[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6596-H6597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Scalise), the Republican whip, for the purpose of an inquiry as to the 
balance of the day.
  Mr. SCALISE. I thank the gentleman from Maryland for yielding. Mr. 
Speaker, I would like to request if the gentleman could let us know 
what the schedule is expected to be for the remainder of today.
  Obviously, the reports are that there may be a CBO score today. I 
also want to ask the gentleman: Would it be anticipated that there 
would first be a CBO score before any final passage of legislation?
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his question. Let 
me read through this so I reach every point that I think each Member 
needs to know.
  Following the next vote, the House will stand in recess subject to 
the call of the Chair. As all Members know, we are waiting for some 
technical pursuits of the budget and reconciliation process to be 
completed.
  The House has completed, as I think all of you know, 1 hour and 40 
minutes of the 2 hours of debate on the Build Back Better Act, so there 
will remain 10 minutes on each side prior to the passage of the Build 
Back Better Act.

[[Page H6597]]

  We are waiting, as the gentleman indicated, for the completion of a 
privileged scrub from the Senate Parliamentarians necessary for the 
reconciliation process.
  Once we have received that information, the Rules Committee and Mr. 
McGovern will meet to report a rule with an additional manager's 
amendment to make technical corrections to the bill, which will be 
considered on the floor so that the Parliamentarian's concerns will be 
met in that technical amendment.
  We are also awaiting the final two committee estimates from CBO. We 
expect CBO to have estimates--and I want to make it clear that this may 
not be the CBO score of the overall piece of legislation. We have just 
heard from those who are going to be reading that through the night, I 
know. We are also waiting for the final two committee estimates.
  As I said, I want to thank the Senate Parliamentarian, who has been 
working around the clock--their office has been working around the 
clock to get us to where I think we are now.
  I want to also thank CBO, who has been working extraordinarily hard. 
This is a large piece of legislation, which I guess is an 
understatement, and it is also complex.
  Having said that, obviously, CBO has been working for months--
literally August, September, October, and November--on this 
legislation. We appreciate the hard work of the Parliamentarian and the 
Director of CBO and their staffs.
  We are working toward completing the Build Back Better Act today, and 
more information on the schedule will be provided as soon as it becomes 
available.
  Let me add, if I can, Mr. Whip, it is my hope that we will complete 
this legislation today so that this would be the last legislative day 
prior to the Thanksgiving work period.
  I want to make sure everybody understands, however, we will complete 
Build Back Better before we go home. I am hopeful and believe--I think 
most Members are hopeful--that we can do that tonight, whether you are 
for it or against it, that we can do it tonight, and that is my effort 
to achieve that objective. I know it is the Speaker's effort as well.
  I yield to my friend, the whip.
  Mr. SCALISE. I thank the gentleman. So regarding the CBO score, right 
now we are probably at about one-third of the bill being scored. Would 
it be expected that it wouldn't come up until the full 100 percent 
would be scored or something less than that?
  The other question would be, if the Rules Committee is going to meet 
again to come out with an additional rule based on the Senate scrub, 
would there be additional debate on the bill added as part of that rule 
or would it just be a debate on the rule and then straight into final 
passage?
  Mr. HOYER. There would be debate on the rule, and then the 20 minutes 
of remaining debate on the bill itself; 10 minutes on your side and 10 
minutes on our side.
  I want to say, we do expect to have a full table of the score. As 
those of you who have pored over CBO scores, you know there is a number 
of pages--sometimes shorter, 15, it can be longer than that--of prose 
in explanation of the score. What we will have is the score itself, as 
I understand it, a summary table of the score. We may not have the 
prose by that time.
  I want to make it clear to you that that is not necessary for us to 
pass it. It is necessary, and it will be in place, before it goes to 
the Senate under the reconciliation rules.
  Mr. SCALISE. So for the three remaining committees, we have Ways and 
Means, Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary that still haven't been 
scored. Would all of those be at least in a table? The remaining 
committees that have not been scored, would they be part of a breakdown 
table at a minimum, whether or not it is the more detailed version, as 
well?
  Mr. HOYER. The Energy and Commerce has been done, so we do have that. 
But the other two will be in the table, correct.
  Mr. SCALISE. So Ways and Means and Judiciary would also be in a table 
before something came?
  Mr. HOYER. Yes, that is my understanding.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________