[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 3, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H898-H901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FAST REDRESS ACT OF 2009
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 559) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002
to establish an appeal and redress process for individuals wrongly
delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right,
benefit, or privilege, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 559
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fair, Accurate, Secure, and
Timely Redress Act of 2009'' or the ``FAST Redress Act of
2009''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS FOR
INDIVIDUALS WRONGLY DELAYED OR PROHIBITED FROM
BOARDING A FLIGHT, OR DENIED A RIGHT, BENEFIT,
OR PRIVILEGE.
(a) In General.--Subtitle H of title VIII of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 890A. APPEAL AND REDRESS PROCESS FOR PASSENGERS
WRONGLY DELAYED OR PROHIBITED FROM BOARDING A
FLIGHT, OR DENIED A RIGHT, BENEFIT, OR
PRIVILEGE.
``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
establish a timely and fair process for individuals who
believe they were delayed or prohibited from boarding a
commercial aircraft or denied a right, benefit, or privilege
because they were wrongly identified as a threat when
screened against any terrorist watchlist or database used by
the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or any
office or component of the Department.
``(b) Office of Appeals and Redress.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish in the
Department an Office of Appeals and Redress to implement,
coordinate, and execute the process established by the
Secretary pursuant to subsection (a). The Office shall
include representatives from the TSA and such other offices
and components of the Department as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(2) Comprehensive cleared list.--The process established
by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the
establishment of a method by which the Office, under the
direction of the Secretary, will maintain and appropriately
disseminate a comprehensive list, to be known as the
`Comprehensive Cleared List', of individuals who--
``(A) were misidentified as an individual on any terrorist
watchlist or database;
``(B) completed an approved Department of Homeland Security
appeal and redress request and provided such additional
information as required by the Department to verify the
individual's identity; and
``(C) permit the use of their personally identifiable
information to be shared between multiple Departmental
components for purposes of this section.
``(3) Use of comprehensive cleared list.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(i) except as provided in subparagraph (B), transmit to
the TSA or any other appropriate office or component of the
Department, other Federal, State, local, and tribal entities,
and domestic air carriers and foreign air carriers that use
any terrorist watchlist or database, the Comprehensive
Cleared List and any other information the Secretary
determines necessary to resolve misidentifications and
improve the administration of the advanced passenger
prescreening system and reduce the number of false positives;
and
``(ii) ensure that the Comprehensive Cleared List is taken
into account by all appropriate offices or components of the
Department when assessing the security risk of an individual.
``(B) Termination.--
``(i) In general.--The transmission of the Comprehensive
Cleared List to domestic air carriers and foreign air
carriers under clause (i) of subparagraph (A) shall terminate
on the date on which the Federal Government assumes terrorist
watchlist or database screening functions.
``(ii) Written notification to congress.--Not later than 15
days after the date on which the transmission of the
Comprehensive Cleared List to the air carriers referred to in
clause (i) of this subparagraph terminates in accordance with
such clause, the Secretary shall provide written notification
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate of such termination.
``(4) Intergovernmental efforts.--The Secretary may--
``(A) enter into memoranda of understanding with other
Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies or entities, as
necessary, to improve the appeal and redress process and for
other purposes such as to verify an individual's identity and
personally identifiable information; and
``(B) work with other Federal, State, local, and tribal
agencies or entities that use any terrorist watchlist or
database to ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that
the Comprehensive Cleared List is considered when assessing
the security risk of an individual.
