[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H9668-H9671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MOTION TO ADJOURN
=========================== NOTE ===========================
August 3, 2007 On Page H9668 the following appeared: MOTION TO
AJOURN
The online version should be corrected to read: MOTION TO
ADJOURN
========================= END NOTE =========================
Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now
adjourn.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to adjourn.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
Parliamentary Inquiries
Mr. SESSIONS (during the vote). Mr. Speaker, please be advised voting
is not available to Members at this time and the Republican minority
would request that we have the ability to vote.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The voting machine is operational, but there
is an issue with the display, the Chair has been informed, and the
Clerk is working on it.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, point of parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
Mr. SESSIONS. It is my understanding that the Speaker may, has
options available to him or her as it relates to electronic voting to
where the Speaker could make a decision to have the Clerk record those
votes manually by rollcall.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The voting system is operational and the
vote is ongoing.
Mr. SESSIONS. Continuing my request.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. If the gentleman will suspend. The Chair
will try to ensure that Members know of time remaining and will have an
opportunity to cast their votes, and the Chair will announce the vote a
number of times to allow Members to change their vote.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, how am I recorded?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. If the gentleman will consult with the
Clerk, they will tell you how you have voted.
Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlelady from Colorado.
Ms. DeGETTE. Parliamentary inquiry. To speed this process, Mr.
Speaker, are the computers throughout the Chamber on both sides working
so Members could check the computers to see how their votes are
recorded and how much time is remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would recommend that Members check
their votes at the voting machine or at the rostrum to ensure that his
or her vote is recorded.
Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry. On this side
of the aisle the computers in the Chamber seem to be working, and I am
wondering if they are working on the other side of the aisle?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. That is not a proper parliamentary inquiry.
The voting will continue.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, point of parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, point of parliamentary inquiry. When the
electronic voting system is inoperable or is not used, the Speaker or
Chairman may direct the Clerk to conduct a record vote or quorum call
as provided in clause 3 or 4; is that correct?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is correct.
The voting system is working. The problem is with the display. The
House will continue voting electronically.
Mr. SESSIONS. Point of parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, would it be correct to say that normal
procedures of this House are not currently, as it relates to voting, in
place and available to Members at this time?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is correct. There is a problem
with the display. The Clerk is working to address that problem. But the
voting machines are working, and the tally is being held.
Mr. SESSIONS. Point of parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the question is whether the Speaker or the
Speaker's designee has the authority to make a decision to enact what
we would call to conduct or direct the Clerk to conduct a record vote
or quorum call as provided in clause 3 or 4.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has alternatives; and when it is
proper to use them, the Chair may do so.
Mr. SESSIONS. Point of parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, could you please outline those options
that are available to you and your thinking? Because we are in a
circumstance where we believe an inoperable voting system is presently
being----
The SPEAKER pro tempore. One is a manual call, one is a vote by
tellers, and one is to continue with the electronic vote. And the Chair
has chosen to so continue.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry. How much time is
remaining on the vote that we can't see displayed any place that we are
supposed to be casting?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. There are 5 minutes and 30 seconds remaining
on this vote, and the Chair will accommodate Members on this vote.
Announcement by the Speaker pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California has come to
the Chair and reminded the Chair that Members may verify their vote at
any one of the various voting stations. The engineers are working on
the malfunction on the display, and we will continue electronic voting.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). The Chair will remind
Members that the House is voting on a motion to adjourn. Members may
verify their votes at any of the various voting stations. The engineers
are still working on the malfunction of the display.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). The Chair will remind the
Members that they may use the voting machines, and Members may verify
their vote at any one of the various voting stations. The House is
presently voting on a motion to adjourn.
Parliamentary Inquiries
Mr. SESSIONS (during the vote). Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Texas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the Members having an
inability to know what time remains, can the Chair please advise us
what time remains in this vote?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will make every effort to ensure
that the Members will have every opportunity to vote, regardless of the
time elapsed.
Mr. SESSIONS. Further parliamentary inquiry. Mr. Speaker, can you
please advise me how much time remains in this vote?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the gentleman repeat his inquiry?
Mr. SESSIONS. I will, Mr. Speaker. Can you please tell me how much
time remains in this vote?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has the discretion to close the
vote when all Members have voted.
