Mail Allowance'' and inserting ``Funds used
for official mail'';
(B) by striking subparagraph (A); and
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(3) Repeal of obsolete transfer authority.--Section 311(e)
of such Act (2 U.S.C. 59e(e)) is amended by striking
paragraph (3).
(4) Conforming amendments.--(A) Section 1(a) of House
Resolution 457, Ninety-second Congress, agreed to July 21,
1971, as enacted into permanent law by chapter IV of the
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1972 (2 U.S.C. 57(a)), is
amended by striking ``the Official Mail Allowance'' each
place it appears and inserting ``official mail''.
(B) Section 311(a)(3) of the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 59e(a)(3)) is amended by
striking ``costs charged against the Official Mail Allowance
for'' and inserting ``costs incurred for official mail by''.
(b) Repeal of Obsolete References to Clerk Hire
Allowance.--
(1) In general.--Section 104(a) of the House of
Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections
Act (2 U.S.C. 92(a)) is amended by striking ``clerk hire''
each place it appears.
(2) Conforming amendment.--The heading of section 104 of
such Act (2 U.S.C. 92(a)) is amended by striking ``clerk
hire''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply with respect to the first session of the One
Hundred Sixth Congress and each succeeding session of
Congress.

JOINT ITEMS

For Joint Committees, as follows:

Joint Economic Committee

For salaries and expenses of the Joint Economic Committee,
$3,200,000, to be disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate.

Joint Committee on Taxation

For salaries and expenses of the Joint Committee on
Taxation, $6,188,000, to be disbursed by the Chief
Administrative Officer of the House.
For other joint items, as follows:

Office of the Attending Physician

For medical supplies, equipment, and contingent expenses of
the emergency rooms, and for the Attending Physician and his
assistants, including: (1) an allowance of $1,500 per month
to the Attending Physician; (2) an allowance of $500 per
month each to three medical officers while on duty in the
Office of the Attending Physician; (3) an allowance of $500
per month to one assistant and $400 per month each not to
exceed eleven assistants on the basis heretofore provided for
such assistants; and (4) $1,002,600 for reimbursement to the
Department of the Navy for expenses incurred for staff and
equipment assigned to the Office of the Attending Physician,
which shall be advanced and credited to the applicable
appropriation or appropriations from which such salaries,
allowances, and other expenses are payable and shall be
available for all the purposes thereof, $1,898,000, to be
disbursed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House.

Capitol Police Board

Capitol Police

salaries

For the Capitol Police Board for salaries of officers,
members, and employees of the Capitol Police, including
overtime, hazardous duty pay differential, clothing allowance
of not more than $600 each for members required to wear
civilian attire, and Government contributions for health,
retirement, Social Security, and other applicable employee
benefits, $78,501,000, of which $37,725,000 is provided to
the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, to be
disbursed by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House,
and $40,776,000 is provided to the Sergeant at Arms and
Doorkeeper of the Senate, to be disbursed by the Secretary of
the Senate: Provided, That, of the amounts appropriated under
this heading, such amounts as may be necessary may be
transferred between the Sergeant at Arms of the House of
Representatives and the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of
the Senate, upon approval of the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate.

general expenses

For the Capitol Police Board for necessary expenses of the
Capitol Police, including motor vehicles, communications and
other equipment, security equipment and installation,
uniforms, weapons, supplies, materials, training, medical
services, forensic services, stenographic services, personal
and professional services, the employee assistance program,
not more than $2,000 for the awards program, postage,
telephone service, travel advances, relocation of instructor
and liaison personnel for the Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center, and $85 per month for extra services
performed for the Capitol Police Board by an employee of the
Sergeant at Arms of the Senate or the House of
Representatives designated by the Chairman of the Board,
$6,711,000, to be disbursed by the Capitol Police Board or
their delegee: Provided, That, notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the cost of basic training for the Capitol
Police at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center for
fiscal year 2000 shall be paid by the Secretary of the
Treasury from funds available to the Department of the
Treasury.

Administrative Provision

Sec. 104. Amounts appropriated for fiscal year 2000 for the
Capitol Police Board for the Capitol Police may be
transferred between the headings ``salaries'' and ``general
expenses'' upon the approval of--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives, in the case of amounts transferred from the
appropriation provided to the Sergeant at Arms of the House
of Representatives under the heading ``salaries'';
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, in the
case of amounts transferred from the appropriation provided
to the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate under
the heading ``salaries''; and
(3) the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the
House of Representatives, in the case of other transfers.

Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office

For salaries and expenses of the Capitol Guide Service and
Special Services Office, $2,293,000, to be disbursed by the
Secretary of the Senate: Provided, That no part of such
amount may be used to employ more than forty-three
individuals: Provided further, That the Capitol Guide Board
is authorized, during emergencies, to employ not more than
two additional individuals for not more than 120 days each,
and not more than ten additional individuals for not more
than six months each, for the Capitol Guide Service.

Statements of Appropriations

For the preparation, under the direction of the Committees
on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of
Representatives, of the statements for the first session of
the One Hundred Sixth Congress, showing appropriations made,
indefinite appropriations, and contracts authorized, together
with a chronological history of the regular appropriations
bills as required by law, $30,000, to be paid to the persons
designated by the chairmen of such committees to supervise
the work.

OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE

Salaries and Expenses

For salaries and expenses of the Office of Compliance, as
authorized by section 305 of the Congressional Accountability
Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1385), $2,000,000.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

Salaries and Expenses

For salaries and expenses necessary to carry out the
provisions of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public
Law 93-344), including not more than $2,500 to be expended on
the certification of the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office in connection with official representation and
reception expenses, $26,221,000: Provided, That no part of
such amount may be used for the purchase or hire of a
passenger motor vehicle.

Administrative Provisions

Sec. 105. (a) The Director of the Congressional Budget
Office shall have the authority to make lump-sum payments to
enhance staff recruitment and to reward exceptional
performance by an employee or a group of employees.
(b) Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to fiscal years
beginning after September 30, 1999.
Sec. 106. Paragraph (5) of section 201(a) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601(a)) is amended
to read as follows:
``(5)(A) The Director shall receive compensation at an
annual rate of pay that is equal to the lower of--
``(i) the highest annual rate of compensation of any
officer of the Senate; or
``(ii) the highest annual rate of compensation of any
officer of the House of Representatives.
``(B) The Deputy Director shall receive compensation at an
annual rate of pay that is $1,000 less than the annual rate
of pay received by the Director, as determined under
subparagraph (A).''.

ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

Capitol Buildings and Grounds

capitol buildings

salaries and expenses

For salaries for the Architect of the Capitol, the
Assistant Architect of the Capitol, and other personal
services, at rates of pay provided by law; for surveys and
studies in connection with activities under the care of the
Architect of the Capitol; for all necessary expenses for the
maintenance, care and operation of the Capitol and electrical
substations of the Senate and House office buildings under
the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol, including
furnishings and office equipment, including not more than
$1,000 for official reception and representation expenses, to
be expended as the Architect of the Capitol may approve; for
purchase or exchange, maintenance and operation of a
passenger motor vehicle; and not to exceed $20,000 for
attendance, when specifically authorized by the Architect of
the Capitol, at meetings or conventions in connection with
subjects related to work under the Architect of the Capitol,
$47,569,000, of which $4,520,000 shall remain available until
expended.

capitol grounds

For all necessary expenses for care and improvement of
grounds surrounding the Capitol, the Senate and House office
buildings, and the Capitol Power Plant, $5,579,0000, of

[[Page H4118]]

which $155,000 shall remain available until expended.

house office buildings

For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and
operation of the House office buildings, $40,679,000, of
which $7,842,000 shall remain available until expended.

capitol power plant

For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and
operation of the Capitol Power Plant; lighting, heating,
power (including the purchase of electrical energy) and water
and sewer services for the Capitol, Senate and House office
buildings, Library of Congress buildings, and the grounds
about the same, Botanic Garden, Senate garage, and air
conditioning refrigeration not supplied from plants in any of
such buildings; heating the Government Printing Office and
Washington City Post Office, and heating and chilled water
for air conditioning for the Supreme Court Building, the
Union Station complex, the Thurgood Marshall Federal
Judiciary Building and the Folger Shakespeare Library,
expenses for which shall be advanced or reimbursed upon
request of the Architect of the Capitol and amounts so
received shall be deposited into the Treasury to the credit
of this appropriation, $39,180,000: Provided, That not more
than $4,000,000 of the funds credited or to be reimbursed to
this appropriation as herein provided shall be available for
obligation during fiscal year 2000.

Administrative Provision

Sec. 107. (a) Participation in Office Waste Recycling
Program.--Each Member and each employing authority of the
House of Representatives shall comply with the Architect of
the Capitol's Office Waste Recycling Program for the House of
Representatives (hereafter in this section referred to as the
``Program''). The Architect shall provide a convenient,
clearly marked, and effective system for the collection of
recyclable materials under the Program.
(b) Report.--The Architect of the Capitol shall submit
semiannually to the Committees on Appropriations and House
Administration of the House of Representatives a written
report on the status and results of the Program.
(c) Use of Proceeds for Child Care Center.--All funds
collected through the sale of materials under the Program
shall be deposited in an account established in the Treasury.
Amounts in such account shall be used for payment of
activities and expenses of the House of Representatives Child
Care Center, to the extent provided in appropriations Acts.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Congressional Research Service

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of
section 203 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2
U.S.C. 166) and to revise and extend the Annotated
Constitution of the United States of America, $71,255,000:
Provided, That no part of such amount may be used to pay any
salary or expense in connection with any publication, or
preparation of material therefor (except the Digest of Public
General Bills), to be issued by the Library of Congress
unless such publication has obtained prior approval of either
the Committee on House Administration of the House of
Representatives or the Committee on Rules and Administration
of the Senate.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

Congressional Printing and Binding

For authorized printing and binding for the Congress and
the distribution of Congressional information in any format;
printing and binding for the Architect of the Capitol;
expenses necessary for preparing the semimonthly and session
index to the Congressional Record, as authorized by law (44
U.S.C. 902); printing and binding of Government publications
authorized by law to be distributed to Members of Congress;
and printing, binding, and distribution of Government
publications authorized by law to be distributed without
charge to the recipient, $77,704,000: Provided, That this
appropriation shall not be available for paper copies of the
permanent edition of the Congressional Record for individual
Representatives, Resident Commissioners or Delegates
authorized under 44 U.S.C. 906: Provided further, That this
appropriation shall be available for the payment of
obligations incurred under the appropriations for similar
purposes for preceding fiscal years: Provided further, That
notwithstanding the 2-year limitation under section 718 of
title 44, United States Code, none of the funds appropriated
or made available under this Act or any other Act for
printing and binding and related services provided to
Congress under chapter 7 of title 44, United States Code, may
be expended to print a document, report, or publication after
the 27-month period beginning on the date that such document,
report, or publication is authorized by Congress to be
printed, unless Congress reauthorizes such printing in
accordance with section 718 of title 44, United States Code.
This title may be cited as the ``Congressional Operations
Appropriations Act, 2000''.

TITLE II--OTHER AGENCIES

BOTANIC GARDEN

Salaries and Expenses

For all necessary expenses for the maintenance, care and
operation of the Botanic Garden and the nurseries, buildings,
grounds, and collections; and purchase and exchange,
maintenance, repair, and operation of a passenger motor
vehicle; all under the direction of the Joint Committee on
the Library, $3,538,000.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Salaries and Expenses

For necessary expenses of the Library of Congress not
otherwise provided for, including development and maintenance
of the Union Catalogs; custody and custodial care of the
Library buildings; special clothing; cleaning, laundering and
repair of uniforms; preservation of motion pictures in the
custody of the Library; operation and maintenance of the
American Folklife Center in the Library; preparation and
distribution of catalog records and other publications of the
Library; hire or purchase of one passenger motor vehicle; and
expenses of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board not
properly chargeable to the income of any trust fund held by
the Board, $256,970,000, of which not more than $6,500,000
shall be derived from collections credited to this
appropriation during fiscal year 2000, and shall remain
available until expended, under the Act of June 28, 1902
(chapter 1301; 32 Stat. 480; 2 U.S.C. 150) and not more than
$350,000 shall be derived from collections during fiscal year
2000 and shall remain available until expended for the
development and maintenance of an international legal
information database and activities related thereto:
Provided, That the Library of Congress may not obligate or
expend any funds derived from collections under the Act of
June 28, 1902, in excess of the amount authorized for
obligation or expenditure in appropriations Acts: Provided
further, That the total amount available for obligation shall
be reduced by the amount by which collections are less than
the $6,850,000: Provided further, That of the total amount
appropriated, $10,438,000 is to remain available until
expended for acquisition of books, periodicals, newspapers,
and all other materials including subscriptions for
bibliographic services for the Library, including $40,000 to
be available solely for the purchase, when specifically
approved by the Librarian, of special and unique materials
for additions to the collections: Provided further, That of
the total amount appropriated, $2,347,000 is to remain
available until expended for the acquisition and partial
support for implementation of an Integrated Library System
(ILS): Provided further, That of the total amount
appropriated, $5,579,000 is to remain available until
expended for the purpose of teaching educators how to
incorporate the Library's digital collections into school
curricula, which amount shall be transferred to the
educational consortium formed to conduct the ``Joining Hands
Across America: Local Community Initiative'' project as
approved by the Library.

