[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 75 (Tuesday, June 13, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H3803-H3805]
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. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the 
Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 862, and ask for its 
immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 862

       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 June 13, 2006, providing for consideration 
     of the bill (H.R. 5576) making appropriations for the 
     Departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and 
     Urban Development, the Judiciary, District of Columbia, and 
     independent agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
     2007, and for other purposes.


[[Page H3804]]


  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dent). The gentleman from Florida is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. For the purpose of debate only, I 
yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend from Florida (Mr. 
Hastings), 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. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida asked and was given permission to 
revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 862 
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. 
House Resolution 862 will allow the House to consider the rule for 
consideration of the Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban 
Development Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2007.
  The Rules Committee received numerous requests from the authorizing 
committees to expose portions of the bill that they feel represent 
legislating on appropriations bills. We are working through those 
requests now. Later today the Rules Committee will meet to thoroughly 
consider these requests and report out a rule.
  Although we have not passed a final rule on this bill yet, Mr. 
Speaker, historically appropriations bills have come to the House floor 
governed by an open rule. I expect that we will continue to do so in 
order to allow each and every Member of this House the opportunity to 
submit amendments for consideration, obviously, as long as they comply 
with the rules of the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this same-day rule so we 
can move forward to the rule on this important appropriation bill as 
soon as the rule is ready.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Florida, my good friend, Mr. Diaz-Balart, for yielding me the time; and 
I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a bit of trepidation about this rule 
and this process, which clearly circumvents the regular order of 
business of the House. I can find no reasonable explanation or sensible 
justification for going around the well-established rules of this body 
to bring the transportation appropriations bill to the floor today in 
this manner.
  The majority has been so kind in explaining why it believes that this 
martial law is needed. Unfortunately, the majority's explanation has 
fallen a bit short on convincing this side of the aisle that we need to 
do this today and not tomorrow.
  For the life of me, I can't figure out why this bill must come to the 
floor in this manner. It is, after all, only Tuesday. You would think 
that after controlling the House for 11 years that my friends in the 
majority would have figured out how to bring a nonemergency 
appropriations bill to the floor under regular order. Indeed, there is 
simply no good reason to handle these bills outside the normal 
parameters of the way the House should conduct its business.
  Moreover, when the House does operate this way, it effectively 
curtails our rights and responsibilities as serious legislators. When 
the leadership of this body bypasses the rules of regular order, as it 
is attempting to again do today, it really does discredit this great 
institution in which all of us are privileged to serve.
  Realize, Mr. Speaker, my concerns are not content but rather process. 
This martial law rule sends a false message to the American people that 
this is what the Framers intended when they envisioned the House of 
Representatives. The House of Representatives ought to be a body of 
thought and deliberation, where America's greatest needs are given 
proper consideration. Under the majority, however, thought and 
deliberation have been replaced by rubber stamps and obvious 
disorganization. This is not a good thing, and it is a disservice to 
the American people.
  I really do urge my colleagues to reject continued attempts to 
circumvent regular order in the House of Representatives.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would simply note 
that the Transportation, Treasury, HUD bill passed the full 
Appropriations Committee by a voice vote on June 6. In other words, 
without opposition, without noted opposition; and the bill was filed on 
June 9. It has been available for everyone to see and review for days 
now. It was also on the schedule since last week.
  I have no further speakers on this side of the aisle. I would ask my 
good friend if he has any other speakers.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I was trying to allow that we go a bit 
longer only for the reason that the next agenda matter is not present 
for us. I won't make an accusation that that allows that my friends in 
the majority are having difficulty in organizing their efforts.
  My good friend from Florida, for example, just commented that this 
has been a measure, or this is a measure, that was passed and that it 
has been known since June 9; and at the very same time, at the outset, 
you began by saying that we are in the process of determining what we 
are going to do before we report out the rule.
  You know, we use a lot of beltway language here, and for a long time 
I didn't believe that there was a beltway mentality. The tragedy is now 
I, as well as others that I know, have become a part of it. Let me say 
what I am talking about.
  When I say I am not talking about content, I am not talking about the 
substance of the transportation measure that is so critical to this 
Nation. What I really am talking about is the process where the 
Nation's representatives get an opportunity to speak on issues of vital 
concern. So, then, when we say that this rule circumvents regular 
order, as a general rule Jane and Joe Lunchbucket don't have a clue 
what we are talking about. So perhaps it would be helpful, since we 
have a little time, to explain to them what regular order would 
normally require for a nonemergency appropriations measure.
  The rule that we are getting ready to present this transportation 
measure under also called for same-day consideration of legislation 
providing for the Department of Transportation, Treasury, Housing and 
Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia and 
independent agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and 
for other purposes. What it does is it circumvents one of the rules, 
which is 6(a) of rule XIII. That generally doesn't mean a thing to the 
American public, but let me tell them what it means.
  That rule requires a two-thirds vote in order to consider a rule on 
the same day reported from the Rules Committee. Two-thirds of the 
Members of this House would have to do that. What we are doing with 
this rule is we are waiving that two-thirds requirement and we are 
saying it is all right, you can bring up any of these things under the 
same-day rule because it doesn't require two-thirds of the Members.
  I can assure you if two-thirds of the membership were required in 
order for us to be able to proceed along regular order, it might not be 
difficult to achieve; but it would be fair for us to function that way. 
So we have ignored the process repeatedly here in the House of 
Representatives. And what that does is it creates a situation where 
Members in the House of Representatives who represent constituents 
don't get an opportunity to have their measures considered by the Rules 
Committee or by the House under regular order, thereby precluding them 
from having an opportunity to actually receive the best interests of 
their representative as it pertains to issues that are germane to their 
interests in their locales.
  That is a long way to describe that when you waive the process, you 
waive the rights of the people that we represent to have their 
representatives present their views here on the floor of the House of 
Representatives and to have this great deliberative body work its will. 
Therein lies the rub with this particular kind of process.
  It even has a distinct name: martial law. That sounds like something 
that is forcing something or requiring something to be done under the 
aegis of authoritarian rule. That is not right, and that is what we 
complain of, those of us that have the opportunity and privilege to do 
so in the Rules Committee.

[[Page H3805]]

  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. 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 SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. 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, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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