[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 130 (Monday, October 7, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H7038-H7041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1400
 EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT'S 2002 NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY

  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 569) expressing support for the President's 2002 
National Drug Control Strategy to reduce illegal drug use in the United 
States.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 569

       Whereas nearly 20,000 Americans, many of them children, die 
     of drug-induced deaths, more than 52,000 Americans die from 
     drug-related causes, and more than 600,000 Americans visit 
     hospital emergency rooms for drug-related episodes every 
     year;
       Whereas the United States has for years been one of the 
     largest consumers of illegal drugs in the world;
       Whereas more than 50 percent of high school seniors have 
     experimented with an illegal drug at least once prior to 
     graduation, 2,800,000 Americans are considered to be 
     ``dependent'' on illegal drugs, and an additional 1,500,000 
     are in the less severe ``abuser'' category;
       Whereas the societal costs, including lost productivity, of 
     the illegal drug problem in America have reached a staggering 
     $160,000,000,000 per year;
       Whereas the United States is experiencing a dramatic 
     increase in the potency of marijuana and sharply escalating 
     use of drugs such as methamphetamines, ``club drugs'' such as 
     MDMA (``ecstasy'') and abuse of legally prescribed drugs such 
     as Oxycontin;
       Whereas the Office of National Drug Control Policy within 
     the Executive Office of the President was established by the 
     National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to coordinate the 
     Nation's overall counter-narcotics efforts;
       Whereas the United States has consistently and firmly 
     supported a ``balanced'' approach in the war on drugs, and 
     the National Drug Control Strategy for 2002 calls for 
     stopping drug use before it starts through education and 
     community action, healing America's drug users by getting 
     treatment resources where they are needed, and disrupting the 
     market by attacking the economic basis of the drug trade;
       Whereas more than 5,000 community anti-drug coalitions 
     across America have been created to bring together parents, 
     teachers, coaches, mentors, business leaders, faith-based 
     organizations, and Federal, State, and local governments to 
     reduce drug use through effective grassroots efforts;
       Whereas the President of the United States has directed the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney 
     General to better define and address the so-called 
     ``treatment gap'' in America through increased and more 
     effective drug treatment facilities across America and by 
     convincing nearly 90 percent of drug abusers, particularly 
     adolescents, that they in fact need help;
       Whereas the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign plays 
     an important role in reducing drug use and social disapproval 
     of drugs;
       Whereas there is a well-established link between the 
     profits from the illegal drug trade and the financing of many 
     of the world's leading terrorist organizations, including the 
     Taliban, al-Qaeda, and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de 
     Colombia (FARC), and the illegal narcotics trade has 
     contributed directly to social and political instability and 
     loss of innocent life in democratic nations in the Andean 
     region and around the world;
       Whereas the United States Government and the House of 
     Representatives are working closely with allied nations to 
     stop the international production and transit of illegal 
     drugs and promote alternative development and means of 
     economic growth;
       Whereas the capabilities of the United States Coast Guard, 
     the United States Customs Service, and the United States 
     Border Patrol are critical to our Nation's drug interdiction 
     efforts and must be maintained at no less than their current 
     levels;
       Whereas Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies 
     are working diligently to enforce laws prohibiting the use of 
     illegal drugs and to interdict illegal drug traffic to the 
     United States;
       Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States decisively 
     reaffirmed that the Controlled Substances Act is binding 
     national law in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' 
     Collective, 532 U.S. 483 (2001); and
       Whereas the use of illegal drugs has been decisively 
     rejected by the American people as inconsistent with the 
     general welfare of the United States and individual dignity: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses its support for the President of the United 
     States and the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the 
     goal to reduce drug use in America by 10 percent during the 
     next 2 years and 25 percent during the next 5 years;
       (2) calls on all Americans to join in the effort to 
     prevent, reduce, and reject illegal drug use in America by 
     talking to children about the dangers and consequences of 
     illegal drug use and encouraging other responsible adults to 
     do the same in their families and communities;
       (3) calls on the President, the Secretary of State, the 
     Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of 
     the Treasury, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
     Secretary of Transportation, the Director of the Office of 
     National Drug Control Policy, and the heads of subsidiary 
     agencies (including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the 
     United States Customs Service, the United States Coast Guard, 
     and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration) to 
     work together to effectively implement the 2002 National Drug 
     Control Strategy and continue to seek ways to improve the 
     coordination among Federal, State, and local governments, 
     nonprofit organizations, corporations, foreign governments, 
     and private citizens to reduce the demand for international 
     supply of illegal drugs in the United States;
       (4) expresses its sense that narcotics control is an 
     integral part of homeland security and should be a priority 
     mission for any new Department of Homeland Security;
       (5) commends all Federal, State, and local government 
     personnel working to combat illegal drug use in the United 
     States, as well as community leaders who seek to make a 
     difference across the United States; and
       (6) reaffirms the sense of the House of Representatives 
     against any use of narcotic and other drugs in a manner 
     inconsistent with the Controlled Substances Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Aderholt). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) and the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This resolution expresses the support of the House for the 
President's National Drug Control Strategy as well as for the work of 
the many individuals across America, in the government and in the 
private sector, who dedicate themselves to controlling and preventing 
drug abuse and helping drug abusers.