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses of the Copyright Office,
$37,639,000, of which not more than $20,800,000, to remain
available until expended, shall be derived from collections
credited to this appropriation during fiscal year 2000 under
17 U.S.C. 708(d): Provided, That the Copyright Office may not
obligate or expend any funds derived from collections under
17 U.S.C. 708(d), in excess of the amount authorized for
obligation or expenditure in appropriations Acts: Provided
further, That not more than $5,454,000 shall be derived from
collections during fiscal year 2000 under 17 U.S.C.
111(d)(2), 119(b)(2), 802(h), and 1005: Provided further,
That the total amount available for obligation shall be
reduced by the amount by which collections are less than
$26,254,000: Provided further, That not more than $100,000 of
the amount appropriated is available for the maintenance of
an ``International Copyright Institute'' in the Copyright
Office of the Library of Congress for the purpose of training
nationals of developing countries in intellectual property
laws and policies: Provided further, That not more than
$4,250 may be expended, on the certification of the Librarian
of Congress, in connection with official representation and
reception expenses for activities of the International
Copyright Institute and for Copyright delegations, visitors,
and seminars.

Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

salaries and expenses

For salaries and expenses to carry out the Act of March 3,
1931 (chapter 400; 46 Stat. 1487; 2 U.S.C. 135a),
$48,033,000, of which $14,032,600 shall remain available
until expended.

Furniture and Furnishings

For necessary expenses for the purchase, installation,
maintenance, and repair of furniture, furnishings, office and
library equipment, $5,415,000.

Administrative Provisions

Sec. 201. Appropriations in this Act available to the
Library of Congress shall be available, in an amount of not
more than $198,390, of which $59,300 is for the Congressional
Research Service, when specifically authorized by the
Librarian of Congress, for attendance at meetings concerned
with the function or activity for which the appropriation is
made.
Sec. 202. (a) No part of the funds appropriated in this Act
shall be used by the Library of Congress to administer any
flexible or compressed work schedule which--
(1) applies to any manager or supervisor in a position
the grade or level of which is equal to or higher than GS-15;
and

[[Page H4119]]

(2) grants such manager or supervisor the right to not be
at work for all or a portion of a workday because of time
worked by the manager or supervisor on another workday.
(b) For purposes of this section, the term ``manager or
supervisor'' means any management official or supervisor, as
such terms are defined in section 7103(a)(10) and (11) of
title 5, United States Code.
Sec. 203. Appropriated funds received by the Library of
Congress from other Federal agencies to cover general and
administrative overhead costs generated by performing
reimbursable work for other agencies under the authority of
31 U.S.C. 1535 and 1536 shall not be used to employ more than
65 employees and may be expended or obligated--
(1) in the case of a reimbursement, only to such extent or
in such amounts as are provided in appropriations Acts; or
(2) in the case of an advance payment, only--
(A) to pay for such general or administrative overhead
costs as are attributable to the work performed for such
agency; or
(B) to such extent or in such amounts as are provided in
appropriations Acts, with respect to any purpose not
allowable under subparagraph (A).
Sec. 204. Of the amounts appropriated to the Library of
Congress in this Act, not more than $5,000 may be expended,
on the certification of the Librarian of Congress, in
connection with official representation and reception
expenses for the incentive awards program.
Sec. 205. Of the amount appropriated to the Library of
Congress in this Act, not more than $12,000 may be expended,
on the certification of the Librarian of Congress, in
connection with official representation and reception
expenses for the Overseas Field Offices.
Sec. 206. (a) For fiscal year 2000, the obligational
authority of the Library of Congress for the activities
described in subsection (b) may not exceed $98,788,000.
(b) The activities referred to in subsection (a) are
reimbursable and revolving fund activities that are funded
from sources other than appropriations to the Library in
appropriations Acts for the legislative branch.
Sec. 207. The Library of Congress may use available funds,
now and hereafter, to enter into contracts for the lease or
acquisition of severable services for a period that begins in
one fiscal year and ends in the next fiscal year and to enter
into multi-year contracts for the acquisition of property and
services pursuant to sections 303L and 304B, respectively, of
the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (41
U.S.C. 253l and 254c).
Sec. 208. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law
regarding the qualifications and method of appointment of
employees of the Library of Congress, the Librarian of
Congress, using such method of appointment as the Librarian
may select, may appoint not more than three individuals who
meet such qualifications as the Librarian may impose to serve
as management specialists for a term not to exceed three
years.
(b) No individual appointed as a management specialist
under subsection (a) may serve in such position after
December 31, 2004.
Sec. 209. (a) Section 904 of the Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 1983 (2 U.S.C. 136a-2) is amended to read
as follows:
``Sec. 904. Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
``(1) the Librarian of Congress shall be compensated at an
annual rate of pay which is equal to the annual rate of basic
pay payable for positions at level II of the Executive
Schedule under section 5313 of title 5, United States Code;
and
``(2) the Deputy Librarian of Congress shall be compensated
at an annual rate of pay which is equal to the annual rate of
basic pay payable for positions at level III of the Executive
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States
Code.''.
(b) Section 203(c)(1) of the Legislative Reorganization Act
of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 166(c)(1)) is amended by striking the
second sentence and inserting the following: ``The basic pay
of the Director shall be at a per annum rate equal to the
rate of basic pay provided for level III of the Executive
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States
Code.''.
(c) The amendments made by this section shall apply with
respect to the first pay period which begins on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act and each subsequent pay
period.

ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

Library Buildings and Grounds

structural and mechanical care

For all necessary expenses for the mechanical and
structural maintenance, care and operation of the Library
buildings and grounds, $17,782,000, of which $5,150,000 shall
remain available until expended.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

Office of Superintendent of Documents

salaries and expenses

For expenses of the Office of Superintendent of Documents
necessary to provide for the cataloging and indexing of
Government publications and their distribution to the public,
Members of Congress, other Government agencies, and
designated depository and international exchange libraries as
authorized by law, $29,986,000: Provided, That travel
expenses, including travel expenses of the Depository Library
Council to the Public Printer, shall not exceed $175,000:
Provided further, That amounts of not more than $2,000,000
from current year appropriations are authorized for producing
and disseminating Congressional serial sets and other related
publications for 1998 and 1999 to depository and other
designated libraries.

