[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 14, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H343-H348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2001
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 524) to require the Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology to assist small and medium-sized manufacturers
and other such businesses to successfully integrate and utilize
electronic commerce technologies and business practices, and to
authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to assess
critical enterprise integration standards and implementation activities
for major manufacturing industries and to develop a plan for enterprise
integration for each major manufacturing industry.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 524
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Electronic Commerce
Enhancement Act of 2001''.
TITLE I--ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Commercial transactions on the Internet, whether retail
business-to-customer or business-to-business, are commonly
called electronic commerce.
[[Page H344]]
(2) In the United States, business-to-business transactions
between small and medium-sized manufacturers and other such
businesses and their suppliers is rapidly growing, as many of
these businesses begin to use Internet connections for
supply-chain management, after-sales support, and payments.
(3) Small and medium-sized manufacturers and other such
businesses play a critical role in the United States economy.
(4) Electronic commerce can help small and medium-sized
manufacturers and other such businesses develop new products
and markets, interact more quickly and efficiently with
suppliers and customers, and improve productivity by
increasing efficiency and reducing transaction costs and
paperwork. Small and medium-sized manufacturers and other
such businesses who fully exploit the potential of electronic
commerce activities can use it to interact with customers,
suppliers, and the public, and for external support functions
such as personnel services and employee training.
(5) The National Institute of Standards and Technology's
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program has a successful
record of assisting small and medium-sized manufacturers and
other such businesses. In addition, the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership program, working with the Small
Business Administration, successfully assisted United States
small enterprises in remediating their Y2K computer problems.
(6) A critical element of electronic commerce is the
ability of different electronic commerce systems to exchange
information. The continued growth of electronic commerce will
be enhanced by the development of private voluntary
interoperability standards and testbeds to ensure the
compatibility of different systems.
SEC. 102. REPORT ON THE UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE.
(a) Advisory Panel.--The Director of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (in this title referred to as the
``Director'') shall establish an Advisory Panel to report on
the challenges facing small and medium-sized manufacturers
and other such businesses in integrating and utilizing
electronic commerce technologies and business practices. The
Advisory Panel shall be comprised of representatives of the
Technology Administration, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension
Partnership program established under sections 25 and 26 of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15
U.S.C. 278k and 278l), the Small Business Administration, and
other relevant parties as identified by the Director.
(b) Initial Report.--Within 12 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Advisory Panel shall report to the
Director and to the Committee on Science of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate on the immediate requirements of
small and medium-sized manufacturers and other such
businesses to integrate and utilize electronic commerce
technologies and business practices. The report shall--
(1) describe the current utilization of electronic commerce
practices by small and medium-sized manufacturers and other
such businesses, detailing the different levels between
business-to-retail customer and business-to-business
transactions;
(2) describe and assess the utilization and need for
encryption and electronic authentication components and
electronically stored data security in electronic commerce
for small and medium-sized manufacturers and other such
businesses;
(3) identify the impact and problems of interoperability to
electronic commerce, and include an economic assessment; and
(4) include a preliminary assessment of the appropriate
role of, and recommendations for, the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership program to assist small and medium-sized
manufacturers and other such businesses to integrate and
utilize electronic commerce technologies and business
practices.
(c) Final Report.--Within 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Advisory Panel shall report to the
Director and to the Committee on Science of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a 3-year assessment of the needs
of small and medium-sized manufacturers and other such
businesses to integrate and utilize electronic commerce
technologies and business practices. The report shall
include--
(1) a 3-year planning document for the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership program in the field of electronic
commerce; and
(2) recommendations, if necessary, for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology to address
interoperability issues in the field of electronic commerce.
SEC. 103. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE PILOT PROGRAM.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, in consultation
with the Small Business Administration, shall establish a
pilot program to assist small and medium-sized manufacturers
and other such businesses in integrating and utilizing
electronic commerce technologies and business practices. The
goal of the pilot program shall be to provide small and
medium-sized manufacturers and other such businesses with the
information they need to make informed decisions in utilizing
electronic commerce-related goods and services. Such program
shall be implemented through a competitive grants program for
existing Regional Centers for the Transfer of Manufacturing
Technology established under section 25 of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k).
