[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 149 (Thursday, November 1, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H7622-H7630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The Chair would also remind
all Members that it is improper to characterize the action or inaction
of the Senate.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state it.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Is it inappropriate to characterize that the
Senate voted 100 to nothing on a specific measure?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would respond to the gentleman
that it is appropriate to state the collective facts of a Senate vote.
It is inappropriate to characterize an action or inaction of the
Senate.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. We could not even call it overwhelming.
Okay.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), my good friend.
Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to
the rule for H.R. 3150, because this bill does not address some of the
critical issues raised by millions across this country, port
authorities, aviation authority and rail authorities and emergency
preparedness personnel, some of them which are the first-line
responders.
{time} 1400
There were 20 amendments that were presented to the Committee on
Rules, in an attempt to try to fix a flawed bill that does not address
anything that has to do with constituents in my district. I have laid-
off workers, many of whom are single women, flight attendants. We have
not talked about real anti-hijacking training for flight attendants.
I offered a noncontroversial and relevant amendment to H.R. 3150. It
would require the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with
Federal departments and agencies, to conduct a threat assessment on all
forms of public transportation, public facilities, and gathering
places. No such provision is reflected in any of the language in this
bill.
I will say to all of my colleagues, vote no on this rule.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Mica).
Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, when all else fails, why do we not consult the
facts?
We have heard Members stand up and say that we would not contract out
security responsibilities. Mr. Speaker, I will submit that 26 Federal
agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Justice,
Department of State, Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, our nuclear plants, all contracted out 26
Federal agencies. The list goes on.
Mr. Speaker, this deals with facts. In fact, we do contract this out.
We are not asking for any different level.
Mr. Speaker, I ask Members to please not come before the Congress and
the American people and tell them that we are protecting those private
screening companies that are now doing their job. We take this
responsibility away from the airlines, we make it a Federal
responsibility. It is federally managed, it is federally supervised.
There are Federal background checks. There is Federal testing. Most
importantly, there is Federal oversight.
The Israelis, the Europeans, tried the federalize-all-public-
employees method, and what did they do? They eventually evolved into a
public-private partnership where the government sets the high
standards, and that is what we have proposed.
Mr. Speaker, let us deal with the facts. The facts are, this piece of
legislation proposed and hastily passed by the Senate creates a two-
tier disastrous system, part in the Department of Justice, part in the
Department of Transportation. It creates two tiers of law enforcement
and leaves law enforcement in the Department of Transportation. It is a
disaster.
Mr. Speaker, if we want to pass something in a hurry, yes, we can run
up here and tell people we have created 31,000 Federal positions. Yet,
they do not have any authority to deal with the problem.
Mr. Speaker, what is even more amazing, Mr. Speaker, I ask Members to
read again today's Washington Post. See what is being proposed in the
Senate. They are already trying to correct the mess that they passed
here.
If we look at one of the provisions of this legislation, and again, I
defy the Members, read the bill, they set up an information-sharing for
the intelligence system, but they do not share it with the airlines.
Who has the passengers list? The airlines. There is no provision in
their bill for that.
There is no provision to require all airlines who have passenger
lists, for international flights coming into the United States to
provide that. That is in our bill. So their bill is a weak, hastily-
prepared piece of legislation that would cause untold turmoil and not
do the job.
The American people want us to do it right, even if it takes a little
longer. We passed legislation in 1996 on airline security and blew it.
We passed legislation in 2000, and we still do not have rules in place.
There were no rules in place for box cutters.
The biggest flaw, and do not talk about Federal employment, the
biggest flaw with the bill proposed by the Senate and the other side is
that it has no ability to execute on an immediate basis putting in
place rules and regulations. There were no rules September
[[Page H7623]]
11 by Federal employees or Federal agencies to prohibit box cutters.
There were no rules to get standards in place for baggage screeners.
For 6 years we have been waiting, and this bill will do nothing after
this if they pass that bill. It is a shame. It is a sham. Read the
bill.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his inquiry.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, is it not characterizing the
Senate's actions to call it a sham, a mess, hastily made, disastrous,
and weak?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would respond that it is
inappropriate to characterize the actions of the Senate. It may be
possible to characterize particular pieces of legislation or bills in
ways in which it is inappropriate to characterize the action.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. If the gentleman will suspend, it is
appropriate during debate for Members to characterize the content of
legislation or address the content. It is inappropriate to characterize
the actions of the other body.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. So continuing my parliamentary inquiry,
``hastily'' is not an action? I just want equal admonitions, Mr.
Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. If the gentleman will suspend, the Chair is
simply trying to uphold the rules and precedents of the House.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I appreciate it.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. It becomes a delicate matter with some of
the words that are being used.
The Chair would recommend that if any Member has any question about
language they intend to offer, if they would check with the
Parliamentarian, it would certainly be appreciated.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time
as he may consume to my friend, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr.
Visclosky).
(Mr. VISCLOSKY asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's yielding
time to me.
I rise in support of the Democrat substitute to H.R. 3150.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Democratic substitute to
H.R. 3150, the Secure Transportation for American Act. This substitute
measure would federalize all airport security-screening personnel and
restore the feeling of personal security the airline industry lost in
the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. This is a serious
safety issue, one that directly concerns the life and death of innocent
Americans, and as such, the solution to this problem should not be
politicized.
It has become abundantly clear in recent weeks that the current
system of security checks performed by private firms in our nation's
airports do not work, and simply giving the Federal Government
oversight over this flawed system will not satisfy the safety standards
we, as Americans, should require in air travel. Since September 11th,
the news media has presented countless accounts of security breaches at
airports by both employees and customers. On a flight from New Orleans
to Phoenix a passenger alerted the flight crew to a loaded weapon he
had unknowingly brought onboard the airplane, a weapon which was not
detected by airport security prior to his boarding the flight. We have
also seen evidence of criminals and non-U.S citizens employed by these
private firms, overseeing the passenger and luggage screening on both
our domestic and international flights. We need to look no further than
right here at Dulles International Airport where Argenbright Security
Inc., a foreign corporation, recently agreed to settle Justice
Department allegations that the company violated a court order by,
among other things, continuing to hire screeners with criminal records.