  I introduced this resolution in my capacity as chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, 
joined by, as original cosponsor, the ranking member, the gentleman 
from Maryland (Mr. Cummings). I very much appreciate his bipartisan 
support for this resolution and on so many other issues during this 
Congress.
  I would also like to recognize the continued work of my co-chairs on 
the Speakers' Task Force for a Drug-Free America, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Portman), the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), as well as 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), who has been a great member 
and asset to our subcommittee.
  I believe it is also appropriate to take a moment to recognize the 
lifelong work on drug control of the vice-chairman of the subcommittee, 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the former chairman of the 
Committee on International Relations. He has tirelessly advocated 
vigorous efforts to stop drug abuse and trafficking and protect 
American youth throughout his distinguished career, and his unwavering 
leadership in this House will be sorely missed, especially on this 
issue.
  As the resolution details, drug abuse continues to be a serious 
problem in

[[Page H7039]]

America today. The death of nearly 20,000 Americans this year will be 
caused directly by illegal drugs. Fifty-two thousand Americans will die 
of drug-related causes, and more than 600,000 Americans visit hospital 
emergency rooms for drug-related episodes every year.
  In the past year, we have redirected the focus of the vast apparatus 
of the Federal Government to the threat of catastrophic terrorism. I 
want to remind my colleagues, however, that day-to-day and town-by-
town, the slow, deadly, painful, and disruptive toll of illegal drug 
use continues unabated. Today, in addition to the continued tremendous 
challenge of holding the line on traditional drugs like cocaine and 
heroin, we also face emerging threats such as high potency marijuana, 
which many know as ``BC Bud,'' the growth of methamphetamine use, the 
so-called ``club drugs'' like Ecstasy, and increased abuse of the 
prescription drug Oxycontin.
  Earlier this year, President Bush and Director Walters of the Office 
of National Drug Control Policy released the National Drug Control 
Strategy to detail the administration's approach to reducing drug use 
in America. It is a balanced strategy that calls for stopping drug use 
before it starts through education and community action, healing 
America's drug users by getting treatment resources where they are 
needed, and disrupting the market by attacking the economic basis of 
the drug trade through interdiction and vigorous law enforcement.
  As part of the strategy, the President has set the aggressive goal of 
reducing drug use in America by 10 percent during the next 2 years and 
25 percent during the next 5 years. This resolution expresses the 
support of the House for the balanced strategy set forth, as well as 
the goal of a measurable reduction of illegal drug use in America. I 
believe that meeting these specific goals will be a challenge but that 
the House should strongly support the effort to restore accountability 
and performance measurement to the Nation's drug control programs.
  I also believe that the House should express its support for the 
tireless and often thankless work which so many Americans do every day 
to combat illegal drug traffic and abuse within our country and around 
the world.
  Whether it be a drug counsellor who helps the addicted, the DEA agent 
who risks his or her own life to fight the often violent drug cartels, 
the community coalition leader who tries to keep kids from starting 
drug use, the Customs, Immigration, or Border Patrol officer on the 
front line at the border, the doctor or nurse who offers the medical 
help, the Coastie on the water in the transit zone, the local cop, the 
Foreign Service officer in a source country, or even the mother who 
reports suspicious activity on her block, these and countless other 
Americans work every hour of every day to fight illegal drugs. We ought 
to recognize and thank them. This resolution does that.
  The resolution also expresses the sense of the House that narcotics 
control should continue to be a priority mission for the new Department 
of Homeland Security, as well as our continued opposition to any use of 
narcotics not permitted by the Controlled Substances Act, the basic 
Federal law prohibiting use of illegal drugs.
