[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 28, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H3199-H3203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1538, WOUNDED WARRIOR ASSISTANCE
ACT OF 2007
Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 274 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 274
Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule
XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (H.R. 1538) to amend title 10, United States Code,
to improve the management of medical care, personnel actions,
and quality of life issues for members of the Armed Forces
who are receiving medical care in an outpatient status, and
for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be
dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of
the bill are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10
of rule XXI. General debate shall be confined to the bill and
shall not exceed one hour and 20 minutes, with one hour
equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Armed
[[Page H3200]]
Services and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs. After general debate the bill shall be
considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. It shall
be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose
of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment in the
nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Armed
Services now printed in the bill. The committee amendment in
the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. All
points of order against the committee amendment in the nature
of a substitute are waived except those arising under clause
9 or 10 of rule XXI. Notwithstanding clause 11 of rule XVIII,
no amendment to the committee amendment in the nature of a
substitute shall be in order except those printed in the
report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this
resolution. Each such amendment may be offered only in the
order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member
designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall
be debatable for the time specified in the report equally
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent,
shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject
to a demand for division of the question in the House or in
the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such
amendments are waived except those arising under clause 9 or
10 of rule XXI. At the conclusion of consideration of the
bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the
bill to the House with such amendments as may have been
adopted. Any Member may demand a separate vote in the House
on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole to the
bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a
substitute. The previous question shall be considered as
ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage
without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with
or without instructions.
Sec. 2. During consideration in the House of H.R. 1538
pursuant to this resolution, notwithstanding the operation of
the previous question, the Chair may postpone further
consideration of the bill to a time designated by the
Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor) is
recognized for 1 hour.
Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings).
All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Ms. CASTOR asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 274 provides for
consideration of H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007,
under a structured rule. The rule provides 1 hour and 20 minutes of
general debate with 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed
Services, and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
The rule waives all points of orders against consideration of the
bill except clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI. The rule provides that the
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on
Armed Services shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose
of amendment and shall be considered as read. The rule waives all
points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
The rule makes in order only those further amendments printed in the
Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution; in this case, eight
Democratic amendments and four Republican amendments. The amendments
may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered
only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read,
shall be debatable for the time specified in the report, equally
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, not be subject
to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the
question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of
order against the amendment except for clauses 9 and 10 of rule XXI are
waived.
The rule provides one motion to recommit with or without
instructions. Finally, the rule permits the Chair, during consideration
of H.R. 1538, to postpone further consideration to a time designated by
the Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the American people and this new Congress demand,
through this rule and this legislation, that the executive branch move
beyond the rhetoric of ``support our troops'' to concrete actions that
sustain our brave men and women in uniform and their families by
providing the quality health care they deserve when they return from
the battlefield.
Supporting our troops does not mean that you simply salute as you
send them off to war, ask them to serve in sacrifice for our great
country, but it also means that they are supported when they come home,
their families are respected, and our wounded warriors receive superior
health care for their physical injuries and mental scars.
This might sound familiar from the Washington Post: ``The conflict in
Iraq has hatched a town of desperation and dysfunction, clinging to the
pilings of Walter Reed. The wounded are socked away for months and
years in random buildings and barracks in and around the military post.
Mostly what the soldiers do together is wait: for appointments,
evaluation, signatures and lost paperwork to be found. `It's like,' one
military wife said, `if Iraq don't kill you, Walter Reed will.' While a
part of Walter Reed has a full bar, there is not one counselor or
psychologist assigned there to assist soldiers and families in crisis--
an idea proposed by Walter Reed social workers but rejected by the
military command that runs the post.''
To the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, I say what a shame that the
American people had to have their eyes opened by two dedicated
Washington Post reporters as to the treatment of our veterans, the
incompetence and the profound disrespect. These reporters spent
hundreds of hours documenting the intimate struggles of the wounded
warriors who live at Walter Reed. Their stories triggered others from
across the country, like in my hometown paper, the Tampa Tribune.
The Tampa Tribune last week told the story of soldier John Barnes who
was injured by a mortar in Iraq just last year. Barnes was fortunate,
he had a mother who was a dedicated nurse who stood by him during his
days at Walter Reed.
