[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22754-22757]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MOTION TO ADJOURN

  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now 
adjourn.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to adjourn.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


                        Parliamentary Inquiries

  Mr. SESSIONS (during the vote). Mr. Speaker, please be advised voting 
is not available to Members at this time and the Republican minority 
would request that we have the ability to vote.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The voting machine is operational, but there 
is an issue with the display, the Chair has been informed, and the 
Clerk is working on it.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, point of parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. It is my understanding that the Speaker may, has 
options available to him or her as it relates to electronic voting to 
where the Speaker could make a decision to have the Clerk record those 
votes manually by rollcall.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The voting system is operational and the 
vote is ongoing.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Continuing my request.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. If the gentleman will suspend. The Chair 
will try to ensure that Members know of time remaining and will have an 
opportunity to cast their votes, and the Chair will announce the vote a 
number of times to allow Members to change their vote.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, how am I recorded?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. If the gentleman will consult with the 
Clerk, they will tell you how you have voted.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlelady from Colorado.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Parliamentary inquiry. To speed this process, Mr. 
Speaker, are the computers throughout the Chamber on both sides working 
so Members could check the computers to see how their votes are 
recorded and how much time is remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would recommend that Members check 
their votes at the voting machine or at the rostrum to ensure that his 
or her vote is recorded.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry. On this side 
of the aisle the computers in the Chamber seem to be working, and I am 
wondering if they are working on the other side of the aisle?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. That is not a proper parliamentary inquiry. 
The voting will continue.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, point of parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, point of parliamentary inquiry. When the 
electronic voting system is inoperable or is not used, the Speaker or 
Chairman may direct the Clerk to conduct a record vote or quorum call 
as provided in clause 3 or 4; is that correct?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is correct.
  The voting system is working. The problem is with the display. The 
House will continue voting electronically.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Point of parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, would it be correct to say that normal 
procedures of this House are not currently, as it relates to voting, in 
place and available to Members at this time?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is correct. There is a problem 
with the display. The Clerk is working to address that problem. But the 
voting machines are working, and the tally is being held.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Point of parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the question is whether the Speaker or the 
Speaker's designee has the authority to make a decision to enact what 
we would call to conduct or direct the Clerk to conduct a record vote 
or quorum call as provided in clause 3 or 4.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has alternatives; and when it is 
proper to use them, the Chair may do so.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Point of parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, could you please outline those options 
that are available to you and your thinking? Because we are in a 
circumstance where we believe an inoperable voting system is presently 
being----
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. One is a manual call, one is a vote by 
tellers, and one is to continue with the electronic vote. And the Chair 
has chosen to so continue.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry. How much time is 
remaining on the vote that we can't see displayed any place that we are 
supposed to be casting?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. There are 5 minutes and 30 seconds remaining 
on this vote, and the Chair will accommodate Members on this vote.


                Announcement by the Speaker pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California has come to 
the Chair and reminded the Chair that Members may verify their vote at 
any one of the various voting stations. The engineers are working on 
the malfunction on the display, and we will continue electronic voting.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). The Chair will remind 
Members that the House is voting on a motion to adjourn. Members may 
verify their votes at any of the various voting stations. The engineers 
are still working on the malfunction of the display.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). The Chair will remind the 
Members that they may use the voting machines, and Members may verify 
their vote at any one of the various voting stations. The House is 
presently voting on a motion to adjourn.


                        Parliamentary Inquiries

  Mr. SESSIONS (during the vote). Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas.

[[Page 22755]]