In carrying out this section, the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership program shall consult with the Advisory Panel and
utilize the Advisory Panel's reports.
TITLE II--ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION
SEC. 201. ENTERPRISE INTEGRATION ASSESSMENT AND PLAN.
(a) Assessment.--The Director shall work to identify
critical enterprise integration standards and implementation
activities for major manufacturing industries underway in the
United States. For each major manufacturing industry, the
Director shall work with industry representatives and
organizations currently engaged in enterprise integration
activities and other appropriate representatives as
necessary. They shall assess the current state of enterprise
integration within the industry, identify the remaining steps
in achieving enterprise integration, and work toward
agreement on the roles of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology and of the private sector in that process.
Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Director shall report to the Congress on these matters
and on anticipated related National Institute of Standards
and Technology activities for the then current fiscal year.
(b) Plans and Reports.--Within 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the
Congress a plan for enterprise integration for each major
manufacturing industry, including milestones for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology portion of the plan,
the dates of likely achievement of those milestones, and
anticipated costs to the Government and industry by fiscal
year. Updates of the plans and a progress report for the past
year shall be submitted annually until for a given industry,
in the opinion of the Director, enterprise integration has
been achieved.
SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title--
(1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology;
(2) the term ``enterprise integration'' means the
electronic linkage of manufacturers, assemblers, and
suppliers to enable the electronic exchange of product,
manufacturing, and other business data among all businesses
in a product supply chain, and such term includes related
application protocols and other related standards; and
(3) the term ``major manufacturing industry'' includes the
aerospace, automotive, electronics, shipbuilding,
construction, home building, furniture, textile, and apparel
industries and such other industries as the Director
designates.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Boehlert) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert).
General Leave
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on H.R. 524.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During a busy day, most Americans probably do not stop to think about
the impact small manufacturing has on all of our lives. In fact, most
Americans would be surprised to learn that it is all but impossible to
get through a day without using and benefiting from the many products
created by our Nation's small manufacturers. Everything from the alarm
clock ringing in the morning, to the clothes we wear, to the
communications equipment C-SPAN uses to broadcast these House
proceedings live can be attributed in part to small manufacturing.
It is not surprising, then, that small manufacturers contribute so
greatly to our Nation's economic growth and prosperity. Small
manufacturers employ over 12 million Americans, translating to nearly 1
in 10 workers nationwide. It is estimated that a manufacturing sale of
$1 results in an increase of total output in the economy of $2.30. As
they seek to remain a driving force in our Nation's economy, one of the
greatest challenges facing small manufacturers in the coming decade
will be the need to implement successful e-commerce business strategies
allowing them to better compete in the burgeoning information age.
[[Page H345]]
It is estimated that sales in electronic commerce alone will reach
nearly $3.2 trillion by the year 2003. Small manufacturers who
successfully embrace new technology and all its benefits will be able
to capitalize on the growing trend in online sales and have the
potential to increase both their productivity and revenues. Beyond
online sales, e-commerce can help small manufacturers develop new
products and markets while at the same time allowing them to interact
more quickly and efficiently with their suppliers and customers.
I am pleased to join the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), the
ranking member of the Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and
Standards, as an original cosponsor of H.R. 524, the Electronic
Commerce Enhancement Act. H.R. 524 will allow the director of the
National Institutes of Standards and Technology, which we all know as
NIST, to establish an advisory panel comprised of both government and
private sector representatives that will provide Congress with a
comprehensive report detailing the challenges facing small
manufacturers in integrating and utilizing electronic commerce
technologies.
The report will also require a 3-year blueprint for NIST's
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, or MEP, in the area of
electronic commerce. MEP, with over 400 centers in all 50 States, has
been a valuable technology transfer resource for many small
manufacturers nationwide. By establishing a 3-year plan, we will have a
better idea of how NIST MEP can be most useful in helping small
manufacturers overcome the barriers they face in the electronic world.
Finally, H.R. 524 establishes a limited e-commerce pilot program
administered through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program,
in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, aimed at
assisting small manufacturers to integrate e-commerce business
strategies. Last Congress, the House passed legislation mirroring H.R.
