[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 96 (Thursday, July 1, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H5184-H5186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 775, YEAR 
                 2000 READINESS AND RESPONSIBILITY ACT

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 234 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 234

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider the conference report to accompany the 
     bill (H.R. 775) to establish certain procedures for civil 
     actions brought for damages relating to the failure of any 
     device or system to process or otherwise deal with the 
     transition from the year 1999 to the year 2000, and for other 
     purposes. All points of order against the conference report 
     and against its consideration are waived. The conference 
     report shall be considered as read.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ewing). The gentleman from California 
(Mr. Dreier) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from South Boston, Massachusetts 
(Mr. Moakley), the distinguished ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Rules, pending which I yield myself such time as I might 
consume. During consideration of this rule, all time that I will be 
yielding is for debate purposes only.
  Mr. Speaker, the resolution provides for the consideration of the 
conference report to accompany H.R. 775, the Y2K Act. The rule waives 
points of order against the conference report and its consideration. 
The rule further provides that the conference report be considered as 
read. This rule is a fair rule which will enable the House to 
expeditiously consider this important and very timely matter.
  Mr. Speaker, we all know the year 2000 is right around the corner, 
and most Americans have heard that some computers may, I underscore 
may, have a problem dealing with this historic date change. Now, I am 
not an alarmist, and I hope that we will not suffer major problems, but 
that does

[[Page H5185]]

not mean that we can sit back and ignore this very important issue.
  The fact is we live in the computer age. We have a digital economy. 
Therefore, we have a responsibility to do what we can to help people 
solve Y2K problems before anything goes wrong. That is what we are 
doing here today by passing this bipartisan conference report on H.R. 
775, the Year 2000 Readiness and Responsibility Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I come to this issue with the belief that the American 
private sector is clearly the most energetic, creative, and powerful 
force in the world. In particular, our high technology, computer and 
software companies are the best and the brightest. If anyone is up to 
tackling this technology challenge, they are. Mr. Speaker, I am very 
glad that they are on our team.
  But make no mistake about it, there are some hurdles standing in the 
way of the kind of teamwork and cooperation needed to solve Y2K 
problems. A broad coalition of private sector companies believe that 
uncertainty regarding unbridled Y2K litigation is the biggest hurdle 
for them of all. This view is not limited just to the high-tech and 
computer companies. It cuts across the business community large and 
small, including retail, manufacturing, and services alike.
  Fixing the Y2K computer bug should not be a partisan issue. That is 
why over a year ago I began to work with my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle, and with a broad private sector coalition, to enact a 
targeted Y2K litigation reform bill. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to say 
that we are now nearing the finishing line.
  In particular, I want to applaud the work of my colleagues, the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis), the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Dooley), the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Moran), and the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Cramer) for 
joining in this bipartisan introduction of H.R. 775.
  The conference agreement is clearly a product of compromise, and that 
is not a criticism of it. It says a lot about the leadership and skill 
of our colleagues, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte), and the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), and the gentleman from Detroit, 
Michigan (Mr. Conyers), and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Lofgren).
  I will say that I greatly appreciated when the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Conyers) was able to sit upstairs in the Committee on 
Rules with the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) in support of this conference 
agreement.
  When I joined my friend from Fairfax, Virginia (Mr. Davis) in 
introducing H.R. 775 on February 23, we talked about the importance of 
enacting meaningful bipartisan Y2K litigation reform as quickly as 
possible this year so that we would lift the shadow of frivolous 
litigation in time to do some good. Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what 
we are doing today.
  So I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan 
conference report. It is a credit to this institution and to the 
bipartisan teamwork that is so often critical to enacting meaningful 
legislation. So I urge support of both the rule and the conference 
report.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), my 
dear friend, the chairman of the Committee on Rules for yielding me the 
customary half hour.
  Mr. Speaker, when the House version of this bill came to the floor a 
few weeks ago, it was a massive tort reform package masquerading as a 
way to exterminate the millennium bug. The version of that bill was 
dangerous and probably would have made matters even worse. Fortunately, 
this bill has changed significantly from the original version. Although 
I still have some concerns over the measure, it is still a vast 
improvement over the last version.
  Mr. Speaker, in exactly 6 months, all of us will find out whether the 
predictions of doom and gloom surrounding the event of the year 2000 
are all they are cracked up to be. We will see whether or not medical 
care, food safety, and environmental safety are compromised in any way 
because, right now, high-tech companies from Boston to Silicon Valley 
are working very hard to correct their programs in order to ward off 
potential disasters. I certainly hope that they succeed.
  But in case they do not, Mr. Speaker, they should be held responsible 
for problems that might arise within reason because even though we need 
to weed out frivolous claims and encourage alternatives to lawsuits, we 
still need to preserve the people's judicial recourse.
  What I would prefer, Mr. Speaker, is for companies to work out these 
problems before anything horrible happens. I hope this bill will help 
get us there, and I hope Congress will keep working with the high-tech 
firms to help them fix the problem now so that we can minimize the 
amount of pain and suffering felt in the days following January 1, 
2000.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers at this time, and I would urge that 
we move ahead with the expeditious consideration of this rule. I hope 
that my friend on the minority could help us move along.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lofgren).