Barnes, now 23, was frequently left unattended, his mother, Valerie
Wallace said, even though he had a severe brain injury. He fell
repeatedly. Orderlies failed to arrive on time to wheel him to
appointments. Medicines were given in the wrong doses; paperwork was
lost or never filed.
`` `I don't think anybody planned this war far out,' said Wallace, an
energetic woman who looks younger than her 45 years. `If you are going
to invade a country and you are expecting to be there for years, you've
got to know there are going to be thousands of casualties,' she said.
`How are you going to take care of them? Where are you going to put
them?'
``Wallace is a registered nurse who has worked for more than a decade
at Tampa General Hospital. She wasn't intimidated by the staff at
Walter Reed, and she knew what questions to ask. Still, the layers of
bureaucracy were overwhelming. The need to remain constantly vigilant
was exhausting. Trust quickly evaporated.
`` `Nobody tells you anything,' Wallace said. 'Nobody prepares you
for anything. You're very much on your own in a world you don't know or
understand, and you are so overcome with grief and worry that you can't
think straight anyway.' ''
Well, these and other stories emboldened military families across the
country and all Americans to stand up and demand better treatment for
our troops and families who have sacrificed so much.
As Speaker Pelosi reminds us often, the support provided to our
troops by the Bush administration has not matched their sacrifice, and,
Mr. Speaker, we will rectify that today.
I wish, back in late 2003, when an Army specialist from Tampa named
Corey Magee contacted my office, because I was a county commissioner
before I was elected to Congress. His family contacted me and said
Corey has been shot in the fire fight in Fallujah after an IED blew up
his tank. He was shot in the neck and paralyzed and eventually flown to
Walter Reed. In some God-given circumstance, I happened to be traveling
to Washington that weekend and was able to assemble a care package from
his family to deliver to Corey. But they couldn't find out what his
situation was. We called and called. We enlisted the help of a United
States Senator at the time who was on the Veterans' Committee. We
[[Page H3201]]
still couldn't get through the bureaucracy.
I had to travel with the Senator's staff to Walter Reed Hospital, and
track down the doctor to find out what brave Corey Magee's prognosis
was. He was a brave young guy, and really in his condition couldn't ask
for help on his own. And do you know, after that he thanked us
profusely for contacting his family and filling them in. He said, ``I
am sure we won't have to call you again. They are going to take good
care of me.''
He returned to Tampa, and I was surprised a few weeks later to get a
phone call from this brave Army specialist because he was having
trouble getting his physical therapy appointments at the Veterans
Hospital.
{time} 1215
So this bill, though it is a step in the right direction today, comes
a bit too late. I wish this bill and I wish the attention had been
focused earlier and the respect paid to these families by the Bush
administration.
As I visited the Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg just a
few weeks ago, you see there are a few brave soldiers there who are
very symbolic of soldiers across the country that are suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder.
One of the soldiers was in his early 20s, had served in Iraq, come
back, trying to get his life together, but it was too much. The mental
scars were too much. The post-traumatic stress set in. His young
marriage faltered. He lost his job, meaning he eventually lost his
home, and ended up as an alcoholic, a homeless alcoholic in his early
20s because of post-traumatic stress disorder.
What he explained to me was what he needed when he came out of the
service was a helping hand. He needed someone proactively to say, are
you all right, son, rather than to give him a checklist to check off to
make sure he was okay.
These are tough guys. They are not going to own up oftentimes to the
fact that they cannot sleep at night and they want to drink their
sorrows and memories away.
Fortunately, I think the American people can be very heartened today
to know that this is a bipartisan effort. Under the leadership of our
Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, I am very fortunate to serve on the Armed
Services Committee under the leadership of Chairman Ike Skelton, and I
salute him and the ranking member for moving this legislation quickly.
We salute the Veterans' Affairs Committee and Chairman Bob Filner but,
mostly, the leadership of the American people who have cried out for
change.
Through this rule and this bill, we are going to improve the health
care and mental health for our wounded warriors. We are going to tackle
the bureaucracy on their behalf. We are going to establish a toll-free
hotline so that families and soldiers and anyone who cares about them
can report deficiencies in our system. We are going to require
expedited action.
