[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 81 (Friday, June 23, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H5073-H5074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. BONIOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Armey) for the purposes of inquiring about the schedule for the 
remainder of the week and next week.
  Mr. ARMEY. I thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the House has completed 
its legislative business for the week.
  The House will next meet on Monday, June 26 at 12:30 p.m. for morning 
hour and at 2 p.m. for legislative business. We will consider a number 
of measures under suspension of the rules, a list of which will be 
distributed to Members' offices later today. On Monday, no recorded 
votes are expected before 6 p.m. As agreed last night, we will return 
to CJS appropriations at 4 p.m. on Monday. Members should expect to 
work late on Monday until we finish that appropriations bill.
  On Tuesday, June 27, and the balance of the week, the House will 
consider the following measures:
  H.R. 4717, the Full and Fair Political Activity Disclosure Act;
  Energy and Water Appropriations Act;
  H.R. 4680, the Medicare Rx 2000 Act;
  H.R. 4461, Agriculture Appropriations Act, 2001;
  H.R. 1304, the Quality Health-Care Coalition Act.
  We also expect that the conference report to Military Construction 
Appropriations Act will be ready for consideration in the House next 
week.
  Mr. Speaker, we have just completed another very productive week in 
the House. I want to thank my colleagues for all their hard work. Next 
week will also be a very busy week on the floor, so I would advise my 
colleagues to be prepared to work late nights throughout the week.
  I wish my colleagues a restful weekend back home in their districts.

                              {time}  1400

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, if I might inquire of the distinguished 
majority leader what day he anticipates bringing the prescription drug 
bill to the floor of the House.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Bonior) for that inquiry. It is a very important piece of legislation, 
and we would expect that to be on the floor Wednesday morning.
  Mr. BONIOR. Wednesday morning. Let me just also ask the gentleman if 
it will, indeed, be the case that the minority, fully within their 
rights in this institution, will have the ability to offer a substitute 
with waivers to this bill as outlined in the letter that the gentleman 
from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) sent the Speaker?
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that inquiry. The 
Committee on Rules has already announced they will meet at 5:00 on 
Monday, and I am sure that they will, if not already be in receipt of 
that letter, will have it made available to them as will the requests 
that will be formally presented before them at that time.
  Mr. BONIOR. Having heard the answer, let me be just very blunt and 
honest with the gentleman this afternoon, and tell the gentleman in a 
heartfelt way, but in a very strong way, how seriously we regard our 
opportunity to offer a substitute on this bill.
  We consider this issue, as many on your side, as being one of the 
most important issues that we will have debated in this Congress; and 
if rumors are accurate and true that we will not get a substitute, 
there will be a serious, immediate angry reaction on our side of the 
aisle.
  This is an issue that deserves a full debate by this House with 
adequate time. I know we are in an appropriation period, and it is 
difficult to finish these bills within a time frame, but this issue I 
think, above many that we discuss here in this Congress, deserves the 
full attention of the membership, the full options at least of 
providing us with the opportunity to offer our proposal in a substitute 
form.
  I say again with respect, but also with concern, that we need to 
protect the rights of the minority here; that we will look very, very 
negatively and very seriously and react in a very negative and angry 
way if, in fact, we were shut out from having an opportunity to discuss 
this issue next week.
  Mr. ARMEY. The gentleman's point is well made, and I want to thank 
the gentleman for that.
  Mr. BONIOR. I thank my colleague, and I wish him a good weekend as 
well.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, if I might ask the majority leader, I 
noticed that H.R. 4717, the political disclosure measure has been added 
to the schedule since your original tentative schedule was posted at 
noon. I am so very pleased to see the leader honoring the pledge that 
he made to the House in June that that matter will be scheduled.
  Can the gentleman give us an approximate time when he thinks that 
will be reached on Tuesday?
  Mr. ARMEY. Again, if the gentleman from Michigan will yield.
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan 
for yielding and to the gentleman from Texas, I would say that the only 
thing I can say with any certainty right now is that it will be on the 
floor. As soon as we have made a scheduling decision, we will inform 
the minority.
  Mr. DOGGETT. If the gentleman will continue to yield, we can count, 
as the gentleman said in his words, with certainty that it will be up 
on the floor on Tuesday. Has the Committee on Rules made any 
announcement about when it will convene on that bill?

[[Page H5074]]

  Mr. ARMEY. If I might be very careful here, it will be on the floor 
next week. I would not say right now whether exactly it would be 
Tuesday or Wednesday.
  Mr. DOGGETT. It could be as late as Wednesday?
  Mr. ARMEY. There will be an announcement regarding that. If the 
Committee on Rules has an announcement regarding that, I would expect 
them to make that on Monday.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Would it be the gentleman's recommendation that there 
will be an opportunity to consider an amendment on a substitute to the 
bill as it was reported by the Committee on Ways and Means?
  Mr. ARMEY. If the gentleman from Michigan continues to yield.
  Mr. BONIOR. I continue to yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. ARMEY. Let me just say, I will have to participate in a 
discussion on that. At this point, I am not prepared to even make a 
recommendation myself. We will have some series discussion on the 
matter, and I will just have to report back later how that discussion 
goes.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Does the gentleman expect to have a recommendation or 
does the gentleman have one at this time concerning approximately how 
much time we will have to debate a matter of this importance?
  Mr. ARMEY. Again, if the gentleman continues to yield, let me just 
say that I have just in the last day or so not had the time to focus on 
this; I must get focused on it. We will have that meeting, and at that 
time I will inform you.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Let me just say, that despite our differences on 
arranging matters, I want to be quite sincere in expressing my 
appreciation for your assurance today that we will have an opportunity 
next week to consider this matter, and I wish the gentleman a good 
weekend; and we will get ready for that vigorous debate.

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