[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 23201-23202]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.J. RES. 102, FURTHER CONTINUING 
                    APPROPRIATIONS, FISCAL YEAR 2007

  Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 1105 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 1105

       Resolved,  That upon the adoption of this resolution it 
     shall be in order without intervention of any point of order 
     to consider in the House the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 102) 
     making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 
     2007, and for other purposes. The joint resolution shall be 
     considered as read. The previous question shall be considered 
     as ordered on the joint resolution to final passage without 
     intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Appropriations; and (2) one motion 
     to recommit.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The gentleman from Florida 
(Mr. Putnam) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. 
Slaughter), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the 
purpose of debate only.
  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues. I realize that as we wind down 
this session, Congress, Members are still attempting to move last-
minute suspensions and items of importance for their district.
  This resolution, Madam Speaker, is a rule that provides for 
consideration of House Joint Resolution 102, making continuing 
appropriations for fiscal year 2007. This rule provides for 1 hour of 
debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the majority and 
minority chairman and ranking member of the Committee on 
Appropriations. The rule waives all points of orders against 
consideration of the joint resolution and provides for one motion to 
recommit.
  I want to commend both Chairman Lewis and Ranking Member Obey and the 
entire House Appropriations Committee for sticking to the timetable 
that they laid out at the beginning of this legislative session. In an 
impressive display of bipartisanship and great labor, the House passed 
10 of the 11 appropriations bills prior to the July 4 district work 
period this year. Since July the Senate has returned to us the defense 
and homeland security appropriations bills, each of which has been 
signed by our President. Only the military quality of life 
appropriations bill has been passed by the Senate and is being 
conferenced. The remaining seven remain floundering in the Senate.
  The House of Representatives, Chairman Lewis and Ranking Member Obey, 
and this body, have done their work. We must institute the continuing 
resolution in order to allow the government to continue functioning 
through February 15, 2007. This allows the new Congress ample time to 
organize and consider the outstanding appropriations bills. The rule 
allows consideration of this imperative continuing resolution funding 
measure.
  While disappointed that we must resort to a CR, I am pleased that the 
appropriators have ensured that we have a clean bill without extraneous 
projects or funds and we have avoided the temptation often driven by 
the other body to package bills together in an omnibus.
  Throughout the appropriations process, the committee has shown its 
commitment to the budget resolution and to fiscal accountability. The 
committee has funded programs and activities at the lowest of the 
House-passed level, the Senate-passed level, or the fiscal year 2006 
rate. For agencies for which the Senate has not passed the bill, the 
funding rate is at the lower of the House-passed level or the fiscal 
2006 current rate. For agencies for which neither the House nor the 
Senate have passed the bill, the funding rate is at the current 2006 
number.
  And in order to ensure quality health care for our veterans, we have 
included substantial additional transfer authority for Veterans 
Administration medical care. As the entire Federal Government is facing 
a plateaued budget, the CR includes a provision that prohibits the 
automatic implementation of the cost of living adjustment for Members 
of Congress also until February 16.
  Again, I want to congratulate Chairman Lewis and Ranking Member Obey 
on their hard work. I urge Members to support the rule and the 
underlying continuing resolution so that we can finish the 
appropriations process and move down the road toward meeting the needs 
of this country.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, the bill before us represents one of the last chances 
that

[[Page 23202]]