  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the Members having an 
inability to know what time remains, can the Chair please advise us 
what time remains in this vote?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will make every effort to ensure 
that the Members will have every opportunity to vote, regardless of the 
time elapsed.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Further parliamentary inquiry. Mr. Speaker, can you 
please advise me how much time remains in this vote?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the gentleman repeat his inquiry?
  Mr. SESSIONS. I will, Mr. Speaker. Can you please tell me how much 
time remains in this vote?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has the discretion to close the 
vote when all Members have voted.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker. Recognizing 
the circumstances that we are under, can you please advise me how much 
longer you will hold the vote open for Members?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will use his discretion to provide 
for Members who have not voted or who would like to change their vote 
when in the Chair's discretion every Member has voted who wants to 
vote. The Chair will then tally the votes and announce the vote.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to propound a parliamentary 
inquiry. I'd like to inquire of the Chair, by what means will the Chair 
know what the totals are on the vote that we're engaged in at this 
moment?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will use the standard method of 
verification.
  Mr. DREIER. Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.
  Mr. DREIER. What is the traditional method of verification? For me, 
it is to look at the board up there and see how my State delegation had 
voted.
  Mr. Speaker, I was just asking the Chair to enlighten us as to 
exactly how it is through this traditional procedure of determining 
what the vote is that you're going to report to us. I usually look up 
here on the wall and see how my State delegation is voting, how some of 
my colleagues are voting. We don't have the ability to do that. I'm 
just wondering exactly how it is that the Chair will be able to make 
this announcement to us.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members can verify their votes at any one of 
the various voting stations. Engineers are working on the problem.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker. Is it 
not true, Mr. Speaker, that there are computer terminals on the 
majority side, the minority side and at the Speaker's desk; and, 
further, Mr. Speaker, is it not true that the Clerk of the House has 
the responsibility, when there are engineering problems, to fix the 
engineering problems?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is correct and the engineers 
are working on the problem.
  Mr. KANJORSKI. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the gentleman suspend for a moment 
before being recognized.
  The House is voting on a motion to adjourn. Members may verify their 
votes at any of the various voting stations.
  Ms. FOXX. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from North Carolina is 
recognized.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, can the Chair tell us how much time has 
elapsed since you began this voting process?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Approximately 20 minutes.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Point of parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas is recognized.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, can you please at this time tell us the 
vote total?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will not provide the total until 
every Member has an opportunity to change their vote, or to vote.
  The gentleman from Maryland is recognized.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, it's obvious we have a technical problem. I 
know that comes as a great shock and surprise to you. I've talked to 
the gentleman who's in charge of fixing mechanical problems. He tells 
me that we need to take the system down for a period of time in order 
to fix it. He has said he needs approximately 30 minutes to do that 
with no votes. We are in the process of a vote.
  What the Speaker pro tempore has said, I don't know what the vote is. 
I don't know whether it's coming up on the computers. I do know in my 
office there was no time coming up on the computer. So Members do not 
know how much time they have left.


             Permission to Vacate Vote on Motion to Adjourn

  Mr. HOYER (during the vote). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that we vacate this vote, and as soon as the machine is fixed, that we 
return to cast this vote and then proceed with the proceedings.
  Mr. DREIER. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to object simply to 
inquire of the distinguished majority leader, does he intend to recess 
the House for this 30-minute time? I wonder if he might enlighten us as 
to what the plan would be. I'm happy to yield to my friend.
  Mr. HOYER. For all of us who think that dastardly things are going 
on, I guess we're all trying to figure out who's doing the dastardly 
things. In any event, in answer to your question, it would be my 
intention to rise while the machines are being fixed because we cannot 
proceed, nor should we proceed, without having Members know how much 
time they have left to vote.
  I want you to be very nice to that gentleman. He represents my 
daughter and my son-in-law. So be careful and very gentle with him.
  Mr. DREIER. Further reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, I'd 
like to inquire further of the majority leader. We're in a very awkward 
situation here. We don't know what the vote total is at this juncture. 
The House may have just voted to adjourn so far as we know. So the 
gentleman has just come to the conclusion that he's going to propose 
that we recess, or he said rise. We're already in the House. We're not 
in the Committee of the Whole. I'd be happy to yield to my friend if he 
would like to respond.
  Mr. HOYER. I'm sorry, I was getting some technical information about 
where we are. The computer printout----
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the gentleman suspend.
  Mr. DREIER. Now I have the word.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. DREIER. Continuing to reserve the right to object, Mr. Speaker, 
and I do so to say that under normal circumstances this would be 
somewhat entertaining and funny, but this is a very, very serious 
matter, and the request that has just been made by the gentleman is one 
which we want to take seriously. We don't know what the outcome of the 
vote that is being considered at this moment is. Many of us don't know 
how our colleagues are recorded, and I will tell you this is a very, 
very difficult time for this institution. And I'm happy to yield to my 
friend if he would like to respond to the challenging circumstance that 
we find ourselves in.
  Mr. HOYER. I understand the gentleman's proposition.
  Mr. DREIER. I am happy to further yield to my friend.
  Mr. HOYER. I have been handed a printout. Now, I don't know where the 
printout comes from, so I am not going to read it, other than I can 
tell you that I don't know whether you have it on your computer.
  May I ask the gentleman whether the computer over there has the 
totals?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerks are still tallying votes.


