[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 118 (Thursday, September 28, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8431-H8432]
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 ask for this time for the purpose of 
inquiring of the majority leader the schedule for the week and next 
week.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey).
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Bonior) for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the House has completed 
its legislative business for the week. The House will next meet for 
legislative business on Monday October 2 at 12:30 for morning hour and 
2 p.m. for legislative business.
  We will consider a number of bills under suspension of the rules, a 
list of which will be distributed to Members' offices tomorrow.
  Mr. Speaker, the appropriations conferees are working hard to solve 
many remaining issues on the Interior and Transportation conference 
reports. It is our hope that the conferees will be able to file their 
conference report as early as tonight. Members, therefore, should be 
prepared to vote on appropriations conference reports on Monday night 
after 6 p.m.
  On Tuesday, October 3, and the balance of the week, the House will 
consider the following measures:
  H.R. 4205, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2001;
  H.R. 4577, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and 
Education Appropriations Conference Report; and
  H.R. 3244, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 Conference 
Report.
  Mr. Speaker, the House will also consider any other conference 
reports that may become available.
  At some point next week, I would anticipate that the House will 
consider a continuing resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for yielding.
  Mr. BONIOR. I thank my colleague for his report, and I gather from 
the last statement that the gentleman made that he anticipates that the 
House will consider a continuing resolution sometime next week, that we 
expect that we will go beyond the original target date of October 6. 
Can the

[[Page H8432]]

gentleman help us with anything beyond that date in terms of his 
prognosis?
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield to me.
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman speaks, in this case, 
on behalf of all of our Members on both sides of the aisle. It is that 
time of the year that many of us have planned to complete our work. We 
are still hopeful that with a good week's work next week we might be 
able to finish by the appointed date of October 6, but I think the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior) would agree, in light of the past 
history of appropriations seasons past, that it would be a prudent 
thing for us to be prepared to have a continuing resolution that would 
go beyond that time. And should we find ourselves moving in to that 
period of time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure the gentleman from 
Michigan, the House will be scheduled in such a way as to maximize the 
opportunity that Members might need to fulfill other commitments they 
would have made for that week ensuing.
  Mr. BONIOR. I thank my colleague. I am thinking in particular of Yom 
Kippur and Columbus Day that are right behind next weekend or next 
weekend, and I am wondering if the gentleman could express his 
comments.
  Mr. ARMEY. Again, I appreciate the gentleman's inquiry. I believe 
that it is Yom Kippur, and it is a matter of major importance to so 
many of our Members, and we certainly want to respect that.
  Mr. BONIOR. I thank the gentleman from Texas for his response.
  Let me ask one other question to the gentleman from Texas, the 
majority leader, we had a vote here just a second ago on the motion by 
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) to open up and make sure that 
the conference on Agriculture is available to all the conferees and to 
instruct the conferees to meet with all Members present. Can we assume 
from that vote that that in fact will happen?
  Mr. ARMEY. Again, I want to thank the gentleman for his inquiry, and 
if the gentleman would continue to yield.
  Mr. BONIOR. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. ARMEY. Earlier in our bicameral meeting today, we discussed the 
conference on agriculture, and it is my understanding that the key 
participants in the committee on both sides of the aisle will get 
together, plan out a schedule, and notify the other Members.
  Mr. BONIOR. I am trusting that there will be full and adequate public 
airings in which the managers have the opportunity to debate and to 
vote on all matters of disagreements between both Houses, and I hope 
this is not done between a couple of people and everyone else is left 
out.
  I just want to reemphasize and underscore what we have just done on 
the House floor and say to the majority leader I anticipate that since 
the House overwhelmingly voted in that matter that those wishes will be 
carried out in the conference on agriculture, and I thank my colleague 
for his information.
  Mr. ARMEY. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, may I just wish the 
gentleman from Michigan good luck this Sunday on the gridiron when my 
beloved Vikings come to town.

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