[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 16, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D691-D694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 20 public bills, H.R. 2336-
2355; and 3 resolutions, H. Con. Res. 149; and H. Res. 410-411 were 
introduced.
  Pages H5290-91
Additional Cosponsors:
  Pages H5292-94
Reports Filed: Reports were filed today as follows:
  Conference report on S. Con. Res. 21, a resolution setting forth the 
congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 
2008 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 
2007 and 2009 through 2012 (H. Rept. 110-153);
  H.R. 811, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a 
voter-verified permanent paper ballot under title III of such Act, with 
an amendment (H. Rept. 110-154);
  H.R. 698, to amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to establish 
industrial bank holding company regulation, with an amendment (H. Rept. 
110-155); and

[[Page D692]]


  H. Res. 409, providing for consideration of the conference report to 
accompany the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 21 setting forth the 
congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 
2008 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 
2007 and 2009 through 2012 (H. Rept. 110-156).
Page H5290
Committee Resignations: Read a letter from Representative Calvert 
wherein he resigned from the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 
on Science and Technology, and the Committee on Natural Resources due 
to his election to the Committee on Appropriations.
  Page H5060
Motion to Adjourn: Rejected the Buyer motion to adjourn by a yea-and-
nay vote of 161 yeas to 253 nays, Roll No. 350.
  Pages H5066-67
Motion to Adjourn: Rejected the Davis (KY) motion to adjourn by a yea-
and-nay vote of 157 yeas to 245 nays, Roll No. 353.
  Page H5071
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008: The House 
began consideration of H.R. 1585, to authorize appropriations for 
fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense 
and to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2008. 
Further consideration is expected to resume Thursday, May 17th. 
                                            Pages H5060-71, H5127-H5282
  Pursuant to the rule, the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
recommended by the Committee on Armed Services now printed in the bill 
shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of amendment. 
                                                             Page H5149
  Rejected the Price (GA) motion that the Committee rise by a recorded 
vote of 177 ayes to 219 noes, Roll No. 355. Earlier, a vote was called 
pending the absence of a quorum, and, subsequently 397 members recorded 
their presence, Roll No. 354.
Pages H5128-31
  Rejected the Westmoreland motion that the Committee rise by a 
recorded vote of 184 ayes to 222 noes, Roll No. 357. Earlier, a vote 
was called pending the absence of a quorum, and, subsequently 393 
members recorded their presence, Roll No. 356.
Pages H5132-35
  Rejected the Westmoreland motion that the Committee rise by a 
recorded vote of 186 ayes to 213 noes, with 1 voting ``present'', Roll 
No. 359. Earlier, a vote was called pending the absence of a quorum, 
and, subsequently 407 members recorded their presence, Roll No. 358. 
                                                         Pages H5135-41
  Rejected the Buyer motion that the Committee rise by a recorded vote 
of 178 ayes to 217 noes, Roll No. 361. Earlier, a vote was called 
pending the absence of a quorum, and, subsequently 403 members recorded 
their presence, Roll No. 360.
Pages H5141-43
  Rejected the Buyer motion that the Committee rise by a recorded vote 
of 188 ayes to 221 noes, Roll No. 363. Earlier, a vote was called 
pending the absence of a quorum, and, subsequently 398 members recorded 
their presence, Roll No. 362.
Page H5143
Agreed to:
  Schakowsky amendment (No. 33 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that edits 
sections 831 and 833 of the bill by (1) limiting the number of times 
the President can waive restrictions on contracting should the 
Memorandum of Understanding regarding contracts for Iraq and 
Afghanistan not be completed; (2) clarifying that members of Congress 
on the relevant Committees can view contracts regardless of the MOU, as 
well as the database of contract information for work to be performed 
in Iraq and Afghanistan; and (3) clarifying that the Select 
Intelligence Committees shall be allowed to view contracts that fall 
under their jurisdiction;
Pages H5241-43
  Fossella amendment (No. 29 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that requires 
the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the United States Postal 
Service, to provide vouchers for free (less than 10 lbs) parcel or 
letter mailing to service members serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or 
currently hospitalized under the care of the Armed Forces; 
                                                         Pages H5243-44
  Skelton en bloc amendment No. 1 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in H. Rept. 110-151: No. 5, that increases funding 
for the Army National Guard military personnel account to fund the 
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program; No. 9, that bars courts from 
entering or modifying an order changing the custody of the child of a 
servicemember during that servicemember's period of military service; 
No. 10, that expands to all the uniformed services the authority for an 
enhanced increase in the monthly basic pay during fiscal years 2009 
through 2012; No. 17, that creates a Combat Medevac Badge; No. 18, that 
allows the Secretary of the Navy to establish a Naval ROTC program at 
the University of Miami; No. 26, that requires the Secretary of Defense 
to conduct a survey examining the feasibility of measuring family 
member satisfaction with the quality of health care services provided 
to patients; No. 27, that allows a member of the Armed Forces to 
request a deferment of a deployment to a combat zone if their spouse is 
deployed to a combat zone and the couple has minor dependent children; 
No. 36, that revises DoD command policy to include membership in a 
criminal street gang among the list of prohibited activities by

