[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 143 (Thursday, November 2, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H11784-H11786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of 
House Resolution 662, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 123) 
making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2001, and 
for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the 
House.
  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The text of House Joint Resolution 123 is as follows:

                             H.J. Res. 123

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That Public 
     Law 106-275, is further amended by striking the date 
     specified in section 106(c) and inserting ``November 3, 
     2000''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 662, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume merely to point out that this is a 1-day continuing resolution. 
In addition to having this resolution before the House, after the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) makes his opening statement, I will 
be asking unanimous consent to consider an amendment that I have at the 
desk.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 10 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I suppose there is virtually no reason for anyone to say 
anything, given what the reality is around here. But I would, 
nonetheless, like to make a few observations about why we are going 
through this surreal exercise this week, this evening, tomorrow and for 
God knows how long.
  We were told at the beginning of the year by the majority party 
leadership that they were going to restore regular order to the House. 
Then this House proceeded to pass a phony budget resolution and a 
series of phony appropriation bills which pretended to fit within that 
budget resolution.
  It did that, not because of any fault of any of the majority members 
of the Committee on Appropriations; we did it because they, in fact, 
had no choice but to proceed under that phony budget resolution.
  The result is that, for 10 months, this House pretended to the public 
that it was going to spend about $40 billion less than virtually 
everyone in this House on both sides of the aisle knew we would in the 
end wind up spending.
  The purpose of passing those fraudulently shrunken appropriation 
bills was to open up enough room in that phony budget so that the 
majority leadership could pretend that there was enough room in that 
budget for the huge tax cuts which they then proceeded to pass, the 
majority of benefits which went to those in our society who make 
$300,000 a year or more.
  The leadership of the majority preached bipartisanship; but in fact, 
they blocked bipartisan majorities from passing the Patients' Bill of 
Rights. They held the minimum wage hostage to tax benefits that were 
nine times as large as the benefits afforded to workers under those 
minimum wage increases. They even refused to reform the so-called 
Freedom to Farm Act, which is the single biggest failure of farm policy 
in this country since the days of Ezra Taft Benson, and that is going 
some.
  Lastly, the leadership of the majority party blocked a bipartisan 
conference on the Labor, Health and Education bill that would have 
taken us a long way toward reducing class size, strengthening teacher 
training, providing larger Pell Grants for struggling middle-income 
families trying to send their kids to college, providing us some 5,000 
additional after-school learning centers for kids so that they do not 
have to go home at night to an empty house because both parents are 
working outside the home.
  Since that bill was blown up, it has been apparently the goal of the 
majority party leadership to leave without ever bringing to a vote that 
bipartisan conference report.
  Apparently the majority caucus is split. I am told by a number of you 
that, if this bill goes into a lame-duck session, that there are a good 
number of our friends on the majority side who would like to scale back 
significantly the size of those education and other increases in that 
Labor-Health-Education bill.
  In my judgment as someone who has served here for over 30 years, the 
chaotic results of the policy pursued by the leadership left us at the 
end of the fiscal year with only two of the 13 appropriation bills that 
were supposed to be passed actually being finished by the House and the 
Senate. The House passed all 13 of its appropriation bills, but the 
Senate did not.
  So we were left with only two of those 13 bills. We were left with 
only two of those 13 bills passed. Both bills that were passed had been 
signed by the President. So none of the delays associated with the 
other 11 bills were in any way the responsibility of the White House.
  Now, the majority leadership wants to go home. We all want to go 
home.
  I will say to the gentleman interrupting that no one in this House 
has worked harder than I have. I will compare my record to yours 
anytime.
  I think I have the floor, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair requests that various 
conversations going around the Chamber will be removed to the 
cloakroom.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for obtaining order, and 
I thank most Members of the House for their courtesy.
  What I was about to say is that the majority leadership would like us 
to go home, and we would all like to go home, but there is apparently a 
significant difference between the wishes of the majority leadership in 
the Senate and the majority leadership here.
  I honestly believe that you want us in the minority to give you cover 
for your failure to produce on the whole range of legislative items by 
voting to get Congress out of town before we have all done our duty. I 
think that duty includes passing the Patients' Bill of Rights, passing 
a bill that provides prescription drugs under Medicare, passing a bill 
that provides the minimum wage increase for the least among us.
  So now we are caught in what one reporter today called this Potemkin 
charade. It is being pretended that there is work being done here 
because, apparently, what the majority leadership wants to do is to 
keep the lights on even though the House is empty and keep the lights 
on to pretend that there is activity in the kitchen, when in fact there 
is not. The stove is off. The oven is empty. The oven is cold.
  No major legislation, save perhaps one water project bill is in the 
works. What an unhappy, pitiful end to this session.
  I want to say to my friends on the majority side of the aisle, I like 
and respect virtually every single one of you. Some of you I do not 
know as well as others. But when I think of the people I have known in 
my life, there is no more decent person than the gentleman sitting in 
the front row here, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), or the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) or the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Young) or the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) or a number of 
others of you. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) I saw sitting 
here; we have been friends for years. I cherish some of the friendships 
that I have had with people on both sides of the aisle.