524 by voice vote. Unfortunately, Congress adjourned before the Senate
could act on the measure. I am hopeful we will be able to get the bill
signed into law this year. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to join me
in support of the Electronic Commerce Enhancement Act of 2001.
Let me close my formal remarks by commending my colleague, good
friend, and partner, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), for his
tenaciousness, for his innovativeness and for the hard work that has
produced this product.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I
too want to commend my very good friend and distinguished colleague in
his, I believe, maiden remarks on the floor here as the new full
Committee on Science chairman.
I want to express my gratitude to both the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Boehlert) as well as the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) for
their spirit of bipartisanship which is a continuation of the good
working relationship which our committee enjoyed in the last several
sessions but certainly bodes well in this new session.
Certainly the fact is not lost that the first action in this new
session of the committee is reporting a Democratic bill. For that I am
very grateful. I want to say how much I look forward to continuing to
work with the gentleman from New York and continuing that great spirit
of bipartisanship which the Committee on Science has been so well
renowned for and to say how delighted we are that he will be leading
our full committee efforts here in committee and on the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 524, the Electronic Commerce
Enhancement Act. H.R. 524 represents a bipartisan effort to assist
small and medium-sized enterprises to bringing their businesses online.
H.R. 524 is the same text as H.R. 4429 which was reported by the
Committee on Science and passed by the House in the 106th Congress.
The bill before us today reflects again a bipartisan consensus. I,
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Hall), and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), along with
other Members, decided to reintroduce this legislation because of the
challenges small and medium-sized businesses face in implementing the
electronic commerce activities. As large corporations move their
business transactions online, small companies in the supply chain must
go online as well. However, many of these small companies lack the
information they need to make informed decisions on choosing e-commerce
products and services. The Electronic Commerce Enhancement Act
addresses this problem.
First, H.R. 524 establishes an advisory panel to assess the e-
commerce needs of small businesses. This advisory panel should
represent an equal partnership between industry, government, and other
affected groups. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, working with
the advisory panel, will establish a pilot program at MEP centers to
provide small businesses with the information they need to make
informed, intelligent purchases of e-commerce products and services.
{time} 1200
This bill also addresses the issue of interoperability in the
manufacturing supply chain. Adoption of e-commerce practices within a
supply chain can be hindered by the lack of interoperability of
software, hardware, and networks in exchanging product data and other
key business information.
For example, a recent study indicated losses of $1 billion in terms
of productivity due to interoperability problems in the automotive
supply chain. Other industries with complex manufacturing requirements
could be expected to suffer similar losses.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, has
supported the first phase of an automotive supply chain
interoperability study in my home State of Michigan. This program was
highly successful and strongly supported by industry. H.R. 524 builds
upon this preliminary effort. NIST would perform an assessment to
identify critical enterprise integration standards and implementation
activities and report back to Congress.
I want to thank also the gentlewoman from Maryland (Chairwoman
Morella) for working with me on this legislation in the last Congress
and also want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman
Sensenbrenner) for his efforts to bring this bill to the floor in the
106th Congress as well.
Of course, I want to thank our new Committee on Science chairman, as
I just mentioned, the gentleman from New York (Chairman Boehlert), as
well as the gentleman from Michigan (Chairman Ehlers) and the ranking
member, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall), for cosponsoring this
legislation and supporting bringing it to the floor so expeditiously. I
hope this represents the first of many bipartisan Committee on Science
bills that we will bring to the floor of the 107th Congress.
Mr. Speaker, the manufacturing extension partnership has a proven
track record of helping thousands of small businesses across the
country. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has
continually worked in partnership with the private sector to make
advancements that benefit countless American businesses.
In closing, I believe this bill represents sound and reasonable
policy that builds upon the impressive history of these Federal
agencies. I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 6 minutes to the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), the distinguished chairman of the
Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards.
Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I welcome the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia) to
the ranking member position on the Subcommittee on Environment,
Technology and Standards; and I look forward to working with him. We
have been friends for many years, first in the Michigan House, then the
Michigan Senate, and now in the Congress, and especially on this
particular subcommittee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 524, the Electronic
Commerce Enhancement Act of 2001. Small manufacturers play a vital role
in our society. Each and every day we all rely on
[[Page H346]]
the many goods they produce to help sustain and improve our lives.
