[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24225-24227]
[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 California, 
chairman of the Rules Committee, I am not sure what the other titles 
are, for the purposes of informing us of the schedule for the week to 
come.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding, and I will 
tell the gentleman that my title is just that of a humble servant to 
try and make sure that this institution works as well as possible in a 
bipartisan way.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I think most of the public believes that we 
hopefully are servants. The adjective I am not sure that they always 
agree with.
  Mr. DREIER. Well, humble is the one I put there, and I am proud to 
have it there.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say that the House will convene on Tuesday at 
12:30 p.m. As you know, we are going to be proceeding today with the 
resolution on Rosa Parks, which is a very important item for us. But 
when we adjourn and complete our business today, we will adjourn to 
meet on Tuesday at 12:30 for morning hour and at 2 p.m. for legislative 
business. We will consider several measures under suspension of the 
rules. A final list of those measures to be considered under suspension 
will be sent to Members' offices by the end of today. Any votes called 
on those measures will be rolled until 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
  For Wednesday and the balance of the week, the House will consider 
additional legislation under suspension of the rules, as well as H.R. 
4128, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005, which I just 
mentioned and asked for submission of amendments on that. We will be 
making a rule in order for that. We also anticipate that the House will 
consider additional appropriations conference reports as they become 
available.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, you do not mention Friday. There is one bill 
mentioned, plus perhaps conference reports on appropriations bills. Do 
you anticipate that we will be meeting Friday next, or that Members can 
be reasonably confident that we will complete our work for the week by 
Thursday night?
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that obviously we are 
working very hard on the appropriations work. Chairman Lewis is moving 
through that agenda very well, and it is our hope that we will be able 
to complete work. But just as we found today we had the opportunity to 
consider the Agriculture appropriations conference report, we may, next 
Friday, have a conference report that would come forward.
  Obviously, we will try to get our work completed as expeditiously as 
possible, and if we can complete it by Thursday, we would like to. But 
I do think that Members should look at the prospect of being here at 
least part of the day on Friday of next week, if we do have another 
conference report from the Appropriations Committee.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for that 
information.
  Regarding Wednesday's schedule, which I know has become somewhat 
complicated, first of all, it is my understanding that the majority has 
some meetings on that morning. In addition, as you know, and you 
mentioned the resolution that we are going to consider on Rosa Parks, 
Rosa Parks' funeral in Detroit is on Wednesday. Obviously, therefore, 
many, many Members will want to be attending that funeral, I am sure, 
on both sides perhaps. And we are wondering whether or not we can 
structure Wednesday's schedule to accommodate attendance at the funeral 
so that Members will not miss votes. It is my understanding that the 
funeral is at 11 o'clock.
  I might yield to the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, who 
was very, very close to Mrs. Parks, to perhaps give us a thought on the 
time

[[Page 24226]]