Government Printing Office Revolving Fund

The Government Printing Office is hereby authorized to make
such expenditures, within the limits of funds available and
in accord with the law, and to make such contracts and
commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as
provided by section 9104 of title 31, United States Code, as
may be necessary in carrying out the programs and purposes
set forth in the budget for the current fiscal year for the
Government Printing Office revolving fund: Provided, That not
more than $2,500 may be expended on the certification of the
Public Printer in connection with official representation and
reception expenses: Provided further, That the revolving fund
shall be available for the hire or purchase of not more than
twelve passenger motor vehicles: Provided further, That
expenditures in connection with travel expenses of the
advisory councils to the Public Printer shall be deemed
necessary to carry out the provisions of title 44, United
States Code: Provided further, That the revolving fund shall
be available for temporary or intermittent services under
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates
for individuals not more than the daily equivalent of the
annual rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive
Schedule under section 5316 of such title: Provided further,
That the revolving fund and the funds provided under the
headings ``Office of Superintendent of Documents'' and
``salaries and expenses'' together may not be available for
the full-time equivalent employment of more than 3,313
workyears (or such other number of workyears as the Public
Printer may request, subject to the approval of the
Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of
Representatives): Provided further, That activities financed
through the revolving fund may provide information in any
format: Provided further, That the revolving fund shall not
be used to administer any flexible or compressed work
schedule which applies to any manager or supervisor in a
position the grade or level of which is equal to or higher
than GS-15: Provided further, That expenses for attendance at
meetings shall not exceed $75,000.

Administrative Provision

Sec. 210. (a) Section 311 of title 44, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, section
3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5) shall apply with
respect to purchases and contracts for the Government
Printing Office as if the reference to `$25,000' in clause
(1) of such section were a reference to `$100,000'.''.
(b) The heading of section 311 of title 44, United States
Code, is amended by striking ``AUTHORITY'' and inserting
``AUTHORITY; SMALL PURCHASE THRESHOLD''.
(c) The table of sections for chapter 3 of title 44, United
States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to
section 311 and inserting the following:

``311. Purchases exempt from the Federal Property and Administrative
Services Act; contract negotiation authority; small
purchase threshold.''.

GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE

Salaries and Expenses

For necessary expenses of the General Accounting Office,
including not more than $7,000 to be expended on the
certification of the Comptroller General of the United States
in connection with official representation and reception
expenses; temporary or intermittent services under section
3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for
individuals not more than the daily equivalent of the annual
rate of basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule
under section 5315 of such title; hire of one passenger motor
vehicle; advance payments in foreign countries in accordance
with 31 U.S.C. 3324; benefits comparable to those payable
under sections 901(5), 901(6), and 901(8) of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4081(5), 4081(6), and
4081(8)); and under regulations prescribed by the Comptroller
General of the United States, rental of living quarters in
foreign countries, $372,681,000: Provided, That
notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 9105 hereafter amounts reimbursed
to the Comptroller General pursuant to that section shall be
deposited to the appropriation of the General Accounting
Office then available and remain available until expended,
and not more than $1,400,000 of such funds shall be available
for use in fiscal year 2000: Provided further, That this
appropriation and appropriations for administrative expenses
of any other department or agency which is a member of the
Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) shall
be available to finance an appropriate share of JFMIP costs
as determined by the JFMIP, including the salary of the
Executive Director and secretarial support: Provided further,
That this appropriation and appropriations for administrative
expenses of any other department or agency which is a member
of the National Intergovernmental Audit Forum or a Regional
Intergovernmental Audit Forum shall be available to finance
an appropriate share of either Forum's costs as determined by
the respective Forum, including necessary travel expenses of
non-Federal participants. Payments hereunder to either Forum
or the

[[Page H4120]]

JFMIP may be credited as reimbursements to any appropriation
from which costs involved are initially financed: Provided
further, That this appropriation and appropriations for
administrative expenses of any other department or agency
which is a member of the American Consortium on International
Public Administration (ACIPA) shall be available to finance
an appropriate share of ACIPA costs as determined by the
ACIPA, including any expenses attributable to membership of
ACIPA in the International Institute of Administrative
Sciences.

TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. No part of the funds appropriated in this Act
shall be used for the maintenance or care of private
vehicles, except for emergency assistance and cleaning as may
be provided under regulations relating to parking facilities
for the House of Representatives issued by the Committee on
House Administration and for the Senate issued by the
Committee on Rules and Administration.
Sec. 302. No part of the funds appropriated in this Act
shall remain available for obligation beyond fiscal year 2000
unless expressly so provided in this Act.
Sec. 303. Whenever in this Act any office or position not
specifically established by the Legislative Pay Act of 1929
is appropriated for or the rate of compensation or
designation of any office or position appropriated for is
different from that specifically established by such Act, the
rate of compensation and the designation in this Act shall be
the permanent law with respect thereto: Provided, That the
provisions in this Act for the various items of official
expenses of Members, officers, and committees of the Senate
and House of Representatives, and clerk hire for Senators and
Members of the House of Representatives shall be the
permanent law with respect thereto.
Sec. 304. The expenditure of any appropriation under this
Act for any consulting service through procurement contract,
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3109, shall be limited to those
contracts where such expenditures are a matter of public
record and available for public inspection, except where
otherwise provided under existing law, or under existing
Executive order issued pursuant to existing law.
Sec. 305. (a) It is the sense of the Congress that, to the
greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products
purchased with funds made available in this Act should be
American-made.
(b) In providing financial assistance to, or entering into
any contract with, any entity using funds made available in
this Act, the head of each Federal agency, to the greatest
extent practicable, shall provide to such entity a notice
describing the statement made in subsection (a) by the
Congress.
(c) If it has been finally determined by a court or Federal
agency that any person intentionally affixed a label bearing
a ``Made in America'' inscription, or any inscription with
the same meaning, to any product sold in or shipped to the
United States that is not made in the United States, such
person shall be ineligible to receive any contract or
subcontract made with funds provided pursuant to this Act,
pursuant to the debarment, suspension, and ineligibility
procedures described in section 9.400 through 9.409 of title
48, Code of Federal Regulations.
Sec. 306. Such sums as may be necessary are appropriated to
the account described in subsection (a) of section 415 of
Public Law 104-1 to pay awards and settlements as authorized
under such subsection.
Sec. 307. Amounts available for administrative expenses of
any legislative branch entity which participates in the
Legislative Branch Financial Managers Council (LBFMC)
established by charter on March 26, 1996, shall be available
to finance an appropriate share of LBFMC costs as determined
by the LBFMC, except that the total LBFMC costs to be shared
among all participating legislative branch entities (in such
allocations among the entities as the entities may determine)
may not exceed $1,500.
Sec. 308. Section 308 of the Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105-275; 112 Stat. 2452)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ``(40 U.S.C. 174j-
1(b)(1))'' and inserting ``(40 U.S.C. 174j-1 note)'';
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``(40 U.S.C. 174j-
1(c))'' and inserting ``(40 U.S.C. 174j-1 note)''; and
(3) in subsection (d), by striking ``(40 U.S.C. 174j-
1(e))'' and inserting ``(40 U.S.C. 174j-1 note)''.
This Act may be cited as the ``Legislative Branch
Appropriations Act, 2000''.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any points of order against the bill?