Argenbright got a second chance. Airline passengers will not. As the
old adage goes, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
Statistics have shown that the national turnover rule for airport
screeners is around 120 percent annually. This should not come as a
surprise to anyone, as a majority of the screeners receive little
training and are often paid less than most the food services employees
located within the same airport. With federal law enforcement personnel
manning the security operations, we would develop a highly professional
security operation, with the proper compensation and benefit programs
to attract the right people. This solution would greatly improve the
safety of not only airline passengers, but as the events of September
11th have shown, all Americans.
For the first time in our nation's aviation history, parents are
struggling with the question of not only whether it is safe for them to
fly, but specifically whether it is safe to bring their children along
on a commercial airliner. As the father of two young sons, I can
sympathize with this difficult dilemma. I want to be able to return to
my district and assure all mothers and fathers that I am committed to
doing what is necessary so they can safely take their children on
family vacations or visits to their grandparents, without the lingering
safety doubts we now face.
Airplanes are the primary mode for long distance transportation in
this country, and will be for the foreseeable future. It is our duty as
federal legislators to restore the confidence of the American people in
the safety of air travel. That is why I urge my colleagues to support
the Democratic substitute and ensure the safety of the airline
industry.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I heard the parliamentary inquiry from the gentleman
from Florida. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) was discussing the
contents of the bill. I believe under the rules of the House the
gentleman has the freedom to express what he felt was in the
legislation.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute
to my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from Oregon (Mr.
DeFazio).
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman who preceded me in the well
talked about a sham. Let us talk about a sham. They are renaming this
bill as the Airport Security Federalization Act. They are going to take
the private security employees, the same ones who are failing us today,
some of them are even convicted felons, some are illegal aliens, but
they are going to put Federal uniforms on them. They are even going to
deputize them. But guess what, they are not going to be Federal law
enforcement.
They are trying to fool the American public. It is too bad that the
United States Congress does not have a rule of the House that requires
truth in labeling. The private security firms are failing, and in
Europe the large Securicor is a dismal failure at Heathrow. They just
had a huge security lapse. They own Argenbright in the United States,
who is under criminal indictment for the second time in 1 year for
hiring and maintaining known felons on staff, falsifying documents, all
under the supervision of probation, and somehow they tell us they are
going to supervise these firms better.
No, the people at the door of the House of Representatives are sworn,
uniformed Federal law enforcement officers. If that is necessary for
us, it is necessary for the traveling public.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Connecticut (Mr. Shays).
Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to
me.
Mr. Speaker, we are at war. We are at war with terrorists that
annihilated 6,000 Americans. We have a responsibility to work together
to solve this problem.
For me it is not an issue of whether they are Federal employees or
non-Federal employees. Under the bill being presented on this side of
the aisle, they can be either. We can have Federal employees in some
instances, and non-Federal employees in others.
The argument that suggests we are going to hire the same people that
failed in the past is simply not true. The new employees will have to
meet requirements that some of the people who now do this work cannot
meet.
Mr. Speaker, I weep for what we have gone through in the last few
weeks, but this is not about Federal employees. It is about airport
security.
What I particularly like about the Young-Mica bill is that for the
first time, we are going to require that the baggage that goes in the
belly of an aircraft be inspected by a date certain. By the year 2003,
all baggage in the belly of a plane will be inspected for explosives
and weapons. That is an issue of safety that is not covered in the bill
that is being presented by the Senate.
When I hear that all Senators voted for it, in the end they all voted
for the bill they had. I have some sense that if our bill passes, there
will be some on the other side who will support it. It
[[Page H7624]]
may not have been their first choice, but they are not going to vote
against it because in the end it is about airport security.
I hope we are able to have a sensible debate that treats both sides
fairly and does not make these wild claims.
In terms of Federal employees, terrorists would not have gotten into
this country unless somebody allowed them to get here. They happened to
have been Federal employees. They just were not Federal employees who
were doing their job well enough.
We want professionals, whether they are Federal employees or not.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1
minute to my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois, (Mr. Lipinski),
a gentleman that has a great deal of knowledge about the subject we are
discussing.
Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for
yielding time to me.
First of all, I would like to thank the Committee on Rules and the
Speaker for giving us an opportunity to actually have an up-or-down
vote on this particular issue we are all debating at the present time,
the Federal screening of individuals.
I also would like to compliment the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman
Young) and the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Mica) for the great
deal of work they have put into this bill. They have done an
outstanding job. It would have been nice if we could have come to an
agreement, but unfortunately, we could not have done so.
I also want to thank the ranking member, the gentleman from Minnesota
(Mr. Oberstar), and my very good friend, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr.
DeFazio), for all the great work they have done on this bill.
I would simply like to make mention at the present time, the
gentleman from Florida (Chairman Mica) has talked about the failure of
the FAA and the Department of Transportation to put rules in place over
the course of the last 5 to 10 years.
I certainly agree with him on that. That is why I am happy to see
that a portion of this legislation is going to be in the Justice
Department so we will have other individuals working on this, and I am
quite sure that those individuals and the new Deputy Secretary for
Security in the Department of Transportation will be able to put
everything in place as quickly as possible.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute
to my good friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the
ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my brother and friend on the
Committee on Rules for yielding time to me.