frame in which Members could be back from the funeral.
  Mr. CONYERS. I thank the gentleman very much for yielding.
  Saturday, Montgomery, Alabama, St. Paul AME Church. Sunday, St. Paul 
AME Church, 10:30, Montgomery, Alabama. Lying in honor at the Rotunda, 
Capitol, Sunday, from 6:00 p.m. to 9 a.m., which is what we are going 
to be looking into very shortly. And then Monday, services in 
Washington, D.C., at the Metropolitan AME Church; Tuesday, Detroit, 
where her body lies in state at the Wright African American Museum; 
with a service Wednesday, November 2, at 11 a.m.
  Mr. HOYER. Could the gentleman give some idea as to when you believe 
that Members who attend the 11 o'clock funeral would be able to get 
back to Washington vis-a-vis votes?
  Mr. CONYERS. It would be a 2- to 3-hour service, and we are trying to 
arrange military craft. We are talking with the Pentagon right now. The 
Speaker's Office has been very cooperative on this, and we are hoping 
that there would be a plane for Members to leave here from Washington 
to Detroit, and back to Washington.
  Mr. HOYER. And then given the fact that the Speaker's Office 
obviously is making these arrangements, I yield to my friend.
  Mr. DREIER. I thank my friend for yielding. And let me thank Mr. 
Conyers for outlining the schedule for the Nation to remember an 
extraordinary life.
  I, of course, remember very well when we honored Rosa Parks here, 
and, having learned so many things about her that I frankly did not 
know just within the last few days, her level of political activism in 
the 1940s and the kinds of things that she had done, it is very 
appropriate, and I know the Speaker has done everything that he 
possibly can to ensure that we do recognize this great life and, of 
course, by having Rosa Parks' body lie in state here in the Capitol. I 
think that is a great testament to an extraordinary life.
  As we look at our legislative schedule, Mr. Speaker, let me say that 
we have the very important goal of dealing with legislation that is 
emerging from the committee chaired by Mr. Sensenbrenner, and Mr. 
Conyers is the ranking minority member. And that legislation which I 
mentioned earlier, dealing with the issue of eminent domain, is a high 
priority. So I can assure my friends on both sides of the aisle that we 
will do everything that we possibly can in looking at the exigencies of 
the schedule as it relates to Mrs. Parks' funeral in Detroit to 
accommodate Members when it comes to management of the bill on the 
floor and votes themselves as they take place. So we will do all that 
we can to address as well as we possibly can those very understandable 
issues.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for those comments.
  In light of the fact that the Speaker is arranging for the aircraft 
to get Members there, I presume that they will schedule votes 
consistent with the leaving and the returning of Members from the 
funeral. That is my presumption. I understand that is a little bit up 
in the air, but we certainly hope that can be done. As the gentleman 
observes, Members on both sides of the aisle I am sure will be 
attending. I yield to my friend.
  Mr. DREIER. I will just say, Mr. Speaker, that we obviously, in 
looking at the chance the Members will clearly have here in the Capitol 
to recognize the extraordinary life, we are going to have this 
resolution on the floor, but we still do want to do whatever we can, 
and the Speaker is committed to that, to address the concern of her 
funeral taking place on Wednesday. I thank again the gentleman from 
Michigan for his thoughtful remarks.
  Mr. HOYER. I appreciate the comments of both the ranking member, Mr. 
Conyers, who has been so involved in the life of Rosa Parks and such an 
advocate of civil rights, which was her cause and her life, as the 
gentleman from California has observed, and I thank him for his 
comments.
  Mr. CONYERS. I just wanted to indicate we expect to be back by 6 
o'clock. That is our goal.
  Mr. HOYER. As I said, my presumption is that we will try to make 
sure, I say we, the Speaker's Office will try to make sure that we 
accommodate Members who are going, because I presume there will be a 
substantial number.
  Mr. DREIER. If the gentleman will further yield, I will just say at 
this juncture that we are going, again as the gentleman from Maryland 
has just said, this is obviously in somewhat of a state of flux, but we 
are going to do everything that we possibly can to accommodate the 
concerns of those Members who are hoping to attend the funeral of Mrs. 
Parks.
  I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. HOYER. I am sure that all of us want to work this out, and I 
appreciate that comment.
  Let me go, if I might now, to appropriations conference reports. They 
are not listed here, other than obviously we anticipate that there may 
well be appropriations conference reports. Do you know which ones we 
might expect next week and when they might be considered?
  I yield to my friend.
  Mr. DREIER. I cannot tell you exactly when next week they will be 
considered, because obviously, we anticipate their filing. I can tell 
you that from my role on the Rules Committee, that we often wait for 
appropriations conference reports to be filed, and we do not know 
exactly when they will be considered. But I will tell you the bills 
that we do anticipate are, of course, the energy and water 
appropriations bill and the foreign operations appropriations bill. And 
we also anticipate next week having motions to go to conference on 
additional appropriations measures that would include the Science-
State-Justice-Commerce bill and the military quality of life bill.
  So those are things that we do anticipate, although I cannot say 
exactly at what point next week they will be considered.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for that.
  Do we have any read on where the defense appropriation bill is at 
this point in time?
  Mr. DREIER. I do not at this juncture know exactly where we stand on 
that.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, we have been talking 
about budget reconciliation now for a number of weeks and the 
possibility of a budget amendment bill coming to the floor. Over the 
last 2 weeks that has not come. But, as you know, committees are 
marking to a figure substantially above the current budget resolution 
which was adopted by the House and the Senate. Can you tell me whether 
or not we are going to have a budget amendment bill on the floor either 
next week or the week after, and whether or not we will have a 
reconciliation tax bill on the floor in the near future?
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, let me say that obviously we are continuing 
to work on our quest to put into place for the first time since 1977 an 
amendment to the budget which would call for substantial reductions in 
spending, particularly in the mandatory area and possibly in other 
areas.

                              {time}  1200

  We are continuing to work on that, and we would like to do it, but 
while we are not absolutely certain that that vote, an amendment to the 
budget, would take place, we are, as the gentleman correctly said, 
continuing to work on the reconciliation process.
  Now, it is my understanding that we have had eight committees that 
have already reported out their measures, and we are going to continue 
to do everything that we possibly can to ensure that we bring about a 
kind of fiscal responsibility that the budget resolution calls for, and 
as the gentleman said correctly, Mr. Speaker, exceed that if we 
possibly can. Because trying to rein in the reach of the Federal 
Government is a high property for us, and we are working, we hope in a 
bipartisan way, because I know my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle are regularly talking about the problems of deficit spending and 
all, and we share that concern. We hope that as we proceed with this 
reconciliation process that we can move a package that will get here to 
the floor to do the work.