Point of Order

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, I raise a point of order against section 107
on page 18, line 19 through page 19, line 15 of H.R. 1905, on the
ground that this provision changes existing law in violation of clause
2 of House rule XXI and therefore is legislation included in a general
appropriations bill.
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Chairman, I wish to be heard on the point
of order.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
California.
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Chairman, I object to the high-handedness
of my colleagues of the other party who have no qualms at all about
including in this bill 30, 30 provisions that legislate on the
appropriations bill. Thirty.
Were any of these 30 items subject to a point of order? My colleague
just made only one of them, only one of them, a point of order. Just
mine, just the recycling program.
Mr. Chairman, if this House truly believes that the rules ought to
apply to everyone, then I want to know why the Committee on Rules
singled this one out. This provision was adopted in a bipartisan
fashion in the committee. My colleagues did not treat the other 30
provisions like they treated this.
The real reason that they are singling this out is they do not like
it, they do not want to do recycling. They should tell the world they
do not want it, that they do not want to bother with the program.
So they certainly kind of found a way to pervert the process so they
did not have to get into the issue, by raising a point of order.
There are not only 30 provisions in this bill that they are about to
vote on that legislate on appropriations, there are eight items that
actually change existing law. None of these were subject to a point of
order, just one.
I do not think this point of order has merit, and I would hope the
chairman would see it as a sham and reject it.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Are there other Members who want to be
heard on the point of order?
If not, the Chair will rule.
The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) makes a point of order that the
provision beginning on page 18, line 19 and ending on page 19, line 15
changes existing law in violation of clause 2(b) and rule XXI.
Among other legislative prescriptions, the provision mandates
compliance by each Member and employing office of the House of
Representatives with the Architect of the Capitol's Office Waste
Recycling Program.
The provision changes existing law in violation of clause 2(b) of
rule XXI. Accordingly, the point of order is sustained, and section 107
is stricken from the bill.
No amendment shall be in order except the amendment printed in House
Report 106-165, the amendment printed in section 2 of House Resolution
190, and pro forma amendments offered by the chairman and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Appropriations, or their designees,
for the purpose of debate.
The amendment printed in the report may be offered only by a Member
designated in the report and the amendment printed in section 2 of the
resolution may be offered only by a Member designated in section 2.
Each amendment shall be considered read, debatable for 20 minutes,
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall
not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for
division of the question.
The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may postpone a request for
a recorded vote on any amendment and may reduce to a minimum of 5
minutes the time for voting on any postponed question that immediately
follows another vote, provided that the time for voting on the first
question shall be a minimum of 15 minutes.
After a motion that the committee rise has been rejected on a
legislative day, the Chairman may entertain another such motion on that
day only if offered by the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations
or the majority leader or their designee.
After a motion to strike out the enacting words of the bill has been
rejected, the Chairman may not entertain another such motion during
further consideration of the bill.

Amendment Offered by Mr. Camp

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. Camp:
Page 10, insert after line 9 the following (and redesignate
the succeeding sections accordingly):
Sec. 104. (a) Requiring Amounts Remaining in Members'
Representational Allowance To Be Used For Deficit Reduction
or to Reduce the Federal Debt.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any amounts appropriated under this Act for
``HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES--Salaries and Expenses--Members'
Representational Allowances'' shall be available only

[[Page H4121]]

for fiscal year 2000. Any amount remaining after all payments
are made under such allowances for fiscal year 2000 shall be
deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction (or,
if there is no Federal budget deficit after all such payments
have been made, for reducing the Federal debt, in such manner
as the Secretary of the Treasury considers appropriate).
(b) Publication.--After each session of Congress or other
period for which the amounts described in subsection (a) are
made available, there shall be published in the Congressional
Record a statement showing, with respect to such session or
period, the amount deposited with respect to each Member
under subsection (a) and the total deposited with respect to
all Members.
(c) Regulations.--The Committee on House Administration of
the House of Representatives shall have authority to
prescribe regulations to carry out this section.
(d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``Member
of the House of Representatives'' means a Representative in,
or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.

The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 190, the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and a Member opposed each will
control 10 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp).
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, before I begin, I first want to thank my good friend
from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor), the chairman of the subcommittee, for
understanding the importance of this amendment. I also want to thank
the Committee on Rules and its chairman, the gentleman from California
(Mr. Dreier), for allowing me to bring this important amendment before
the House today.
The amendment simply requires that unspent office funds be used for
deficit or debt reduction. I believe that many Members are now familiar
with this commonsense amendment that former Congressman Dick Zimmer and
I first proposed back in 1991. In 1995, a similar amendment was
approved on the House floor by an overwhelming margin of 403 to 21. In
1996 and 1997, it was accepted on the floor by the committee chairman.
Last year the committee brought the bill to the House floor with this
provision already incorporated into the bill.
Mr. Chairman, I believe that this amendment will ensure Members of
Congress can demonstrate their personal commitment to a balanced
budget. This amendment requires any unspent office funds at the end of
the year be used for debt, or if a deficit exists, for deficit
reduction. It also requires that specific amounts returned by each
office be printed annually in the Congressional Record. This has been
an incentive for Members to do the best they can with taxpayers'
dollars, to be innovative, just as the private sector continues to be.
I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor) again for
considering the Camp-Roemer-Upton amendment, and I urge all Members to
support the amendment and the bill.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, and I yield
5 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer).
(Mr. ROEMER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Chairman, I thank my good friend from Arizona (Mr.
Pastor), and obviously as a cosponsor of the amendment, I am not
opposed to the amendment but wanted to get 5 minutes to speak in favor
of it.
Mr. Chairman, I read a book in college a long time ago called the
Dance of Legislation, and it was written by an intern that was up here
getting experience on Capitol Hill as the pages that were just in the
House well, and he tracked a bill through Congress, and it was a little
bill that he thought made a big difference in the way that he could
explain in this book the legislative process.
Similarly before us today, we have a big bill that spends a
considerable amount of money to my taxpayers in Indiana, back home
where I am born and raised, where we can make a big difference with
individual decisions that we make in our offices with our Member
representational allowances, or MRAs.
This bill that the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) and I have worked on for 8 years
now allows us in our offices to work as an American family does when
they are trying to balance their budgets at the kitchen tables in
LaPorte, Indiana; Wakarusa, Indiana; Goshen, Indiana; as a small
business struggles to make its decisions meet at the year's end, so
that they have a balanced budget. This bill allows us as Members of
Congress to function as the American people do across this great
country.
Before we got this bill passed several years ago, if a Member worked
all year long not to do newsletters, not to subscribe to a certain
number of magazines, not to initiate letters to their constituents,
that money they saved would simply go back and be reprogrammed and re-
spent in other ways by maybe other Members. This small bill makes a big
difference in that it allows us, when we work hard all year long to
save money on newsletters or not initiating hundreds of mass mailings
to our constituents, and we save that money; this bill, this amendment,
allows that money to go to the Treasury to be reprogrammed, not to be
re-spent, but to be spent toward the national debt.
The National Taxpayers Union has said now this is not just a little
difference. If each Member on average only spends about 89 percent of
their allowance, we have tens of millions of dollars saved by this
amendment. Tens of millions of dollars; that is a lot of money in
Indiana, that is a lot of money to my constituents, and if a Member
works hard all year long to save that money, they should be able to
have that go to the national debt or deficit reduction rather than be
re-spent on another Member's mail.

