[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 168 (Thursday, December 6, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H8951-H8953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND THE RULES

  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 305 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 305

       Resolved, That it shall be in order at any time on the 
     legislative day of Thursday, December 6, 2001, for the 
     Speaker to entertain motions that the House suspend the rules 
     relating to the following measures:
       (1) The bill (H.R. 3008) to reauthorize the trade 
     adjustment assistance program under the Trade Act of 1974.
       (2) The bill (H.R. 3129) to authorize appropriations for 
     fiscal years 2002 and 2003 for the United States Customs 
     Service for antiterrorism, drug interdiction, and other 
     operations, for the Office of the United States Trade 
     Representative, for the United States International Trade 
     Commission, and for other purposes.

  The SPEAKER. The gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick) is 
recognized for 1 hour.N O T I C E

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[[Page H8952]]

  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to 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 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 Thursday, December 6, 2001, for the Speaker to 
entertain motions that the House suspend the rules relating to the 
following measures:
  One, the bill, H.R. 3008, to reauthorize the Trade Adjustment 
Assistance Program under the Trade Act of 1974; and, two, the bill, 
H.R. 3129, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 
for the United States Customs Service for antiterrorism, drug 
interdiction, and other operations, for the Office of the United States 
Trade Representative, for the United States International Trade 
Commission, and for other purposes.
  Mr. Speaker, our textile workers are hurting and they are hurting 
bad. In the last year, 60,000 textile workers have lost their jobs, 
20,000 of them in North Carolina alone. The industry has done its best 
through technology to compete, but they have not had a level playing 
field.
  These folks are the best our country has to offer. They are working 
hard to make ends meet. When they get laid off, they do not come 
whining to the government, they say maybe we could have done something 
better or different, but then they go out and get two jobs to make ends 
meet.
  Mr. Speaker, someone has to stick up for these folks because the 
government does have something to do with these layoffs. Our textile 
workers are hurting because of low-cost foreign imports, and many of 
these imports are illegal. Asian countries avoid our quotas by shipping 
their goods through other countries. That is unacceptable, and it is 
time for it to stop. For years, our government has turned a blind eye 
to it.
  The Customs authorization bill that we will consider today will help 
fight these illegal textile transshipments. It provides the Customs 
Service with $9.5 million for transshipment enforcement operations. 
These funds must be used to hire 72 new employees who will be stationed 
both here at home and abroad to enforce our textile trade laws. It is 
high time for the government to start taking our textile industry 
seriously.
  This bill will not solve all of our problems, and it will not come 
anywhere close to solving our problems as we see them today, but at 
least we are getting somewhere and we are making some headway.
  Mr. Speaker, the other bill we are going to consider today is a 
renewal of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. This program gives 
job training and education benefits to workers who lose their jobs 
because of trade. To be honest about it, I have always had mixed 
feelings about TAA because my friends back home would rather have a job 
than a handout and being unemployed. We should be working first and 
foremost to save our American jobs.
  But quite frankly, that said, TAA is important to someone who has 
lost their job. And today's bill improves the program in two important 
ways. First, it extends job training benefits so they last the same 
number of weeks as unemployment benefits. What a novel idea. 104 weeks.
  Second, the bill forces the Department of Labor to decide TAA 
requests within 40 days instead of 60 days so that workers can get 
their benefits more quickly. Is that enough? No way. TAA is not a 
substitute for a job, but it should be expanded so that secondary 
workers get help. Secondary workers are the supplier, those folks down 
the road who do business with the mills, and that has been a big issue 
in my district, people who have not qualified for help.
  Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao has promised us that she will use 
emergency funds to provide TAA to secondary workers, and we should 
acknowledge her commitment; but we should put secondary worker coverage 
in the law so we do not have to rely on the whim of the next Secretary 
of Labor or the next one or the next one.
  Mr. Speaker, let us pass this rule so we can give help to our hurting 
textile community. We have a long way to go, but now we have folks 
listening and we are making some progress. This is all a start. Sure, a 
very small start, but it is a start.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. 
Myrick) for yielding me this time, and as the gentlewoman has 
explained, under rule VX of the House rules, bills may be considered on 
the House floor under suspension of the rules only on Mondays and 
Tuesdays. Therefore, this resolution is required in order to consider 
these bills on today's schedule.
  The gentlewoman has done an adequate job of explaining why, in the 
leadership's opinions, these bills must come to the floor today and in 
this manner.
  Mr. Speaker, I respectfully disagree and I will call on our 
colleagues to oppose adoption of this rule. There is no need to rush to 
judgment on these bills. I heard my colleague and I agree with her with 
reference to the matters in TAA dealing with the textile industry, but 
there are some of us that are concerned about provisions in 
agricultural measures in regards to people that have lost their jobs. 
Some of us are interested in the citrus industry in Florida and what we 
are likely to do here today, and would like to have more discussion 
regarding same.
  There is simply no good reason to handle these bills outside the 
normal parameters of the way the House should conduct its business. 
Moreover, when the House does operate this way, it effectively curtails 
our rights and responsibilities as serious legislators. Members should 
be very wary of allowing leadership to usurp our rights.
  There are Members of this body who have serious concerns with at 
least one of the bills we are considering today. I am certain that we 
will hear quite a bit in due time from the distinguished ranking member 
of the Committee on the Judiciary, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Conyers), on why this is not the appropriate way to handle serious 
legislation.
  As my colleagues know, handling bills under suspension denies Members 
the opportunity to amend the bill in any way. Moreover, in this case 
many Members from both the committee of original jurisdiction, the 
Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on the Judiciary, have 
serious concerns about the Customs bill.
  We have heard or will hear soon that this particular bill passed 
committee on a voice vote; therefore, leading Members to believe that 
it is noncontroversial. It is not. There are legitimate questions with 
the bill as written, and we are not able to effectively deal with these 
questions when we give up our rights and allow the bill to be 
considered under suspension.
  We are told that this is the only practical way of dealing with all 
of the House's business in a timely manner. Also not true. Like my 
colleagues, I was informed yesterday that the House is not scheduled to 
meet tomorrow or the following Monday. If we were serious about doing 
the work of our constituents, we would be here tomorrow, Monday, 
possibly Saturday and Sunday, and however long it takes in order that 
we might address the concerns as shared by our good friends and me for 
those persons that have been displaced by September 11, and are likely 
to be displaced by the actions that we undertake later today on the 
Trade Promotion Authority.
  Mr. Speaker, there is much work to be done and we ought simply not 
advocate our responsibility to do. As I mentioned at the outset and for 
the reasons just explained, I oppose adoption of this rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.