  Finally, I want to note that this resolution calls on all Americans 
to join in a united effort to fight drug use in our communities. This 
is especially true of our parents, who we want to urge to talk to their 
children about the dangers and consequences of illegal drug use and 
encourage others to do so in their families and communities.
  We have seen how increased vigilance to threats to our society and 
way of life can help make us safer as a Nation, and I hope that 
families and communities can do the same with respect to parenting and 
drug use.
  I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to join with the gentleman from 
Indiana (Chairman Souder) in consideration of House Resolution 569, a 
bill expressing support for the President's 2002 National Drug Control 
Strategy to reduce illegal drug use in the United States.
  I also want to commend the gentleman from Indiana for his outstanding 
leadership on this issue and especially for the convening of a field 
hearing in Chicago, where I live. I have appreciated the work that the 
gentleman has done; and, as I have indicated, I am pleased to join with 
him in consideration of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the statement of the gentleman 
from the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), who is the ranking 
member, and for whom I am actually filling in, in the presentation of 
this matter.
  The statement referred to is as follows:
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of H. Res. 569, expressing 
support for the President's 2002 National Drug Control Strategy. As the 
Ranking Minority Member of the drug policy subcommittee, I'm happy to 
join with my chairman, the gentleman from Indiana, as an original 
cosponsor of this resolution.
  As the War on Terror, homeland security, possible war with Iraq, and 
other issues dominate headlines, it is important that the American 
people, we in Congress, and the various state, federal and local 
agencies involved in the War on Drugs remain vigilant with regard to 
illegal drug control. Illegal drugs still claim many more American 
lives than terrorist attacks and they are responsible for much of the 
violent crime and property crimes that undermine the stability and 
safety of communities across the country, including my own city of 
Baltimore.
  The increasing linkage between illegal drug trafficking and the 
financing of terrorist activities makes it all the more imperative that 
we keep our eye on the ball and not let the war on drugs slip as a 
national priority. Chairman Souder and I share this concern and worked 
together in the Government Reform Committee on a provision in the 
homeland security bill to create a high-level position within the new 
department that will be responsible and accountable for coordination of 
drug control functions within and outside the new department. A similar 
provision has been included in the bill approved by the whole House and 
I would urge our colleagues in the other body to preserve it.
  Mr. Speaker, the President deserves credit for making drug control a 
high priority in his administration. The national drug control strategy 
unveiled in February by the President and Office of National Drug 
Control Policy Director John Walters reflects a balanced and thoughtful 
approach to combating the drug problem. It recognizes that U.S. demand 
for drugs is the root of our domestic drug problem, identifying U.S. 
demand-reduction as a ``central focus.'' Consistent with this 
recognition, the strategy boldly states the goal of reducing domestic 
drug use by ten percent over two years, and by 25 percent over 5 years.
  The strategy further reflects a recognition of the essential role 
that treatment plays in reducing drug-demand. The President's proposed 
drug control budget includes a $1.6 billion increase in drug treatment 
funding over 5 years, in addition to a solid commitment to the Drug 
Free Communities Program, the National Youth Anti-Drug Campaign, drug 
courts, and other vital demand-reduction programs.
  In the areas of treatment and domestic law enforcement, the 
President's strategy reflects an emerging pragmatic consensus around 
the concept that drug treatment and law enforcement are most effective 
when approached as complementary rather than competing objectives. The 
criminal justice system must work in concert with treatment initiatives 
in order to achieve positive long-term outcomes for users, addicts, and 
communities afflicted with drugs and drug-related crime.
  This is the approach vindicated by a recent, groundbreaking drug-
treatment study, focusing on Baltimore, entitled ``Steps to Success.'' 
Commissioned by Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, Inc., and conducted 
by a blue-ribbon panel of experts from Johns Hopkins University, the 
University of Maryland, and Morgan State University, the study showed 
that a substantial increase in funding for drug treatment resulted not 
only in dramatic decrease in addiction and abuse, but also in equally 
dramatic reductions in emergency-room deaths, HIV/AIDS transmission, 
and both violent and property crimes. ``Steps to Success'' is the most 
thoroughly researched study of its kind and should put to rest the 
notion that treatment dollars are not dollars well spent. This is a 
lesson that communities nationwide can benefit from.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman fro Indiana, Mr. Souder, 
for his constructive leadership on the drug policy subcommittee and in 
bringing this resolution to the floor. I know we both look forward to 
continuing to work together, and with Director Walters, in maintaining 
our government's focus on the critical goal of reducing illegal drug 
use.

[[Page H7040]]

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, last year the Chicago Defender 
published an article entitled ``Cook County Drug Offenders Lose Out in 
Drug Treatment Revival.''