``(5) Handling of personally identifiable information.--The
Secretary, in conjunction with the Chief Privacy Officer of
the Department, shall--
``(A) require that Federal employees of the Department
handling personally identifiable information of individuals
(in this paragraph referred to as `PII') complete mandatory
privacy and security training prior to being authorized to
handle PII;
``(B) ensure that the information maintained under this
subsection is secured by encryption, including one-way
hashing, data anonymization techniques, or such other
equivalent technical security protections as the Secretary
determines necessary;
``(C) limit the information collected from misidentified
passengers or other individuals to the minimum amount
necessary to resolve an appeal and redress request;
``(D) ensure that the information maintained under this
subsection is shared or transferred via an encrypted data
network that has been audited to ensure that the anti-hacking
and other security related software functions perform
properly and are updated as necessary;
``(E) ensure that any employee of the Department receiving
the information maintained under this subsection handles such
information in accordance with section 552a of title 5,
United States Code, the Federal Information Security
Management Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296), and other
applicable laws;
``(F) only retain the information maintained under this
subsection for as long as needed to assist the individual
traveler in the appeal and redress process;
``(G) engage in cooperative agreements with appropriate
Federal agencies and entities, on a reimbursable basis, to
ensure that legal name changes are properly reflected in any
terrorist watchlist or database and the Comprehensive Cleared
List to improve the appeal and redress process and to ensure
the
[[Page H899]]
most accurate lists of identifications possible (except that
section 552a of title 5, United States Code, shall not
prohibit the sharing of legal name changes among Federal
agencies and entities for the purposes of this section); and
``(H) conduct and publish a privacy impact assessment of
the appeal and redress process established under this section
and transmit the assessment to the Committee on Homeland
Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
``(6) Initiation of appeal and redress process at
airports.--At each airport at which--
``(A) the Department has a presence, the Office shall
provide written information to air carrier passengers to
begin the appeal and redress process established pursuant to
subsection (a); and
``(B) the Department has a significant presence, provide
the written information referred to in subparagraph (A) and
ensure a TSA supervisor who is trained in such appeal and
redress process is available to provide support to air
carrier passengers in need of guidance concerning such
process.
``(7) Report to congress.--Not later than 240 days after
the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary
shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on
the status of information sharing among users at the
Department of any terrorist watchlist or database. The report
shall include the following information:
``(A) A description of the processes and the status of the
implementation of this section to share the Comprehensive
Cleared List with other Department offices and components and
other Federal, State, local, and tribal authorities that
utilize any terrorist watchlist or database.
``(B) A description of the extent to which such other
Department offices and components are taking into account the
Comprehensive Cleared List.
``(C) Data on the number of individuals who have sought and
successfully obtained redress through the Office of Appeals
and Redress.
``(D) Data on the number of individuals who have sought and
were denied redress through the Office of Appeals and
Redress.
``(E) An assessment of what impact information sharing of
the Comprehensive Cleared List has had on misidentifications
of individuals who have successfully obtained redress through
the Office of Appeals and Redress.
``(F) An updated privacy impact assessment.
``(c) Terrorist Watchlist or Database Defined.--In this
section, the term `terrorist watchlist or database' means any
terrorist watchlist or database used by the Transportation
Security Administration or any office or component of the
Department of Homeland Security or specified in Homeland
Security Presidential Directive-6, in effect as of the date
of the enactment of this section.''.
(b) Incorporation of Secure Flight.--Section 44903(j)(2) of
title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C)(iii)--
(A) by redesignating subclauses (II) through (VII) as
subclauses (III) through (VIII), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subclause (I) the following new
subclause:
``(II) ensure, not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of the FAST Redress Act of 2009, that the procedure
established under subclause (I) is incorporated into the
appeals and redress process established under section 890A of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002;'';
(2) in subparagraph (E)(iii), by inserting before the
period at the end the following: ``, in accordance with the
appeals and redress process established under section 890A of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002''; and
(3) in subparagraph (G)--
(A) in clause (i), by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``The Assistant Secretary shall incorporate the
process established pursuant to this clause into the appeals
and redress process established under section 890A of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002.''; and
(B) in clause (ii), by adding at the end the following new
sentence: ``The Assistant Secretary shall incorporate the
record established and maintained pursuant to this clause
into the Comprehensive Cleared List established and
maintained under such section 890A.''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking section 44926 (and the item relating to
such section in the analysis for chapter 449 of title 49).
(d) Clerical Amendment.--Section 1(b) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101(b)) is amended by adding
after the item relating to section 890 the following new
item:
``Sec. 890A. Appeal and redress process for passengers wrongly delayed
or prohibited from boarding a flight, or denied a right,
benefit, or privilege.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Mississippi.
General Leave
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on the bill
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Mississippi?
There was no objection.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this
bill, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
H.R. 559, the Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act--or the
FAST Redress Act--was first introduced by Representative Clarke in the
last Congress. Ms. Clarke is to be commended for her effort in steering
this legislation through the House in a cooperative, bipartisan way.
H.R. 559 was marked up and was approved on a bipartisan basis by the
Committee's Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection
Subcommittee in the last Congress. Last June, the bill was unanimously
passed by the House, but unfortunately, it was not signed into law.
With our new President, I believe this bill will soon become law.