{time} 2300

I am proud to have worked in a bipartisan way with my friend from the
Midwest, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), and the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Upton), right next door to me, to show this good
Midwestern common sense and a working relationship between Democrats
and Republicans. This amendment is sponsored and supported by the
National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, Taxpayers
for Common Sense, Citizens for a Sound Economy and the Concord
Coalition. So I urge bipartisan support of this bipartisan amendment.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana for his
comments and for his leadership over the years on this issue. He very
eloquently stated how this gives each individual Member an incentive to
do the right thing, to be innovative, to take responsibility. The old
adage ``you better spend all your budget or you won't get it next
year'' is proven untrue with this proposal.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend and colleague, the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton).
Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bipartisan, common
sense amendment. I applaud the efforts of not only our cosponsors, but
certainly the leadership shown by my good friend the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) as
well. This has been a good effort, where we have succeeded before.
There are 13 different spending bills. As we ask others to tighten
their belts, they first look to the Congress too. We want to lead by
example.
I know that there has not been a year that I have been here that I
have spent all the money that has been allocated to my office. It would
be a crime to know that that money was reprogrammed without my wishes
or goes to some other member who might have overspent their budget.
That is not right. When I do not spend money, I want it to go back to
where it came from, the Treasury. I want it to benefit the taxpayers of
this country, to reduce the debt. That is what this amendment does.
At one point in my life I had the chance to work for the Office of
Management and Budget. I tell you, when I worked there under David
Stockman, my predecessor in the Congress, we were able to see the
Reagan Administration push through a law here in the Congress that
really looked at what the agencies did with their own budgets, because
as we looked at their spending, often in September, before the end of
the fiscal year, all of a sudden they would have a gigantic leap in

[[Page H4122]]

their funds. All of a sudden they would see they were not going to
spend all of their money and there were just tremendous outlays and
purchases that they made to spend all their money.
Guess what? We put a stop to that. We put an amendment forward that
was adopted that slowed down the purchases at the end of the fiscal
year so in fact if they did save money, that money was not
reprogrammed, but it went to reduce at that point the debt and the
deficit.
That is what this amendment accomplishes. What this amendment says is
that we in the Congress, all of the Members here, through our accounts
are going to spend more than $413 million.
The gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) was right. The average
Members only spend about 90 percent of their budget. Figure out the
math. That is tens of millions, tens of millions of dollars each year
that we can return to the Treasury. We can not only feel good about
that, but it actually does make a dent in reducing the debt.
I would ask all of my colleagues to support this amendment. It makes
sense to most of the Members here, certainly to the groups like the
National Taxpayers Union and others. It is bipartisan. Clearly we can
work together. It is a good idea.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield 15 seconds to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Taylor), the chairman of the subcommittee.
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, this amendment or some
variation has been included for the past several years in the bill. We
accept the amendment and we commend the three gentleman for offering it
tonight.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I want to commend the gentleman from Indiana (Mr.
Roemer). In the spirit of the subcommittee working in a bipartisan
manner, you have another example of the gentleman from Indiana (Mr.
Roemer) working with the Republican side to get a bipartisan amendment
that has been accepted by the chairman.
I also happen to have read the same book and I was inspired by the
same book. My expectation, Mr. Chairman, was taking this simple bill,
the simplest bill of 13 appropriation bills, and maybe writing about
this legislation and developing a small booklet so that these pages
could be taken home. But after the different dance steps I have learned
in the last couple of days and most recently the last couple of hours,
I am about to finish filing Number 1.
Mr. HILL of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I rise to support this amendment
because it allows Congress to lead by example.
Members who are frugal and able to return a portion of their office
allowances should have the right to designate unspent office funds for
deficit reduction or to pay down the national debt.
This amendment ensures that unspent Congressional office funds are
returned directly to the U.S. Treasury rather than accumulating in a
contingency fund for the leadership.
Mr. Chairman, our national debt now stands at more than 5.6 trillion
dollars. The interest payments on this debt are the government's second
highest budget expenditure.
One of the best things we can do for our country right now is pay off
our debts. As our government stops borrowing so much money, there will
be more money at lower interest rates for the American people.
I suggest we pass this amendment so that unspent office funds
contribute to economically strengthening our nation.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment Offered by Mr. Young of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. Young of Florida:
On Page 38 before line 4 add the following new section:
Sec. . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
appropriations under this Act for the following agencies and
activities are reduced by the following respective amounts:
House of Representatives, Salaries and Expenses, $29,135,000,
from which the following accounts are to be reduced by the
following amounts:
House Leadership Offices, $142,000;
Members' Representational Allowances Including Members'
Clerk Hire, Official Expenses of Members, and Official Mail,
$28,297,000;
Committee on Appropriations, $213,000;
Salaries, Officers and Employees, $483,000 to be derived
from other authorized employees;
Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Buildings and Grounds,
Capitol Buildings, Salaries and Expenses, $1,465,000;
Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Buildings and Grounds,
House Office Buildings, $3,400,000;
Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Buildings and Grounds,
Capitol Power Plant, $4,400,000;
Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service,
Salaries and Expenses, $315,000;
Government Printing Office, Congressional Printing and
Binding, $4,147,000;
Library of Congress, Salaries and Expenses, $685,000;
Library of Congress, Furniture and Furnishings, $5,415,000;
Architect of the Capitol, Library Buildings and Grounds,
Structural and Mechanical Care, $3,372,000; and
General Accounting Office, Salaries and Expenses,
$1,500,000:
Provided, That the amount reduced under House of
Representatives, House Leadership Offices, shall be
distributed among the various leadership offices as approved
by the Committee on Appropriations:
Provided further, That the amount to remain available under
the heading Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Buildings and
Grounds, Capitol Buildings, Salaries and Exchanges, is
reduced by $1,465,000; the amount to remain available under
the heading Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Buildings and
Grounds, House Office Building, is reduced by $3,400,000; and
the amount to remain available under the heading Architect of
the Capitol, Library Buildings and Grounds, Structural and
Mechanical Care, is reduced by $4,000,000.