  Though the article focused on Cook County in Illinois, it brought to 
the forefront a national trend towards treatment for drug offenders. 
Troubled by the devastating impact of drugs on the criminal justice 
system, the courts are diverting more drug offenders away from prisons, 
mandating instead that they enroll in substance abuse rehabilitation 
programs.
  Keevin Irons, for example, a 41-year-old native of suburban Chicago 
Heights, had been hooked on drugs for 20 years when a Cook County 
circuit judge gave him 4 years' probation on a drug possession charge 
and ordered him to 28 days in a residential treatment center.
  Mr. Irons said of the treatment that was aimed at getting him to 
recognize the patterns of abuse in his life, and I quote, ``Treatment 
has brought me a long way to learn about my disease and what made me do 
the things that I did. I see my life differently now. I can go out to 
society and be a productive citizen. Recovery is a beautiful thing.''
  Mr. Speaker, recovery is a beautiful thing, which is why I am pleased 
to see that President Bush's 2002 National Drug Control Strategy 
includes over $850 million for various drug prevention programs and an 
additional $1.6 billion over the next 5 years for drug treatment 
programs.
  This money, and more, is sorely needed to address the devastating 
impact of drugs on the criminal justice system. More and more addicts 
are streaming into the system than it can help. The problem is 
particularly acute in Cook County, where the drug caseload has exceeded 
those of other Illinois counties. Cook County drug offenders are far 
less likely to receive drug treatment as part of their probation than 
those in Illinois' other 101 counties, shown by an investigation by the 
Chicago Reporter.
  According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, the number of 
prison sentences for drug crimes increased more than 12-fold from 1983 
to 1999, when 13,766 drug offenders were sentenced to prison. Once 
discharged, about 40 percent of them will end up back in prison within 
3 years.
  Furthermore, drug users are among the most active perpetrators of 
other crimes. Nearly two-thirds of jailed inmates nationwide said they 
used drugs regularly prior to their arrest, and about one in six 
committed their current offense to sustain a drug habit, according to a 
2000 study by the Department of Justice.
  In response to this, as the Chicago Defender reported, States are 
moving away from incarceration to initiatives such as drug courts. Drug 
courts divert offenders to treatment, but they also impose penalties 
for misbehavior. The drug courts program uses the coercive power of the 
court to force abstinence and alter behavior through a combination of 
escalating sanctions, mandatory drug testing, treatment, and strong 
aftercare programs.
  The 2002 drug strategy provides an additional $2 million for drug 
court programs, bringing the total to $52 million for fiscal year 2003. 
According to the 1997 National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study 
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, such treatment 
programs cut illicit drug use by 48 percent and reduce arrest rates by 
64 percent. These programs help stabilize communities by making them 
safer and making productive citizens out of drug offenders.
  I support the President's drug prevention and treatment strategy and 
its continued funding. Recovery is a beautiful thing; and, Mr. Speaker, 
I urge the adoption of this resolution.
  Once again, Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my colleagues, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Chairman Souder) and the ranking member, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), for the outstanding leadership 
they both have brought and continue to bring to this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, this is a very important resolution that we 
acknowledge that, even under this time when we are under a terrorist 
attack, that we are under chemical attack as well.
  In my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, we have seen in the past month 
a very gruesome murder that occurred to cover up another murder, where 
kids were high on drugs and alcohol. In fact, they not only beat up and 
then shot but then burned two of their acquaintances in a field.
  This past week we saw another group murder. It appears to be gang-
related. It appears to be related to narcotic sales in the City of Fort 
Wayne.
  The principal of South Side High School had to have teachers and 
police at the football game. He has been actively reaching out and 
looking for prevention programs and trying to reach the kids, whether 
it is through community churches, community organizations and the 
classroom, to try to show the evils of narcotics and the impact they 
have on the community and the evil of gang warfare that often is 
closely related.
  We may or may not ever see terrorist attacks in Fort Wayne and we may 
or may not see terrorist attacks around the United States, but we are 
certainly going to see drug abuse. For the people in the field, those 
working in the programs and prevention in the schools and prevention in 
the communities, those who work with treatment, it is often very 
discouraging.
  A lot of people ask me, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal 
Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, why can you not just 
eliminate this problem? But let me remind the Members that, at core, 
there are a couple of different things. One is that we will never 
eliminate evil from the world. We try to control it as much as 
possible. This is true of rape, it is true of child abuse, it is true 
of spouse abuse, it is true of child abandonment. They have been with 
us for a long time.
