[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 45 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I wish to inquire of the majority leader the 
schedule for the balance of the week and next week.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. HOYER. I would be glad to yield to the distinguished majority 
leader who worked just a little too hard tonight.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I no longer have to whip 
these folks like the gentleman does, and our whip was really working 
hard tonight and did a great job.
  I appreciate the gentleman from Maryland yielding to me, Mr. Speaker.
  If the gentleman would continue to yield, the House will convene on 
Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative 
business. We will consider several measures under suspension of the 
rules. A final list of those bills will be sent to Members' offices 
early next week. Any votes called on these bills will be rolled until 
6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
  On Wednesday, we expect to consider several additional bills under 
suspension of the rules before moving to legislation to create a 
compensation fund for first responders who receive the smallpox 
vaccine. While this legislation has not yet been introduced, I tell my 
friend from Maryland the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the 
Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce have been working diligently to arrive at a compromise that I 
believe all Members will be able to support.
  On Thursday, we will consider two bills addressing child abuse, as we 
head into April, which is designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month. 
H.R. 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act, would extend the Justice 
Department's Amber Alert system to a nationwide program. It also 
eliminates the statute of limitations for child abduction and sex 
crimes, prohibits pretrial release in cases of rape and child 
kidnapping, provides for a mandatory minimum sentence for child 
kidnapping, and establishes a two strikes and you are out requirement 
for child sex offenders.
  H.R. 14, the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act, will reauthorize 
and modify the Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act and related 
programs to prevent child abuse and family violence, and to protect and 
treat abused and neglected children and victims of family violence.
  I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I will be happy to answer 
any of his questions.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished leader for that 
information.
  First, Mr. Leader, I presume we have concluded all of our work this 
week; is that correct?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would yield, the gentleman is correct. I 
failed to say that we have completed the work of the House for the week 
and will not return until Tuesday.
  Mr. HOYER. I know all the Members thank the gentleman for that 
information.
  I will ask the gentleman, next Friday, does the gentleman expect to 
be in session next Friday, or could the Members expect not to be in 
session next Friday?
  Mr. DeLAY. No, we do not expect to be in session on next Friday.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that information.
  Does the gentleman anticipate that the tax bill will be marked up by 
the Committee on Ways and Means next week, and then can we anticipate 
it on the floor the following week?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would continue to yield, the Committee on 
Ways and Means, as the gentleman knows, has held a series of hearings 
on various components of the President's economic growth package. Now 
that the House has passed the budget resolution, I expect that the 
committee will move forward very soon in this important legislation, 
and I would certainly like to have it considered by the House before 
the Easter recess.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman talked about the committees, 
but the energy bill, when can we expect the full committee to take 
action on that bill, and when does the gentleman expect it to come to 
the floor?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would continue to yield, as the 
distinguished minority whip knows, the proposal that the House passed 
in the last Congress had provisions from more than half a dozen 
committees. We are again working to coordinate the work of various 
committees to ensure that we can quickly get a bill through the House. 
At least one committee began the markup process for that bill last 
week, and I know the others are moving forward as fast as they can, and 
many of them are marking up next week. I would hope that all the 
committees involved in this important legislation on energy would 
complete their work in time so that we can have the bill on the floor 
prior to the Easter recess.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments, and, 
Mr. Speaker, I have no further questions of the leader, and I 
appreciate his giving us the schedule.

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