The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to House Resolution 190, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Young) and a Member opposed each will control 10 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, I plan to not consume much time, because most of the
debate today has been about this amendment as opposed to the bill
itself, so I think everyone pretty much understands what the amendment
does. I would be happy to respond to any questions if someone has
specific questions.
Mr. Chairman, I wanted to say to the gentleman from North Carolina
(Chairman Taylor) that he has done a really fine job on this bill. I
was able to spend some time with the gentleman as he went through this
process, and this is his first time as chairman of this subcommittee.
He has done a really good job.
The gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor) has been an able partner all
the way through the process. It was a real joy to watch them as they
presented this bill to the Committee on Appropriations. In a very
friendly and very nonpartisan-bipartisan way, the committee took their
recommendations, and we have the bill before us.
This amendment does create a little difference of opinion on the bill
because it makes reductions. It makes reduction of a total of $54
million out of this bill. Most of the cuts hit practically all of the
accounts in the bill, and the one major reduction in this amendment has
to do with Members' representational allowances, the funds that are
made available to Members to conduct the affairs of their Congressional
office.
I want to congratulate and compliment, and I hope people will listen
to this, the Members of this House because, Mr. Chairman, here is a
table that shows how much each Member used and actually spent of their
representational allowance in the last year.
Mr. Chairman, I am proud to report that of our 435 Members, 420 of
our colleagues in this House did not spend all of the money allocated
to them by this legislative appropriations bill. So they practiced
fiscal restraint. Some were more restrained than others, but they have
different responsibilities in their districts and in their
Congressional offices. But the House has done a good job in keeping
these expenditures down.
Mr. Chairman, the reduction that this amendment makes, in my opinion,

[[Page H4123]]

is not going to cause any great harm. As a matter of fact, it is very
compatible with the amendment just adopted that says the surplus in
these funds not spent would go to pay down the national debt. Well, the
effect is basically the same here. The only thing is we take it up
front rather than at the end of the process.
By taking it up front, let me report this good news to my colleagues,
and I hope they will listen to this as well, after having spent about
four days on two appropriations bills on the floor and having great
debate over this amendment and one amendment on the agriculture bill, I
am happy to report to all of my colleagues that after all of that
straining and working, we will, upon adoption of this amendment, have
saved $156 million to apply toward that $17 billion number we are
trying to get to. So with the adoption of this amendment, we only have
$16,850,000,000 to go in order to arrive where we have to arrive in
order to stay within the budget cap that all of us have said is exactly
what we are going to do.

{time} 2310

So, Mr. Chairman, I hope we can expedite the consideration of this
amendment and get on to passing this bill.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. Does any Member rise in opposition?
Mr. PASTOR. I rise in opposition, Mr. Speaker.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor) is recognized
for 5 minutes in opposition to the amendment.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, they tell me that reasonable men will differ, and being
reasonable, I am sure that we will have some differences. I do, but
first before I point out the differences, I would like to also commend
the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young).
In the way he treats our membership in the two bills that have been
reported out, agriculture and now the leg branch, he has done it in a
very bipartisan manner, and I want to commend him for the fairness with
which he has dealt with our side. He has been a very fair gentleman. I
want to commend him on that.
I asked someone to look at the figure of the reduction, which is
approximately about $28 million, and the reduction of the MRA account.
It runs about $60,000 to $65,000 per Member. We believe that that cut,
which will affect our staff, is too drastic.
When asked to cut this bill in a bipartisan manner, we offered $12
million, even though we knew it was going to be hard. We were told it
was not enough, so we offered another amount of dollars that totalled
$30 million. That was not enough.
We feel that the additional approximately $30 million is too much and
will affect the effectiveness of our offices, especially in the ability
to make sure that our employees, who work long hours, they work very
hard, will be treated like other employees in the House and the Federal
government and will be able to receive a fair cost of living
adjustment.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. PASTOR. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to say that for the vast majority of us on
this side of the aisle, our concern is not with the amount that is cut.
Our concern is where those cuts fall.
I honestly believe, as the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Pastor) has
said, the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations is a very fair-
minded and balanced person. I think that if the committee had been
allowed to work out on a bipartisan basis where these cuts were made,
we could have come up with a far more equitable distribution than the
one that is before us tonight.
I would also say that I think the leadership on both sides has an
obligation to treat rank and file Members the way they would like to be
treated themselves. That has not happened in the way these cuts have
been laid out tonight.
I would make one other point. If we compare the salaries that are
paid to staff persons for rank and file Members of the House versus
salaries paid to persons with those same responsibilities in the
Senate, Members will see that on average the Senate pays people for
those same salaries about 20 percent more for a legislative director or
a legislative assistant and for other positions of high responsibility.
I think there are severe implications to that differential that do
not adequately represent the interests of this body, and I would urge
that when these actions are taken, that we remember the context in
which they are taken. Because if we do not do that, we are asking our
staff members to make sacrifices that are not being asked of other
staffers, and in many cases are not being asked of ourselves.
Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I would ask that every Member of this House
who knows his or her staff the best give some thought to see how this
amendment would affect their personal staff, and realize that the
impact and the hardship will be borne by the men and women that we
bring up here. We ask them to work hard, and they deserve a better
break.
Mr. Chairman, I would ask opposition to this amendment, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, I would simply ask the Members to support this
amendment, and then to support the bill. Before I yield back, Mr.
Chairman, I wonder if I could invite my friend, my colleague, and the
ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), to meet me at
the well halfway.
Mr. Chairman, we are very unhappy that we had to disappoint the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and Mrs. Obey on the planned
celebration of their 37th wedding anniversary, so we on the majority
side have provided this handmade card to my friend, the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), to him and Joan in recognition of their 37th
anniversary, signed by the gentleman's colleagues on the other side.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman. Let me simply say that
I am not the only Member of the House tonight trying to celebrate his
anniversary. One other Member has come up to me with the same problem.
I would simply thank my colleagues on the other side, and say that I
hope this is a demonstration of the fact that we can fight over
substance but still get along as friends.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I ask for a vote on the
amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).
The amendment was agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN. Under the rule, the Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Upton) having assumed the chair, Mr. Hansen, Chairman of the Committee
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that that
Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1905) making
appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2000, and for other purposes, pursuant to House
Resolution 190, he reported the bill back to the House with sundry
amendments adopted by the Committee of the Whole.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment? If not, the Chair will
put them en gros.
The amendments were agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read the third time, and was
read the third time.

Motion to Recommit Offered by Mr. Obey

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit with
instructions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
Mr. OBEY. I certainly am, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:

[[Page H4124]]

Mr. Obey moves to recommit the bill H.R. 1905 to the
Committee on Appropriations with instructions that the bill
not be reported back if it does not reduce the bill by an
amount at least equal to the average reduction required
pursuant to the budget 302(b) allocation process for all
domestic discretionary programs, including veterans medical
care, elementary and secondary education, student financial
assistance, biomedical research, law enforcement,
transportation safety, and environmental protection; and
shall make equal reductions in accounts for members' offices,
leadership offices, and committees.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) is
recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I think the motion speaks for itself. I will
simply again re-read the language so that the Members understand what
the motion contains.
It simply recommits the bill back to the committee with instructions
that the bill not be reported if it does not reduce the bill by an
amount at least equal to the average reduction required pursuant to the
budget 302(b) allocation process for all domestic discretionary
programs, including veterans' medical care, elementary and secondary
education, student financial assistance, biomedical research, law
enforcement, transportation safety, and environmental protection, and
it requires that when the bill does come back, it also makes equal
reductions in accounts for Members' offices, leadership offices, and
the committees, rather than having the full internal cost of these
reductions fall only on the office of rank and file Members.