Everyone complains about the lack of sanity in the watch list
process, but few have dared to wade into all the ins and outs of the
system. Representative Clarke has done just that, and this legislation
is the product of her thoughtful undertaking.
As you know, Mr. Speaker, this issue is of great concern to me as
well. We must have prudent security policies, and these policies must
ensure that people are not improperly identified as potential
terrorists or are on any watch list or database. This bill promotes
security while also protecting civil liberties. President Obama's
swearing-in began a new era in our homeland and national security
policies, and smart legislation, like these measures before us today,
will be well served by our new leadership.
Certainly, the practice of watch-listing individuals plays an
important role in identifying possible terror suspects. It is important
to keep in mind that the watch list is only as good as the information
on it. Without accurate, complete and reliable information, the purpose
of a watch list is frustrated, and the database becomes unreliable.
Fixing the watch list and reducing misidentifications is a
particularly difficult challenge. To meet this challenge, all of the
intelligence and law enforcement components that populate the list need
to come together and need to agree to clean it up. Unfortunately, this
has not happened.
Since February 2007, over 32,000 Americans have sought redress
through the DHS Traveler and Redress Inquiry Program, also known as DHS
TRIP. Each individual voluntarily provides personal information to
establish his or her identity. When there is a determination that this
person is not a threat, his name is placed on a cleared list that is
maintained by the Transportation Security Administration. This cleared
list is populated with names of individuals who have the same or
similar names as someone on the no fly or selectee list, but they have
proven that they are not the people on the list. The cleared list is
then only shared with the airlines for screening purposes, not with all
other agencies that use the watch list.
Under H.R. 559, the updated information would be shared throughout
DHS and with other Federal agencies that use the terrorist watch list
or database. This would ensure that individuals who are cleared under
the redress process are not stopped as potential terrorists by other
Federal agencies.
Specifically, H.R. 559 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to
establish the Office of Appeals and Redress to provide a timely and
fair redress process. The Office of Appeals and Redress is directed to
maintain a comprehensive cleared list that contains the names of
individuals who have been misidentified and who have corrected
erroneous information. The comprehensive cleared list would be made
available to those who would use the terrorist watch list or database
to resolve misidentification.
[[Page H900]]
The bill directs TSA, CBP, the Coast Guard, and other DHS components
to reference the Comprehensive Cleared List when assessing the security
risk of an individual. This will ensure that individuals, such as our
esteemed colleague from Georgia, Congressman John Lewis, will not be
repeatedly stopped or delayed or will not have to seek redress from
different components in the same Federal agency. Importantly, the
measure includes protections to ensure that personally identifiable
information is handled in accordance with privacy laws. Once enacted,
individuals who go through the trouble of clearing their names will not
have to repeat the exercise again and again.
With the inauguration of President Obama, America enters a new
chapter, and this bill moves our security policies forward in a manner
that protects our homeland and our civil liberties.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of every John Lewis and others who are
frequently misidentified on the watch list, I urge swift passage of
this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of the Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely
Redress Act of 2009.
At the outset, I would like to thank Ms. Clarke of New York for her
bipartisan outreach in crafting this worthy piece of legislation. Her
efforts to ensure that Republican concerns were addressed before
bringing this legislation to the floor are truly admirable and
appreciated.
Mr. Speaker, throughout numerous hearings and briefings by executives
in the Government Accountability Office, our committee has heard
repeatedly that the terrorist watch list works. Recent GAO reports have
stated, ``The watch list has helped screening agencies assess the
potential threat a person poses and take a wide range of
counterterrorism responses. The watch list has helped support law
enforcement investigations and the intelligence community by tracking
the movements of known or appropriately suspected terrorists and
collecting information about them.''
The bottom line is that the terrorist watch list keeps known or
suspected terrorists out of our neighborhoods. However, this comes at a
cost. Every month, Federal, State and local law enforcement officials
screen some 270 million individuals against a new and constantly
evolving consolidated terrorist watch list.
{time} 1630
Since 2004, a known or suspected terrorist has been encountered some
600,000 times. Some suspects were arrested, many were refused entry
into the United States but all were identified to local law enforcement
officials.
Nevertheless, the system is not perfect and sometimes mistakes are
made. The problem with this name-based system is compounded by the fact
that some individuals have over 50 identities on the watch list.
Occasionally this leads to misidentifications between law-abiding
Americans and watch-listed identities.
