[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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