[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 17, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H4069-H4070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2500, DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, 
JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2002

  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 192 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 192

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule 
     XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 2500) making appropriations for the 
     Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, 
     and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
     2002, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill 
     shall be dispensed with. All points of order against 
     consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be 
     confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally 
     divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Appropriations. After general 
     debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 
     five-minute rule. Points of order against provisions in the 
     bill for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule XXI are 
     waived except as follows: beginning with ``Provided'' on page 
     19, line 13, through ``workyears:'' on line 19. Where points 
     of order are waived against part of a paragraph, points of 
     order against a provision in another part of such paragraph 
     may be made only against such provision and not against the 
     entire paragraph. During consideration of the bill for 
     amendment, the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may 
     accord priority in recognition on the basis of whether the 
     Member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in 
     the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that 
     purpose in clause 8 of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed 
     shall be considered as read. At the conclusion of 
     consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall 
     rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as 
     may have been adopted. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to 
     final passage without intervening motion except one motion to 
     recommit with or without instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cooksey). The gentleman from Georgia 
(Mr. Linder) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Hastings); pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the 
purposes of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 192 is an open rule providing for the 
consideration of H.R. 2500, the FY 2002 Commerce, Justice, State, the 
Judiciary, and related agencies appropriations bill. Overall, this bill 
provides roughly $38 billion in funding for a variety of Federal 
departments and agencies, about $600 million over the President's 
budget request.
  H. Res. 192 provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and 
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee 
on Appropriations, and all points of order are waived against 
consideration of the bill.
  The rule also provides that the bill be considered for amendment by 
paragraph. H. Res. 192 waives clause 2 of rule XXI, prohibiting 
unauthorized or legislative provisions in an appropriations bill, 
against provisions in H.R. 2500, except as otherwise specified in the 
rule. The rule also authorizes the Chair to accord priority in 
recognition to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the 
Congressional Record.

[[Page H4070]]

  Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without 
instructions, as is the right of the minority.
  Once H. Res. 192 is approved, the House can begin its consideration 
of the fiscal year 2002 Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary 
appropriations bill. A number of critically important Federal agencies 
receive their funding from this measure, including the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Drug 
Enforcement Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, the 
Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Small Business 
Administration, among others.
  I want to commend my friend and colleague, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Wolf), for the manner in which he and his ranking 
minority member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano) have crafted 
this bill. It is funded within the guidelines of FY 2002 Budget 
Resolution we passed earlier this year, and they have done so while 
still providing for some significant funding increases for certain 
departments and agencies within H.R. 2500.
  The Committee on Rules approved this rule by voice vote yesterday, 
and I urge my colleagues to support it so that we may proceed with the 
general debate and consideration of this bipartisan bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  First, Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Linder) for yielding me this time. This seems to be my and his day for 
rulemaking here in the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Commerce, Justice, State, 
Judiciary, and related agencies appropriations bill for fiscal year 
2002 and in support of the rule. I want to congratulate the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), the chairman of this subcommittee, and the 
ranking member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), for their 
work on this bill and for their recognition of the importance to the 
entire country of the necessary departments and agencies it funds. In 
years past, this has been a very controversial bill. I am satisfied 
that this year we have a bill that is fair, balanced, and enjoys wide 
bipartisan support.
  For a moment, let me just say how important to the American people 
this bill is. It funds programs like the Legal Services Corporation and 
the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It increases funding for 
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the United States 
Commission on Civil Rights. Additionally, this bill funds the very 
critical programs that our embassies around the world carry out every 
day. These hardworking unheralded women and men work hard for the 
American people every day and everywhere. From Baku to Buenos Aires, 
and from Quito to Cairo, our foreign service personnel have some of the 
most difficult jobs in the world. The increases in funding in this bill 
for embassy and consular security are most needed and should, in my 
opinion, be increased.
  Mr. Speaker, in addition to the programs of national interest that I 
alluded to above, this bill contains a number of significant projects 
important to my south Florida district that I would like to highlight 
briefly. I am pleased this bill contains more than $1.4 million for the 
continued restoration of the south Florida ecosystem. Funding for these 
projects includes important work being done at the National Coral Reef 
Institute in Dania Beach, Florida; and I am thrilled that Congress 
continues its commitment to this facility through this bill.
  Protection of Florida's unique environment and the animals that 
inhabit it are aided by this bill. Specifically, this bill allocates 
$1.7 million for the Marine Mammal Commission for continuation of 
studies to further protect the endangered Florida manatee.
  Additionally, this bill continues funding for the Caribbean 
Initiative, which provides added resources to the FBI, DEA, and the INS 
for the region that includes Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and south 
Florida.
  I am pleased to see that the bill before us includes significant 
funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services, the COPS program, 
administered by the Department of Justice. Specifically, the committee 
report recommends that funds be directed to the largest school district 
in my State, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, for technology equipment 
for school policing activities.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, let me mention that later in this debate I will 
offer an amendment for funding to an important project in a very small 
city in my district that is in desperate need, Pahokee, Florida. 
Looking ahead, I thank the ranking member for working with me on my 
amendment and for the thoughtful consideration of it.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill; and the rule is fine, as far as it 
goes. Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Wolf) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano) for bringing an 
excellent bill to the House. This is a bipartisan bill that helps 
millions of Americans from coast to coast, and I urge passage of the 
bill and adoption of the rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Keller).
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time, and I rise in support of the rule and wish to talk specifically 
about one of the most impressive components of this piece of 
legislation we are going to be voting on in terms of the Justice 
appropriations.
  As a proud original cosponsor of the COPS program and the only member 
of the Subcommittee on Crime from Congress, I want to take this time to 
applaud the efforts of the chairman, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Wolf), in reinstating the funding for the COPS program at $1 billion, 
which is $158 million more than the President requested. This is a 
critically important program to our law enforcement community and to 
the safety of our citizens.
  In my community of central Florida, for example, we have added more 
than 500 police officers since 1994. We have added 110,000 police 
officers across the country. Over two-thirds of our police departments 
have benefited from this program. What happened? We saw a dramatic 
downturn in crime. Every year since 1994, the crime rate has gone down.
  Recently, I held a roundtable in my community and invited all of the 
sheriffs and all the chiefs of police. Some were elected; some were 
appointed. Some were Republican; some were Democrat. Some headed up 
large police departments; some headed up small. They all had one common 
goal. Their number one criminal justice priority was to fully fund the 
COPS program because they saw it made a meaningful difference in the 
lives of citizens in Orlando.
  I want to applaud the leaders in funding this program and let them 
know this will continue to make a meaningful difference in people's 
lives because of their leadership.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, 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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