                              {time}  0915

  Mrs. MYRICK. 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 SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). The question is on the 
resolution.

[[Page H8953]]

  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.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 207, 
nays 179, not voting 47, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 476]

                               YEAS--207

     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Akin
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Bartlett
     Bereuter
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Boozman
     Brady (TX)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Coble
     Collins
     Combest
     Cooksey
     Cox
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Diaz-Balart
     Dicks
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     Eshoo
     Everett
     Ferguson
     Flake
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Grucci
     Gutknecht
     Hansen
     Harman
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Horn
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Israel
     Issa
     Istook
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Jones (NC)
     Keller
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     Kerns
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lowey
     Lucas (OK)
     Manzullo
     McCrery
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     Mica
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, Jeff
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Osborne
     Ose
     Otter
     Oxley
     Paul
     Pence
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pitts
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     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)
     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)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wolf

                               NAYS--179

     Abercrombie
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Barcia
     Barrett
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson (IN)
     Carson (OK)
     Clement
     Condit
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Crowley
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Edwards
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Ford
     Frank
     Frost
     Gephardt
     Green (TX)
     Hall (TX)
     Hastings (FL)
     Hill
     Hilliard
     Hinojosa
     Hoeffel
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     John
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     Kleczka
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     Lampson
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lofgren
     Lucas (KY)
     Luther
     Lynch
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, Dan
     Miller, George
     Mink
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Phelps
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Ross
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     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)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thurman
     Tierney
     Towns
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watson (CA)
     Watt (NC)
     Weiner
     Woolsey
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--47

     Barton
     Bass
     Boehner
     Boucher
     Brown (SC)
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clyburn
     Cramer
     Crane
     Cubin
     Cummings
     Delahunt
     Doolittle
     Ehrlich
     Engel
     English
     Fossella
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Herger
     Hilleary
     Hinchey
     Hostettler
     Johnson, Sam
     Kennedy (RI)
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Morella
     Pickering
     Platts
     Pombo
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Sabo
     Sanchez
     Souder
     Waxman
     Weldon (PA)
     Wexler
     Wu
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                              {time}  0945

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. FORD, Mrs. DAVIS of California and Messrs. 
DAVIS of Florida, WYNN, MARKEY and LIPINSKI changed their vote from 
``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mr. HEFLEY and Mr. JEFFERSON changed their vote from ``nay'' to 
``yea.''
  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 476 I was 
unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yea.''
  Stated against:
  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 476, had I been present, I 
would have voted ``nay.''

                          ____________________