                              {time}  1815

  But what I despise is what this kind of chaotic governance in this 
House has done to this institution and to the legislative process. And 
most of all what I despise is what this House has failed to do to 
represent and help the people we are supposed to be representing. When 
I see what this institution has failed to do, that is when I am truly 
saddened and appalled.
  I do not make this statement out of any sense of personal dislike for 
any one of you. But sometimes parties or institutions do things 
collectively which they would never do individually, and I believe this 
year that has happened in this place. And that is why

[[Page H11785]]

this Congress, in my sad judgment, regardless of the meaningless votes 
that will occur the next 2 days, because this session is over any way 
you slice it, we just have an inability to admit it, so this Congress 
will go down as one of the lesser footnotes in history and it very 
richly deserves it.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.


               Amendment Offered by Mr. Young of Florida

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment that I have placed at the desk be considered adopted.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The Clerk will report the 
amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Young of Florida:
       Insert before the period at the end the following:
       , and by adding, at the end, the following new section:
       ``Sec. 120. Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
     joint resolution, except section 107, $7,100,000 shall be 
     available for obligation by the Administrator of General 
     Services for expenses necessary to carry out the Presidential 
     Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note).''

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I think the 
purpose is self-evident, but I wonder if the gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Young) would be kind enough to take just 1 minute so that the 
Members understand what we are doing.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. OBEY. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the amount of $7,100,000 was in 
the Treasury-Postal bill for the purpose of the transitioning to a new 
administration. $5.27 million was for the implementation of the 
transition of the new administration, the new President. $1.83 million 
was for the incumbent President to exit the White House and to exit the 
administration.
  Since that bill was vetoed that money is not available. This 
amendment authorizes the same amount of money that was in the Treasury-
Postal bill. It is important that we do this because the new 
administration has to begin work immediately after the election by 
preparing for the transition, interviewing potential appointments and 
staffers. There is travel involved. There is vetting of major 
appointments. This begins the day after election day, so it is 
important that we do this.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. We 
certainly have no objection.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  The joint resolution is considered as having been read for amendment.
  By order of the House today, the amendment is adopted.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 662, the previous question is ordered.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the joint 
resolution.
  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 
time, and was read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the joint 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. PETRI. 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 310, 
nays 7, not voting 116, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 592]

                               YEAS--310

     Abercrombie
     Aderholt
     Andrews
     Archer
     Armey
     Baca
     Bachus
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Bartlett
     Bass
     Berkley
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Bono
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Camp
     Canady
     Cannon
     Cardin
     Carson
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth-Hage
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Combest
     Condit
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Cubin
     Cunningham
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Deutsch
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Edwards
     Engel
     English
     Eshoo
     Evans
     Everett
     Farr
     Filner
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Fossella
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Gallegly
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Green (TX)
     Green (WI)
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Hastert
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Herger
     Hill (IN)
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hobson
     Hoeffel
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Holt
     Hooley
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inslee
     Isakson
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kelly
     Kildee
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kucinich
     Kuykendall
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Largent
     Larson
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Manzullo
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCrery
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (FL)
     Miller, Gary
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Moore
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paul
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pombo
     Porter
     Portman
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Regula
     Reynolds
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sabo
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Schakowsky
     Scott
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Sherman
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shows
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Sisisky
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Spence
     Stearns
     Strickland
     Stump
     Sununu
     Sweeney
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Upton
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watkins
     Watt (NC)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                                NAYS--7

     Berry
     Capuano
     DeFazio
     Ford
     LaFalce
     Phelps
     Stenholm

                            NOT VOTING--116

     Ackerman
     Allen
     Baird
     Barrett (WI)
     Barton
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berman
     Bilbray
     Bishop
     Blumenauer
     Boucher
     Brown (FL)
     Calvert
     Campbell
     Capps
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Coburn
     Collins
     Conyers
     Costello
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Danner
     Davis (IL)
     Delahunt
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dooley
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Etheridge
     Ewing
     Fattah
     Forbes
     Fowler
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gephardt
     Goodling
     Granger
     Greenwood
     Hall (OH)
     Hansen
     Hastings (FL)
     Hefley
     Hill (MT)
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hunter
     Jones (OH)
     Kasich
     Kennedy
     Kilpatrick
     Klink
     Lantos
     Lazio
     Maloney (NY)
     McCollum
     McIntosh
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Morella
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Oberstar
     Ose
     Owens
     Payne
     Pickett
     Pitts
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Reyes
     Riley
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Rush
     Salmon
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Shays
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (WA)
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Stupak
     Talent
     Tancredo
     Towns
     Turner
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watts (OK)

[[Page H11786]]


     Waxman
     Weiner
     Weldon (FL)
     Wexler
     Weygand
     Wise

                              {time}  1845

  Mr. WELLER and Mr. HALL of Texas changed their vote from ``nay'' to 
``yea.''
  So the joint resolution was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I was delayed en route. The plane just 
arrived. As a consequence I got in the House just a few minutes after 
the vote was closed. Had I been here, I would have voted in the 
affirmative.
  Stated for:
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 592, had I been present, I 
would have voted ``yea'' in support of H.J. Res. 123.

                          ____________________