[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 147 (Tuesday, November 8, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H9988-H9990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MOTION TO GO TO CONFERENCE ON H.R. 3010, DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH 
AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2006

  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule XXII and by 
direction of the Committee on Appropriations, I move to take from the 
Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 3010) making appropriations for the 
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and 
related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for 
other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the 
Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).
  The motion was agreed to.


                 Motion to Instruct Offered by Mr. Obey

  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct conferees.
  The Clerk read as follows:
       Mr. Obey moves that the managers on the part of the House 
     at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses 
     on the bill, H.R. 3010, be instructed to insist that the 
     conference agreement include:
       (a) Not less than $8.095 billion to adequately prepare the 
     nation for a flu pandemic;
       (b) $5.1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance 
     Program, an increase of $3.1 billion over the House bill, to 
     help the elderly and the poor cope with rising energy prices;
       (c) An additional $1.583 billion over the House bill to 
     promote life through doing real things to reduce the pressure 
     for abortions by making it economically easier for low-income 
     and vulnerable women to choose to carry pregnancies to term, 
     including increases above the House bill of $175 million for 
     the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, $98 million for 
     Healthy Start, $200 million for childcare, $500 million for 
     after-school centers, $155 million for Head Start, $330 
     million for the Community Services Block Grant, and $125 
     million for Domestic Violence Prevention;
       (d) An additional $476 million over the House bill to help 
     maintain the basic health care safety net, including 
     providing the full increase requested by the President for 
     Community Health Centers, and keeping funding at no less than 
     last year's level for the Healthy Communities Access Program 
     and key health professions programs;
       (e) An additional $5.5 billion over the House bill to 
     provide meaningful educational opportunities for America's 
     children, including a $3 billion increase over the House bill 
     for Title 1 grants to make progress on No Child Left Behind 
     funding promises so that low-income children can learn, a 
     $1.6 billion increase over the House bill to meet our 
     commitments to children with disabilities, a $100 million 
     increase over the House bill to alleviate the impact of 
     military dependents on local schools; and an $840 million 
     increase over the House bill to boost the maximum Pell Grant 
     by $200 in order to partially offset a 34% increase in 
     college costs since 2001;
       (f) An additional $439 million over the House bill to 
     protect American workers, wages and jobs by investing in job 
     training and worker protection programs at home and abroad, 
     including restoring an 87% cut in funding for the 
     International Labor Affairs Bureau at the Department of 
     Labor; and
       (g) Offsetting the cost of the above, and producing 
     additional deficit reduction, through reductions in tax cuts 
     for households with incomes above $1,000,000.

  Mr. OBEY (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the motion to instruct be considered as read and printed in the 
Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order on the 
gentleman's motion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The point of order is reserved.
  Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XXII, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Obey) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) each will control 30 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I will not take more than 3. I simply would 
like

[[Page H9989]]

to, as a courtesy to the House, explain the motion.
  For the last 2 weeks, the attention of the House has been focused on 
the efforts of the majority party to pass its reconciliation bill, 
which includes significant cuts in food stamps, in child support 
enforcement, in disability payments in order to pay for the tax cuts 
which this Congress has already largely passed. The problem that we 
have with that is that this bill, in effect, hits those same poor 
people a second time with cuts in education, health, worker protection 
programs that are in the bill.
  The Senate appeared to give the persons interested in this bill some 
hope that those cuts could be avoided by adding a $3 billion financing 
gimmick to their proposal. But it is clear now that that provision is 
being discarded, and that means that the new caps that the 
Appropriations Committee adopted last week will eliminate the ability 
of the Senate to provide that extra $3 billion. That means that the 
only way that we can avoid that hit is to reduce the size of the tax 
cuts being provided to make room in the budget for some of these 
crucial items.
  So this motion simply attempts to instruct the conferees to accept 
the Harkin amendment which would add $8 billion in order to pay fully 
for the flu pandemic work that needs to be done. It would instruct the 
conferees to add $3 billion to the low-income heating assistance 
program to take into account the huge increase in home energy prices 
that consumers will face this year, especially low-income consumers.
  It would provide an additional $1.5 billion in programs that are 
meant to discourage abortion, programs such as a maternal and child 
health block grant, Head Start, domestic violence and numerous others, 
one-half billion dollars to restore health professions training, and $3 
billion to put title I on a 5-year track to full funding under No Child 
Left Behind; $1.6 billion in additional funding for disabled and 
handicapped children trying to put that program on the same 5-year 
glide path; and one-half billion dollars in restoration for worker 
training and job training programs.
  It would ask the conferees to support a provision which would reduce 
the size of the tax cuts for millionaires from an average of $140,000 
to $36,000. That is still a pretty hefty cut.
  Mr. Speaker, in essence, that is what the motion to instruct would 
provide. We are offering it because this is the last chance that this 
body has to reach a different set of judgments concerning budget 
priorities that affect the poorest and most defenseless people in this 
society.