Small manufacturers are an integral part of our communities, employing
hundreds of our friends and neighbors and acting as anchors that help
to foster growth and prosperity in many small towns across our Nation.
In our inner cities, it is often small manufacturers that have helped
to spur urban renewal and act as the industrial foundation in our
metropolitan areas.
Recently I visited a factory in my district. It is a classic example
of what I just described here. A gentleman purchased a faltering plant
which was on the verge of bankruptcy. It had 50 employees. He
reinvigorated it; and through good management and advanced techniques
of manufacturing, including communication, he became a supplier of
parts for the Chrysler Corporation, now the Daimler Chrysler
Corporation. At the time I visited, he had 250 employees and he said he
had work for 500, if he could only find qualified individuals to work
there.
He also showed me a machine that was producing parts for the Chrysler
minivan. He had produced 2 million of those parts for the Chrysler
Corporation, without one single rejection by them for defects. He was
very proud of his record. That is the type of thing small manufacturers
do so well.
The future success and growth of many small manufacturers such as
that will increasingly rely on their ability to adapt to the ever-
changing electronic business environment. In a recent survey, nearly 80
percent of small manufacturers reported having a Web page, which is
good; but only 25 percent indicated they used the Internet for direct
sales. This means that most small manufacturers are missing out on an
estimated $3.2 trillion in e-commerce sales over the next 2 years. They
are also missing out on the opportunity the Internet offers to spur new
product development and markets while at the same time streamlining and
improving their daily business operations.
There are many obstacles preventing small manufacturing from fully
engaging in the new electronic-driven business environment. Costs
associated with integrating even the most basic e-commerce initiatives,
coupled with the uncertainty and the fast-paced changes in technology,
often hinder small manufacturers' attempts to venture into the
electronic world.
Just as an example, encryption is a very important part of business
commerce. Very few small manufacturers have the expertise to deal with
encryption problems and ensure the security, privacy, and integrity of
their transmissions.
In addition to that, we need standardization of protocols between
large manufacturers and their suppliers. We have to have enterprise
integration and interoperability. If the smaller manufacturers are
going to be able to communicate with the large number of manufacturers
that they supply, they should not have to be required to put in
different systems for every manufacturer they deal with.
In addition to this, a lack of qualified trained technology workers
in the marketplace today makes it difficult to successfully integrate
technology into the workplace in a meaningful way. Over half the small
manufacturers surveyed revealed that human resource shortages were a
major problem when trying to implement their e-commerce plans.
I would add parenthetically here that I have introduced legislation
to improve K-12 math-science education, which would go a long way
toward solving the problems that are indicated in the previous
paragraph and that I also mentioned earlier for the manufacturer in my
district who could not find the employees he needed.
H.R. 524 is an important piece of legislation because it will help us
get a better picture of all of the barriers preventing small
manufacturers from successfully implementing electronic commerce
strategies by having both government and private-sector representatives
take a closer look at the problem.
In addition, the limited pilot program created by H.R. 524 will tell
us what is and what is not working in the workplace. NIST's
Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, or MEP, working in
conjunction with the Small Business Administration, is uniquely suited
to assist small manufacturers in this endeavor. The hundreds of MEP
centers all across the country have a proven track record in
effectively providing small manufacturers with the advice and expertise
they need in order to succeed.
I am pleased to join the chairman of the Committee on Science, the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert), and the ranking member of the
Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards, the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), as an original cosponsor of H.R. 524.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of the
Electronic Commerce Enhancement Act of 2001.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time
and for his leadership on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Electronic Commerce
Enhancement Act of 2001, a bill that recognizes the importance of the
Internet and e-commerce to our economy. This bill also recognizes the
importance of business-to-business transactions by small- to medium-
sized businesses via the Internet. As technology continues to grow,
unfortunately, many small- to medium-sized companies have not been able
to utilize the potential of the Internet as a business tool. In order
to help these companies contribute to economic growth, this bill
assists in developing tools to alleviate the problems of
interoperability.
H.R. 524 will help promote electronic commerce in these small- to
medium-sized companies by identifying the challenges that they face and
establishing programs to assist them in overcoming these obstacles.