Thanks to the leadership of subcommittee Chair Vic Snyder, now
Members of Congress that have desired information about the soldiers
returning to their districts are going to be notified. Members of
Congress oftentimes can be the best advocates for these returning
soldiers, and now it will be a requirement in the law.
We are going to provide medical advocates to these soldiers. We are
going to improve support services to families; and, rather than
mismanage resources, we are going to turn the White House's
privatization initiative around and require accountability.
Coming from Tampa, the home of the Haley VA Center and one of the
four polytrauma centers in the country, I am especially heartened by
the provisions in this bill that improve veterans health care by
providing more physician residents in those polytrauma centers. ABC's
News anchor, Bob Woodruff, brought this to life in his hour-long expose
a few weeks ago. He visited the Haley Polytrauma Center in Tampa. These
are where the most critically injured soldiers are sent for their
health care, the brain injuries, the spinal cord injuries.
What Dr. Robert Scott, the medical director at that medical facility,
told me a few weeks ago is, even though the polytrauma center is
directly across the street from the University of South Florida College
of Medicine, they cannot get the physician residents in training. The
Feds are not providing enough. We need these doctors in training to
learn and train about these critical war injuries and the physical
therapy that our soldiers need.
So, Mr. Speaker, I urge this new Congress to chart a new direction
today and to erase the moral stain on our Nation's conscience.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from
Florida for yielding me the customary 30 minutes; and, Mr. Speaker, I
yield myself as much time as I may consume.
(Mr. HASTINGS of Washington asked and was given permission to revise
and extend his remarks.)
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, our men and women in uniform
routinely risk their lives to protect ours. Along with their families,
they make many sacrifices in service to America. There is no question
that they deserve the very best care that our Nation can provide.
The situation at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center was unacceptable
to all Americans, and I am encouraged that immediate steps have been
taken to address the problems there. But it is just as important to
take action to prevent similar problems from happening at any of our
military health facilities.
Under Republican leadership, Mr. Speaker, recent Congresses have
increased spending per veteran, expanded the concurrent receipt,
written budgets that nearly doubled funding for veterans health care,
and enhanced benefits for those returning from the war on terror.
Now, Congress is taking another step forward, and a proper step
forward, in improving services for both our active military and our
veterans.
Mr. Speaker, the underlying bill before us today makes commonsense
improvements to ensure that our military men and women have access to
the care that they have earned and to help maintain excellence
throughout our military health system.
For example, this legislation creates a new toll-free hotline for
reporting deficiencies at military health care facilities, calls for a
study to identify infrastructure needs, and authorizes funding to
support wounded warriors and their families. It assigns a medical case
manager and a patient advocate to each servicemember receiving
outpatient care and makes sure that these professionals are properly
trained.
The process currently used to determine if a soldier can return to
active duty is improved so that wounded servicemembers are afforded an
opportunity to have input into the decision on whether they should
retire from the service. Provisions are included to provide those
separating or retiring from service with a seamless transition into the
VA system, and the number of doctors at VA hospital facilities is
increased.
Mr. Speaker, it is impossible to talk about military and VA health
care systems without mentioning the unique challenges faced by veterans
in rural areas. My district in central Washington has one of the
highest concentrations of rural veterans in the Northwest. Although I
am working with the VA to get a new outpatient clinic up and running in
the northern part of my district, access to health care remains an
issue of concern for me and my constituents who all too often are
forced to drive hours and sometimes wait months to even get the most
basic care.
So, Mr. Speaker, I am particularly disappointed that an amendment
offered by Mr. Pearce of New Mexico was rejected last night in the
Rules Committee and will not be allowed to be considered on the floor
today. We are missing an opportunity to make a good bill even better by
improving care for our rural veterans. The Pearce amendment is based on
a bill that I have cosponsored that would enable the VA to partner with
existing hospitals and local communities on a case-by-case basis so
that veterans in many rural areas can be cared for closer to home. This
to me, Mr. Speaker, is a commonsense approach to get top-notch care to
veterans without delay. I am at a loss to understand why anyone would
oppose this improvement to caring for our veterans.
Similarly, Mr. Moran of Kansas had an amendment that I also support;
and,
[[Page H3202]]
unfortunately, it, too, was rejected by Democrats on the Rules
Committee.