Mr. SESSIONS. Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing
the circumstances that we are under, can you please advise me how much
longer you will hold the vote open for Members?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will use his discretion to provide
for Members who have not voted or
[[Page H9669]]
who would like to change their vote when in the Chair's discretion
every Member has voted who wants to vote. The Chair will then tally the
votes and announce the vote.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to propound a parliamentary
inquiry. I'd like to inquire of the Chair, by what means will the Chair
know what the totals are on the vote that we're engaged in at this
moment?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will use the standard method of
verification.
Mr. DREIER. Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.
Mr. DREIER. What is the traditional method of verification? For me,
it is to look at the board up there and see how my State delegation had
voted.
Mr. Speaker, I was just asking the Chair to enlighten us as to
exactly how it is through this traditional procedure of determining
what the vote is that you're going to report to us. I usually look up
here on the wall and see how my State delegation is voting, how some of
my colleagues are voting. We don't have the ability to do that. I'm
just wondering exactly how it is that the Chair will be able to make
this announcement to us.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members can verify their votes at any one of
the various voting stations. Engineers are working on the problem.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker. Is it
not true, Mr. Speaker, that there are computer terminals on the
majority side, the minority side and at the Speaker's desk; and,
further, Mr. Speaker, is it not true that the Clerk of the House has
the responsibility, when there are engineering problems, to fix the
engineering problems?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is correct and the engineers
are working on the problem.
Mr. KANJORSKI. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the gentleman suspend for a moment
before being recognized.
The House is voting on a motion to adjourn. Members may verify their
votes at any of the various voting stations.
Ms. FOXX. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from North Carolina is
recognized.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, can the Chair tell us how much time has
elapsed since you began this voting process?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Approximately 20 minutes.
Mr. SESSIONS. Point of parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas is recognized.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, can you please at this time tell us the
vote total?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will not provide the total until
every Member has an opportunity to change their vote, or to vote.
The gentleman from Maryland is recognized.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, it's obvious we have a technical problem. I
know that comes as a great shock and surprise to you. I've talked to
the gentleman who's in charge of fixing mechanical problems. He tells
me that we need to take the system down for a period of time in order
to fix it. He has said he needs approximately 30 minutes to do that
with no votes. We are in the process of a vote.
What the Speaker pro tempore has said, I don't know what the vote is.
I don't know whether it's coming up on the computers. I do know in my
office there was no time coming up on the computer. So Members do not
know how much time they have left.
Permission to Vacate Vote on Motion to Adjourn
Mr. HOYER (during the vote). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that we vacate this vote, and as soon as the machine is fixed, that we
return to cast this vote and then proceed with the proceedings.
Mr. DREIER. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to object simply to
inquire of the distinguished majority leader, does he intend to recess
the House for this 30-minute time? I wonder if he might enlighten us as
to what the plan would be. I'm happy to yield to my friend.
Mr. HOYER. For all of us who think that dastardly things are going
on, I guess we're all trying to figure out who's doing the dastardly
things. In any event, in answer to your question, it would be my
intention to rise while the machines are being fixed because we cannot
proceed, nor should we proceed, without having Members know how much
time they have left to vote.
I want you to be very nice to that gentleman. He represents my
daughter and my son-in-law. So be careful and very gentle with him.
Mr. DREIER. Further reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, I'd
like to inquire further of the majority leader. We're in a very awkward
situation here. We don't know what the vote total is at this juncture.
The House may have just voted to adjourn so far as we know. So the
gentleman has just come to the conclusion that he's going to propose
that we recess, or he said rise. We're already in the House. We're not
in the Committee of the Whole. I'd be happy to yield to my friend if he
would like to respond.
Mr. HOYER. I'm sorry, I was getting some technical information about
where we are. The computer printout----
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the gentleman suspend.
Mr. DREIER. Now I have the word.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Maryland.
Mr. DREIER. Continuing to reserve the right to object, Mr. Speaker,
and I do so to say that under normal circumstances this would be
somewhat entertaining and funny, but this is a very, very serious
matter, and the request that has just been made by the gentleman is one
which we want to take seriously. We don't know what the outcome of the
vote that is being considered at this moment is. Many of us don't know
how our colleagues are recorded, and I will tell you this is a very,
very difficult time for this institution. And I'm happy to yield to my
friend if he would like to respond to the challenging circumstance that
we find ourselves in.
Mr. HOYER. I understand the gentleman's proposition.
Mr. DREIER. I am happy to further yield to my friend.
Mr. HOYER. I have been handed a printout. Now, I don't know where the
printout comes from, so I am not going to read it, other than I can
tell you that I don't know whether you have it on your computer.
