[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 113 (Friday, July 24, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H8723-H8725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the 
privileges of the House and offer the resolution previously noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Whereas the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Price, submitted an 
     amendment to the Committee on Rules to H.R. 3288, the 
     Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related 
     Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010;
       Whereas the said gentleman's amendment would have required 
     that none of the funds made available in this Act be used to 
     establish, issue, implement, administer, or enforce any 
     prohibition or restriction on the otherwise lawful possession 
     or use of firearms in federally assisted housing;
       Whereas the Second Amendment of the United States 
     constitution guarantees that ``the right of the people to 
     keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed'';
       Whereas the Second Amendment applies equally to all 
     Americans, regardless of who owns or pays for their housing;
       Whereas the gentleman's amendment complied with all 
     applicable Rules of the House for amendments to 
     appropriations measures and would have been in order under an 
     open amendment process, but regrettably the House Democratic 
     leadership has dramatically and historically reduced the 
     opportunity for open debate on this Floor; and
       Whereas the Speaker, Ms. Pelosi, the Democrat leadership, 
     and the chairman of the

[[Page H8724]]

     Committee on Appropriations, Mr. Obey, prevented the House 
     from voting on the amendment by excluding it from the list of 
     amendments made in order under the rule for the bill: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That H. Res. 669, the rule to accompany H.R. 
     3288, be amended to allow the gentleman from Georgia's 
     amendment be considered and voted on in the House.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Georgia wish to 
present an argument on why the resolution qualifies as privileged?
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I do, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia may proceed.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this House operates under rules, 
or it's supposed to operate under rules, rules that have been 
longstanding in the House and that are incorporated in written form. 
And rule IX of those rules of the House states specifically, Members 
may raise questions ``affecting the rights of the House collectively, 
its safety, dignity, and the integrity of its proceedings'' and those 
affecting the rights of Members individually in their representative 
capacity.
  So the question is, Mr. Speaker, what is more fundamental to the 
rights of the Members of this House than the ability to represent their 
constituents and to affect the legislation that's brought to the floor?
  The Democrat majority, under Speaker Pelosi, has unilaterally--some 
would say brazenly, some would say repressively--ended a 220-year 
tradition of allowing any Member to allow a spending bill.

                              {time}  1045

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair must remind the gentleman that his 
remarks must be confined to the question of order, to wit: why the 
resolution has precedence over other questions under rule IX.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. And that's precisely what I'm attempting to do, 
Mr. Speaker.
  When my constituents sent me here to Congress, they didn't send me 
here to just push buttons. What they sent me here to do was to exercise 
every single ability that a Member of the House is granted. And one of 
the abilities that the Member of the House is granted is the 
opportunity to affect legislation.
  And under rule IX, which states, Mr. Speaker, that the proceedings 
should not affect the rights of the Members individually in their 
Representative capacity, so if being denied the ability to offer an 
amendment doesn't affect the rights of this House, if it doesn't affect 
the dignity and integrity of its proceedings, if it doesn't affect my 
rights as a Representative, then I don't know what does, Mr. Speaker.
  I don't know what does. If Members are not allowed to offer 
amendments, then the Member, him or herself, is unable to represent 
their constituents and consequently is disenfranchising every single 
American.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I would contend respectfully that the inability of 
Members to offer amendments is an indignity upon the House and makes it 
so that Members are not able to exercise their representative capacity.
  And I appeal to the Chair to see the light of day and allow this 
privileged resolution to move forward.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is prepared to rule.
  In evaluating the resolution offered by the gentleman from Georgia 
under the standards of rule IX, the Chair must be mindful of a 
fundamental principle illuminated by annotations of precedent in 
section 706 of the House Rules and Manual, to wit: that a question of 
the privileges of the House may not be invoked to prescribe a special 
order of business for the House.
  The Chair finds that the resolution offered by the gentleman from 
Georgia, by proposing directly to amend House Resolution 669, 
prescribes a special order of business. Under a long and well-settled 
line of precedent presently culminating in several rulings during this 
first session of the 111th Congress, such a resolution cannot qualify 
as a question of the privileges of the House.
  The Chair, therefore, holds that the resolution is not privileged 
under rule IX for consideration ahead of other business. Instead, the 
resolution may be submitted through the hopper in the regular course.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Shall the decision of the 
Chair stand as the judgment of the House?


                            Motion to Table

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to table the appeal of 
the ruling of the Chair.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 
XX, this 15-minute vote on the motion to lay the appeal on the table 
will be followed by 5-minute votes on:
  Ordering the previous question on House Resolution 673; adopting 
House Resolution 673, if ordered; suspending the rules on House 
Resolution 538, House Resolution 285, and House Resolution 519, if 
ordered.

  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 238, 
nays 182, not voting 13, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 638]

                               YEAS--238

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Adler (NJ)
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boccieri
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown, Corrine
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Chu
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Driehaus
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ellison
     Ellsworth
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Foster
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Giffords
     Gonzalez
     Gordon (TN)
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Griffith
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Halvorson
     Hare
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hodes
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kilroy
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kissell
     Klein (FL)
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Maloney
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Marshall
     Massa
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McIntyre
     McMahon
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Mitchell
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Murtha
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Perriello
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis (CO)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schauer
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sestak
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Simpson
     Sires
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Space
     Speier
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Teague
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Welch
     Wexler
     Wilson (OH)
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Yarmuth

                               NAYS--182

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Austria
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehner
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boozman
     Boren
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Bright
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Cantor
     Cao
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Castle
     Chaffetz
     Childers
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Conaway
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Deal (GA)
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     Fallin
     Flake
     Fleming
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte

[[Page H8725]]


     Graves
     Guthrie
     Hall (TX)
     Harper
     Hastings (WA)
     Heller
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hill
     Hoekstra
     Hunter
     Inglis
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan (OH)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline (MN)
     Kosmas
     Kratovil
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (NY)
     Lewis (CA)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McKeon
     McMorris Rodgers
     McNerney
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Minnick
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy, Tim
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Nye
     Olson
     Paulsen
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shimkus
     Shuler
     Shuster
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Taylor
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Walden
     Wamp
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Young (AK)

                             NOT VOTING--13

     Barrett (SC)
     Bishop (UT)
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (IL)
     Granger
     Johnson (GA)
     Lummis
     McCarthy (NY)
     McGovern
     Murphy (NY)
     Paul
     Sutton
     Young (FL)


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes 
remaining in this vote.

                              {time}  1113

  Messrs. POSEY, GUTHRIE, CARTER, HOEKSTRA, KRATOVIL, HILL and BOREN 
changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mrs. HALVORSON and Messrs. LARSON of Connecticut and FOSTER changed 
their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated against:
  Ms. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 638, I was in a House Budget 
Committee hearing questioning Interior Secretary Salazar. Had I been 
present, I would have voted ``no.''

                          ____________________