[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22272-22275]
[From the U.S. 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 Texas (Mr. 
DeLay), the distinguished majority leader, for the purposes of 
informing the House for the following week and perhaps thereafter.
  Mr. DeLAY. I appreciate the distinguished whip, the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to make all Members aware that the House 
has completed voting for the day and for the week. We will take any 
votes called

[[Page 22273]]

for on the three pending motions to instruct next week.
  Regarding next week's schedule, the House will convene on Tuesday at 
12:30 p.m. for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. At 
that time we expect to consider several measures under suspension of 
the rules, and any votes called on those measures will be rolled until 
after 6:30 p.m.
  On Wednesday the House will meet for legislative business at 10 a.m. 
We expect to begin consideration of H.R. 2557, the Water Resources 
Development Act of 2003.
  Members should also be aware that we may be considering conference 
reports at any time next week. We have a growing list of bills that 
could be ready. These include but are not limited to the fiscal year 
2004 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, the fiscal 2004 Department 
of Defense Appropriations Act, and the Department of Defense 
authorization bill for fiscal 2004.
  In addition, I would like to note that despite the great efforts of 
the House to complete all appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal 
year, we will have to consider a continuing resolution next week.
  Finally, I would like to note for all Members that we do not plan to 
have votes next Friday, September 26.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that information.
  If I might, I would like to start with the general and then go to the 
specific for next week. I know that there are some of our colleagues 
who are trying to plan schedules for not only next week but weeks out 
and I know there has been a lot of discussion going on.
  Can the leader tell me what he anticipates the schedule will be 
generally speaking in the month of October? My presumption is that we 
are going to be here through the end of October, as the Senate has not 
passed some of the bills and sent them to us. Our anticipation is that 
we will be here at least that long.
  Can the gentleman tell us what he anticipates to be the schedule for 
the weeks of October? We know that the Senate is taking off one of 
those weeks. I think the first full week of October they will be taking 
off. I think Members would find it very useful if the gentleman could 
give us his thoughts on what our schedule would be.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I do not want to prejudge the Committee on Appropriations' work, but 
I think in dealing with the Senate, the House and with both sides of 
the aisle it looks like everybody is coming together in a consensus 
around a continuing resolution that might run us to October 31, and 
that should be a very real signal to our Members that we will probably 
be in session to at least October 31.
  However, trying to figure out exactly what weeks we will and will not 
work depends a lot on the work that we still have pending. Any day now 
we anticipate receiving from the administration a supplemental 
appropriations bill. Obviously, the Committee on Appropriations will go 
immediately to work on that, but I am informed that it may take at 
least two, three, even four weeks with hearings and things that need to 
be done, I think all Members want to really look at that supplemental 
and make sure that we are doing the right thing, and I cannot say today 
that, definitively, we would be off the week that the Senate has taken 
off, but I am hoping that working over the weekend and through the week 
next week, we ought to be able to give Members some sort of idea as to 
what the month of October might look like.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I appreciate the leader's 
comments, and I understand when we get down towards the end of the 
session you are not sure exactly how the business will flow and you 
have got to make decisions as that occurs.
  I understand the week of October 6, which is I guess a week and a 
half from today, I hate to try to pin the gentleman down, but Members 
obviously are trying to figure out when they get requests in their 
districts to do things, whether or not that October 6 date, again 
because the Senate's going to be off, is a probable time that they may 
be able to work in the District or whether it is too problematic for 
them to make any kinds of plans. I yield to my friend.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman for yielding. Let 
me just correct the gentleman. The week of October 6 is 2\1/2\ weeks 
from today, and I really believe that it is going to hinge on what the 
supplemental looks like and what the Committee on Appropriations thinks 
that their schedule might be in order to get the supplemental to the 
floor as quickly as possible, giving the Members every opportunity to 
look at the bill and participate in it.
  My thinking is that if we can get that supplemental to the floor of 
the House by that week of October 6, we could very well be here voting 
on that supplemental.
  Mr. HOYER. I understand. I thank the gentleman. Would it be fair for 
Members to presume, absent further notice, that we will be meeting, as 
we have been meeting, on the Tuesday evening, Thursday night schedule? 
I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. As the 
gentleman knows, the House has been very active this year, and we have 
gotten a lot of our business done, and there is very important business 
left, but the requirement for floor time is getting less and less, and 
we do not want to keep Members here any longer than they have to be. 
So, yes, we anticipate that the schedule would run at least Tuesday 
through Thursdays in the weeks ahead, but that could be adjusted, too.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for his comments. Now, if I could go 
to the specifics.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. HOYER. I am glad to yield.
  Mr. DeLAY. I do not want Members to misunderstand me. Also, it is 
coming to the end of the session, and as the gentleman knows, I would 
not encourage Members to make a lot of plans for Mondays and Fridays, 
plans that cannot be broken because as we get to the end of the 
session, the weeks could very well get longer.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, I understand what the leader is 
saying.
  On the appropriations conference reports, the gentleman mentioned a 
number of conference reports, Homeland Security and DOD and the DOD 
authorization. Is there a possibility that the legislative branch 
appropriation conference report could come to the floor next week as 
well or any other conference reports?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would yield, the gentleman is correct. We 
are in conference on legislative branch, and we also are in conference 
on the military construction. Both of those could very well be ready 
for action next week. The appropriators are working hard, and it looks 
like they are doing their business once we get into conferences. So, 
yes, military construction and legislative branch could very well be up 
next week.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman. The other conference report, there 
are many others, but one that we are very interested in is the labor-
health-education conference report. Does the leader have any insight as 
to when that might be considered on the floor?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would yield, we certainly want to try to 
get moving on this most important piece of legislation as soon as 
possible. Unfortunately, the other body has trampled on the 
constitutional prerogatives of the House in initiating tax provisions 
in their bill.
  The bill that the other body has passed has been blue-slipped 
appropriately by the Committee on Ways and Means, and until this blue-
slip issue is resolved, I just cannot give the gentleman any sort of 
prediction as to when we would appoint conferees.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, is that on the issue of overtime pay 
for working Americans?
  Mr. DeLAY. No. If the gentleman would yield, my understanding is it 
is over the issue of raising Customs fees.

