[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 128 (Thursday, October 3, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H7003-H7004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE--INTEGRITY OF PROCEEDINGS AS PRESCRIBED BY THE
CONSTITUTION
Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the
privileges of the House, and offer a privileged resolution that I
noticed yesterday pursuant to rule IX, and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
The Clerk read as follows:
Whereas under Article I, Section IX, of the Constitution
states 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 the funds needed to support the
execution of the programs and operations of the Federal
Government.
Whereas to date the House has only considered five
Appropriations bills.
Whereas President George W. Bush has ignored the requests
of Amtrak for an Appropriation of $1.2 billion, and has
instead proposed only $521 million in funding.
Whereas the House Appropriations Committee gutted funding
for Amtrak with every Republican member of the Committee
voting to cut funding, despite the dire impact this will have
on their own districts.
Whereas instead of strong support and consistent growth in
support for the nation's passenger rail system the
President's FY 2003 Budget seeks to strangle Amtrak so that
the Administration can begin to implement plans to privatize
the system.
Whereas Amtrak provided a critical transportation need in
the months after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, and
has seen consistent growth in ridership despite continued
levels of inadequate funding.
Whereas Amtrak serves more than 500 stations in 46 states
and employs over 24,000 people, and Amtrak passengers on
Northeast corridor trains would fill 250 planes daily or over
91,000 flights each year.
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that the Congress should complete action on
the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Transportation Appropriations, with
an allocation of $1.2 billion for Amtrak.
{time} 1400
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The Chair will hear briefly
from the gentlewoman from Indiana as to whether the resolution
constitutes a question of privileges of the House under rule IX.
Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, article 1, section 9, of the
Constitution states that no money shall be drawn from the Treasury but
in consequence of appropriations made by law. It is the fiscal duty of
the Congress to appropriate the money necessary to provide the funds
needed to support the execution of programs and operations of the
Federal Government. To date, only five of the 13 appropriations
measures have been considered. Mr. Speaker, this inaction has hampered
this body's constitutional duty and called into question its integrity.
The failure of this unrealistic budget resolution is especially true
in respect to the fiscal year 2003 transportation appropriations bill
in its funding for Amtrak. This inaction has hampered this body's
constitutional duty. After the events of September 11, our Nation's air
transportation system ground to a halt. After the Federal Aviation
Administration grounded all flights following the terrorist attacks,
travelers turned to Amtrak. Whether people had to travel for business,
to help with rescue efforts or just to get home, Amtrak kept Americans
moving during a time of national emergency. Amtrak ridership and
revenues skyrocketed, led by the Northeast Corridor, which had a 13.5
percent revenue growth and a 4.6 percent ridership growth in 2001. For
the system as a whole, revenue rose 8.2 percent and ridership 4.3
percent. The situation not only proved that Amtrak works but that
passenger rail is a critical part of our transportation infrastructure.
Despite this, Mr. Speaker, we continue to drastically underfund
Amtrak, jeopardizing not only the safety and security of this country
but the jobs and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Americans. We
have been told that if Amtrak receives the full $1.2 billion that both
it and the Department of Transportation has recommended it receive,
they will be able to begin to revitalize their operations, they will be
able to revitalize and build upon the successes they have seen in the
Northeast Corridor, they will be able to revitalize and build on rail
service to areas of the country currently underserved by rail and, Mr.
Speaker, they will be able to revitalize operations at their Beech
Grove maintenance facility, which is in my district. They will be able
to rehire the 228 employees who were furloughed back in February and
rejuvenate a facility that has served this country since 1905. Workers
at the plant right now are working 7 days a week to keep the facility
running.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair requests the gentlewoman confine
her remarks to the issue of whether the resolution constitutes a
question of privileges of the House.
Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, my question of privilege regards
the integrity of our proceedings as a House as prescribed by the
Constitution. The United States Constitution conveys upon this body the
power to originate appropriation measures. It is not only our
responsibility but our duty and obligation to restate this message in
this legislation about the importance of Amtrak.
I believe that we have probably not been in accordance with our
constitutional responsibilities concerning appropriations and would
argue that their continued inaction on such urgent priorities, as full
funding of Amtrak, meets the test for privileged resolutions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is prepared to rule on the
question of whether the resolution offered by the gentlewoman from
Indiana constitutes a question of privileges of the House under rule
IX.
The resolution offered by the gentlewoman from Indiana expresses the
sense of the House that the Congress should complete action on a
legislative measure. Specifically, the resolution calls upon the
Congress to complete action on a general appropriation bill with regard
to prescribed funding for Amtrak.
As the Chair ruled yesterday and earlier today, a resolution
expressing the sentiment that Congress should act on a specified
measure does not constitute a question of the privileges of the House
under rule IX.
The mere invocation of the general legislative power of the purse
provided in the Constitution coupled with a fiscal 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 gentlewoman from Indiana
does not constitute a question of the privileges of the House under
rule IX and may not be considered at this time.
Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I 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?
Motion to Table Offered by Mr. Rogers of Michigan
Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the appeal on the
table.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table
offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers).
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 203,
noes 192, not voting 36, as follows:
[Roll No. 441]
AYES--203
Aderholt
Akin
Armey
Bachus
Ballenger
Barr
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bereuter
Biggert
Bilirakis
Blunt
Boehlert
Bonilla
Bono
Boozman
Brady (TX)
Brown (SC)
Bryant
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Coble
Collins
Combest
Cox
Crane
Crenshaw
Cubin
Culberson
Cunningham
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart
Doolittle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
English
Everett
Ferguson
Flake
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
[[Page H7004]]
Gilman
Goode
Goodlatte
Goss
Graham
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
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kerns
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaHood
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lewis (KY)
LoBiondo
Lucas (OK)
Manzullo
McCrery
McHugh
McKeon
Mica
Miller, Dan
Miller, Gary
Miller, Jeff
Moran (KS)
Morella
Myrick
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Paul
Pence
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pombo
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Regula
Rehberg
Riley
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Saxton
Schaffer
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
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOES--192
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Allen
Andrews
Baca
Baird
Baldacci
Baldwin
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
Clyburn
Condit
Conyers
Costello
Coyne
Cramer
Crowley
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutsch
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley
Doyle
Edwards
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Filner
Ford
Frank
Frost
Gephardt
Gonzalez
Gordon
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 (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)
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
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sabo
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Schakowsky
Schiff
Scott
Serrano
Sherman
Shows
Skelton
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Spratt
Stenholm
Strickland
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Turner
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters
Watson (CA)
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Weiner
Wexler
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
NOT VOTING--36
Baker
Barcia
Boehner
Callahan
Clement
Cooksey
Deal
DeGette
Fattah
Ganske
Granger
Green (TX)
Hastings (FL)
Hilleary
Jenkins
Keller
Lampson
Lewis (CA)
Linder
Maloney (CT)
Mascara
McInnis
McKinney
Oxley
Reynolds
Roukema
Sawyer
Schrock
Slaughter
Stark
Stump
Stupak
Tanner
Thurman
Towns
Whitfield
{time} 1436
Mr. HALL of Texas and Mr. WYNN changed their vote from ``aye'' to
``no.''
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.
____________________