[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 29197-29198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           REAUTHORIZING THE PRINTING OF CERTAIN PUBLICATIONS

  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 221) authorizing printing of the 
brochures entitled ``How Our Laws Are Made'' and ``Our American 
Government'', the pocket version of the United States Constitution, and 
the document-sized, annotated version of the United States 
Constitution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 221

       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. PRINTING OF DOCUMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Each of the documents referred to in 
     section 2 shall be printed as a House document, in a style 
     and manner determined by the Joint Committee on Printing.
       (b) Additional Copies for House and Senate.--There shall be 
     printed for the use of the House of Representatives and the 
     Senate an aggregate number of copies of the documents printed 
     under subsection (a) not to exceed the lesser of--
       (1) 2,200,000; or
       (2) the maximum number of copies for which the aggregate 
     printing cost does not exceed an amount established by the 
     Joint Committee on Printing.

     SEC. 2. DOCUMENTS DESCRIBED.

       The documents referred to in this section are as follows:
       (1) The 1999 revised edition of the brochure entitled ``How 
     Our Laws Are Made''.
       (2) The 1999 revised edition of the brochure entitled ``Our 
     American Government''.
       (3) The 20th edition of the pocket version of the United 
     States Constitution.
       (4) The 1999 edition of the document-sized, annotated 
     version of the United States Constitution.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mica) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I come before the House to present this House 
Concurrent Resolution 221, which authorizes the printing of brochures 
entitled

[[Page 29198]]

``How Our Laws Are Made'' and ``Our American Government,'' the pocket 
version of the United States Constitution, and the document-sized 
annotated version of the United States Constitution.
  Very often when I come to the floor, I always like to cite what I 
consider the most important document that rules the governance of our 
country and really sets forth the pattern of organization for the 
Congress. Our Constitution details those responsibilities under that 
great document, and it is important that our Committee on House 
Administration as one of its responsibilities in administering the 
House of Representatives makes certain that these publications be made 
available.
  Each time we have young people visit the United States Capitol, I try 
to make pocket editions available to them so that they have a better 
understanding of how our government operates, what their 
responsibilities are under that great document as a citizen, and also 
how our government works. Most young people today do not have an 
awareness of the Constitution and basically how our government 
functions. That is unfortunate. Sometimes it is the failure of 
education. Not only do our schools and parents and communities have a 
responsibility but we as a Congress have that responsibility. And also 
it is important that the Committee on House Administration, charged 
with running the House of Representatives, insures that these important 
documents are published.
  The last time two of these documents were printed was during the 
102nd Congress. The other two were printed during the 105th Congress. 
The pamphlet-sized publication of the Constitution has a revision to 
the foreword by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), our 
distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. The 
Parliamentarian has also provided revisions to ``How Our Laws Are 
Made,'' and the Congressional Research Service has provided revision to 
the document ``Our American Government.''
  I would also notify Members of the House, Mr. Speaker, that each 
Member and Senator will receive 1,000 copies of each of these 
publications and an opportunity to acquire additional copies. They will 
be made available at an additional cost to the Members, and can be 
distributed to their constituents.
  These are important documents. It is an important responsibility of 
the House of Representatives to make certain again that our young 
people and our citizens have the basic tools and documents of 
government available to them, somewhat of a mundane responsibility but 
an important one that we are taking that up. I am pleased to take up 
this responsibility today on behalf of the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Thomas), who chairs the Committee on House Administration.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1200

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution which, as the 
gentleman from Florida has so aptly pointed out, provides for authority 
to reprint four documents of particular interest. Those of us who have 
been around the Congress for most of our adult lives, either as 
students working here, as interns, or as Members and anything in 
between, know that although this seems like a mundane responsibility, 
authorizing the reprinting of four documents and the provision of 
copies to Members and to the public is a profound action.
  It is profound because these documents are so profound. These 
documents have had a tremendous impact on not only the citizens of the 
United States, but, I would suggest, a great impact on all the world. I 
remember, as I am sure the gentleman from Florida remembers, when 
Vaclav Havel, the President of the Czech Republic, stood at the rostrum 
in front of the Speaker, and spoke about the emergence of 
Czechoslovakia from behind the Iron Curtain into freedom, both 
politically and economically, and democratically. He observed that two 
of the documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, 
impelled the movement in Czechoslovakia from behind the Iron Curtain. 
Havel spoke dramatically about human rights, political rights, civil 
rights, and economic rights.
  It is critically important that every American student, every 
American adult be familiar with the source documents of our Nation 
which articulate our principles and outline how we accomplish 
democracy, how we debate and resolve differences of opinion, how we, as 
minority leader often observes, substitute debate on this floor for 
bullets on a battlefield.
  Debate is, in fact, the substitute for violence; it is the way we in 
America have, since the Civil War resolved our differences without 
bloodshed. It is a lesson for all the world, but particularly a lesson 
for our own people. The reprinting of these documents will provide a 
ready supply for Members to distribute and for the public to access.
  So I join the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) in supporting this 
very important resolution. I support him in his observations with 
reference to having available not only the pocket Constitution, but the 
annotated Constitution as well for the public and for Members so that 
we better understand the genius of our Founding Fathers and the 
contribution that American democracy makes to all the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.
  I am pleased to join with the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), 
who is the ranking member on the Committee on House Administration to 
support this resolution, a simple task for the Congress this afternoon 
to print copies of the Constitution and some other documents and to be 
made available to the public and Members.
  In closing, I heard the gentleman from Maryland comment about Vaclav 
Havel and his presentation before the Congress. I was a Member of 
Congress at the time, but I sat as a guest in the House gallery; and I 
will never forget that infamous commentary by Mr. Havel who said just 
days ago he had been incarcerated in a prison and now he was addressing 
Congress. That event was particularly meaningful to me because my 
grandfather came from Slovakia which was part of the Czechoslovak 
Republic in 1989 when thousands and thousands of people took to the 
street in the beginning of the Velvet Revolution, and as we pass this 
small housekeeping resolution here to make these copies of our precious 
democratic documents available, we remember and commemorate today the 
fall of the Berlin Wall and basically the fall of Communism.
  It is through the documents that we are authorizing the publication 
of today that we have extended to the world our framework of 
government. These documents have been the cornerstone for providing a 
guide post for these people who have brought their nations out of the 
ages and decades and decades of darkness.
  Last night I had the opportunity to attend a dinner with the Czech 
and Slovak prime ministers and their ambassadors here as they 
celebrated. They had met with the President and other officials 
celebrating the 10th anniversary of their having gained freedom. Again, 
those documents that we provided offered encouragement. Programs that 
the United States promotes such as this help extend democracy, promotes 
freedom and opportunities, and provide the framework of government 
outlined by the Constitution to others. Today we see those results and 
it does give us a great sense of satisfaction.
  It gives me, in closing, a great sense of satisfaction to work in a 
bipartisan manner with the gentleman from Maryland and our chairman, 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), in asking the House of 
Representatives to pass this concurrent resolution of the House, House 
Concurrent Resolution 221 at this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hobson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) that the House suspend 
the rules and agree to House concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 221.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and concurrent resolution was agreed 
to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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