[[Page 22274]]


  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I understand. Reclaiming my time, there is 
another conference report that we have been talking about now for a 
couple of weeks, and that is the FAA conference report, the 
reauthorization, which the authorization I think expires on September 
30, if I am correct. Can the gentleman tell the body and the Members 
the status of that conference report?
  Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would yield, the current FAA 
authorization, as the gentleman knows, expires at the end of this 
month, and obviously we need to keep that program going. The best way 
to do this would be to pass the FAA conference report, and we hope to 
find a way. We have been working very hard on it for the last 2 weeks. 
We still hope to find a way to do that conference report next week.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for his 
observation on that, and we want to try to help him find a way, but as 
the gentleman knows, one of the provisions in that, which suggests 
privatizing the air traffic controllers, is a very controversial item I 
think on both sides of the aisle very frankly, but giving my colleague 
the information I think it is appropriate for him to have, I think 
beyond that and perhaps the training of the attendants, which we think 
is also very important for our homeland security and air traffic 
security purposes, but for those two I think we are pretty much in 
agreement.
  So if we can facilitate perhaps on that which we are in agreement, 
moving the bill, we would be glad to try to help on that effort.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, the gentleman 
is absolutely correct, and the chairman and ranking member of the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure are working very hard, 
and hopefully, we will have a resolution by next week.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for his comments.
  There is another bill, as we all know, that the authorization of 
which is expiring the end of this month, and that is the Transportation 
Efficiency Act 21. TEA-21, as we refer to it, is expiring. That has 
been in consideration. I know there is a lot of controversy about how 
much investment ought to be authorized in that bill. Can the gentleman 
tell us the status of that particular piece of legislation, which is so 
critical to the welfare of our country? I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding.
  It is my understanding that two bills were introduced today extending 
the funding for transportation infrastructure for the next 5 months in 
one bill and 6 months in another bill. We hope to have one of those 
bills to the floor by next week. The Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure is working very hard to prepare that bill for floor 
consideration, and the gentleman is absolutely right. It is critical to 
keep highway funding flowing, particularly going into the winter 
season. We want to get as much construction finished in the northern 
States now before the winter completes, and there are a lot of 
contracts of construction out there right now.
  So it is vitally important for us to extend the highway program while 
we are working on a more comprehensive 6-year highway bill.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, so the gentleman thinks that may be on the 
floor next week?
  Mr. DeLAY. We are working hard to get it to the floor next week 
because we only have, starting off next week, I think we have 10 days 
before the end of this fiscal year.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, next to last issue I 
would bring up, I think I heard the gentleman say this, but I want to 
make sure the Members understand, is it the gentleman's understanding, 
and is it his intention, that if we adopt a CR, is it next week that he 
thinks we may do that, that the date set in that CR for continuing 
funding would be until the 31st of October? I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding.
  While I heard there is growing support for a CR that carries us 
through to October 31, to my knowledge no final decisions have been 
made on that, but a decision on it is getting closer and closer.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, last question, and I know it would disappoint 
my colleague if I did not pursue this issue, but Senator Grassley in 
the other body was quoted as saying he expects the Democrats to keep 
the heat on on this issue, so we do not want to disappoint him either.
  I say that facetiously, but we really do care about the child tax 
credit. It appears that the conference is meeting. It appears that 
there is significant disagreement between the House and the Senate, but 
there appears that there is, in this limited area, that is, extending 
the child tax credit to those families who are making between $10- and 
$26,000, of which there are some 6\1/2\ million families, 12 million 
children affected by this and 200,000 military families, there appears 
to be agreement on this issue.
  One of the disagreements is apparently that there are some of us who 
are willing to make it permanent, but want to at least see it active 
this year, but one of the problems apparently that the gentleman 
expressed last week was if we cannot make it permanent, we apparently 
cannot do it. I would hope, because I think we could do it very quickly 
on this floor and would not take much time of the body, that the 
gentleman would bring to the floor the Senate bill, which has the child 
tax credit, and that we might pass that or, alternatively, simply do a 
limited bill, send it to the Senate, and they could take it off the 
desk and pass it, but in either event, it would facilitate getting to 
those 6\1/2\ million families the same kind of assistance that we have 
already given to others who have received a refund of the child tax 
credit. I know the gentleman anticipated that question. I know he has 
an answer.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I have enjoyed 
my time in this institution working with the gentleman on institution 
matters, and I know the gentleman has strongly-held beliefs of 
protecting the prerogatives of this institution and the will of the 
House, and I just say to the gentleman under this issue, his words 
``extending the child tax credit'' are critical. This House has spoken 
on that issue. This House has considered the Senate bill he mentions. 
This House has rejected that Senate bill as flawed, and this House has 
expressed itself because it wants to extend the child tax credit beyond 
the next election, and we expressed it in passing with a very good vote 
a bill and sent it to the other body.
  I just would recommend that the gentleman direct his comments and his 
strategy toward the other body. All they have to do is pick up the 
House bill and the gentleman will get everything that he has asked for.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I understand what the 
gentleman said, but when one really addresses this issue in a way that 
reflects I think an honest analysis of it, there is disagreement 
between the two bodies on the proposal we made in the House and the 
proposal that has been made in the Senate. There is, however, no 
disagreement, not a scintilla of difference, between the two houses on 
whether or not assistance ought to be given to these 6\1/2\ million 
people, families and 12 million children, 200,000 military families 
this year. The only issue is do we want to do it further and keep it. 
Very frankly, I would want to do it at least this year, and then I will 
fight to do it next year and the year after, and our side of the aisle 
will fight side by side with the gentleman trying to make that 
permanent, but because there is no disagreement on that issue but there 
is disagreement, as the gentleman points out, between our body and the 
other body on other issues included in the bill to which the gentleman 
refers, these 6\1/2\ million families are paying the price.
  What I am saying respectfully to the leader is that on the issue that 
I have brought up, there is no disagreement, as I understand it, with 
Republicans, with Democrats in the House or with Republicans or 
Democrats in the Senate, and because we have agreement on that, we 
ought to act, and I would urge