[[Page D693]]

members of the Armed Forces; No. 37, that expresses the sense of 
Congress that an appropriate site in Arlington National Cemetery should 
be provided for a memorial marker to honor the memory of the 40 members 
of the Armed Forces who lost their lives in the air crash at Bakers 
Creek, Australia; No. 47, that requires the Secretary of Defense to 
conduct a study on the feasibility of a pilot program on family support 
services for National Guard and Reserve members and the feasibility of 
entering into a contract with a private sector entity to enhance 
support services for children; No. 48, that requires the Secretary of 
the Defense to provide a written, voluntary authorization form to 
servicemembers to enable them to release their medical records to the 
Veterans Administration; and No. 50 that requiers the Department of 
Defense of study and report to the House and Senate Armed Services 
Committees within 9 months on the participation rate of servicemembers 
in the federal tuition assistance program;
Pages H5244-49
  Israel amendment (No. 38 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that expresses 
the Sense of Congress that the U.S. and the Government of Chad should 
upgrade the Abeche Airfield in Chad in order to support potential NATO 
operations, facilitate a future U.N. deployment to Chad and the Darfur 
region of Sudan and to support humanitarian operations; 
                                                         Pages H5254-55
  Skelton en bloc amendment No. 2 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in H. Rept. 110-151: No. 2, that requires DoD to 
perform Federal background checks for all unescorted visitors who seek 
entry to a military installation or facility; No. 3, that requires the 
Secretary of Transportation to submit a report identifying the non-
retention vessels with the highest risk for environmental damage to 
local waters if further deterioration continues and a plan to dispose 
of these vessels; No. 6, that would strike section 233, which 
authorizes $10 million for the Army Capital Fund demonstration; No. 12, 
which provides $169,000,000 of medical military construction support at 
Fort Belvoir and Bethesda; No. 13, which requires the Secretary of the 
Air Force to submit a report to the Congressional defense committees 
containing a plan for the current and future assets at the Niagra Air 
Reserve Base; No. 22, that requires that the transportation 
infrastructure necessary to accommodate the large influx of military 
personnel and civilian employees to be assigned to Fort Belvoir, VA be 
substantially completed before the relocation of these employees; No. 
23, that requires the Secretary of Defense to study and report back to 
Congress on the financial and emotional impact of multiple deployments 
on the families who serve multiple tours; No. 24, that requires the 
Secretary of Defense to take necessary steps to ensure that Army 
National Guard and Reserve ROTC scholarships are available to students 
attending historically black colleges and universities, and Hispanic-
serving institutions; No. 25, that extends by three years the 
authorization for the DoD to participate in the Information Technology 
Exchange Program; No. 39, that directs the Secretary of Defense to 
study commercial optimization solutions in aviation technology and make 
any recommendations that would best support the mission of the 
Department; No. 44, that restricts the use of the name or image of a 
member of the Armed Forces for commercial purposes without written 
permission from the soldier (or from the family if the soldier is 
deceased); No. 45, that requires the DoD to utilize lighting fixtures 
and bulbs that are energy efficient; and No. 46, that provides that 
employees covered by FMLA, whose family member is a member of the Armed 
Forces and has been called to active duty, may use FMLA leave to deal 
with exigencies arising from that call of duty;
Pages H5255-62
  Stupak modified amendment (No. 20 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that 
requires the Department of Defense to transport remains of service 
members by air to the airport nearest to the intended place of burial; 
                                                         Pages H5262-63
  Carney amendment (No. 49 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that expresses 
the sense of Congress that Guard and Reserve members should have up to 
ten years to use their education benefits;
Pages H5263-64
  Sessions amendment (No. 31 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that 
clarifies that nothing in this legislation would prevent the United 
States' missile defense capabilities from being placed on operational 
alert to respond to an immediate, threat posed by ballistic missiles; 
                                                         Pages H5271-72
  Skelton en bloc amendment No. 3 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in H. Rept. 110-151: No. 4, that adds Mexico and the 
Dominican Republic to the list of countries to which the DoD may 
provide non-lethal equipment to support counter-narcotics operations; 
No. 19, that states Congress's findings that Modeling, Analysis, and 
Simulation Technology has become an essential component of national 
defense and states that it is important for the DoD to study the 
effects of warfare and disasters on urban environments; No. 28, that 
requires the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on the 
Department's policies on administering and evaluating multiple 
vaccinations within a 24-hour period to active duty members and members 
of the reserve components; No. 34, that mandates that the Office of the 
Secretary of Defense report to Congress on its plans to implement 
management software that can measurably reduce energy consumption