Mr. Speaker, the manager's amendment should be opposed and we should
support the Democratic substitute, because the limits on legal
liability here are a little bit amazing. Legislation designed to
enhance airport security would end up harming victims and rewarding the
very firms whose negligence has contributed to the September 11
terrorist attacks.
Mr. Speaker, the amendment does this by providing liability relief to
any person liable for any damages arising out of the September 11
hijacking. What does that mean? The baggage screening firms would be
protected from liability if they hired incompetent employees or
deliberately failed to check for weapons. Where is the justice in that?
I urge Members to consider liability provisions that go far beyond
the protections included in the airline bailout bill we passed.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1\1/
2\ minutes to my good friend, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-
Lee), representing Houston and other areas of the world.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished
gentleman from Florida for yielding time to me and for his great work.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and
the Rules Committee should be thanked for allowing the Senate bill
which federalizes airline security to be worked on.
I also thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for his
work, and the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), and all of the ranking
members of that committee.
Mr. Speaker, on Monday this past week a high alert was issued to the
United States of America. It is well known that we are in a crisis. On
September 11, the airline security system of our Nation failed the
thousands that died. Those who worked there really did not fail, it was
the contract system that did not train them and did not pay them.
That is why today, Mr. Speaker, I rise for a singular reason: to
support the Oberstar substitute to the underlying aviation security
bill. The substitute bill is the exact same bill that the bipartisan
Senate voted on 100 to 1.
That bill, if we pass it today, at 8:05 can be on the President's
desk and he can sign it, more than 1\1/2\ months after the day of the
terrorist attack against America. We must say to the American people
that the Federal Government will provide for their security on our
airliners.
It makes a difference to have every checked bag screened, to have
airfield security, and to include the provision for Federal air
marshals on our airplanes.
However, Mr. Speaker, we need also to insure that this legislation
allows for the opportunity for those existing contract screening
employees to apply for these new federal jobs. Many of these employees
desire to offer their services to the new system and they should be
allowed to do so.
{time} 1415
I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) because this is an
important issue. We will for the first time in the United States of
America be checking every bag that goes on the airplane, checking all
checked bags. We will have Federal air marshals. We will have a
reinforced cockpit. But what will be most important is the flight crew
will have air hijacking training; give those frontline people, the
flight attendants, the pilots, who we hope will not have to come out of
the cockpit, that kind of safety training.
This is an important piece of legislation. If Members only knew the
Calderon family and the children, ages 4 years and 20 months old, that
lost their mother in the World Trade crash, they would know that we
have to pass this bill. I ask my colleagues to support this
legislation. I am disappointed that we have yet to provide for the laid
off workers impacted by Sept. 11, therefore I will vote to defeat the
previous question.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the very
thoughtful gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps), who has
distinguished herself in this body.
Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding me time. I
rise in strong support of the Oberstar substitute to make our skies
safe.
September 11 demonstrated that aviation security must be part of the
frontline of our national defense. As such, it must be the
responsibility of Federal Government. This means putting professional
law enforcement agents in charge of securing our airports and our
airplanes. This is essential to protect American citizens.
Mr. Speaker, those of us who fly across the country back and forth
each week have come to know the flight attendants, the pilots and the
gate attendants very well. They are passionate as they tell us that
today's system simply does not work. The present system has not worked
in the past as we have seen, and it will not work in the future.
The Oberstar substitute makes substantive and fundamental changes in
our airport security. It will give the public confidence to fly again.
We need professional law enforcement in charge, and this includes a
process by which every piece of baggage can be screened. I urge my
colleagues to support the Oberstar substitute.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Coble).
Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding me time. I had
not planned to discuss this bill, but I felt obliged to come over here
and join the fray.
This airline security proposal is a much-needed piece of legislation.
The
[[Page H7625]]
Young-Mica bill federalizes the process and the process should indeed
be federalized. But should we bring 25,000 to 28,000 additional Federal
employees on the payroll to be subsidized by taxpayers where the
Government will be virtually inflexible as far as getting them on
board, getting them on-line? Lord only knows how long that would take.
And once they are on-line, in the event of abuse of employment, to
terminate them would be virtually impossible.
I do not suggest, Mr. Speaker, that we need to emulate other
countries, but I do think we can learn from other countries. The United
Kingdom, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, perhaps others tried
federalizing screeners and baggage employees initially, and I am told
that each of those four scrapped the plans and perhaps other countries
have done so as well.
I think to federalize the process is a course that we need to pursue
to give the Federal Government to give the Congress, in fact, this body
and the other body, much oversight to see that it is done properly, but
not to have these additional thousands of employees on the Federal
payroll to do a job that I think can better be done, provided the
standards are properly enhanced; and I am confident they will be.
Provided that is addressed, the way to do it is as laid out in Young-
Mica, Mr. Speaker.
I urge my colleagues to support the Young-Mica bill.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson), my very good friend.
Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), who is certainly a superhero on
behalf of the citizens of this country and across this Nation.
Mr. Speaker, when Thomas Edison was attempting to invent the light
bulb, history suggested he tried thousands and thousands of ways, maybe
8,000, maybe 10,000. Nobody said that Thomas Edison failed to invent
the light bulb. They said he simply discovered 10,000 ways that it
would not work. So I am here because I know I have to be very careful
about the words that I use about the manager's amendment, so I cannot
call it shameless or callous or indifferent or dispassionate because
that may intrude upon House rules.
So let me simply say that it will not work. I am here to represent
people that are out of work and who need to work. I am here to
represent people who ride the airplanes on a daily basis and are
waiting for Congress to provide some common sense to protect those
riders who have to fly across America, from sea to shining sea as we
would wave our flag. I support the Oberstar substitute amendment
because it will work.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Dreier), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on
Rules.
(Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I know that the debate has already begun on this issue,
and I would like to take just a couple of moments to say what this bill
is not.