[[Page 22275]]

the majority leader to seriously consider requesting that the chairman 
of the Committee on Ways and Means, and we ought to protect our 
jurisdiction, we ought to initiate that bill but because we have 
agreement, I would hope we would do so. I would yield.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, I would just 
mention to the gentleman we do have a disagreement. The gentleman is 
correct. Everyone in this House wants to accelerate the child tax 
credit that is already on its way for the 6\1/2\ million families. The 
disagreement in this House is on my colleague's side. They would like 
to allow that to expire, and these 6\1/2\ million families would have 
their taxes increased the following year. We think that is a horrible 
policy, and we would like to, if they get this tax break, that they can 
count on this tax break for more than 1 year. This tax credit. It is 
not a tax break. This tax credit for more than a year.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time if that, as the gentleman 
posits, is the disagreement, then I would say to the leader that I 
think I can in the next 96 hours get my side of the aisle to agree with 
his side of the aisle to pass that as a permanent extension. The 
problem we have is not between our bodies on that issue as I said. I 
think my party would join. These are folks who make between $10- and 
$26,000 who are trying to support their children, put them into school, 
get them through and make them good citizens. We want to help that, my 
colleague wants to help that, but we are not doing it. We are not doing 
it because there is a disagreement between the two bodies.
  I think it is incorrect to characterize our side of the aisle as 
wanting this to expire. What we want to do is pass, and if there is 
disagreement between the bodies, we at least want to take one step, 
even if we cannot take five steps, because that one step will help 
those families. I would be glad to yield to the distinguished chairman 
of the Committee on Rules.

                              {time}  1545

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
simply would like to say at this moment we have seen the distinguished 
majority leader and the distinguished minority whip in their first year 
in these important positions go through an exchange of issues on which 
there was quite a bit of agreement and the most recent one some 
disagreement.
  I would like to point out to my colleagues that 216 years ago today, 
the framers signed the U.S. Constitution and began that laborious task 
of ensuring its ratification. And to hear the distinguished majority 
leader talk about exercising our constitutional prerogatives as the 
first branch of government is very inspiring to me, and I know will 
continue to inspire all of those who have worked so hard to ensure the 
success of this, the greatest deliberative body known to man.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I want the gentleman to 
know as the representative of the original adopters of that 
extraordinary document who were then later pleased to welcome to our 
ranks those who serve under that Constitution our distinguished 
citizens from Texas and distinguished citizens that California. And I 
had the opportunity of hearing the majority leader speak today at a 
ceremony at the National Archives at which we unveiled the newly 
ensconced and protected charters of freedom, the Constitution of the 
United States preceded by the Declaration of Independence and followed 
closely by the Bill of Rights, those three extraordinary documents 
which stand as probably the most powerful statements of a free people 
and of liberty and justice and a government of laws and not of men. 
They will be preserved from the elements as they have been preserved 
from those who would undermine their principles and their reality.
  I want to congratulate the leader for his comments today at that 
ceremony.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would continue to yield, I 
know I speak on behalf of my colleague from Texas when I say we both 
appreciate that the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) welcomed us 
into the Union.

                          ____________________