These programs include the electronic linkage of manufacturers,
assemblers, and suppliers that will enable them to exchange product,
manufacturing and other business data within the supply chain. By
allowing the National Institute of Standards and Technology technology
to assist small- and medium-sized businesses to successfully integrate
electronic commerce, Congress will promote effective standards for
helping these businesses prosper in our economy.
I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia) and the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) for their work in recognizing the
importance of small businesses, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Sensenbrenner) for his work in passing this bill in the 106th Congress,
and the gentleman from New York (Chairman Boehlert) for his new
leadership on the Committee on Science and on this issue. I urge my
colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), the senior member of the
committee.
Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I
certainly want to thank him as chairman of the Committee on Science for
bringing this issue to the floor and for his strong support of it.
Obviously, the ranking member of our Subcommittee on Technology for
the last years, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia), who
introduced this legislation, I wanted to commend him and indicate my
very strong support for it.
Introduction of this bill represents a very strong bipartisan effort
to assist small- and medium-sized businesses as they move their
operations into an e-commerce environment.
Enacted, this legislation will also improve the interoperability of
the electronic transfer of technical information in the manufacturing
supply chain. The lack of interoperability between software, hardware,
and networks in exchanging product data and other key business
information obviously is hurting U.S. productivity.
The costs of this barrier are enormous. According to a study
conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of
product data exchange in the automotive sector alone, the inability to
efficiently exchange product data through the automotive supply chain
conservatively costs about $1 billion a year.
Mr. Speaker, this bill was introduced in the 106th Congress, reported
out of the Subcommittee on Technology,
[[Page H347]]
which I chaired and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Barcia) was the
ranking member, and at that time the bill was then passed unanimously
by the House.
The bill would also allow the National Institute of Standards and
Technology to work with business and industry to develop voluntary
standards, standards that will assure that U.S. firms will and can
continue to exploit the power of the Internet to collaborate with
trading partners and through greater speed and agility to participate
in the global markets.
Again, I thank my colleagues for bringing this important issue to the
floor. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 524.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns).
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague for
yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 524, but I do so with some
reservation. I am troubled by the bill on two particular grounds:
first, its potential negative impact on e-commerce; and, two, its
encroachment on the Committee on Energy and Commerce jurisdiction.
Let me take the negative impact on e-commerce and explain this more
fully. H.R. 524 ``authorizes the National Institute of Standards and
Technology to assess critical enterprise integration standards and
implementation activities for major manufacturing industries and to
develop a plan for enterprise integration for each major industry.''
Mr. Speaker, such an authorization seemingly grants an open
invitation to a Federal Government entity, NIST, to meddle in voluntary
standard-setting activities by private parties relating to business-to-
business electronic exchanges.
{time} 1215
Such a governmental intervention could harbor substantial negative
repercussions for e-commerce. Voluntary standards-setting activities by
private, non-governmental parties have been credited with the vibrancy
and innovation associated with our e-commerce industry. Industry
enterprise integration or business-to-business exchanges are a critical
component of our e-commerce sector. Today, transactions on such
exchanges represent 85 percent of the total value of e-commerce.
The Federal government injecting itself into a business-to-business
exchange standard-setting activities in our view on the Committee on
Commerce holds no other promise but to retard dynamic and innovative
change synonymous with e-commerce.
Moreover, authorizing such a government intervention sends the wrong
signal to our trading partners in Europe. The European Union Commission
is favorably inclined to inject itself into private standard-setting
activities. This makes for a bad recipe for the future of global e-
commerce.
Too, Mr. Speaker, my other concern is with jurisdiction. As the title
of H.R. 524 clearly denotes, electronic commerce is the focal point of
this legislation. The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the committee
of jurisdiction over matters relating to electronic commerce. The
committee's jurisdiction over electronic commerce is perfectly clear.
E-commerce is a mere subcategory of interstate and foreign commerce
and, as such, is undeniably within the purview of the committee's long-
standing jurisdiction.
The committee also has repeatedly dealt with e-commerce issues, as
exemplified by its leadership role on the following issues: No. 1,
encryption; No. 2, electronic authentication of electronic signatures;
No. 3, data security; and No. 4, interoperability.