These misidentifications are not simply persons with Arab names, as
the press would have you believe. Actors, writers, and yes, even
Congressmen have been tripped up by the terrorist watch list. The
legislation before us enables a reasonable process to ensure that once
a misidentified individual seeks redress through the Department's
Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, the results of that process are
transmitted to DHS entities to prevent further inconveniences.
Perhaps the single most important provision in this bill is the
requirement that the Department better advertise its redress process.
When I hear from constituents that they are being misidentified as a
watch-listed individual, I am disturbed that they have not heard of the
Department's process to seek redress.
This bill requires the Department to advertise its redress process at
each airport and have staff on hand at the largest airports to explain
the process and answer questions from the travelling public.
Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. This is a bipartisan bill. I ask
that all Members join me in supporting this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the
gentlelady from New York (Ms. Clarke) who has championed this issue
ever since her arrival on the Homeland Security Committee. And
obviously this is her bill and we support it.
Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, nearly everyone in the homeland security
community agrees that having a single comprehensive list of terrorist
suspects is an important tool in keeping America safe. However, there
are flaws in how the terrorist watch list is maintained and used.
Over the years, this list has grown to have over 1.1 million entries.
With so many different names on the list, it is not surprising that
every single day countless Americans are misidentified as terrorists.
The errors most commonly occur when an innocent person's name happens
to be similar to the one listed in the database. For example, if your
name is Al Smith and there is an A. Smith on the list, guess what?
You're going to be caught. This is even worse for the millions of
American residents who have names which can have different
pronunciations or ways of spellings.
This wastes time both for law enforcement, because they're using
resources investigating innocent people, and for the general public who
face the prospect of being wrongfully detained and possibly altogether
prevented from going about their business. Most commonly, this affects
air travelers who are screened against a watch list more often than
anyone else.
Currently, each time a reservation is made, airlines must determine
whether a customer is a potential match based on information from us,
from the government. Every day, thousands of people are pulled aside,
required to go through special procedures, detained, or even denied
boarding altogether at great personal and financial costs to the
frustrated travelers who've missed flights. For private citizens, this
can lead to ruined plants. These practices have, in essence, begun the
process of eroding the foundation on which our civil liberties were
built.
However, at a time when we're doing everything we can to stimulate
the economy, this problem can be catastrophic for business travelers
and companies. The inability for thousands of people to travel for work
puts jobs in jeopardy. And for every employee unable to make a meeting
because of being mistakenly denied boarding, companies needlessly lose
productivity. This is a waste when Congress is spending money to help
commerce grow.
Furthermore, because the terrorist watch list is used by many
different screening agencies, other people have also been impacted by
this problem, including anyone whose license plates are run by local
law enforcement; port workers who have been incorrectly denied a
Transportation Worker Identification Card, which is now required to
work at port facilities in the U.S.; international travelers delayed or
denied entry into the country by CBP, and potential foreign visitors
denied visas by the State Department.
In the future, this will likely become a greater issue as more
potentially sensitive activities are tied to screening against the
watch list.
This is why I originally introduced the FAST Redress Act, which I'm
proud to say passed the House last year with very strong bipartisan
support. Unfortunately, despite more bipartisan support in the Senate,
the other chamber ultimately failed to move this forward.
Therefore, I have reintroduced this bill in the 111th Congress in the
hope that this time we can push it through and help millions of people.
The FAST Redress Act solves the misidentification problems by granting
DHS the tools to create a department-wide office of redress and
appeals--a one-stop shop for any individual who feels they're being
incorrectly identified as a terrorist whenever they have contact with
the government.
This bill will greatly streamline the process for the countless
people who, just because of their names, are regularly misidentified as
a terrorist, creating a single, highly visible office within the
government for everyone who wants to clear their names.
I'm glad to see the U.S. House of Representatives taking up this bill
once again--and doing so with such speed--
[[Page H901]]
demonstrating the strong show of support to help the people affected by
this issue.
I'm very thankful to Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member King for
their great bipartisan leadership in pushing the FAST Redress Act
forward; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and ranking member, I also
thank them. I thank the staff on both sides of the Homeland Security
Committee for their hard work and the time they put into this bill, and
my own senior legislative aid for Homeland Security, Mr. Daniel Hattis,
for his hard work, his vigilance, and his commitment for making the
FAST Redress Act the law of the land.
