[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 82 (Thursday, June 5, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H5031-H5032]
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 yield to my friend, and I am glad to see 
him on the floor, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the leader, for 
the purpose of inquiring about the schedule for next week.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Hoyer) for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, the House will convene on Monday at 12:30 p.m. for 
morning hour debates and 2 p.m. for legislative business. We will 
consider several measures under suspension of rules. A final list of 
those bills will be sent to the Members' offices by the end of the 
week. Any votes called on those measures will be rolled until 6:30 p.m.
  On Tuesday and Wednesday we expect to consider additional bills under 
suspension of the rules. We also plan to consider several bills under a 
rule: H.R. 2115, the Flight 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization 
Act, to reauthorize programs for the Federal Aviation Administration; 
H.R. 1115, the Class Action Fairness Act; and H.R. 2143, the Unlawful 
Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act.
  In addition to these bills, we may also consider H.R. 1528, the 
Taxpayer Protection and IRS Accountability Act.
  And, finally, I would like to note for all Members that we are making 
a change in the schedule that was sent to offices at the beginning of 
the year. We do not plan to have votes next Friday, June 13.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the leader for his informing us of the schedule 
that is contemplated for next week.
  Mr. Leader, I do not see Child Tax Credit legislation listed on next 
week's schedule. I did not hear you talk about that.
  We have a bill, as I think you probably know, the Rangel/DeLauro/
Davis bill, that will make sure working families and our service 
members left out of the recently enacted tax bill get the child tax 
credit they should have. We have sought unanimous consent to bring this 
bill up, but we have been denied and not successful. There is 
apparently agreement in the Senate, as we understand it, to take this 
matter up perhaps today.
  When do you expect that we might be able to consider child tax credit 
legislation on the floor, Mr. Leader?
  Mr. DeLAY. The gentleman knows that we think we have already done 
child tax credit in a very meaningful way. Whatever the Senate does, 
certainly we will take it under consideration, but our schedule and our 
agenda that has been announced from the first of the year is that we 
will have several tax relief bills. Of those bills, maybe this 
provision that the gentleman is talking about could be included. I do 
not know, but the Committee on Ways and Means would certainly take it 
under advisement.
  We have scheduled certainly an international tax bill for this 
summer. We have already announced that we would like to see the total 
repeal of death tax made permanent. There will probably be another tax 
relief bill, so there is plenty of opportunity for the gentleman to 
talk about that provision that the Senate may have left out of the bill 
signed by the President a week ago.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman. He and I may disagree as to the 
fact that the Senate left it out. It was left out. We agree on that. 
The Senate, of course, had it in its bill. We did not.
  Am I correct then that there are no plans next week to have on the 
floor of the House as far as you know a child tax credit bill?
  Mr. DeLAY. I cannot say no plans. As the gentleman knows, in this 
business you never say never.
  I am under the impression that the other body has some sort of 
package that they have put together. If they pass that package today or 
tomorrow, the Committee on Ways and Means can certainly take it under 
advisement and make recommendations to the leadership, and that may 
happen next week. I just cannot tell the gentleman.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for his observation. I take it then 
that if the Senate does not pass something over here, that we would 
have no thought that that would be on the schedule for next week?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the minority on the Committee on Ways and Means wants 
to participate in the process, certainly in those tax provisions that 
are being worked on as we speak by the Committee on Ways and Means, 
they could certainly participate in that process, try to get their 
provision in, gather the votes to pass it, and bring it out here, and 
hopefully they would support a tax relief bill.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, without taking this further, than 
perhaps we need to go in a colloquy of this type on the schedule, Mr. 
Leader. In a serious vein, the minority on the Committee on Ways and 
Means would love to participate in the process. I would tell the 
leader, with all due respect and very sincerely, the minority in the 
Committee on Ways and Means does not believe it is included in the 
process; and that is of concern to us.
  If perhaps you could talk with the chairman, with your persuasive 
powers, perhaps, in fact, we could participate in the process and 
perhaps we would be able to offer such an amendment; and, clearly, if 
that would happen, we would offer such an amendment, I assure the 
leader. So if he could help us with the chairman of the

[[Page H5032]]

committee, that would be greatly appreciated.
  Medicare prescription drugs, Mr. Leader, what can you tell us about 
when we can expect to see Medicare prescription drug legislation 
considered in the committees of jurisdiction and then on the floor?
  Mr. DeLAY. As previously announced, we had tried to get Medicare 
modernization onto the floor before the Memorial Day break. Obviously, 
there was a tremendous amount of work that needed to be done, and we 
had to postpone that goal. We have set a new goal, and we hope that we 
can have Medicare modernization to the floor before the July 4 break. 
The Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce are working hard to develop a proposal that would modernize 
and preserve the Medicare program and provide needy citizens with life-
saving drugs. But while the complexity of this issue means that our 
staffs and committees need to be working and they are working very 
hard, we still hope to have a bill for the House to consider before the 
end of the month.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for that information.
  Lastly, I would ask the gentleman, I have served on the Committee on 
Appropriations for many years. We have not marked up yet, as the 
gentleman knows, any bills in subcommittee nor, obviously, in full 
committee at this point in time. In fact, we have not been given 302(b) 
allocation, as the leader knows. Would the leader be able to tell us 
what schedule he now foresees for appropriations bills and when we 
might do the 302(b) allocations?
  Mr. DeLAY. The gentleman is absolutely correct. We are way behind in 
our appropriations process. I am very concerned about that. We had 
hoped that this year that the House and the Senate could work out an 
agreement of allocation so that we could work together more smoothly 
than we have in the past as two bodies. We are still hopeful that we 
can get that kind of an agreement. But I anticipate the mark-ups in the 
subcommittee to begin, and I am very hopeful they can start beginning 
next week. But it is still probably a little too early to tell.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for his comments.
  Reclaiming my time, obviously, last year the discussion was the 
failure to pass a budget undermined the appropriations process. Of 
course, we have passed a budget, I would say somewhat facetiously. That 
probably undermines the appropriations process as well, but, 
nevertheless, we are behind, as the gentleman indicates. We are 
concerned that we get so far behind that we are unable to pass 
appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year, and I am pleased to 
hear that perhaps we are moving ahead to start giving the allocation 
for the subcommittees and having mark-ups perhaps as soon as next week. 
I thank the gentleman for the information.

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