[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 127 (Wednesday, October 2, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6959-H6961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE--SENSE OF HOUSE THAT CONGRESS SHOULD COMPLETE 
   ACTION ON FISCAL YEAR 2003 LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND 
 EDUCATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS, AND SHOULD ADEQUATELY 
                 FUND THE ``LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND ACT''

  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the 
House, and I offer a privileged resolution, that I noticed on Monday, 
and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The Clerk will report the 
resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Whereas, Article I, Section IX, of the Constitution states 
     that no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in 
     consequence of Appropriations made by law.
       Whereas it is the fiscal duty of the Congress to 
     appropriate annually, by October 1st of each year, the funds 
     needed to support the execution of programs and operations of 
     the Federal government.
       Whereas the House to date has only considered five 
     Appropriations bills, and has failed to consider the Fiscal 
     Year 2003 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, 
     and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which 
     would provide funding for critical areas of national policy 
     including pre-school, elementary and secondary education, 
     special education, higher education and student loans.
       Whereas as President, George W. Bush supported and signed 
     into law Public Law 107-110, the ``Leave No Child Behind 
     Act,'' which imposes substantial accountability and 
     performance mandates on elementary and secondary schools in 
     every state and congressional district in the United states.
       Whereas the ``Leave No Child Behind Act'' included the 
     authorization of significant additional resources to assist 
     the states and local education agencies to provide the 
     mandated improved educational services to America's 
     schoolchildren.
       Whereas within weeks of signing the ``Leave No Child 
     Behind'' Act, the President submitted the FY 2003 budget 
     provides an increase in education funding of 0.5 percent (one 
     half of one percent) compared with an average increase of 12 
     percent in the six years prior to enactment of the new law.
       Whereas President Bush's FY 2003 education budget request 
     fails to provide the promised level of funding to states and 
     local

[[Page H6960]]

     education agencies which are required to implement 
     significant educational reforms.
       Whereas President Bush's FY 2003 budget would provide only 
     18 percent of the increase in compensatory education funding 
     promise by the ``Leave No Child Behind'' Act.
       Whereas about one third of the 53.6 million children now in 
     elementary and secondary schools in America are at serious 
     risk of educational failure without the resources promised in 
     the ``Leave No Child Behind'' Act.
       Whereas the funding level for improving teach quality in 
     President Bush's budget would not even keep pace with the 
     current level of funding, let alone help promote the expanded 
     teacher quality programs contained in the ``Leave No Child 
     Behind'' Act.
       Whereas the President's education budget also fails to 
     provide the level of federal assistance for the Individuals 
     with Disability Education Act that was promised to states 
     more than 27 years ago.
       Whereas by failing to appropriate the funds it has promised 
     to pay for the new accountability requirements for students, 
     teachers and schools, the Congress would bring discredit on 
     itself and undermine the ability of our schools to provide 
     the improved education services for which the House has 
     overwhelmingly voted. Now therefore be it,
       Resolved that it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that the Congress should complete action on 
     the Fiscal Year 2003 Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
     Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations before 
     recessing and should fund the ``Leave No Child Behind'' Act 
     at levels commensurate with levels promised by the act less 
     than a year ago.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will hear from the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) on whether the resolution constitutes a question 
of privileges of the House under rule IX.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, rule IX of the House rules states clearly that 
``questions of privilege shall be first those affecting the rights of 
the House collectively, its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its 
proceedings.''
  The refusal of the majority party leadership to allow the House to 
take up the Labor-Health appropriations bill and, thereby, to block 
increased education funding that is critical to the Nation's schools, 
and to hold hostage the remaining appropriation bills that the House 
has yet to consider obviously brings ridicule upon the House. The 
integrity and the dignity of the House are at stake. It is a clear 
reflection on the dignity of the House and on the integrity of its 
proceedings when the House has not completed its appropriations bills 
and then uses its rules to avoid responsibilities rather than to meet 
them.
  It also subjects the House to ridicule when the House spends a great 
amount of time passing resolutions lecturing the Senate to take actions 
on authorization bills which are far less crucial to the operations of 
the government than the House's failure to act on its core 
responsibility, which is to pass appropriation bills, including and 
especially the Labor, Health and Education appropriation bill.
  Funding education at a continuing-resolution level brings to a 
screeching halt the progress that we have made in the past 5 years in 
providing average increases of about 14 percent a year for education. 
At the same time, that continuing resolution freezes many other 
programs and would fund the National Institutes of Health at a level 
$3.8 billion below the amount that both parties have announced that 
they want to see it funded at. In my view, the inconsistency is glaring 
and again brings ridicule on the House.
  The House is discredited, Mr. Speaker, not only because of the 
spectacular failure of the House leadership to get the education 
funding bill or any of the 13 appropriation bills adopted by the start 
of the fiscal year which began yesterday, but also because the House 
has abdicated its constitutional responsibilities and, in that sense, 
is avoiding the very accountability which we say we want to provide.
  Rule IX of the House rules outlines questions of privilege relating 
to constitutional prerogatives. Under our Constitution, the Congress 
has the power to appropriate. We determine the Nation's spending 
priorities and, by law, must pass all 13 appropriation bills by October 
1, yesterday, the beginning of the new year. Mr. Speaker, in my view, 
the House leadership has abrogated its constitutional responsibilities 
in regard to appropriations, and I would argue that their continued 
inaction on these urgent priorities, priorities as crucial as 
additional funding for education, meets the test for privileged 
resolutions, and I would ask for such a ruling.

                              {time}  1645

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The Chair is prepared to 
rule on the question of whether the resolution offered by the gentleman 
from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) constitutes a question of the privileges of 
the House under rule IX.
  As the Chair has ruled previously today, a resolution expressing the 
sentiment that Congress should act on a specified measure does not 
constitute a question of privileges of the House under rule IX.
  The mere invocation of legislative powers provided in the 
Constitution coupled with the desired policy end does not meet the 
requirements of rule IX, and is really a matter properly initiated 
through introduction in the hopper under clause 7 of rule XII.
  Accordingly, the resolution offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey) does not constitute a question of privileges of the House 
under rule IX and may not be considered at this time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I regretfully appeal the ruling of the Chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Shall the decision of the 
Chair stand as the judgment of the House?
  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the appeal on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) to lay on the table the appeal of 
the ruling of the Chair.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. OBEY. 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 212, 
nays 202, not voting 17, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 436]

                               YEAS--212

     Akin
     Armey
     Bachus
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bereuter
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Boozman
     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
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Diaz-Balart
     Doolittle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     English
     Everett
     Ferguson
     Flake
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fossella
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Grucci
     Gutknecht
     Hansen
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Issa
     Istook
     Jenkins
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Keller
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     Kerns
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     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
     Platts
     Pombo
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     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)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Sununu
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Tauzin
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Toomey
     Upton
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watkins (OK)
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wolf
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                               NAYS--202

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baird

[[Page H6961]]


     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
     Green (TX)
     Gutierrez
     Hall (TX)
     Harman
     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)
     Kleczka
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Luther
     Lynch
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Markey
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (VA)
     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
     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
     Tauscher
     Taylor (MS)
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thurman
     Tierney
     Towns
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watson (CA)
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--17

     Aderholt
     Baker
     Conyers
     Deal
     Ehrlich
     Gilman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hilleary
     Lampson
     Mascara
     McKinney
     Murtha
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Roukema
     Stump
     Tanner

                              {time}  1707

  Mr. GORDON changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________