[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24353-24354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. LEWIS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to inquire of the majority 
regarding the schedule for next week.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for 
yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to make all the Members aware that the House has 
completed voting for the day and the week. We will postpone until next 
week any votes called on the three pending motions to instruct.
  Next week, the House will convene on Wednesday at 2 p.m. for 
legislative business. At that time we expect to consider several 
measures under suspension of the rules. Any votes called on these 
measures will be rolled until after 6:30 p.m.
  On Thursday, we plan to begin consideration of the Iraq supplemental, 
which the Committee on Appropriations is scheduled to mark up tomorrow. 
In addition to this measure, Mr. Speaker, we expect that a number of 
conference reports could be ready for the House to consider.
  While it is difficult to predict the ability of the House and Senate 
conferees to reach agreements, I would note that the more likely 
candidates are probably the interior and military construction 
appropriation measures.
  Finally, I would like to remind all Members that we do expect to have 
votes next Friday, October 17, and may be working late that afternoon. 
Again, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding and will be 
happy to answer any questions he may have.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, I thank the 
gentleman from Virginia for those comments, and I will continue to 
yield to the majority for a response, but I noticed the gentleman 
mentioned several conference reports coming up next week and that the 
military construction and interior appropriation bills are the most 
likely. Would those be the business for next Friday; since the 
gentleman indicated that he does expect to be in on Friday, possibly 
late Friday night?
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will continue to yield, I 
would say to him that we are working to complete those appropriation 
conference reports and it may be that the Iraq supplemental and the 
discussion and debate on that will go into Friday as well.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman indicated that he 
intends to begin debate on the Iraq supplemental bill on Thursday. Our 
side would like to know if it would be possible for us to begin that 
debate, since we are going to be here, on Wednesday, so that every 
Member, every Member of the Congress will have an opportunity to 
participate in this debate?
  I take particular notice of the fact that when we debated the force 
resolution that every Member of the Congress, all of us, had an 
opportunity to participate in that debate.
  Mr. CANTOR. Again, Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will further yield, 
I would respond to him by saying that I think it is possible, although 
nothing has been decided yet. I know our staff on this side has begun 
to meet with your staff there, and we will do everything we can to 
cooperate to try and make sure that all have the opportunity to engage 
on this issue.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, continuing to yield to my friend 
from Virginia with regard to the process for floor debate next week, we 
were told that an open rule is anticipated. However, as the gentleman 
knows, that does not guarantee that we will have the full debate this 
serious matter demands. The American people deserve to have a full, 
serious, open and candid discussion. Therefore, we expect that the rule 
would grant whatever waivers are necessary so that Members would be 
allowed to have a full debate and the ability to offer substantial 
amendments.
  What assurance, what guarantee can the gentleman provide in this 
regard?
  Mr. CANTOR. I would say to the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, that as I said 
earlier, the process has begun with discussion among the staff on both 
sides of the aisle. I would say that, certainly, past precedent would 
certainly be a guide to what the shape of the debate will look like on 
the Iraq supplemental. I would be confident that the chairmen of both 
the Committee on Rules as well as the Committee on Appropriations would 
be consulted as to the nature of that debate.

[[Page 24354]]

  I could also assure the gentleman that all the Members on this side 
are just as anxious as any to make sure that we fully fund the needs of 
our men and women in the Armed Forces, so we can continue with their 
mission in Iraq.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I must say to my colleague that I 
think the Members on this side, and all Members, want to be supportive 
of our men and women in uniform in Iraq. At the same time, I think all 
of us need to know very soon whether we are going to have an 
opportunity to engage in a full, candid, and open discussion when we 
speak of $87 billion.
  Mr. CANTOR. Again, I would say to the gentleman that the process is 
ongoing, and we will work together to try and make sure that all the 
necessary issues are addressed; and that, yes, we will look forward to 
discussion and passage of that measure next week.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. I yield to my colleague and friend, the 
gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted further clarification as to 
whether the plan remains that, as announced by the majority leader here 
about 10 days ago, that we would have essentially an open rule on the 
$87 billion to assure that all Members could advance their ideas?
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Georgia will continue 
to yield, I would say again to the gentleman that there are a variety 
of factors, as you know, that go into the rule which will govern the 
debate on the Iraq supplemental. As I said before to the gentleman from 
Georgia, there is historic precedent that will also serve as a guide. 
We will consult with the chairmen of the Committee on Appropriations as 
well as the Committee on Rules in ensuring that the issues are 
addressed in the rule
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield further, I 
appreciate that. I had planned to ask that question for clarification 
directly to the majority leader, but I understand he has really got 
great affection for my hometown of Austin and he has pretty much moved 
down there for the time being to try to reshape these districts.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, on that note, 
let me thank the gentleman from Virginia.

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