Our support for improving veterans health care should not be a
partisan issue. I am pleased that both Democrats and Republicans on the
Armed Services Committee have made the underlying bill, the Wounded
Warrior Assistance Act, a priority and that the committee approved it
by unanimous vote.
So, Mr. Speaker, I support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Arcuri), a member of the
Rules Committee.
Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Rules
Committee for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule and the
underlying bill, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act.
Improvements in medical technology over the years allow for more
servicemen and -women to survive injuries sustained in battle. During
World War II, for every soldier that was killed, two were wounded. Now,
this ratio is up to 16 to 1. These incredible medical developments
allow many more men and women to return home to their families, but
their injuries tend to be much more serious and, in many cases, require
additional care for the rest of their lives.
Last month, I had the opportunity to visit with wounded soldiers
recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center. I met several young men
wounded in Iraq, one a constituent of mine from upstate New York. As I
stood next to the mother of one of the soldiers, I saw a look of
sadness on her face, and at that point it struck me, what if one of my
two teenage children were lying in that bed? I know that I would want
the absolute best treatment and care for my children, and our brave
troops deserve nothing less.
Sadly, the administration's mismanagement of the war in Iraq has
extended to the home front as well. The selfless men and women who
volunteered to defend their country have been callously neglected and
were not only sent into battle without adequate resources, they also
returned home to inadequate resources. When they asked for help, no one
answered.
We make a promise to our soldiers to provide for them when they
return home from battle, and it is absolutely unacceptable that this
promise has been broken.
The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act will ensure that more than 25,000
servicemembers who have sustained injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan
receive the world-class treatment and care and services they have so
bravely earned and deserve. This bill creates an efficient system for
the transition of records from the Department of Defense to the
Veterans Administration. It establishes a support system of counselors,
advocates and case managers to ensure timely, comprehensive care; and
it establishes a number to call to report problems in facilities so
that when a soldier asks for help someone answers.
Mr. Speaker, our men and women in uniform deserve the absolute best
care that this Nation has to offer. I urge my colleagues to renew our
promise to our veterans by supporting this rule and the underlying
bill.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3
minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).
Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the
gentleman yielding; and although I do question as well this very
restrictive rule, I rise to speak in very strong support of the
underlying bill.
Mr. Speaker, our Nation is blessed, indeed blessed, that we have
produced the incredible men and women who defend our freedom through
their service and through their sacrifice in our military, and every
one of those who serve do so voluntarily and out of a deep love of
America and a commitment to the freedom that our Nation bestows. They
deserve every last measure of support to ensure that when they are
wounded they receive the best possible care.
And let me say this. The military medical corps has in large measure
provided absolutely incredible care to those wounded in battle. The
advancements in battlefield medicine and the care of our wounded
warriors after they are removed from the battlefield has allowed
countless of our soldiers to survive and to recover fully who in past
conflicts may not have survived. In fact, the statistics that are
coming out of theater are really a remarkable tribute to the doctors
and to the nurses who are engaged there, and those who provide care to
our soldiers deserve our thanks and our praise and our gratitude.
However, the recent discoveries at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital
were disturbing and totally unacceptable. We cannot allow any more
Building 18 incidents to occur, and we must do everything that we
possibly can to ensure that it does not.
This legislation that we are going to be debating shortly is a huge
step in the right direction. It will begin to streamline the
bureaucracy of the military medical systems and lighten the caseload of
case managers by providing more assistance. It will provide a hotline
for those receiving substandard care to report the problems so that
those situations can be dealt with quickly and that the patients
receive the care that they deserve when they need it. And it will
provide for a smooth transition from the Department of Defense health
system to the Department of Veterans Affairs, cutting more red tape so
that the focus can be on the patient and not on the paperwork.
We cannot allow those who have fought our foreign enemies in the
defense of freedom to come home and fight the Federal bureaucracy to
get the health care that they need.
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am very proud to
support this important piece of legislation that our committee produced
in a bipartisan way, and I certainly want to thank Chairman Skelton and
Ranking Member Hunter, who are both patriots and veterans who have
served the cause of freedom, for their dedication to the care of our
troops and for their work in bringing this legislation forward to the
floor today.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support passage of the underlying bill, the
Wounded Warrior Assistance Act. Our brave men and women wounded in
defense of liberty, democracy and freedom deserve no less.