I have been following the media coverage and many people say that
this measure, the package that the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) is
going to be managing here, will block the federalization of those who
are screeners at airports. It does not do that at all.
Basically, what we are saying is rather than having the United States
Congress micromanage the process of determining what the very best
system is to ensure the safety and security of travelers is to allow
some kind of flexibility.
We know that under this bill there would be a new Secretary who would
handle this, but frankly the Secretary of Transportation is the former
chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in this
place, one of the predecessors to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr.
Young). He was a Democratic Member of this House. He is still a
Democrat as far as I know, and he is our former colleague, Norm Mineta;
and he is the Secretary of Transportation.
What we want to do, Mr. Speaker, is to ensure that they have the
flexibility, the tools so that they can go forward and decide how to
best implement a system that will ensure the safety of our travelers
here in the United States. So I think that that needs to be understood
as we proceed with this debate.
The rule is very fair. It does provide, in fact, an opportunity for
not only a manager's amendment, which the gentleman from Alaska (Mr.
Young) will be offering, addressing a wide range of concerns, and we
worked very carefully to make modifications in his manager's amendment
so we could address some of the concerns of Members who came forward
over the last few days; and at the same time we do provide the
Democratic substitute, which the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr.
Oberstar) will be offering.
I think that at the end of the day we clearly should pass this rule,
and I think there should be strong bipartisan support for that; but
understand that we are not preempting any kind of decision that this
administration might make. It is just that we entrust with them the
power and the authority to make what we believe will be an appropriate
decision to ensure the safety of all travelers.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
distinguished gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), my good friend.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from
Florida's (Mr. Hastings) courtesy in allowing me to speak on this rule
and this issue.
I take rare exception with my friend from California who just spoke.
The notion somehow that we are going to establish a system that is
going to deal with the problems of an already failed, decentralized,
privatized system for hundreds of airports is not micromanagement.
Being able to step forward with a Federal program similar to what we
had with the Customs Service, what we have benefiting people here in
the Capitol, as my good friend from Florida has pointed out, is not
micromanagement.
What we are doing is acknowledging that the American public deserves
our best. The Senate has already ratified by a hundred votes a program
that steps up. We are not Europe where we have one or two airports in a
small country. We have more airports in a small portion of the United
States than they have in the entire European Union.
The only way we are going to get the training, the professionalism
and the uniform protection around the country is to vote for the
Oberstar proposal. I strongly urge my colleagues to do so.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
South Dakota (Mr. Thune).
Mr. THUNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time, and I commend him on fashioning a rule that I think is fair and
allows for a spirited debate on this subject.
I would simply say to my colleagues in the House that the bottom line
here is how do we make air travel as safe and secure as we possibly
can. It is not about whether it is Federal employees or it is not
Federal employees. The President of the United States, President Bush,
has asked for the House proposal and the House approach which gives him
the discretion and the latitude to say whether or not we ought to have
Federal employees; and perhaps in some cases, particularly at the
bigger airports, that will make sense.
The problem with the Senate bill is it treats airports across this
country differently. There are the bigger airports that will have one
level of safety and security; and the smaller ones, like many that I
represent in South Dakota, will have an entirely different set of
safety and security standards.
Secondly, it charges people who fly from remote locations, airports
like those that I represent, a higher fee. That is inherently unfair.
We need a system that provides safety and security and treats air
travelers the same, irrespective of where they originate. That is what
we ought to get. That is what this bill does, and I hope that we can
adopt it today.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my
distinguished colleague from New York how many more speakers he has.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I have just a couple of speakers; and once
the
[[Page H7626]]
gentleman yields back his time, I will close out with a summary.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). I would say to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) that both sides have 3 minutes
remaining.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the distinguished ranking
member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the
time, the very distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), who
has so ably led the debate on our side on this rule; and I do
appreciate that the rule makes in order the Oberstar-Ganske substitute
without playing any parliamentary games with it.
In a moment, the manager on the Republican side for the rule will be
offering an amendment to substitute a new manager's amendment for the
manager's amendment made in order last night, and I call this the
weight-and-balance amendment. It is an aviation term used on board
small commuter aircraft when they need to shift people and baggage
around to make sure the plane does not tilt one way or another or
crash. They have so much ballast on board this bill that it is about to
sink.
So now they are coming in adding parking lots for financial aid with
other airport restaurants, shops, concessionaries. They are taking out
something which is very embarrassing, preferred, in the gentleman's
language, I think it means deferred, compensation for airline
employees. That is the well-known Delta amendment, Delta Airlines, and
then adds language for hiring airline workers to screeners, and where
possible, security companies should be American companies.
That is really going to be a fun thing to do. They are going to do an
awful lot of negotiating and renegotiating of contracts. They are going
to have a fun time with that; but then my good friend, the chairman of
the Subcommittee on Aviation, characterized the Senate bill as sloppily
drawn, hastily drawn, but there is a lot of haste in the provisions
here in this new manager's amendment that are internally contradictory.
I just think that it is ditch a little here, add a little there and
again it is hastily drawn.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire of my
distinguished colleague, we have one speaker remaining, and if the
gentleman would utilize at least one of his speakers.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished
colleague, and I yield myself the remaining time.
I have heard an alarming amount of discussion on this floor of the
House today, suggesting that there may be something wrong with
federalizing employees who have the responsibility to check luggage and
screen passengers.
{time} 1430
I have been a Federal employee three times in my life, and each of
those three times I felt a whole whale of a lot more secure than I did
when I was a minimum-wage worker stripping celery. What federalization
does is provide worker security, it provides better wages, it provides
better health care, the same kind of health care that we have, and it
enhances morale.
