[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4478-4479]
[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 my good friend, the majority 
leader (Mr. Boehner), for the purpose of inquiring about the schedule 
for the week to come.
  Mr. BOEHNER. I thank my colleague for yielding.
  Next week, Mr. Speaker, the House will convene Tuesday at 12:30 for 
morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. We will consider 
several measures under suspension of the rules. A final list of those 
bills will be sent to Members' offices by the end of the week, and any 
votes called on these measures will be rolled until 6:30 on Tuesday 
evening.
  On Wednesday and the balance of the week, the House will consider the 
527 reform bill, which was reported from the Committee on House 
Administration. The House will also consider the concurrent resolution 
on the budget. The Budget Committee completed its work last night.
  We are scheduled to work through Friday next week. I can tell my 
colleague that if we were to get our work finished before that, the 
House would then adjourn for the district work period.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for that information. Reclaiming my 
time, the gentleman indicates that we will be considering the 527 
reform bill. My understanding is that is a freestanding bill. We 
expected it might be in the lobbying reform bill, but am I correct that 
the lobbying reform bill will come later and the 527 bill deals only 
with 527s?
  Mr. BOEHNER. Only with 527s.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman. Can he tell me when he expects to 
move lobbying reform legislation.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Next week the five committees that are involved in 
putting together the lobby and ethics reform bills, all of those 
committees will be marking up their relative portion of that bill. Once 
they have completed their work next week, there has been no decision 
made on how to proceed from there in terms of the consideration of 
those issues here on the floor.
  Mr. HOYER. So, in any event, it would not occur until after the 
Easter break.
  Mr. BOEHNER. I would expect that the first week or two back it is 
likely that we will see those issues on the floor in some manner.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the majority leader for that information. The 
concurrent resolution on the budget, you indicate Thursday and Friday. 
Is there a possibility we might start it on Wednesday and then complete 
it on Thursday, or do you expect to have it on the floor and hopefully 
completed on Thursday itself from the comments that you made?
  Mr. BOEHNER. If the gentleman will yield, really, there are no 
decisions yet on just what the timing of these bills are next week. 
There just hasn't been a decision on what bill will come when. But I 
would hope that the 527 bill would be up Wednesday. Maybe we could 
start the budget debate on Wednesday. I think it is too early to tell.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, would I be correct in advising my 
colleagues that the probability is, and that the plan is, as it has 
been in years past, to allow such substitutes that are offered: the 
Black Caucus usually has a substitute, the Progressive Caucus has a 
substitute, Mr. Spratt obviously we think will have a substitute. I 
don't know if there are others. In the past, of course, they have been 
made in order. Is it your expectation we would follow that same 
practice?
  I yield to my friend.
  Mr. BOEHNER. It is.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for that. That will facilitate a 
fuller consideration of the budget issues.
  Mr. Leader, the tax reconciliation and pension conferences have been 
in meetings, I presume, or at least have been authorized for some 
period of time now. Can you bring us up to date on, if you know, the 
status of both the tax reconciliation conference and the pension 
conference. I know there was some concern on your side of the aisle and 
on ours, I think, to get the pension conference done prior to April 15. 
It appears that that might not happen at this point in time. Can you 
bring us up to date?
  I yield to my friend.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Both of those bills are, in fact, in conference. There 
have been informal conversations and, for that matter, formal 
conference meetings on both of those bills. The pension conference, on 
which I sit, has made some progress, but there is an awful lot of work 
to do, and I think the members of the conference are concerned about 
making sure that this bill is right and there are no unintended 
consequences. And it seems unlikely to me at this point that that 
conference could conclude by the end of next week.
  Closely related would be the tax conference. I don't sit on the 
conference, and I don't have as good a feel as what the timing might 
be.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Leader, not since you have been 
leader, but in times past, as you know, our side of the aisle has been 
very concerned about the way conferences have proceeded. Senator Enzi, 
who is one of the Chairs of the, I guess, the pension conference, has 
indicated he wanted to see a bipartisan conference, a full conference, 
a conference, frankly, as I historically remember them.
  My understanding, frankly, is from both now, the two ranking 
Democrats of the relevant committees, particularly the ranking Democrat 
of the Ways and Means Committee, but also the ranking Democrat, I 
guess, of the Education and Labor Committee, there is a concern that 
the conference is now proceeding essentially in a partisan fashion, 
that is to say, Democrats are not being included in the discussions. In 
fact, we believe that Mr. Thomas is negotiating the tax and pension 
provision with Republicans as if the two conferences were one.
  I want to tell you, Mr. Leader, obviously, we have some substantial 
concerns about that, as we have had in the past in terms of our ability 
to participate in putting our views forth in the conferences 
themselves. I don't know

[[Page 4479]]

whether you have any comment on that, but I would be certainly very 
interested to hear it so I could relate to my colleagues what they 
might expect.
  I yield to my friend, the majority leader.
  Mr. BOEHNER. I thank my colleague for yielding. I have talked to 
Democrats here in the House. I have talked to Democrats in the Senate 
about the pension provisions in conference. And everyone should know 
that at this point there have been some conversations amongst the 
majority party in each Chamber in order to try to put some framework 
together. But no one should have any anticipation that we are rapidly 
moving without our Democrat colleagues in the room. Senator Enzi and I 
had a conversation about this particular issue, on the involvement of 
our friends across the aisle, just yesterday; and so I understand the 
gentleman's concerns.
  I do believe that there are times when discussions have to occur 
amongst the principals before you bring the rest of the members into 
the conference, and I expect it will happen with these two bills as 
well.
  Mr. HOYER. Reclaiming my time, I appreciate the sentiments of the 
majority leader. I know the majority leader has a history in dealing 
with his bills of pursuing them in that fashion, and we have 
appreciated it, as the gentleman knows. I have expressed that to him in 
the past. It has not always been our experience. Clearly, these bills 
are of extraordinary consequence to working men and women in this 
country, particularly as it relates to the pension bill as well as the 
tax reconciliation.
  Without trying to catch you up on your words, but if I could just 
somewhat, perhaps humorously, I hope, but you said that you are not 
moving ahead rapidly, but you will let us know, and you will not do so 
until the Democrats are in the room. Frankly, Mr. Leader, our concern 
is, and the concern of Democrats has been, that once the Democrats get 
back in the room it moves exceedingly rapidly, without really an 
opportunity for Democrats to make substantive contributions, whether 
they win or lose in the conference.
  I yield to my friend.
  Mr. BOEHNER. I thank my colleague for yielding.
  Now, as the gentleman is well aware, I believe that all of us were 
elected by our constituents, regardless of what side of the aisle we 
are on, and we all have a constitutional right and duty to participate 
in this legislative process; and the gentleman is well aware that there 
were a lot of conferences that I and members of my party never saw 
before they were completed. And as the gentleman is well aware, there 
are times when having the right people in the room is important. And 
every bill is different.
  So on the pension bill particularly, as I said, I have talked to 
Members on your side of the aisle, I have talked to Democrats in the 
Senate as well, and I would hope that sometime soon you will see 
Members, more Members, brought into the room to try to help move this 
process along.
  Mr. HOYER. I appreciate the comments of the majority leader, and I 
have confidence that he will work towards that end, and we look forward 
to it. I thank the gentleman for both his information and for his 
concerns about doing it in that fashion.

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