                             Point of Order

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Ohio continue to 
reserve his point of order?
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order against the motion 
because it violates clause 9 of rule XXII by proposing to direct the 
conferees to exceed the scope of matters committed to the conference. 
And I ask for a ruling from the Chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does any Member wish to speak on the point 
of order?

                              {time}  1230

  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, if one looks at the Budget Act, the purpose of 
the Budget Act was to force a Congress to get away from runaway 
spending and runaway deficits by forcing the Congress to confront 
trade-offs between spending and revenues. In fact, the Congress is 
being prevented from doing that and the Congress is being shielded from 
facing those explicit trade-offs unless amendments such as this are 
offered and debated fully in the House.
  We recognize that funding for these programs under the budget 
resolution is being cut back in order to make room in that same budget 
resolution for the tax cuts that have been provided and to make room 
for further tax cuts which the majority party is talking about offering 
this week. If we cannot offer this kind of an amendment, then it would 
seem to me that the entire budget process has been intellectually 
corrupted and turned into a mere enforcement mechanism for majority 
party will rather than being used as a device to work out an explicit 
and forthright set of trade-offs.
  I would urge the Chair to reject the point of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simmons). The Chair is prepared to rule 
on the point of order.
  The Chair finds that the proposed instructions dwell their operative 
focus on matters not within the scope of the differences committed to 
conference by the two Houses.
  On these premises, the Chair holds that the instructions do exceed 
the scope of conference.
  The point of order is sustained.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, most reluctantly, I do appeal the ruling of 
the Chair, not because I have any fault with the Chair, but because 
this is the only opportunity this institution will have to make a 
different set of priority choices.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, shall the decision of the 
Chair stand as the judgment of the House.


                 Motion to Table Offered By Mr. Regula

  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the appeal on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to table will be followed by 5-minute votes 
on motions to suspend the rules on H. Res. 38, H. Res. 302, and H.R. 
3770.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 218, 
nays 173, not voting 42, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 573]

                               YEAS--218

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Bachus
     Baker
     Barrett (SC)
     Bartlett (MD)
     Barton (TX)
     Bass
     Beauprez
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonner
     Bono
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Bradley (NH)
     Brady (TX)
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chocola
     Coble
     Cole (OK)
     Conaway
     Crenshaw
     Cubin
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis (KY)
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal (GA)
     DeLay
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Doolittle
     Drake
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     English (PA)
     Everett
     Feeney
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick (PA)
     Flake
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Fossella
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gingrey
     Gohmert
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Hall
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hostettler
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Inglis (SC)
     Issa
     Istook
     Jenkins
     Jindal
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Keller
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kuhl (NY)
     LaHood
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     McCaul (TX)
     McCotter
     McCrery
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McKeon
     McMorris
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy
     Musgrave
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Ney
     Northup
     Nunes
     Nussle
     Osborne
     Otter
     Oxley
     Paul
     Pearce
     Pence
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Pombo
     Porter
     Price (GA)
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renzi
     Reynolds
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Saxton
     Schmidt
     Schwarz (MI)
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Sodrel
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Walden (OR)
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wicker
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wolf
     Young (AK)

                               NAYS--173

     Abercrombie
     Allen
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boren
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brown (OH)
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carson
     Case
     Chandler
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Cramer
     Cuellar
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Doggett
     Edwards
     Emanuel
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr

[[Page H9990]]


     Fattah
     Filner
     Ford
     Frank (MA)
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Harman
     Herseth
     Higgins
     Hinojosa
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kind
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Markey
     Marshall
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McCollum (MN)
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Melancon
     Menendez
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Pastor
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Ross
     Rothman
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sabo
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sanders
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schwartz (PA)
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Spratt
     Stark
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Taylor (MS)
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Van Hollen
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--42

     Ackerman
     Andrews
     Berman
     Boswell
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown, Corrine
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Conyers
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Davis (TN)
     Dingell
     Doyle
     Gutknecht
     Harris
     Hastings (FL)
     Hinchey
     Jones (NC)
     Jones (OH)
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Lee
     Marchant
     Meeks (NY)
     Millender-McDonald
     Moran (VA)
     Norwood
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Poe
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Solis
     Souder
     Towns
     Velazquez
     Waters
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Young (FL)

                              {time}  1259

  Messrs. Higgins, Melancon, Larson of Connecticut, Honda, Doggett, 
Kennedy of Rhode Island and Ms. McKinney changed their vote from 
``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Messrs. Hoekstra, Peterson of Pennsylvania, Smith of Texas and Otter 
changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 573, I was unavoidably 
detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''
  Stated against:
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 573, I was caught 
in traffic, returning from the Virginia polls. Had I been present, I 
would have voted ``no.''
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 573 on H.R. 3010, I was 
unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

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