All of us go through those checkpoints at airports and all of us are
confronted with the same persons that had the responsibility on
September 11 who, in many instances, are poorly trained, poorly paid,
and their morale is at its lowest ebb on a continuing basis. At the
very least we need to ensure that they are trained.
I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question so we can take up the
Airline Industry Worker Benefits bill immediately after passage of the
Insecure Airline Security bill.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, do I understand the Democrat minority time
has expired?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The gentleman is correct.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Mica).
Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, let me just again try to set the record
straight. We heard speakers say that these screeners, and they continue
to pick on sort of the lowest end of the feeding chain here, the lowest
paid, were at fault on September 11.
My fellow colleagues, our intelligence system and Federal employees
involved in intelligence failed. We did not know who the hijackers
were. Our Federal employees who issued visas failed, because most of
the hijackers came into this country with visas issued by Federal
Government employees. Our FAA failed because we had no rules in place
for box cutters.
We have no provision for expedited rulemaking in the Senate bill, and
that is the biggest flaw. It takes, on average, 3.8 years to pass a
rule through the Department of Transportation. Look at the bill. They
leave technology with the Department of Transportation; 3.8 years to
get in place technology that will do the job. It will not work.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
The comprehensive legislation before us today focuses on our Nation's
security system. The security plan establishes a new transportation
security administration within the Department of Transportation that
will be responsible for security of all forms of transportation, not
just air travel.
As the holiday season fast approaches, it is more important than ever
that Americans are free to spend time with their families and loved
ones. It is incumbent upon us to do everything in our power to make
sure their travel by any means, but especially by air, is as safe and
secure as possible. By passing this rule and its underlying
legislation, we can quickly move forward with the important business of
making our airports safe and secure for the American people.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Reynolds
Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment Offered by Mr. Reynolds:
At the end of the resolution add the following:
Sec. 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
resolution, the amendment specified in section 3 of this
resolution shall be in order in lieu of the amendment printed
in House Report 107-264 and numbered 1.
Sec. 3. The amendment referred to in section 2 is as
follows:
Amendment to H.R. 3150
Offered by Mr. Young of Alaska
Page 1, line 6, strike ``Secure Transportation for America
Act of 2001'' and insert ``Airport Security Federalization
Act of 2001''.
In the table of contents after line 8, strike the item
relating to section 15 and insert the following:
Sec. 15. Technical corrections.
Page 2, before line 9, insert the following:
TITLE I--AVIATION SECURITY
Redesignate sections 2 through 22 of the bill as sections
101 through 121, respectively.
Conform the table of contents of the bill, accordingly.
Page 13, line 17, strike ``(1) in subsection (a) by
striking'' and inserting the following:
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``a cabin of''; and
(B) by striking
Page 14, line 2, strike ``The responsibility'' and insert
the following:
``(1) In general.--The responsibility
Page 14, after line 8, insert the following:
``(2) Additional screening authority.--The Under Secretary
may perform any such additional screening of passengers and
property on passenger aircraft in air transportation that
originates in the United States or intrastate air
transportation that the Under Secretary deems necessary to
enhance aviation security.
Page 14, line 20, strike the closing quotation marks and
the final period and insert the following:
``(g) Deputization of Airport Screening Personnel.--The
Under Secretary shall deputize, for enforcement of such
Federal laws as the Under Secretary determines appropriate,
all airport screening personnel as Federal transportation
security agents and shall ensure that such agents operate
under common standards and common uniform, insignia, and
badges. The authority to arrest an individual may be
exercised only by supervisory personnel who are sworn, full-
time law enforcement officers.''.
Page 15, after line 24, insert the following:
``(7) a requirement that any private security firm retained
to provide airport security services be owned and controlled
by a citizen of the United States, to the extent that the
President determines that there are firms owned and
controlled by such citizens;
Page 16, line 1, strike ``(7)'' and insert ``(8)''.
Page 16, line 2, strike ``and''.
[[Page H7627]]
Page 16, line 3, strike ``(8)'' and insert ``(9)''.
Page 16, line 7, strike both periods and the closing
quotation marks and insert ``; and'' and the following:
``(10) a preference for the hiring of any individual who is
a former employee of an air carrier and whose employment with
the air carrier was terminated as a result of a reduction in
the workforce of the air carrier.''.
Page 16, lines 11 and 12, strike ``Secure Transportation
for America Act of 2001'' and insert ``Airport Security
Federalization Act of 2001''.
Page 16, line 20, strike ``pursuant'' and insert ``pursuant
to''.
Page 19, line 22, strike ``and''.
Page 20, line 2, strike the period and insert ``; and'' and
the following:
(J) the ability to demonstrate daily a fitness for duty
without any impairment due to illegal drugs, sleep
deprivation, medication, or alcohol.
Page 21, line 14, strike ``and''.
Page 21, line 20, strike the period and insert a semicolon
and the following:
``(5) require air carriers to provide, on a space-available
basis, to an off-duty Federal air marshal a seat on a flight
to the airport nearest the marshal's home at no cost to the
marshal or the United States Government if the marshal is
traveling to that airport after completing his or her
security duties; and
``(6) provide, in choosing among applicants for a position
as a Federal air marshal, a preference for the hiring of a
pilot of an air carrier whose employment with the air carrier
was terminated as a result of a reduction in the workforce of
the air carrier if the pilot is otherwise qualified for the
position.
Page 22, line 3, after ``consultation with'' insert ``and
concurrence of''.
Page 22, before line 10, insert the following:
(c) Basic Pay Defined.--Section 8331(3)(E) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(E) availability pay--
``(i) received by a criminal investigator under section
5545a of this title; or
``(ii) received after September 11, 2001, by a Federal air
marshal of the Department of Transportation;''.
Page 24, line 1, strike ``Provide'' and insert ``Establish
performance goals for individuals described in paragraph (6),
provide''.