May I ask the gentleman whether the computer over there has the
totals?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerks are still tallying votes.
parliamentary inquiry
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry, you said the Clerk is
still in the process of tallying the votes?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Some of the ballot cards cast in the well
are still being counted. The cards that have been submitted are still
being counted.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, how long has this vote been open?
I am happy to yield to the distinguished majority leader.
Mr. HOYER. I asked the gentleman a question because I think it is
pertinent to whether or not the computers to which the Speaker has
referred are working throughout the floor.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, as I prepare to yield to the majority
leader, I would like to inquire, is the vote still open? If Members
want to change their votes now, they can continue to do that? If a
Member were to walk into the Chamber now, they could still vote?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is correct. The vote is still
open.
Mr. DREIER. I am happy to further yield to the distinguished majority
leader.
Mr. HOYER. My question to him is, because I don't know because I am
not over there, whether or not your computer, where you are standing,
is reflecting for you a vote total.
Mr. DREIER. If I could reclaim my time under parliamentary procedure.
The answer to that is we don't know.
[[Page H9670]]
Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will suspend.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, might I continue my parliamentary inquiry?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry, in response
to the question from the distinguished majority leader, I will say that
we have no way of verifying what it is that is coming out of this
computer here.
It is not operating the way it normally does. If Members are able to
still vote, we can see this screen here, but it is not operating. I
don't normally operate this thing, but our crack team here has told me
that it is not operating the way that it normally does.
I am happy to respond to any further questions.
Mr. HOYER. Under those circumstances, under those circumstances, the
reason I made the offer to vacate, the request for the unanimous
consent to vacate, is because you can't verify it, and I have a list
here in front of me. It may or may not be accurate.
The machines are obviously not functioning as we would want them to
do, so my suggestion is the way to fix that is to vacate the vote. The
machines have to be taken down.
Mr. DREIER. I yield to my friend from Dallas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, in response to the majority leader, I
would go to the rules of the House. I would quote them on page 32 of
the rules of the House: When the electronic voting system is
inoperable, or is not used, and I believe it is at this time inoperable
and has been for the past 40 minutes or so, the Speaker or the chairman
may direct the Clerk to conduct a record vote or quorum call as
provided in clause 3 or 4.
I wonder why the gentleman would not suggest we follow the rules of
the House.
Mr. HOYER. Would the gentleman yield?
Mr. DREIER. Further reserving the right to object, I am happy to
yield to the distinguished majority leader.
Mr. HOYER. The gentleman read the rule correctly. It said ``may.''
The simpler way to do it and the confidence-building way to do that
seems to me, because we want to use these machines, is to allow the
technicians the opportunity to fix the machines. That is our desire.
Now, we understand that if you don't want to proceed with the
business of the House, either the DOD appropriation bill, the FISA bill
or the bill trying to give emergency relief to those in Minneapolis,
the bridge, we may not want to proceed.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, if I could reclaim my time under my
reservation, reserving the right to object, I do want to say that we
are very committed to ensuring that we get the resources necessary to
those who have been victimized in Minnesota. That's a very high
priority.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I object. The gentleman is not
stating a parliamentary inquiry.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to object.
Mr. HOYER. Ladies and gentlemen, if the gentleman will yield, we need
to calm down. We have a heavy responsibility. We have great
differences. I understand that everybody's sensibilities are taut. I
predicted that last Tuesday, that that would be the case. I regret it.
I regret what happened last night which has generated this. But we do
have business to do. All I am saying is I don't want to have a question
about this vote, because we cannot assure ourselves, as the gentleman
said, that the list I have in front of me or the screen that you have
projected to you is projecting the accurate information.
Therefore, I suggest, given that, that we give the technicians an
opportunity to facilitate fixing it. I think that's a reasonable
request.
I would hope that everybody in the House would think it's a
reasonable request.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve the right to object, I
yield to my friend from Dallas.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make sure the majority
leader understands that, for the last months, this majority that is on
this side of the aisle has routinely asked and spoken with the majority
about the way we would like to see things happen.
Regularly, we are told that it will be done the way you choose to do
it. You are attempting now to make a decision about what you would like
to do.
Mr. HOYER. I am trying to make a decision collegially with 435 by
unanimous consent.
Mr. SESSIONS. It is our request to the majority leader that we follow
the rules of the House at this time, and this minority is making that
request at this time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds Members the voting is
still open. Members may verify their votes at any one of the voting
stations.