[[Page 24227]]

  So whether or not we have a vote that amends the budget resolution, 
we are focused on the reconciliation process itself.
  To the gentleman's last question on the tax aspect of reconciliation, 
that continues to be an item that we are working on. I know that the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) of the Committee on Ways and 
Means and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) are working on that, 
the ranking member. We at this juncture do not know exactly what shape 
that will take, but it is something that we do anticipate completing.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, this is not the appropriate forum for 
debate on fiscal actions that have been taken or will be taken, so I 
will not enter that debate. I will, however, make the observation that 
the gentleman mentions that going back to 1977 there was a bill on this 
floor. Of course, in 1993 there was a bill for which 218 Democrats 
voted and no Republicans voted that I will remind the gentleman cut 
over $250 billion of spending.
  I know you would want to be reminded of that and not forget that. I 
am prepared to get into a debate, but I wanted to correct that 
observation because very frankly your side tends to ignore the cuts 
that were effected in 1993 and look only to the revenue which was 
raised in 1993 which, of course, ultimately from our perspective, and I 
think accurately, created significant surpluses in this country for 4 
years in a row.
  I will yield to my friend.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I will say that any time is a good time to 
talk about fiscal responsibility whether we are engaged in a colloquy 
or at any point. I am happy to do that right now. I will state that the 
reason that no Republican in 1993 cast that vote was that it was the 
largest tax increase in history. And if the gentleman will recall, we 
within a very short period of time repealed large parts of that tax 
increase that was put in place in 1993, in 1995, 1996, and 1997 and we 
did so with the support of President Clinton and a number of Democrats 
here.
  We can continue to debate what took place in the early 1990s. As far 
as an amendment to the budget resolution that was passed, 1977 is the 
last time that we actually passed an amendment to the budget resolution 
which did bring about, called for these kinds of cuts, and we may or 
may not consider that. But whether we consider it or not, we will be 
doing everything that we can to work in a bipartisan way to ensure that 
we proceed with this reconciliation process and bring about the kind of 
fiscal responsibility that I believe Democrats and Republicans alike 
have talked about.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, the gentleman says any time is a good 
time to talk about fiscal responsibility. We have Rosa Parks that we 
need to really address and that is critical, but I do not want to let 
it go. The gentleman has made a mistake, but it is a mistake that is 
made regularly, and it is a misrepresentation.
  In fact, if the gentleman will look to the record, if you use honest 
nominal numbers, the 1982 Dole-Reagan tax increase was larger, larger 
than the 1993 revenue enhancement, or tax increase, as you call it, 
which tried to pay for the things we were buying.
  Mr. DREIER. If the gentleman would yield, that was a $98.5 billion 
tax increase in 1982. I remember it very, very well.
  Mr. HOYER. In nominal terms it was larger. In actual terms, not in 
nominal, in actual terms if you made $5 in 1993 and you make $5.10 now, 
you are technically making more money. Nobody in the world believes you 
are making more money. And that misrepresentation, we should not have 
gotten into this debate because it is the subject of a long debate with 
significant disagreements between the sides, on fiscal responsibility.
  Mr. DREIER. If the gentleman would yield.
  Mr. HOYER. As a matter of fact, I would be glad to engage my friend 
in that debate. We can take an hour out and debate that.
  Mr. DREIER. I will close the debate by quoting Thomas Jefferson, the 
author of our great Declaration of Independence.
  Mr. HOYER. I will yield to my friend for the purpose of quoting 
Thomas Jefferson.
  Mr. DREIER. Thomas Jefferson said, ``Two thinking men can be given 
the exact same set of facts and draw different conclusions.''
  Obviously, that is something that rages on as we debate these issues 
and we look forward to continuing that. I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. HOYER. Had Jefferson been questioned on that observation, he 
would have said it does not necessarily mean that both conclusions are 
correct.
  Mr. DREIER. I know, Mr. Speaker, that the gentleman controls the 
time.
  Mr. HOYER. Let me go to another subject because the gentleman and I 
could go on all day about this, and that is what the Members fear.
  Immigration. This is an issue on which many of us have focused, on 
which great concern has been expressed. I am wondering whether or not 
you believe that prior to Thanksgiving we will have some type of 
immigration legislation brought to the floor.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, let me say that, obviously, border security 
and immigration reform continue to be very high priorities for this 
majority, and I believe there is bipartisan concern about the issue of 
our national security, and border security is part of that. Immigration 
reform is something that I believe we need to address. We are going to 
continue to do everything that we possibly can to ensure that we 
address the issue of immigration reform before we adjourn this session 
of Congress.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, you believe it will come, but you are 
not sure that it will come before Thanksgiving. Is that I what I get 
from what you just said? I yield to my friend.
  Mr. DREIER. I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I would hope that we could do it before Thanksgiving, 
before we adjourn on the 18th of November; but my hope is that we will 
be able to complete work on immigration reform and border security 
before we adjourn the first session of this Congress.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for his information.

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