[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 121 (Thursday, September 30, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7868-H7869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    WAIVING REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO 
                  CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS

  Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 807 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 807

       Resolved, That the requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII 
     for a two-thirds vote to consider a report from the Committee 
     on Rules on the same day it is presented to the House is 
     waived with respect to any resolution reported on the 
     legislative day of September 30, 2004, providing for 
     consideration of a bill to provide an extension of highway, 
     highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other 
     programs funded out of the Highway

[[Page H7869]]

     Trust Fund pending enactment of a law reauthorizing the 
     Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds) 
is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the 
purpose of debate only.
  (Mr. REYNOLDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 807 is a same-day rule 
that provides for consideration of the rule to accompany H.R. 5183, the 
Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004. The rule waives clause 
6(a) of rule XIII requiring a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the 
same day it is reported from the Committee on Rules.
  Mr. Speaker, the current extension of the highway bill ends at 
midnight tonight. The Congress must therefore act immediately to ensure 
that there is no termination in projects or jobs while we continue to 
formulate the package that will reauthorize the Transportation Equity 
Act for another 6 years. The legislation must be moved forward today in 
order to continue funding for highway, highway safety, motor carrier 
safety, transit and other programs at the levels approved in the fiscal 
year 2004 budget resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for 
yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the transportation bill is one of the most strongly 
supported, popular, and bipartisan measures to be considered in the 
House. The programs authorized in this bill touch every American and 
affect their lives every single day. There are probably only a handful 
of Members who do not want to see the transportation bill reauthorized 
for another 6 years.
  But it appears that the Republican leadership and the administration 
are stonewalling this process by their refusal to work in good faith 
with the other body. Let us look at the facts. Republicans are in 
charge of the White House, the Senate, and the House of 
Representatives. But, instead of providing real leadership, the 
Republican leadership and the President have let the conferees dangle 
in the wind while we continue to pass short-term extension after short-
term extension of these important programs.
  By my count, Mr. Speaker, this is the sixth temporary extension to be 
considered and sent to the President. Do not get me wrong. I strongly 
support these programs. I understand that the gentleman from Alaska 
(Mr. Young), the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) and others are doing their best given the 
draconian allocation set by the Republican leadership. I support these 
extensions because we cannot afford to let these programs expire. But 
it is important to know that the Republican leadership and the Bush 
administration have not done all they can to ensure that the full 
reauthorization is completed and signed before the programs expire.
  Mr. Speaker, the President is the leader of his party. Yet the 
President has shown a lack of leadership on this issue. The 
transportation bill will provide every American with roads and bridges 
that they need. It will provide economic stimulus across the country 
with the various projects that are written into it. Most importantly, 
this bill will create new jobs at a time when the new jobs are 
desperately needed. But instead of looking out for the American public, 
the President and the Republican leadership in this body have held onto 
their ideology to the detriment of this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to say again that I support this extension. While 
I am concerned anytime the Republican leadership proposes a martial law 
rule, I also want to express my support for this particular rule that 
will allow us to consider this sixth extension and send it to the 
President before these programs expire. But I am disappointed and 
discouraged by the way the President and the Republican leadership have 
mismanaged this process, and I hope we can do better next year.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 
move the previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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