                         parliamentary inquiry

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry, you said the Clerk

[[Page 22756]]

is still in the process of tallying the votes?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Some of the ballot cards cast in the well 
are still being counted. The cards that have been submitted are still 
being counted.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, how long has this vote been open?
  I am happy to yield to the distinguished majority leader.
  Mr. HOYER. I asked the gentleman a question because I think it is 
pertinent to whether or not the computers to which the Speaker has 
referred are working throughout the floor.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, as I prepare to yield to the majority 
leader, I would like to inquire, is the vote still open? If Members 
want to change their votes now, they can continue to do that? If a 
Member were to walk into the Chamber now, they could still vote?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is correct. The vote is still 
open.
  Mr. DREIER. I am happy to further yield to the distinguished majority 
leader.
  Mr. HOYER. My question to him is, because I don't know because I am 
not over there, whether or not your computer, where you are standing, 
is reflecting for you a vote total.
  Mr. DREIER. If I could reclaim my time under parliamentary procedure.
  The answer to that is we don't know.
  Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will suspend.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, might I continue my parliamentary inquiry?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry, in response 
to the question from the distinguished majority leader, I will say that 
we have no way of verifying what it is that is coming out of this 
computer here.
  It is not operating the way it normally does. If Members are able to 
still vote, we can see this screen here, but it is not operating. I 
don't normally operate this thing, but our crack team here has told me 
that it is not operating the way that it normally does.
  I am happy to respond to any further questions.
  Mr. HOYER. Under those circumstances, under those circumstances, the 
reason I made the offer to vacate, the request for the unanimous 
consent to vacate, is because you can't verify it, and I have a list 
here in front of me. It may or may not be accurate.
  The machines are obviously not functioning as we would want them to 
do, so my suggestion is the way to fix that is to vacate the vote. The 
machines have to be taken down.
  Mr. DREIER. I yield to my friend from Dallas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, in response to the majority leader, I 
would go to the rules of the House. I would quote them on page 32 of 
the rules of the House: When the electronic voting system is 
inoperable, or is not used, and I believe it is at this time inoperable 
and has been for the past 40 minutes or so, the Speaker or the chairman 
may direct the Clerk to conduct a record vote or quorum call as 
provided in clause 3 or 4.
  I wonder why the gentleman would not suggest we follow the rules of 
the House.
  Mr. HOYER. Would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. DREIER. Further reserving the right to object, I am happy to 
yield to the distinguished majority leader.
  Mr. HOYER. The gentleman read the rule correctly. It said ``may.'' 
The simpler way to do it and the confidence-building way to do that 
seems to me, because we want to use these machines, is to allow the 
technicians the opportunity to fix the machines. That is our desire.
  Now, we understand that if you don't want to proceed with the 
business of the House, either the DOD appropriation bill, the FISA bill 
or the bill trying to give emergency relief to those in Minneapolis, 
the bridge, we may not want to proceed.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, if I could reclaim my time under my 
reservation, reserving the right to object, I do want to say that we 
are very committed to ensuring that we get the resources necessary to 
those who have been victimized in Minnesota. That's a very high 
priority.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I object. The gentleman is not 
stating a parliamentary inquiry.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to object.
  Mr. HOYER. Ladies and gentlemen, if the gentleman will yield, we need 
to calm down. We have a heavy responsibility. We have great 
differences. I understand that everybody's sensibilities are taut. I 
predicted that last Tuesday, that that would be the case. I regret it.
  I regret what happened last night which has generated this. But we do 
have business to do. All I am saying is I don't want to have a question 
about this vote, because we cannot assure ourselves, as the gentleman 
said, that the list I have in front of me or the screen that you have 
projected to you is projecting the accurate information.
  Therefore, I suggest, given that, that we give the technicians an 
opportunity to facilitate fixing it. I think that's a reasonable 
request.
  I would hope that everybody in the House would think it's a 
reasonable request.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve the right to object, I 
yield to my friend from Dallas.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make sure the majority 
leader understands that, for the last months, this majority that is on 
this side of the aisle has routinely asked and spoken with the majority 
about the way we would like to see things happen.
  Regularly, we are told that it will be done the way you choose to do 
it. You are attempting now to make a decision about what you would like 
to do.
  Mr. HOYER. I am trying to make a decision collegially with 435 by 
unanimous consent.
  Mr. SESSIONS. It is our request to the majority leader that we follow 
the rules of the House at this time, and this minority is making that 
request at this time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds Members the voting is 
still open. Members may verify their votes at any one of the voting 
stations.
  Have all Members voted? Does any Member wish to change their vote?
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve the right to object, I 
know we have a unanimous consent pending from the distinguished 
majority leader.
  Under my reservation, I would be happy to further yield to the 
majority leader.
  Mr. HOYER. In either event, whether we shut the machine down now and 
allow them time to fix this by rising or going to the suggestion of the 
gentleman from Texas as to the rules, in either event you have to 
vacate this vote.
  Frankly, the Speaker can call this vote. I presume, I don't know, 
because I haven't asked, that the result I have in front of me is the 
same the Speaker has.
  I have no problem with doing that vote, frankly. But I think it would 
raise in the minds of every Member here, is that the accurate count? I 
think in light of that, I would prefer not to do that. So I am trying 
to accommodate the confidence of the Members by vacating this vote.
  Mr. DREIER. If I could reclaim my time under my reservation, I would 
simply ask the majority leader, since we have been talking about DOD, 
FISA, the tragedy in Minnesota and a wide range of things since the 
gentleman propounded his unanimous consent request, I wonder if he 
might repeat it again so that Members might hear what that request 
consists of.
  Mr. HOYER. In consultation with the technical people that we have, 
who are responsible for ensuring the proper operations of our computer 
system, which advises all of us on time and computes the votes, that 
they have to take the system down for approximately a half an hour, 
maybe slightly longer, for the purpose of fixing the machine. I think 
the machine needs to be fixed.
  So in order to accommodate that objective, I am suggesting that we 
vacate this vote, allow them to do that, come