[[Page D694]]

of PC's; No. 35, that adds $10 million to Defense-wide research, 
development, test and evaluation for the X Lab battlespace laboratory; 
No. 40, that requires that the Moab uranium mill tailings pile be 
remediated; and No. 42, that requires the Secretary of Defense to 
conduct a thorough review of the procedures by the Department's 
existing classification procedures have failed to prevent the transfer 
of defense articles and defense services with military technology 
components to terrorists, state sponsors of terrorism, or other 
unfriendly countries or groups;
Pages H5278-80
  Andrews modified amendment (No. 7 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that 
requires DoD to use renewable energy to meet at least 25% of its 
electricity needs by 2025, unless the Secretary determines a waiver is 
in the best interest of DoD; and
Pages H5280-81
  Skelton manager's amendment (No. 1 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that 
makes a number of technical and conforming changes.
Pages H5281-82
Rejected:
  Andrews amendment (No. 8 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that sought to 
prevent funds authorized in the bill for the wars in Iraq and 
Afghanistan from being obligated or expended to plan a contingency 
operation in Iran (by a recorded vote of 202 ayes to 216 noes, Roll No. 
364);
Pages H5249-50, H5264-65
  DeFazio amendment (No. 14 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that sought to 
clarify that no previously enacted law authorizes military action 
against Iran. It also prohibits funding authorized by the bill or in 
any other act from being used to take military action against Iran 
without specific authorization from Congress unless there is a 
``national emergency created by an attack by Iran upon the United 
States, its territories or possessions or its armed forces'' (by a 
recorded vote of 136 ayes to 288 noes, Roll No. 365); and 
                                                  Pages H5251-52, H5265
  Woolsey amendment (No. 21 printed in H. Rept. 110-151) that sought to 
require the Secretary of Defense to issue a report on the continued 
use, need, relevance, and cost of weapons systems designed to fight the 
Cold War and the former Soviet Union (by a recorded vote of 119 ayes to 
303 noes, Roll No. 366).
Pages H5252-53, H5266-67
  H. Res. 403, the rule providing for consideration of the bill, was 
agreed to by a yea-and-nay vote of 229 yeas to 194 nays, Roll No. 352, 
after agreeing to order the previous question by a yea-and-nay vote of 
225 yeas to 198 nays, Roll No. 351.
Pages H5060-71
Amendments: Amendments ordered printed pursuant to the rule appear on 
pages H5294-H5334 .
Quorum Calls--Votes: Five quorum calls, four yea-and-nay votes and 
eight recorded votes developed during the proceedings of today and 
appear on pages H5066-67, H5070, H5070-71, H5071, H5128-29, H5129, 
H5132, H5132-33, H5135-36, H5137, H5141, H5141-42, H5143, H5144, H5264, 
H5265, H5266.
Adjournment: The House met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 11:42 p.m.