the majority has to leave its mark on the 109th Congress, and yet again 
we are ending this session like we began it, rushing to pass a rule on 
a bill without having taken enough time to get either one right.
  Along with the broken process used to pass this legislation, what is 
in this bill is a perfect representation of what is wrong with the way 
business has been done under this majority. It is a clear example of 
why we need a new direction in Washington, why we need a new philosophy 
of government to take root here in the people's House.
  This continuing resolution will automatically fund government 
programs at their current levels through February 15 of next year. It 
is the third continuing resolution Congress has passed since the 
current fiscal year began on October 1. We are in the second week of 
December, and the majority has approved only two of the 11 bills that 
were needed this year. In fact, by the time this resolution expires in 
February, the Federal Government would have been on autopilot for more 
than one-third of the 2007 fiscal year. The nine spending bills that 
the 109th Congress will leave unfinished when it adjourns this week 
cover over $460 billion in Federal spending, 460 billion. That is 
almost half a trillion that the leaders of the Congress have decided to 
send out the door without any policymaking or oversight.
  Madam Speaker, the majority didn't do its job. As representatives, we 
are sent here to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollars that the 
Federal Government spends. It is one of our most important 
responsibilities. Voters do not expect us to abdicate that 
responsibility or any other responsibility, for that matter. What they 
expect is that we will take on the challenges confronting our Nation, 
challenges which have for years awaited a leadership with the vision 
and commitment needed to address them.
  Madam Speaker, my fellow Democrats and I understand what the American 
people expect of us. Democrats believe that running this House 
correctly is a matter of pride. We believe it is a matter of having a 
fundamental respect for both the institution in which we serve and for 
the citizens who gave us the privilege to serve here.
  And that is why when the 110th Congress opens next month, Democrats 
will actually face the unanswered challenges confronting us with a new 
promise and address them in a new way. The House will no longer avoid 
asking tough questions or fail to live up to its most basic duties. 
Democrats are going to show the American people a Congress with a new 
set of priorities and a new set of how best to do the people's 
business.
  They are going to see a Congress committed to getting our deficits 
under control and passing critical bills like unfinished budgets before 
us on time. They will see a Congress focused on rewarding millions of 
hardworking Americans with an increase in the minimum wage and on 
promoting education and employment opportunities to help save the 
backbone of our economy: the middle class.
  Americans are going to see a Congress committed to the high standards 
of ethical conduct and procedural fairness so that corruption will no 
longer find refuge within these Halls.
  And they are going to see a Congress with the principle needed to 
truly stand up for our troops in the field by changing our course in 
Iraq and by rooting out the fraud, waste, and abuse that to this day 
endanger the very soldiers that we have asked to risk their lives 
countless times on our behalf.

                              {time}  1615

  Mr. Speaker, the new direction my fellow Democrats and I stand for 
will show our gratitude to the American people for giving us this 
opportunity to serve our country, to help our communities, and 
strengthen our future. It is in the Democratic Party's respect for the 
fundamental principles of our society that they will see the faith we 
have in the principles and their timelessness and in their strength.
  It is in the challenges we choose to confront and the honest, open 
and fair means by which we confront them that they will see our 
dedication to a government of, by, and for the people of the United 
States.
  The American people understand what is at stake in the years ahead. 
They understand that how we act, both in Washington and toward those at 
home and abroad, will determine who we are as a Nation. They want a 
country they can recognize. They want the country they grew up 
believing in. They want a Congress they can be proud of again. And, 
Madam Speaker, that is exactly what the Democrats are going to give 
them.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my 
Rules Committee colleague, the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. 
Capito).
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of this 
rule. As I was listening to the statements that have gone on, I started 
thinking to myself, you know, it is the Christmas season. It is a time 
of optimism. It is a time of reflection. It is a time when we look 
forward to the new year. And as I do that, as a Member of Congress, as 
a family member, as a member of my community, as an American citizen, I 
look forward to what is going to happen after this new year. But what 
we need to concentrate on today is to make sure that the business of 
the people continues in a responsible way, and that is what this rule 
does. It continues the government spending.
  I have great regrets that we were unable to get our appropriations 
bills through, and I hold the other side of the aisle, the other side 
of the big aisle, responsible for a lot of that. But at the same time, 
I think it is important for people across the Nation who are watching 
this to realize what we are really talking about today, and that is the 
continuing services, continuing benefits, continuing the work and the 
funding of the American government.
  I think it is also important to note in this particular piece of 
legislation, because we are very concerned, as a Congress, about our 
veterans and about our VA health care, that because there could be some 
possible issues between now and when this expires in February, that we 
have allotted for the ability to have the transfer within the VA 
medical costs so that they won't skip a beat, and our veterans will be 
cared for in the manner to which we would want them to be cared for, in 
the manner which they deserve.
  So I rise today with a heart filled with Christmas spirit, with a 
positive outlook, not only on this body, but this Nation. And I wish 
the other side good luck in the years to come, and I look forward to 
serving this Congress and the next Congress.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. But 
let me inquire if my colleague has any more speakers.
  Mr. PUTNAM. I thank the lady for her inquiry. I am advised that we 
have no other Members wishing to speak on the rule.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Then I am prepared to yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, before I yield back the balance of my time 
I, first and foremost, want to urge my colleagues to adopt the rule and 
adopt the continuing resolution, and express my highest regards and 
best wishes to the gentlewoman from New York as she prepares to take 
the leadership of the Rules Committee. And I wish her all the very 
best. And I regret that I will not be serving on the committee under 
her leadership, but certainly wish she and her colleagues all the 
opportunity and hope and advantages that come with that responsibility.
  With that, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and 
move the previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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