[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 21, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9747-H9748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS, FISCAL YEAR 2004

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 407, 
I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 73) making further continuing 
appropriations for the fiscal year 2004, and for other purposes, and 
ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The text of House Joint Resolution 73 is as follows:

                              H.J. Res. 73

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That Public 
     Law 108-84 is amended by striking the date specified in 
     section 107(c) and inserting ``November 7, 2003''.
       Sec. 2. Section 8144(b) of the Department of Defense 
     Appropriations Act, 2003 (Public Law 107-248), as amended by 
     Public Law 108-84, is further amended by striking ``October 
     31, 2003'' and inserting ``November 7, 2003''.
       Sec. 3. Section 8091(b) of the Department of Defense 
     Appropriations Act, 2004 (Public Law 108-87) is hereby 
     repealed.
       Sec. 4. The provisions of the following bills of the 108th 
     Congress are hereby enacted into law:
       (1) Agriculture, rural development, food and drug 
     administration, and related agencies.--H.R. 2673, as passed 
     by the House of Representatives on July 14, 2003.
       (2) Commerce, justice, and state, the judiciary, and 
     related agencies.--H.R. 2799, as passed by the House of 
     Representatives on July 23, 2003.
       (3) District of columbia.--H.R. 2765, as passed by the 
     House of Representatives on September 9, 2003.
       (4) Foreign operations, export financing, and related 
     programs.--H.R. 2800, as passed by the House of 
     Representatives on July 24, 2003.
       (5) Transportation, treasury, and independent agencies.--
     H.R. 2989, as passed by the House of Representatives on 
     September 9, 2003.
       (6) Veterans affairs and housing and urban development, and 
     independent agencies.--H.R. 2861, as passed by the House of 
     Representatives on July 25, 2003.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 407, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Obey) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. YOUNG of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the legislation before the House, 
H.J. Res. 73, is the second continuing resolution for fiscal year 2004. 
As you know, the current CR expires on October 31, 2003. This bill will 
extend the CR through November 7, 2003, but more importantly it will 
provide a vehicle to address the remaining six appropriations bills 
that have been passed by the House but that have not been passed by the 
Senate as of today.
  These bills are the following: the Agriculture appropriations bill; 
the Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary appropriations bill; the 
appropriations bill for the District of Columbia; the Foreign 
Operations appropriations bill; the Transportation and Treasury 
appropriations bill, and the VA, Housing and Urban Development 
appropriations bill.
  Section 4 of this CR, H.J. Res. 73, will consolidate these six bills 
for the purpose of finishing the remaining appropriations bills. As you 
are aware, the House has passed all 13 regular appropriations bills and 
last week passed a supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2004.
  Three very important bills have already been signed into law, the 
Defense appropriations bill, the Homeland Security appropriations bill, 
and the Legislative Branch appropriations bill, which was also the 
vehicle for a supplemental appropriations for natural disasters and 
forest fires. We continue to move forward on conferences with the other 
body on four bills that they have passed.
  We hope to have the conference reports for Energy and Water, Military 
Construction, Interior, and Labor and Health and Human Services ready 
for House consideration as early as next week.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe the CR itself is noncontroversial. I urge the 
House to

[[Page H9748]]

move this legislation through the Senate so the government can continue 
to operate smoothly and efficiently so that we can come closer to 
finishing our regular appropriations bills.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I think Members need to understand where this CR fits in 
the scheme of things. As the chairman of the committee, the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Young), has indicated, this continuing resolution 
when it moves to the Senate will become the vehicle by which the 
committee deals with the omnibus appropriations bills or the bills that 
will be included in the omnibus bill.
  That will mean that the real CR will have to be brought up next week. 
And at that time we will see a continuing resolution that keeps the 
government open to a date somewhere between November 15 and 
Thanksgiving, I presume. I sincerely hope that by Thanksgiving there 
will be no need for additional CRs, but I am very skeptical that that 
will be the case. I am afraid that it is beginning to look a lot like 
Christmas. I hope that that is not true, but I suspect it may be.
  So having already said everything that needs to be said on the CR, I 
am prepared to yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) 
and the committee for all of the support and the cooperation that we 
have had. As I have said numerous times on the floor, with the 
cooperation of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) we have managed 
all of our bills well on time to have concluded by the end of the year. 
But we are only one House of the Congress.
  We will work with our partners in the Senate to conclude this 
business of appropriations as early as we possibly can.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  Mr. Speaker, I simply want to observe, as I think the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) indicated this morning, that last year when we had 
so many appropriation bills not passed until the next session of 
Congress, the cry we frequently heard on the majority side of the aisle 
was that ``The Senate made me do it.'' And they were all too eager to 
blame the Senate for the fact that most appropriation bills had gone 
nowhere.
  As the saying goes, this year they do not have Senator Daschle to 
kick around anymore with the Democrats being in the minority. And so I 
think it will be interesting to see whether or not the majority sooner 
or later can either end its debate with itself or else on several of 
these bills reach across the aisle and try to work out a more 
bipartisan solution.
  I know the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) has certainly tried, 
and I believe I have tried; but sometimes things are settled at a level 
above our pay grade. That is the way life is, and that is the way this 
institution is.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I urge that we pass this CR and 
get the process moving, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  The joint resolution is considered read for amendment, and pursuant 
to House Resolution 407 the previous question is ordered.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the joint 
resolution.
  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 
time, and was read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the joint 
resolution.
  Pursuant to clause 10 of rule XX, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question 
will be postponed.

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