[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 134 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H9012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AMENDMENT PROCESS FOR H.R. 1461, FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE REFORM ACT OF 
                                  2005

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the Rules Committee may meet next week to 
grant a rule which could limit the amendment process for floor 
consideration of H.R. 1461, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 
2005. The bill was introduced on April 5 and referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services which ordered the bill reported out by a vote of 
65-5 on May 25 and filed in the House on July 14.
  Any Member wishing to offer an amendment should submit 55 copies of 
the amendment and one copy of a brief explanation of the amendment to 
the Rules Committee in room H-312 of the Capitol by noon on Tuesday, 
October 25, 2005. Members should draft their amendments to the text of 
the bill as reported by the Committee on Financial Services on July 14. 
Members should use the Office of Legislative Counsel to ensure that 
their amendments are drafted in the most appropriate format. Members 
are advised to check with the Office of the Parliamentarian to be 
certain their amendments comply with the rules of the House.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SESSIONS. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I would ask the gentleman: the bill which you just 
indicated would be on the floor next week and you asked for amendments 
to be filed in a timely fashion is a very important bill. It came out, 
as you pointed out, with overwhelming bipartisan support. I think you 
said 65-7. Since that time, it is my understanding that there has been 
some change in the bill. In particular, I refer to the provision which 
deals with the ability of those who may receive dollars under the 
provisions of the bill for the purposes of constructing affordable 
housing, that if they receive Federal funds that they will be unable to 
thereafter participate in encouraging voter registration drives or 
getting more people on the rolls to vote. That is something that I 
think the whole House ought to address.
  I believe the ranking member is going to ask that that be struck from 
the bill so that there not be a preclusion on voter registration drives 
or participation. The Catholic Conference is very concerned about that. 
I would presume a number of faith-based organizations are very 
concerned about that provision. I may have a discussion briefly with 
the acting majority leader on that issue as well.
  But can the gentleman tell me whether or not he believes the Rules 
Committee will allow the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) to 
offer an amendment which would put the bill back in the position which 
65 people in the committee supported at the time it was reported out.
  I thank my colleague for yielding and would ask him if he can give us 
some thought on that issue, which we feel very strongly about, and hope 
that that amendment can be protected and made in order by the committee 
and that we will have a full and fair debate on the floor of the House 
with reference to that amendment.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Reclaiming my time, I appreciate the gentleman not only 
asking these questions but bringing up and talking about some important 
issues.
  First of all, I would be the first one to admit that we have for the 
last few weeks been dealing with issues related to Katrina and other 
important matters as it relates to housing.
  To answer the gentleman most directly, I must say that the 
instructions that I have given are that we are going back to the bill 
of July 14. There have been no changes made at this time to that. That 
will be the text that will be considered by the Rules Committee. The 
Rules Committee, as we deliberate, we take into consideration 
amendments of how people would wish for the bill to be changed, new 
thoughts and ideas; and that will be just as current as the filing date 
that we have set. So it is my hope that you would have the opportunity 
to work with Members of your party, and that this announcement would be 
available for Members of my party to say that we are open to any 
amendment, any thought process that people would like to come to the 
Rules Committee.
  It is not unusual for us to hold hearings and take testimony that may 
take hours and hours and we hear from people. That thought process will 
be considered next week. The chairman of the Rules Committee, the 
gentleman from California, has instructed me to advise Members that we 
will be ready to do business next week and be open to the amendment 
process as Members choose.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for that information. There has been 
some suggestion, I understand, however, that although the bill may be 
in the same shape now, that there is a manager's amendment proposed and 
that the vote on the manager's amendment, which we presume, we have not 
seen it, would cover a multitude of subjects that are in the bill; that 
the vote on the issue that I have raised could be made on that 
manager's amendment. Therefore, you would have to vote against the 
manager's amendment if it changes the provision to which I referred.
  I would hope, and this is not a question, just an expression, that 
the majority would make in order an amendment so that we could have a 
debate on that issue if in fact the manager's amendment does what we 
are concerned about and some people are proposing undermining the 
ability of some groups, faith-based groups. That is why the Catholic 
Conference is so concerned about it, faith-based groups or other groups 
who would build affordable housing, get money under the bill and then 
be precluded from participating in any efforts, not partisan efforts 
but nonpartisan efforts to get people on the rolls.
  I would just urge the gentleman, who is a distinguished member of the 
Rules Committee, to consider, very hopefully, favorably the request of 
Ranking Member Frank to have made in order an amendment to deal with 
that subject. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. SESSIONS. I would say to the gentleman, reclaiming my time, that 
the Rules Committee has been visited by the gentleman from 
Massachusetts. He is no stranger to the Rules Committee. You also in 
your leadership capacities and otherwise as a Member of Congress 
representing your constituents from Maryland have been very vigorous in 
your support of the things which you believe, the ideas which you 
choose to press to the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee is very 
open, and our esteemed chairman will make available that time.
  We do not know the content of that manager's amendment that you are 
talking about at this time. We once again encourage all Members, 
including the process that will be followed for the manager's 
amendment, to be filed on that date, October 25.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman.

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