[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 21, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H1017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND THE RULES

  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on 
Rules, I call up House Resolution 92 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                               H. Res. 92

       Resolved, That it shall be in order at any time on the 
     legislative day of Wednesday, March 21, 2001, or Thursday, 
     March 22, 2001, for the Speaker to entertain motions that the 
     House suspend the rules relating to the following measures:
       (1) The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 43) authorizing 
     the printing of a revised and updated version of the House 
     document entitled ``Black Americans in Congress, 1870-1989'';
       (2) The bill (H.R. 1042) to prevent the elimination of 
     certain reports;
       (3) The bill (H.R. 1098) to improve the recording and 
     discharging of maritime liens and expand the American 
     Merchant Marine Memorial Wall of Honor, and for other 
     purposes;
       (4) The bill (H.R. 1099) to make changes in laws governing 
     Coast Guard personnel, increase marine safety, renew certain 
     groups that advise the Coast Guard on safety issues, make 
     miscellaneous improvements to Coast Guard operations and 
     policies, and for other purposes.
       (5) The bill (H.R. 496) to amend the Communications Act of 
     1934 to promote deployment of advanced services and foster 
     the development of competition for the benefit of consumers 
     in all regions of the Nation by relieving unnecessary burdens 
     on the Nation's two percent local exchange telecommunications 
     carriers, and for other purposes;
       (6) The bill (H.R. 802) to authorize the Public Safety 
     Officer Medal of Valor, and for other purposes.

                              {time}  1015

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). The gentlewoman from Ohio 
(Ms. Pryce) is recognized for one hour.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I 
yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Frost), pending which I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. During the consideration of this resolution, all time yielded 
is for the purpose of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Committee on Rules met and passed this 
resolution providing that it shall be in order at any time on the 
legislative day of Wednesday, March 21, or Thursday, March 22, for the 
Speaker to entertain motions to suspend the rules relating to the 
measures previously outlined by the reading clerk.
  The Members and their staffs have had time to examine these rules, 
and the Committee on Rules is not aware of any controversy or concern. 
While these items are non-controversial, they are indeed important 
pieces of legislation to many Members of this body and, more 
importantly, to the constituents we represent.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this rule, as well as 
the six bills it makes in order.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not the intention of the Democratic Members of the 
House to object to this rule. We do, however, object to the continued 
use of the suspension calendar on days that are under the rules of the 
House supposed to be used for the consideration of bills on the Union 
Calendar. Obviously, little business has been reported to the House 
from its committees, other than matters from the Committee on Ways and 
Means. Thus, it seems the majority has come to rely on minor bills to 
fill the time in between the consideration of tax bills.
  Mr. Speaker, there are any number of important issues facing the 
country today. Education, Social Security, Medicare, national defense, 
crime and energy are just a few of them; yet we have not seen any signs 
of any of these issues heading to the floor.
  It is time for this Congress to buckle down and get to work; and, Mr. 
Speaker, we should do our work under regular order.
  So, in order to give the House something to do today, Democrats will 
not object to this rule. But that being said, we cannot be counted on 
to continue to stand aside as the Republican majority continues to 
shirk its responsibilities.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me remind my colleagues that these are non-
controversial measures, and that they are important to many Members of 
this body. The resolution will simply allow this House to complete its 
work on these initiatives.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the resolution and the underlying 
legislative initiatives.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question 
on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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