[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 125 (Thursday, September 11, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H8212-H8213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. LEWIS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to yield to the 
majority to inquire about the schedule for next week. I am pleased to 
yield to my friend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman.)
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from 
Georgia for yielding to me. I would be happy to talk about the schedule 
for next week.
  The House has completed its work for this week. Our business is over. 
All members and staff are invited to attend a remembrance ceremony 
today in memory of those innocent lives that were lost 2 years ago this 
morning in the terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and here at 
the Pentagon. This ceremony will begin at noon on the West Front of the 
Capitol.
  With regard to next week's schedule, Mr. Speaker, the House will 
convene on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. for morning hour, 2 p.m. for 
legislative business. At that time we expect to consider several 
measures under suspension of the rules as well as potential motions to 
go to conference.
  Any votes called on the measures that will be considered Tuesday 
afternoon will be rolled until after 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
  On Wednesday, the House will meet for legislative business at 10:00 
a.m. We expect to consider legislation under suspension of the rules on 
Wednesday.
  Next week, we also plan to consider H.R. 7, the Charitable Giving Act 
of 2003, and H.R. 1829, the Federal Prison Industries Competition in 
Contracting Act of 2003.
  In addition, I would like to note that we may consider one or more 
conference reports towards the end of the week. Members should be aware 
that we will be in session Thursday, possibly late into the evening on 
Thursday, in order to complete these important pieces of legislation.
  Finally, I would like to note that for all Members we do not plan to 
have votes next Friday, September 19. I thank the gentleman from 
Georgia for yielding to me, and I would be happy to answer any 
questions that he may have.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I will continue to yield in order 
for the gentleman to clarify which appropriation bills we expect to 
move or he expects to move to go to conference on next Tuesday. We are 
hearing that the DOD, Military Construction and Legislative branch 
bills are possible.
  Mr. PORTMAN. I appreciate the gentleman from Georgia for yielding 
further and he is exactly right. The Senate has requested conference on 
those three appropriations bills, Legislative branch, the DOD, and the 
Mil Con bill, Military Construction. We expect to move to appoint 
conferees to one or more of these on Tuesday afternoon. In addition, as 
the Senate completes additional measures, I would anticipate the 
possibility of going to conference on additional items as well next 
week.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I will further yield to inquire, 
is there any other bill possible? What about the Labor-HHS-Education 
bill, does the gentleman expect we will move to go to conference on 
this bill next week?
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is a possibility. I respond to my friend 
from Georgia, we do not have a request yet from the Senate on that 
legislation for conference, but it is possible that we could move the 
Labor-HHS bill next week as well.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I will further yield to my friend from Ohio. 
What about the charitable choice tax bill, what type of rule might we 
expect on this bill? Will amendments or a substitute be allowed?

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, as my colleague on the Committee on Ways 
and Means will recall, we did have a good debate in the committee on 
this legislation, and it is a bipartisan piece of legislation, the 
Charitable Giving Act. I do not know frankly what the Committee on 
Rules is going to do in terms of the structure of the rule. I am 
convinced that there will be a good debate on it, and we will have a 
motion to recommit and possibly a substitute, but I just do not know 
what the Committee on Rules is going to decide in terms of how the rule 
is structured.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I will not continue to keep my 
colleague long, but I would like to know, and I will yield, will the 
FAA conference report be on the floor next week? If so, which day?
  Mr. PORTMAN. That is a good question. If the gentleman will continue 
to yield, the FAA authorization expires at the end of September, as the 
gentleman knows, and we need to pass this legislation before that time. 
Otherwise, airports across the country will risk losing their grants to 
upgrade everything from their instrument landing systems to their 
runways they need to expand. So we do intend to schedule this important 
legislation before the end of September so we do not get into that 
problem, but at this point we are not certain if it will come to the 
floor next week or the following week.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I will continue to yield to 
inquire, the gentleman suggested that there may be other conference 
reports. Can we expect to have any other conference report on the floor 
next week? If so, which conference reports might we have?
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague yielding further. 
It is possible that we would have a couple of other conference reports. 
Certainly the energy bill is a possibility. There may be good progress, 
we understand, in that conference. Everybody is eager to be sure, with 
the blackouts and with our increasing dependence on foreign oil, we 
move forward a national energy strategy. So that is one possibility.
  Another would be the Department of Defense authorization bill, which 
is also in conference, and as my colleague knows, with these conference 
reports it is difficult to predict what will happen in conference, but 
if those conferences

[[Page H8213]]

are completed, we would expect to move those conference reports to the 
floor as soon as possible.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, let me just ask my friend maybe in 
closing, why is there a need for us to be here late next Thursday 
night? The gentleman says as a possibility.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Well, it really depends on what kind of progress we make 
earlier in the week I suppose. We are going to come in, as we said, 
Tuesday night and start with suspensions and then we start working on 
some of these other bills, but it looks as though the Charitable Choice 
Giving Act and the Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act 
will take quite a bit of time on Wednesday and Thursday. So, again, we 
are telling Members they should expect to be here on Thursday night 
probably to vote on the Federal Prison Industries Competition in 
Contracting Act.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend and 
colleague from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for being so forthcoming.

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