Further, this bill has received strong support from the National
Business Travelers Association, which has recognized that the problem
of misidentification hurts the economy and how this bill benefits the
business travel committee.
I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this bipartisan support
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe).
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support for
real economic stimulus legislation. With terrible economic news coming
in all the time, I'm eager to support legislation that will spur
economic investment and put an infrastructure in place that will
promote future economic development.
Folks in east Tennessee will tell you that the bill the House passed
last week is a bad bill. It's bloated by wasteful spending. Back home,
we're adapting to this troubling economic climate by tightening our
belts and clamping down on unnecessary spending.
Many people are understandably upset that the Federal Government's
reaction is exactly the opposite. They're amazed when we're prepared to
spend an additional $819 billion of their money after a $700 billion
bailout that was spent without anyone being able to give a straight
answer about where the money went. They're skeptical of the results
that we're getting, and so am I.
I think there are a few stimulative activities we should be taking a
good look at. First, we should return more of the money we're taking in
in Washington through tax cuts for people who pay taxes. In my opinion,
and in the opinion of many economic experts, this is one of the most
effective measures we can take. I would also cut taxes for small
business who are going to create the jobs we need to get out of this
economic crisis. These businesses can use this money to reinvest in
plant equipment.
This weekend, I met a young man named Mike who is in deep trouble
with his two restaurants. He doesn't have the capital to keep going on.
He hires 21 people. This is someone we need to desperately help, and
this story can be repeated across this Nation.
To those who've been put out of a job, I would eliminate the taxes on
unemployment insurance. It is so counterproductive to provide people
these benefits only to turn around and take part of the benefit right
back, and it doesn't make any sense.
As a former mayor, I would also encourage meaningful infrastructure
investment focused on improving our Nation's roads, sewers, and
education. I know from my experience that these improvements lay the
groundwork for future economic development that will benefit our
children's generation. In Johnson City, Tennessee, the investments we
made several years ago make our city attractive to businesses and
homebuyers, which in turn promote economic development.
I hope the majority party will take these suggestions and incorporate
them into their package so that the next bill we consider on the House
floor will be an American stimulus package, not a Democrat or
Republican stimulus package.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from the
State of Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis).
Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to use my time today to
compliment the bipartisan work of the Committee on Homeland Security.
The bill before you, the FAST Redress Act of 2009, is the result of
extensive bipartisan negotiations. This is what my constituents asked
for when they elected me to Congress.
The people of Wyoming want to see the parties working together for
the good of the American people. And this bill is an example of the
type of bipartisanship that I hoped to see when I came here.
Unfortunately, my first month in this body did not display to me that
type of bipartisanship. So to have this example here today is very
refreshing. Last week, we had an example that was quite the opposite.
The stimulus package went to the Senate without a single Republican
vote. But the fact of the matter is, the American people are now
weighing in, and they're weighing in with their Senators, and they're
giving their Senators the opportunity to make a better decision than we
in the House made: a decision based on the spirit of bipartisanship and
a decision that's based on job stimulus, not on pork barrel spending.
So I want to compliment the Committee on Homeland Security for
bringing us a bill that is truly bipartisan. And I would encourage us,
as a Congress, the House of Representatives, to take the same spirit of
bipartisanship to heart when the Senate returns the stimulus package to
us for our subsequent consideration.
Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.
I urge the passage of the bill and yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, while the practice of watch listing individuals plays an
important role in identifying possible terrorist suspects, we must keep
in mind that the watch list is only as good as the information on it.
Without accurate, complete, and reliable information,
misidentifications persist. The database becomes unreliable, and the
purpose of the watch list is frustrated leaving America vulnerable.
For the watch list to truly be cleaned up, there needs to be
direction from the Obama administration to all of the consumers of the
list throughout the Federal Government that the way the list is
populated and maintained needs reformed. The intelligence community,
Federal law enforcement, and DHS must all come together in order to
revamp the watch list. In the absence of reform, America needs an
immediate remedy. The FAST Redress Act provides just that.
I urge swift passage of this bill, H.R. 559. Ensuring that business
travel and other Americans can fly without being misidentified against
a terrorist watch list will also stimulate the economy. Air travel is
already distressed. Inter-rhetoric against a solid stimulus bill does
little to make things right.
Mr. Speaker, this bill moves our security policies forward in a
manner that protects our homeland and our civil liberties.
I encourage the passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 559.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. 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 and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________