[[Page 22757]]

back and then revote this particular vote and then move on to wherever 
we are going to move on.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve the right to object, I 
would ask my friend if, in fact, if, in fact, we were to proceed with 
vacating this vote, taking this 30-minute period of time, if we 
reconvene after that, may I ask the distinguished majority leader, in 
what order and what is it that we will be considering? Will we be 
considering the FISA issue, or will we be considering the issue that we 
are all very committed to, and that is ensuring that the bridge in the 
Twin Cities is addressed?
  I see Mrs. Bachmann here. I know there are other Members of the 
delegation who want to do that. I just would like to inquire of the 
majority leader how we would proceed.
  Mr. HOYER. I will tell my friend, my first order of business, as I 
propounded in my unanimous consent request, will be this vote. This is 
the matter of business before the House, the motion to adjourn.
  We cannot resolve it with, I think, the full confidence of the 
Members. So that would be the first order of the business. We will then 
proceed with the business as we had been doing.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would remind the gentleman from 
California that there is still debate to be continued on the rule.
  Mr. DREIER. Yes, I am aware of that.
  Continuing to reserve the right to object, I would like to ask the 
majority leader, assuming we do reconvene and assuming that the House 
does not adjourn, what does he anticipate the schedule would be? Are we 
going to address the priority of assuring that the resources get to the 
State of Minnesota? Or are we going to move directly to the FISA issue? 
In what order will we be considering these issues, Mr. Leader?
  Mr. HOYER. We are going to consider both of those matters.
  Mr. DREIER. May I ask in what order we would be addressing those?
  Mr. HOYER. The order we will consider those is we will consider 
Minnesota first. We believe that is the least contentious of the items, 
and we think, therefore, it would be good to get the least contentious 
item out of the way first.
  Everybody in this body has great empathy for the State of Minnesota, 
but, more particularly, the people who lost their lives in that tragic 
collapse of the bridge. We will go to that first.
  Of course, we have the rules to complete, but we will then, in terms 
of business, go to FISA, as we have expressed.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I will not object. I withdraw my 
reservation.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I 
just want to offer a suggestion. There is a number on the computer on 
the minority side, and there is a number on the computer on the 
majority side. Why don't we compare numbers? If they are the same, 
accept the vote. We know that we are going to get beat. Let's accept 
this vote.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Barton, I have been waiting at least 15 minutes for 
you to be here.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I would recommend that our distinguished 
minority leader show our number to the majority leader's number, and if 
they are the same, accept it as this vote. That's my suggestion. I 
think we could at least expedite this one vote.
  I yield to my distinguished minority leader (Mr. Boehner).
  Mr. BOEHNER. I thank my colleague for yielding.
  There is a motion that has been made by the majority leader to vacate 
the vote. I think we should proceed with a unanimous consent and recess 
to fix the machine and come back and vote when the machine is ready for 
us to vote.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the vote is vacated.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the pending motion to 
adjourn is considered withdrawn without prejudice.
  There was no objection.

                          ____________________