Have all Members voted? Does any Member wish to change their vote?
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve the right to object, I
know we have a unanimous consent pending from the distinguished
majority leader.
Under my reservation, I would be happy to further yield to the
majority leader.
Mr. HOYER. In either event, whether we shut the machine down now and
allow them time to fix this by rising or going to the suggestion of the
gentleman from Texas as to the rules, in either event you have to
vacate this vote.
Frankly, the Speaker can call this vote. I presume, I don't know,
because I haven't asked, that the result I have in front of me is the
same the Speaker has.
I have no problem with doing that vote, frankly. But I think it would
raise in the minds of every Member here, is that the accurate count? I
think in light of that, I would prefer not to do that. So I am trying
to accommodate the confidence of the Members by vacating this vote.
Mr. DREIER. If I could reclaim my time under my reservation, I would
simply ask the majority leader, since we have been talking about DOD,
FISA, the tragedy in Minnesota and a wide range of things since the
gentleman propounded his unanimous consent request, I wonder if he
might repeat it again so that Members might hear what that request
consists of.
Mr. HOYER. In consultation with the technical people that we have,
who are responsible for ensuring the proper operations of our computer
system, which advises all of us on time and computes the votes, that
they have to take the system down for approximately a half an hour,
maybe slightly longer, for the purpose of fixing the machine. I think
the machine needs to be fixed.
So in order to accommodate that objective, I am suggesting that we
vacate this vote, allow them to do that, come back and then revote this
particular vote and then move on to wherever we are going to move on.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve the right to object, I
would ask my friend if, in fact, if, in fact, we were to proceed with
vacating this vote, taking this 30-minute period of time, if we
reconvene after that, may I ask the distinguished majority leader, in
what order and what is it that we will be considering? Will we be
considering the FISA issue, or will we be considering the issue that we
are all very committed to, and that is ensuring that the bridge in the
Twin Cities is addressed?
I see Mrs. Bachmann here. I know there are other Members of the
delegation who want to do that. I just would like to inquire of the
majority leader how we would proceed.
Mr. HOYER. I will tell my friend, my first order of business, as I
propounded in my unanimous consent request, will be this vote. This is
the matter of business before the House, the motion to adjourn.
We cannot resolve it with, I think, the full confidence of the
Members. So that would be the first order of the business. We will then
proceed with the business as we had been doing.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would remind the gentleman from
California that there is still debate to be continued on the rule.
Mr. DREIER. Yes, I am aware of that.
Continuing to reserve the right to object, I would like to ask the
majority leader, assuming we do reconvene and assuming that the House
does not adjourn, what does he anticipate the schedule would be? Are we
going to address the priority of assuring that the
[[Page H9671]]
resources get to the State of Minnesota? Or are we going to move
directly to the FISA issue? In what order will we be considering these
issues, Mr. Leader?
Mr. HOYER. We are going to consider both of those matters.
Mr. DREIER. May I ask in what order we would be addressing those?
Mr. HOYER. The order we will consider those is we will consider
Minnesota first. We believe that is the least contentious of the items,
and we think, therefore, it would be good to get the least contentious
item out of the way first.
Everybody in this body has great empathy for the State of Minnesota,
but, more particularly, the people who lost their lives in that tragic
collapse of the bridge. We will go to that first.
Of course, we have the rules to complete, but we will then, in terms
of business, go to FISA, as we have expressed.
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I will not object. I withdraw my
reservation.
Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I
just want to offer a suggestion. There is a number on the computer on
the minority side, and there is a number on the computer on the
majority side. Why don't we compare numbers? If they are the same,
accept the vote. We know that we are going to get beat. Let's accept
this vote.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Barton, I have been waiting at least 15 minutes for
you to be here.
Mr. BARTON of Texas. I would recommend that our distinguished
minority leader show our number to the majority leader's number, and if
they are the same, accept it as this vote. That's my suggestion. I
think we could at least expedite this one vote.
I yield to my distinguished minority leader (Mr. Boehner).
Mr. BOEHNER. I thank my colleague for yielding.
There is a motion that has been made by the majority leader to vacate
the vote. I think we should proceed with a unanimous consent and recess
to fix the machine and come back and vote when the machine is ready for
us to vote.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the vote is vacated.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the pending motion to
adjourn is considered withdrawn without prejudice.
There was no objection.
____________________