  As leaders in this country, we cannot say, oh, it is not working; 
therefore, we are going to abandon it. We have to redouble our efforts.
  Furthermore, in the area of narcotics, we see every day new people 
who heretofore we thought were invulnerable to a narcotics attack, 
whether it is young kids who now are being exposed for the first time 
in elementary school, the first time at a party in junior high, or at a 
club scene as a high schooler who had never been exposed to narcotics 
before.
  We have to be there in prevention, be there when they are first 
exposed, be there for treatment, and also be there to intercept the 
drugs as they are coming into this country, so we keep the prices from 
going so cheap and the purity so high that, when they have that 
exposure, they die on simple impact.
  This is a combined strategy that never gives up, that understands 
that we are battling all the time to try to change these families, 
people who have lost work, people who have gone through a divorce, 
people who are vulnerable at that moment, much like they are for other 
types of things. We need to be working aggressively, and this 
resolution praises all those in the field who have worked with this and 
reminds Congress and the American people that we have tens of thousands 
of people who lose their lives, who get shot, who go to emergency rooms 
because of this evil of narcotics.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend this resolution to the House and hope that it 
passes unanimously.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 
569, a resolution expressing support for the president's 2002 National 
Drug Control Strategy. I urge my colleagues to lend it their 
wholehearted support.
  This resolution expresses the support of the Congress for President 
Bush's 2002 National Drug Control Strategy to reduce illegal drug use 
in the United States. It recognizes the alarming rate of drug abuse in 
our country, the serious toll it takes on American families and 
communities in the form of damaged or destroyed lives, and the 
financial support which drug traffic provides for terrorist and other 
criminal enterprises. Finally, it expresses the support of the House 
for the balanced approach to the Nation's war on drugs, focusing 
equally on supply and demand reduction.
  Drug abuse is a widespread problem effecting more than 9 million 
individuals. Recent years have shown disturbing trends in the use of 
heroin, various club drugs, and methamphetamine, especially among our 
younger population. Moreover, the drugs available on the streets today 
are cheaper, purer and easier to acquire than at any previous point in 
our Nation's history.

[[Page H7041]]

  All told, it is estimated that 85 percent of all crime committed in 
the United States is somehow related to either drug or alcohol 
addiction. Furthermore, U.S. taxpayers spend an average of $150 billion 
per year in drug-related criminal and health care costs. Moreover, 
since last year we have learned of the insidious link between the drug 
trade and international terrorism.
  Equally troubling is the long term impact on the families, and 
especially the children, of alcoholics and drug abusers. Far too many 
children grow up in homes where one or both parents consume are more 
likely to suffer abuse or neglect from their parents, and have a higher 
risk of becoming alcoholics or addicts themselves.
  We have made enormous progress in improving drug and alcohol 
awareness. Thanks to the tireless efforts of groups like mothers 
against drunk driving, alcohol-related traffic fatalities have 
decreased considerably from thirty years ago.
  Yet we still have far to go. Far too many people do not view alcohol 
as a drug, and an alarming number of Americans do not realize that 
various alcoholic beverages contain different amounts of alcohol.
  We also have far to go on the drug front as well. Recent years have 
seen a proliferation of efforts to create back doors to legalization, 
best shown by the medical marijuana argument. However, anti-drug 
efforts are seeing signs of finally working after years of neglect. A 
return to a balanced approach that attacks both the supply and demand 
side of the problem has made a difference.
  Drug treatment is an important component of demand reduction that has 
proven itself to work, but it requires enormous commitment on the part 
of both doctor and patient. This is especially true for those addicted 
to opiate narcotics and alcohol.
  H. Res. 569 supports the President's argument that the current time 
is ideal to reinvigorate the American people public in the war on 
drugs. In implementing this strategy, we should apply the recent 
lessons learned to formulate a balanced approach that attacks both 
demand and supply of illicit drugs.
  The President has outlined a bold strategy that is designed to: Stop 
drug use before it starts, provide appropriate treatment for America's 
drug users, and disrupt the current illicit drug market.
  I have spent the last thirty years in the Congress fighting the 
scourge of illegal drugs. I am pleased to see an administration that is 
strongly committed to this goal, and recognizes the dangers posed by 
this illicit trade, both in lives affected, wasted talent, and the 
turmoil caused by drug-financed terrorism.
  Success in our drug war requires the commitment of every American. 
This resolution is a good start. I therefore urge its adoption.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cantor). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, House Resolution 569.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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