                              {time}  1115

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to support the rule on 
this conference report and look forward to voting for the conference 
report itself. I think that this is a good example of what we can 
accomplish when we extend our hands across the aisle and work in a bi-
partisan way to come up with solutions that are practical and 
effective.
  As I mentioned about a week ago today, there are probably a dozen 
different ways we could draft a bill that would address the Y2K issues. 
The conference report is one of them. There is no one way it is 
perfect, but certainly it is workable and one approach that I think 
will gain broad support in this House on both sides of the aisle.
  I wanted to say something else today about bi-partisanship. I want to 
note that yesterday, once again, as has happend for years now, the 
research and development tax credit expired. This is a terrible 
situation that we have allowed to occur once again. High-tech companies 
in Silicon Valley become frustrated when the research and development 
tax credit expires each year. And, as we know, if the research and 
development tax credit is not lengthy or permanent, it is very 
difficult to get the maximum value out of that research and development 
tax credit.
  That's why I and 157 other Members of this House, support H.R. 835, a 
bill to make the research and development tax credit permanent. We have 
not yet acted on this bill. I would therefore ask, in the spirit of bi-
partisanship evidenced by this Y2K bill, that we bring the R&D 
permanent tax credit to this floor for a vote no later than the week of 
July 12. I know that once we get the R&D tax credit to the floor, we 
will have an overwhelming vote in support of that permanent extension. 
I look forward to doing that.
  I do not want, as has happened several times each year in the past, 
to have a gap where the R&D tax credit was not renewed and, did not 
exist, as it does not exist today.
  We know from the 1998 study by Coopers & Lybrand that the permanent 
R&D tax credit would likely have prompted an additional $41 billion in 
research and development investment from 1998 through 2010, a 31-
percent return on investments.
  So let us celebrate what we have achieved here on the Y2K remediation 
bill, and let it serve as a challenge to us to do the same thing with 
regard to the R&D tax credit by making it permanent.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
simply congratulate my California colleague on her superb statement, 
and I

[[Page H5186]]

would say that the spirit of bipartisanship which we have shown on this 
Y2K litigation reform bill is, I hope, a model we can use not only for, 
as she said, research and development tax credit, making that 
permanent, but also in just a few minutes when we consider the very 
important rule on H.R. 10, financial services modernization.
  With that, I urge support of the rule and the conference report.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ewing). All time has expired.
  Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the 
resolution.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. 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 423, 
nays 1, not voting 10, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 263]

                               YEAS--423

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Andrews
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Bono
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Cannon
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Conyers
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crowley
     Cubin
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fowler
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hansen
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill (IN)
     Hill (MT)
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoeffel
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Holt
     Hooley
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inslee
     Isakson
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kuykendall
     LaFalce
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Largent
     Larson
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Manzullo
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (FL)
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Ose
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Payne
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Regula
     Reyes
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Rush
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sabo
     Salmon
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Schakowsky
     Scott
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shows
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sisisky
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Strickland
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sununu
     Sweeney
     Talent
     Tancredo
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Toomey
     Towns
     Traficant
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Waters
     Watkins
     Watt (NC)
     Watts (OK)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wexler
     Weygand
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                                NAYS--1

       
     Kucinich
       

                             NOT VOTING--10

     Becerra
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Cox
     Doolittle
     Ehrlich
     Fossella
     Green (TX)
     Lewis (CA)
     Pickett

                              {time}  1141

  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 263, I voted ``yes'' on 
the Y2K Rule, but my vote was not recorded. On the subsequent vote, I 
discovered that my voting was not being read by the voting machine. The 
card has been turned in for replacement. Had I been present, I would 
have voted ``yes.''

                          ____________________