H.R. 524 is within the committee's jurisdiction and should have been
referred to it. The time for such a referral may have passed, but I
assure the Members that we, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, will
vigorously exert our jurisdiction over interstate commerce irrespective
of the medium; that is, electronic or mobile.
The committee will carefully monitor NIST standard-setting
activities, as outlined in H.R. 524.
Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to respond to some of the comments
made by the gentleman from Florida.
Obviously, in the last session we dealt with this issue and it passed
unanimously through the House as far as the jurisdictional issue. I
understand that some of the committee jurisdictions are still, as we
speak, being delineated and settled.
I understand the gentleman's concern about having NIST establish
structures in terms of the interoperability issue, but I want to assure
the gentleman from Florida that the automotive industry spoke strongly
in favor of this legislation, based on their experience in Michigan
that they had with a program called STEP, which, as I mentioned, the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, had
worked with the automotive industry to put in place.
It has been a very successful program, and the automotive industry,
which is greatly impacted by this legislation, was very strongly
supportive and worked with our leadership of the subcommittee and the
full committee to ensure that we would not be setting precedents or
addressing some of the issues, perhaps, that the gentleman has concerns
about.
But we will be mindful of that, and hopefully enjoy support on
passing this bill.
Mr. Speaker, if I could make one last comment about also my colleague
and friend, the gentleman from Michigan, and congratulate him on his
ascension to the chairmanship of the Subcommittee on the Environment,
Technology, and Standards, of which this morning I was selected as the
ranking member.
I just want to say, as my good friend, the gentleman from Michigan
(Mr. Ehlers) indicated, we have had the privilege of serving together
in the State House in Michigan, the State Senate, and then coming to
Congress together.
I want to say that I am delighted to be able to work with someone who
has been a long-time friend, and someone who, throughout his tenure
both in the Michigan legislature as well as here in Congress, has been
recognized as one of certainly the most thoughtful and effective
Members of both the State legislature and Congress.
I look forward to working with our new leadership, the new Chair, and
of course my long-time friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Ehlers), of the subcommittee.
I also want to thank our former Chair, the gentlewoman from Maryland
(Mrs. Morella), for her just absolutely great administration of our
subcommittee. I think if we looked at the full committee and our
subcommittee, we probably would have one of the best track records of
bipartisanship in the entire Congress, and certainly all of us on the
Democratic side in that subcommittee really appreciated her role, and
the fairness and objectivity and spirit of bipartisanship that she
carried throughout her tenure as the chair of the subcommittee. Again,
I thank the chairman and the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 524.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. BOEHLERT. 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.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-minute vote on the motion to
suspend the rules and pass H.R. 524 will be followed immediately by a
5-minute vote on the question of passage of H.R. 554, on which the yeas
and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 409,
nays 6, not voting 17, as follows:
[[Page H348]]
[Roll No. 14]
YEAS--409
Abercrombie
Aderholt
Akin
Allen
Andrews
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blagojevich
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonior
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Bryant
Burr
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Combest
Condit
Conyers
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crenshaw
Crowley
Culberson
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis, Jo Ann
Deal
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
DeMint
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Farr
Fattah
Ferguson
Filner
Fletcher
Foley
Ford
Fossella
Frank
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Graves
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Grucci
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Harman
Hart
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Horn
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kennedy (RI)
Kerns
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kleczka
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Largent
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Mascara
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Mink
Moakley
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Owens
Oxley
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Rehberg
Reyes
Reynolds
Riley
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Scarborough
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrock
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Simmons
Simpson
Sisisky
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Souder
Spence
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sununu
Sweeney
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Toomey
Traficant
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watt (NC)
Watts (OK)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (FL)
NAYS--6
Collins
Flake
Hostettler
Paul
Schaffer
Tancredo
NOT VOTING--17
Ackerman
Bonilla
Bono
Burton
Capito
Cooksey
Cubin
Davis, Thomas M.
Istook
Lewis (CA)
Mollohan
Ortiz
Putnam
Thornberry
Towns
Watkins
Young (AK)
{time} 1242
Mr. SCHAFFER changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were
suspended and the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 14 I was inadvertently
detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''
____________________