[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.''
____________________