Page 24, lines 2 and 3, strike ``individuals described in
paragraph (6)'' and insert ``such individuals,''.
Page 26, after line 2, insert the following:
``(16) Establish a uniform system of identification for all
State and local law enforcement personnel for use in
obtaining permission to carry weapons in aircraft cabins and
in obtaining access to a secured area of an airport.
``(17) Establish requirements under which air carriers,
under the supervision of the Under Secretary, could implement
trusted passenger programs and use available technologies to
expedite the security screening of passengers who participate
in such programs, thereby allowing security screening
personnel to focus on those passengers who should be subject
to more extensive screening.
``(18) In consultation with the Commissioner of Food and
Drugs, develop security procedures under which a medical
product to be transported on a flight of an air carrier would
not be subject to manual or x-ray inspection if conducting
such an inspection would irreversibly damage the product.
``(19) Develop security procedures to allow passengers
transporting a musical instrument on a flight of an air
carrier to transport the instrument in the passenger cabin of
the aircraft, notwithstanding any size or other restriction
on carry-on baggage but subject to such other reasonable
terms and conditions as may be established by the Under
Secretary or the air carrier, including imposing additional
charges by the air carrier.
``(20) Provide for the use of wireless and wire line data
technologies enabling the private and secure communication of
threats to aid in the screening of passengers and other
individuals on airport property who are identified on any
State or Federal security-related data base for the purpose
of having an integrated response coordination of various
authorized airport security forces.
Page 26, strike line 19 and all that follows through line 7
on page 27 and insert the following:
``(d) Property Security Program.--
``(1) Checked baggage.--
``(A) Final deadline for screening.--A system must be in
operation to screen all checked baggage at all airports in
the United States no later than December 31, 2003.
``(B) Use of explosive detection equipment.--The Under
Secretary shall ensure that explosive detection equipment
installed at airports to screen checked baggage is used to
the maximum extent possible.
``(C) Installation of additional explosive detection
equipment.--The Under Secretary shall install additional
explosive detection equipment at airports as soon as possible
to ensure that all checked baggage is screened before being
placed in an aircraft.
``(D) Interim bag-match programs.--Until the Under
Secretary has installed enough explosive detection equipment
at airports to ensure that all checked baggage is screened,
the Under Secretary shall require air carriers to implement
bag-match programs that ensure that no checked baggage is
placed in an aircraft unless the passenger who checks the
baggage is aboard the aircraft.
``(2) Cargo deadline.--A system must be in operation to
screen all cargo that is to be transported in passenger
aircraft in air transportation and intrastate air
transportation as soon as possible after the date of
enactment of this paragraph.
Page 29, line 10, strike ``and'' and insert the following:
(2) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) the following:
``(G) Background checks of current employees.--A background
check (including a criminal history record check and a review
of available law enforcement data bases and records of other
governmental and international agencies) shall be required
for any individual who currently has unescorted access to an
aircraft of an air carrier or foreign air carrier, unescorted
access to a secured area of an airport in the United States
that serves an air carrier or foreign air carrier, or is
responsible for screening passengers or property, or both,
unless that individual was subject to such a background check
before the individual began his or her current employment or
is exempted from such a check under section 107.31(m) of
title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.''; and
Page 29, line 11, strike ``(2)'' and insert ``(3)''.
Page 34, strike line 23 and all that follows through line 4
on page 35 and insert the following:
``(c) Airport Security.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 a total of
$1,500,000,000 to reimburse airport operators for direct
costs incurred by such operators to comply with new,
additional, or revised security requirements imposed on such
operators by the Federal Aviation Administration or
Transportation Security Administration on or after September
11, 2001. Such sums shall remain available until expended.
``(2) Conditions.--Before providing financial assistance to
an airport operator with funds appropriated pursuant to
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall require the operator to
provide assurances that the operator will--
``(A) meet with the tenants of the airport (other than air
carriers and foreign air carriers) to discuss adjustments of
the rent of the tenants to account for losses in revenue
incurred by the tenants on and after September 11, 2001; and
``(B) provide to the Secretary an itemized list of costs
incurred by the operator to comply with the security
requirements described in paragraph (1), including costs
relating to landing fees, automobile parking revenues, rental
cars, restaurants, and gift shops.''.
Page 36, line 9, strike ``subsection (b)'' and insert
``paragraph (2)''.
Page 39, lines 16 and 17, strike ``Secure Transportation
for America Act of 2001'' and insert ``Airport Security
Federalization Act of 2001''.
Page 43, line 22, after ``sponsor'' insert ``or at a
privately owned or operated airport passenger terminal
financed by indebtedness incurred by the sponsor''.
Page 44, beginning on line 25, strike ``Secure
Transportation for America Act of 2001'' and insert ``Airport
Security Federalization Act of 2001''.
Page 45, after line 15, insert the following:
(d) Maximum Amount of Compensation Payable Per Air
Carrier.--Section 103 of such Act is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(d) Compensation for Air Carriers Providing Air Ambulance
Services.--
``(1) Set-aside.--The President may set aside a portion of
the amount of compensation payable to air carriers under
section 101(a)(2) to provide compensation to air carriers
providing air ambulance services. The President shall reduce
the $4,500,000,000 specified in subsection (b)(2)(A)(i) by
the amount set aside under this subsection.
``(2) Distribution of amounts.--The President shall
distribute the amount set aside under this subsection
proportionally among air carriers providing air ambulance
services based on an appropriate auditable measure, as
determined by the President.''.