{time} 2320

If this is adopted, it would make sure that this bill does not get
out of the gate before we actually see the hole card and know how much
people are going to be asking us to cut veterans, to cut education
programs and other programs of serious concern to our constituents.
It would be eminently fair to both our constituents and to the rank
and file Members of this House and most importantly fair to the people
who work for those rank and file Members.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Upton). Does the gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Taylor) rise in opposition to the motion to recommit?
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. I do, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
Taylor) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, there is no dollar amount
connected with this amendment. The amendment kills the bill. I am going
to work with the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) in certain areas
that he brought up. We support the amendment of the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Young) and the work that he has done.
So I would urge my colleagues to oppose and vote against the motion
to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered on the motion to recommit.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 198,
nays 214, not voting 23, as follows:

[Roll No. 202]

YEAS--198

Abercrombie
Ackerman
Allen
Andrews
Baird
Baldacci
Baldwin
Barcia
Barrett (WI)
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Bishop
Blagojevich
Blumenauer
Bonior
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Condit
Costello
Coyne
Cramer
Crowley
Cummings
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutsch
Dicks
Dingell
Dixon
Dooley
Doyle
Edwards
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Ford
Frank (MA)
Frost
Gejdenson
Gephardt
Gonzalez
Goode
Gordon
Gutierrez
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hastings (FL)
Hill (IN)
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hoeffel
Holden
Holt
Hooley
Hoyer
Inslee
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
John
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
Kleczka
Klink
Kucinich
LaFalce
Lampson
Lantos
Larson
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Markey
Mascara
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McDermott
McGovern
McIntyre
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Miller, George
Minge
Mink
Moakley
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (VA)
Murtha
Nadler
Napolitano
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Phelps
Pickett
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Rahall
Reyes
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Schakowsky
Scott
Serrano
Sherman
Shows
Sisisky
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Spratt
Stabenow
Stark
Stenholm
Strickland
Stupak
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thurman
Tierney
Towns
Traficant
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Velazquez
Vento
Visclosky
Waters
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Wexler
Weygand
Wise
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn

NAYS--214

Aderholt
Archer
Armey
Bachus
Baker
Ballenger
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Bereuter
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bliley
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Brady (TX)
Bryant
Burr
Burton
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Canady
Cannon
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Cook
Cox
Crane
Cubin
Cunningham
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Doggett
Doolittle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
English
Everett
Ewing
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Fowler
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Goodlatte
Goodling
Goss
Granger
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Gutknecht
Hansen
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill (MT)
Hobson
Hoekstra
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Isakson
Istook
Jenkins
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Kelly
King (NY)
Kingston
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kuykendall
LaHood
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas (OK)
Manzullo
McCollum
McCrery
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McKeon
McKinney
Metcalf
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Moran (KS)
Morella
Myrick
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Ose
Packard
Paul
Pease
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Pombo
Porter
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Regula
Reynolds
Riley
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Salmon
Sanford
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaffer
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherwood
Shimkus
Simpson
Skeen
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Souder
Spence
Stearns
Stump
Sununu
Sweeney
Talent
Tancredo
Tauzin
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thornberry
Thune
Tiahrt
Toomey
Upton
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Watkins
Watts (OK)
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wolf
Young (AK)
Young (FL)

NOT VOTING--23

Bentsen
Bono
Brown (CA)
Buyer
Clay
Conyers
Cooksey
Graham
Green (TX)
Hilleary
Kasich
Kennedy
Largent
Lofgren
Luther
Martinez
Millender-McDonald
Neal
Nethercutt
Oxley
Rangel
Roukema
Shuster

{time} 2341

So the motion to recommit was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Upton). The question is on the passage
of the bill.
Pursuant to clause 10 of rule XX, the yeas and nays are ordered.

[[Page H4125]]

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 214,
nays 197, not voting 24, as follows:

[Roll No. 203]

YEAS--214

Abercrombie
Archer
Armey
Bachus
Baker
Ballenger
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Bereuter
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bliley
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Brady (TX)
Bryant
Burr
Burton
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Canady
Cannon
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Cook
Cox
Cramer
Crane
Cubin
Cunningham
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeLay
DeMint
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
English
Everett
Ewing
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Fowler
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Goodlatte
Goodling
Goss
Granger
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Gutknecht
Hansen
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill (MT)
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Isakson
Istook
Jenkins
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Kelly
King (NY)
Kingston
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kuykendall
LaHood
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas (OK)
Manzullo
Mascara
McCollum
McCrery
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McIntyre
McKeon
Metcalf
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Moran (KS)
Morella
Myrick
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Ose
Packard
Pease
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Pombo
Porter
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Regula
Reynolds
Riley
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Salmon
Sanford
Saxton
Scarborough
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Sherwood
Shimkus
Simpson
Skeen
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Souder
Spence
Stearns
Stump
Sununu
Sweeney
Talent
Tancredo
Tauzin
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Toomey
Traficant
Upton
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Watkins
Watts (OK)
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wolf
Young (AK)
Young (FL)

NAYS--197

Ackerman
Aderholt
Allen
Andrews
Baird
Baldacci
Baldwin
Barcia
Barrett (WI)
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Bishop
Blagojevich
Blumenauer
Bonior
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Condit
Costello
Coyne
Crowley
Cummings
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Edwards
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Ford
Frank (MA)
Frost
Gejdenson
Gephardt
Gonzalez
Goode
Gordon
Gutierrez
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hastings (FL)
Hill (IN)
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Holden
Holt
Hooley
Hoyer
Hulshof
Inslee
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
John
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
Kleczka
Klink
Kucinich
LaFalce
Lampson
Lantos
Larson
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Markey
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McDermott
McGovern
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Millender-McDonald
Miller, George
Minge
Mink
Moakley
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (VA)
Murtha
Nadler
Napolitano
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Paul
Payne
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Phelps
Pickett
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Rahall
Reyes
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Scott
Serrano
Shays
Sherman
Shows
Sisisky
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Spratt
Stabenow
Stark
Stenholm
Strickland
Stupak
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thune
Thurman
Tierney
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Velazquez
Vento
Visclosky
Waters
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Wexler
Weygand
Wise
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn

NOT VOTING--24

Bentsen
Bono
Brown (CA)
Buyer
Clay
Conyers
Cooksey
Dicks
Graham
Green (TX)
Hilleary
Kasich
Kennedy
Largent
Lofgren
Luther
Martinez
Neal
Nethercutt
Oxley
Rangel
Roukema
Shuster
Towns

{time} 2358

Mr. METCALF changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

____________________