{time} 1230
Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Ohio and distinguished member of the Rules Committee, Ms. Sutton.
Ms. SUTTON. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time for her
leadership on this rule and in the Armed Services Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and in strong support of
H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act. It is an outrage that
our brave men and women, who have served our Nation so honorably, have
returned home, as recent press accounts have revealed, and faced
problems getting the care they so rightly deserve.
As I said before, our troops must have, and we must provide, that
which they need for any mission upon which they are sent. They must
have and we must provide that which they need when they return home.
My home State of Ohio has 6,347 brave soldiers currently serving in
Afghanistan and Iraq. If they are injured in any way, they must have
the care they need when they return home. The roughly 60,000 veterans
in my congressional district and over 1 million veterans in Ohio and
all of our veterans across this Nation deserve better support and
assistance than many of them have received.
The legislation before us arose out of a lack of oversight and
transparency that should have been in place, but was neglected by the
administration and past Congresses. This bipartisan bill ensures that
our wounded soldiers and their families can feel secure in the
knowledge that they will now be properly cared for and treated with the
respect and dignity that they have earned and most certainly deserve.
This bill will ensure that all of our veterans get the care and
assistance they need and improves the overall veterans health care
system to make it easier for them to access and use.
Lastly, this bill puts in place strong oversight and inspection
requirements to ensure that the events of Walter
[[Page H3203]]
Reed and other facilities around this Nation never, ever happen again.
Let's pass this rule and pass this very important bill.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Mitchell).
Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. Speaker, just weeks ago an outraged Nation learned
about the terrible conditions many of our wounded warriors had to
endure as they recovered from battlefield injuries at Walter Reed
Medical Center. We have all heard the sad stories of mold and rat
droppings at Building 18.
Even worse, we have learned that these dilapidated conditions extend
beyond Walter Reed to other military facilities and even veterans
facilities where troops turned veterans face a long, complicated and
confusing process to get the benefits and care they have earned.
Conditions like these and miles of bureaucratic red tape rob our troops
and veterans of what they deserve the most, dignity, respect and honor.
It is absolutely unacceptable, and I am proud that this Congress is
taking action. Just last week, the House approved more than $20 million
to clean up the mess at Walter Reed. We approved more than $550 million
to get rid of the backlog of maintenance requests at veterans
facilities. That is a good start.
Last month, I introduced the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act for
2007, which was the first legislation introduced in this House to
prevent another episode like that of Walter Reed from ever happening
again.
I commend the House Armed Services Committee for putting forward this
legislation, which also establishes guidelines for how returning
soldiers should be treated and measures of accountability. All of our
troops, and all of our veterans, are entitled to quality health care
and should be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. These
are great first steps, but we still have a long way to go to ensure our
troops and veterans are treated properly. They have my commitment that
we will continue to take care of them just as they have taken care of
us.
Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance
of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the bill that this rule makes in order is a good bill.
It passed the Armed Services Committee unanimously. It is something
that is needed now that we need are engaged in this war on terror.
Bills like this, in my view, deserve an open rule, so that you can give
the opportunity for Members on both sides of the aisle to try to
improve this good product and make it better. I cited two examples for
the Rules Committee to not make in order two bills that dealt
specifically with our veterans in rural areas.
While I support the underlying bill, I am opposed to the rule,
because I think the rule could have allowed more amendments to have
been in order or, for that matter, have made this an open rule. I think
that ought to be the standard when we have strong bipartisan support
for legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. CASTOR. Mr. Speaker, 4 years after the start of the war in Iraq,
and less than 100 days since the swearing in of this new Congress, this
Congress will act today.
I urge my colleagues to support this rule and this legislation so we
can pass the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007. Let's send a
message, let's stand up for our brave troops in the field, not just
when they are serving on the battlefield, but when they return home.
Let's give the families the respect they deserve and make sure that we
are providing superior health care whether it's a physical injury or a
mental scar.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on
the rule.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the
previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
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 are postponed.
____________________