At the end of the bill, add the following (and conform the
table of contents of the bill accordingly):
SEC. 122. REQUIREMENT TO HONOR PASSENGER TICKETS OF OTHER
CARRIERS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 41722. Requirement to honor passenger tickets of other
carriers
``Each air carrier that provides scheduled air
transportation on a route shall provide, to the extent
practicable, air transportation to passengers ticketed for
air transportation on that route by any other air carrier
that suspends, interrupts, or discontinues air passenger
service on the route by reason of an act of war or terrorism
or insolvency or bankruptcy of the carrier.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for such subchapter
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``41722. Requirement to honor passenger tickets of other carriers.''.
SEC. 123. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CERTAIN AVIATION MATTERS.
(a) Flight Service Station Employees.--It is the sense of
Congress that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration should continue negotiating in good faith with
flight service station employees of the Administration with a
goal of reaching agreement on a contract as soon as possible.
(b) War Risk Insurance.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Secretary of Transportation should implement section 202
of the
[[Page H7628]]
Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act
(Public Law 107-42) so as to make war risk insurance
available to vendors, agents, and subcontractors of general
aviation aircraft.
(c) Transport of Animals.--It is the sense of Congress that
an air carrier that transports mail under a contract with the
United States Postal Service should transport any animal that
the Postal Service allows to be shipped through the mail.
(d) Screening.--It is the sense of Congress that the Under
Secretary of Transportation for Security should require, as
soon as practicable, that all property carried in a passenger
aircraft in air transportation or intrastate air
transportation (including checked baggage) be screened by any
currently available means, including X-ray machine, hand-held
metal detector, explosive detection system equipment, or
manual search.
(e) Contracts for Airport Security Services.--It is the
sense of Congress that, in awarding a contract for airport
security services, the Under Secretary of Transportation for
Security should, to the maximum extent practicable, award the
contract to a firm that is owned and controlled by a citizen
of the United States.
TITLE II--VICTIMS COMPENSATION
SEC. 201. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF
CRASHES OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001.
Section 408 of the Air Transportation Safety and System
Stabilization Act (Public Law 107-42; 115 Stat. 240; 49
U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended--
(1) by amending the section heading to read as follows:
``SEC. 408. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES ARISING OUT
OF CRASHES OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001.'';
(2) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
``(a) General Limitation of Liability.--Except as provided
in this section, no Federal court or agency or State court or
agency shall enforce any Federal or State law holding any
person, or any State or political subdivision thereof, liable
for any damages arising out of the hijacking and subsequent
crashes of American Airlines flights 11 or 77, or United
Airlines flights 93 or 175, on September 11, 2001.'';
(3) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following
new paragraphs:
``(4) Damages.--If any party to any action brought under
this subsection is determined to be liable--
``(A) no damages in the aggregate ordered by the court to
be paid by such party shall exceed the amount of insurance,
minus any payments made pursuant to a court approved
settlement, which such party is determined to have obtained
prior to September 11, 2001, and which is determined to cover
such party's liability for any damages arising out of the
hijacking and subsequent crashes of American Airlines flights
11 or 77, or United Airlines flights 93 or 175, on September
11, 2001;
``(B) such party shall not be liable for interest prior to
the judgment or for punitive damages intended to punish or
deter; and
``(C) the court shall reduce the amount of damages awarded
to a plaintiff by the amount of collateral source
compensation that the plaintiff has received or is entitled
to receive as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft
crashes of September 11, 2001.
``(5) Attorneys' fees.--Reasonable attorneys' fees for work
performed in any action brought under this subsection shall
be subject to the discretion of the court, but in no event
shall any attorney charge, demand, receive, or collect for
services rendered, fees in excess of 20 percent of the
damages ordered by the court to be paid pursuant to this
subsection, or in excess of 20 percent of any court approved
settlement made of any claim cognizable under this
subsection. Any attorney who charges, demands, receives, or
collects for services rendered in connection with such claim
any amount in excess of that allowed under this subsection,
if recovery be had, shall be fined not more than $2,000 or
imprisoned not more than one year, or both.'';
(4) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
``(c) Exclusion.--Nothing in this section shall in any way
limit any liability of any person who--
``(1) hijacks any aircraft or commits any terrorist act; or
``(2) knowingly participates in a conspiracy to hijack any
aircraft or commit any terrorist act.''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(d) Disclaimer.--Nothing herein implies that any person
is liable for damages arising out of the hijacking and
subsequent crashes of American Airlines flights 11 or 77, or
United Airlines flights 93 or 175, on September 11, 2001.
``(e) State Defined.--In this section, the term `State'
means any State of the United States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern
Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, and any other territory of possession of the
United States or any political subdivision of any of the
foregoing.''.
Mr. REYNOLDS (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent the amendment be considered as read, printed in the Record, and
shall not be deemed as a precedent, although the Reading Clerk has done
an outstanding job thus far.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
Mr. COLLINS. Objection, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Objection is heard.
The Clerk will continue to read.
The Clerk continued reading the amendment.
{time} 1445
Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Reading Clerk for his outstanding job of
reading the amendment that I brought before the House. This simply
substitutes the manager's amendment made in order last night by the
Committee on Rules with a new manager's amendment that eliminates a
provision dealing with preferred compensation for airline employees,
and adds airport parking lots to a provision that requires airports
receiving financial aid to work with airport restaurants, shops and
other concessionaires on rent adjustments to account for their loss of
revenue.
The new manager's amendment also adds language that establishes a
preference for the hiring of laid-off airline workers as screeners, and
a provision that states where possible, airline security companies
should be American companies. I urge its adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the
previous question on both the amendment and the resolution.
The material previously referred to by Mr. Hastings of Florida is as
follows:
Previous Question for Rule on H.R. 3150, Secure Transportation for
America Act of 2001
At the end of the resolution add the following new
sections:
Sec. . Notwithstanding any other provision in this
resolution, immediately after disposition of H.R. 3150, the
Speaker shall declare the House resolved into the Committee
of the Whole House on the state of the Union for
consideration of the bill (H.R. 2955) to provide assistance
for employees who are separated from employment as a result
of reductions in service by air carriers, and closures of
airports, caused by terrorist actions or security measures.
