[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 125 (Tuesday, October 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H9539-H9540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ESTABLISHING A STANDARD TIME ZONE FOR GUAM AND THE MARIANA ISLANDS

  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3756) to establish a standard time zone for Guam and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3756

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. TIME ZONE ESTABLISHED.

       (a) In General.--The first section of the Act of March 19, 
     1918 (15 U.S.C. 261; commonly known as the Calder Act) is 
     amended--
       (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``eight zones'' and 
     inserting ``nine zones''; and
       (2) in the second sentence--
       (A) by striking ``; and that of the eighth'' and inserting 
     ``; that of the eighth''; and
       (B) by inserting before the period the following: ``; and 
     that of the ninth zone on the one hundred and fiftieth 
     meridian of longitude east from Greenwich.''.
       (b) Name of Zone.--Section 4 of the Act of March 19, 1918 
     (15 U.S.C. 263; commonly known as the Calder Act) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``and that of the eighth'' and inserting 
     ``that of the eighth''; and
       (2) by inserting before the period the following: ``; and 
     that of the ninth zone shall be known as Chamorro standard 
     time''.
       (c) Daylight Savings Time.--Section 7 of the Uniform Time 
     Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. 267) is amended by inserting ``Guam, 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,'' after 
     ``Puerto Rico,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Oxley) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley).


                             General Leave

  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and insert extraneous material on H.R. 3756.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is simple and straightforward. The legislation 
establishes a separate time zone for Guam and the Northern Mariana 
Islands by increasing the number of standard time zones in the United 
States from 8 to 9. This new time zone will be known as the Chamorro 
time zone and will be required to observe daylight savings time.
  The gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) deserves praise for his 
tenacity on this issue. It is a simple measure without controversy, and 
I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, let me convey how pleased I am to support this 
legislation. The bill corrects current law by recognizing that there is 
a ninth time zone in the United States, namely the time zone followed 
by the people of Guam and the Northern Marianas.
  My colleague, the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood), I want to 
salute him today, has corrected this oversight with this bill and has 
also given the time zone a name, Chamorro standard time.
  Chamorro refers to the indigenous people of the area, and I salute my 
colleague for his creativity by choosing the name Chamorro. The time 
zone will honor the historic unity of Guam and the Commonwealth of the 
Marianas and the people who live in the region.
  I congratulate the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) for his work 
on this bill; and, of course, I congratulate his staff and all the 
staff members that have been involved in this.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Guam 
(Mr. Underwood).
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Towns) for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3756, a bill to 
name the ninth time zone under U.S. jurisdiction for Guam and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
  I would also like to take this time to thank my distinguished 
colleagues who have worked to get this bill to the floor: the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Bliley), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley), the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Towns), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), chairman of the 
Corrections Day Advisory Committee, and the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Waxman), ranking member of that same committee.
  Wherever the U.S. flag flies, there is a title for each time zone in 
which it flies, whether it is in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico 
with its Atlantic time zone; this city, with its eastern time zone; 
Chicago, with central time; Denver, with mountain time; Los Angeles, 
with Pacific time; Honolulu, with Hawaii standard time; Anchorage, with 
Alaska standard time; and even American Samoa, with Samoa standard 
time. But there is a ninth time zone where Guam sits and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands sits as well; and where 
there is no official title for this time zone. Not that there is no 
time there, obviously, but that there is no specific title for this 
time zone.
  Perhaps this is an oversight. The fact that this ninth time zone is 
on the other side of the international dateline and could appropriately 
claim the title of being the first American time zone, could get the 
competitive spirits of those in the Atlantic time zone aroused. But 
when information is being sent out about changes in national time or 
announcements concerning time, this ninth time zone, in geography going 
west but first in terms of time, frequently gets ignored.
  After all, the Calder Act, which provides for the designation of 
names of time zones under U.S. jurisdiction, only names eight time 
zones.
  This bill fills the void of the ninth time zone under U.S. 
jurisdiction, corrects this oversight, and appropriately designates 
each and every American time zone.

[[Page H9540]]

  The unique feature of this particular piece of legislation is that it 
is responsive to a quandary that does not quite exist in the other time 
zones. We have two jurisdictions with two distinct names. We could call 
it the Guam time zone, the Guam/Marianas time zone, but I think over 
time Marianas would be dropped, or we could call it the Marianas time 
zone, but that would put out of focus Guam.
  Therefore, in honor of the historical unity of both Guam and the 
Northern Marianas and the people who were the original inhabitants of 
the entire island chain, I have named this new time zone as Chamorro 
standard time. The term ``Chamorro'' refers to the indigenous people of 
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and forms the basis of the 
underlying historical and cultural connection between the people of 
Guam and the people of Luta, Tinian, Saipan, Agrigan, and other islands 
in the Northern Marianas.
  Mr. Speaker, the administration supports H.R. 3756, and I urge my 
colleagues to support this important legislation as well. Esta oran 
Chamorro.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  Mr. Speaker, let me again congratulate my colleague for the 
outstanding work that he has done in terms of creating the ninth time 
zone. I urge my colleagues to support this.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3756.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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