The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All
points of order against considerations 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
Transportation and Infrastructure. After general debate the
bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute
rule. The bill 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.
Sec. . If the Committee of the Whole rises and reports
that it has come to no resolution on H.R. 3150 or H.R. 2955,
then on the next legislative day the House shall, immediately
after the third daily order of business under clause 1 of
rule XIV, resolve into the Committee of the Whole for further
consideration of that bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The question is on ordering
the previous question on the amendment and on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. 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 9 of rule XX, the Chair will reduce to 5 minutes
the minimum time for electronic voting on the question of agreeing to
the amendment and on the question of agreeing to the resolution.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 218,
nays 207, not voting 7, as follows:
[Roll No. 419]
YEAS--218
Aderholt
Akin
Armey
Bachus
Baker
Ballenger
Barr
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bereuter
Biggert
Bilirakis
Blunt
Boehlert
[[Page H7629]]
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Brady (TX)
Brown (SC)
Bryant
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Coble
Collins
Combest
Cooksey
Cox
Crane
Crenshaw
Cubin
Culberson
Cunningham
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart
Doolittle
Dreier
Duncan
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
English
Everett
Ferguson
Flake
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Goode
Goodlatte
Goss
Graham
Granger
Graves
Green (WI)
Grucci
Gutknecht
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Hart
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hilleary
Hobson
Hoekstra
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Isakson
Issa
Istook
Jenkins
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kerns
King (NY)
Kirk
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaHood
Largent
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas (OK)
Manzullo
McCrery
McHugh
McInnis
McKeon
Mica
Miller, Dan
Miller, Gary
Miller, Jeff
Moran (KS)
Morella
Myrick
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Oxley
Paul
Pence
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pombo
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Regula
Rehberg
Reynolds
Riley
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Roukema
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Saxton
Schaffer
Schrock
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skeen
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Souder
Stearns
Stump
Sununu
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tauzin
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thornberry
Thune
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Toomey
Traficant
Upton
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Watkins (OK)
Watts (OK)
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wolf
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NAYS--207
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Allen
Andrews
Baca
Baird
Baldacci
Baldwin
Barcia
Barrett
Becerra
Bentsen
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Bishop
Blagojevich
Blumenauer
Bonior
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Condit
Costello
Coyne
Cramer
Crowley
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutsch
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley
Doyle
Edwards
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Ford
Frank
Frost
Gephardt
Gonzalez
Gordon
Gutierrez
Hall (OH)
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Hill
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hoeffel
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Hoyer
Inslee
Israel
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
John
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy (RI)
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
Kingston
Kleczka
Kucinich
LaFalce
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Luther
Lynch
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Markey
Mascara
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McIntyre
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Millender-McDonald
Miller, George
Mink
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (VA)
Murtha
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Phelps
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Rahall
Reyes
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Ross
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Schakowsky
Schiff
Scott
Serrano
Sherman
Shows
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Spratt
Stark
Stenholm
Strickland
Stupak
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Thompson (CA)
Thurman
Tierney
Towns
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters
Watson (CA)
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Wexler
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
NOT VOTING--7
Conyers
Dunn
Green (TX)
Greenwood
Johnson (CT)
Rangel
Thompson (MS)
{time} 1519
Ms. McCOLLUM changed her vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The question is on the
amendment offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds).
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 379,
noes 50, not voting 3, as follows:
[Roll No. 420]
AYES--379
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Akin
Allen
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Biggert
Bilirakis
Blagojevich
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonior
Bono
Boswell
Boyd
Brady (TX)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Bryant
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson (OK)
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Clay
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Collins
Combest
Condit
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Crane
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Culberson
Cunningham
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart
Dicks
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Everett
Farr
Ferguson
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Frank
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Graves
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Grucci
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Harman
Hart
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Istook
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
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kleczka
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaFalce
LaHood
Langevin
Lantos
Largent
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Lynch
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Mascara
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McKeon
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller, Dan
Miller, Gary
Miller, Jeff
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Obey
Ortiz
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Oxley
Pallone
Pascrell
Payne
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
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)
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrock
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Snyder
Solis
Souder
Spratt
Stearns
Stenholm
Stump
Sununu
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Toomey
Traficant
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
[[Page H7630]]
Upton
Velazquez
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watkins (OK)
Watt (NC)
Watts (OK)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wolf
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOES--50
Andrews
Berry
Bishop
Blumenauer
Borski
Boucher
Brady (PA)
Carson (IN)
Conyers
Coyne
Cramer
Cummings
DeFazio
Deutsch
Dingell
Edwards
Evans
Fattah
Filner
Flake
Frost
Green (TX)
Hastings (FL)
Hinchey
Jackson (IL)
Kilpatrick
Lampson
Lee
McCollum
McIntyre
Miller, George
Mink
Oberstar
Olver
Owens
Pastor
Paul
Pelosi
Sabo
Sanchez
Scott
Smith (WA)
Stark
Strickland
Stupak
Tauscher
Towns
Visclosky
Watson (CA)
Woolsey
NOT VOTING--3
Dunn
Gephardt
Thompson (MS)
{time} 1530
Messrs. FKAKE, DEUTSCH, BISHOP, and CUMMINGS changed their vote from
``aye'' to ``no.''
Messrs. MORAN of Virginia, CLEMENT, RUSH, Mrs. CLAYTON, Messrs.
ABERCROMBIE, HONDA, DICKS, and Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY,
Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri, and Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD changed their vote
from ``no'' to ``aye.''
So the amendment was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The question is on the
resolution.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________