[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24393-24395]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM

  (Mr. CANTOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland, the 
majority leader, for the purpose of announcing next week's schedule.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  On Monday, the House will not be in session. On Tuesday, the House 
will meet at 12:30 p.m. for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for 
legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. On Wednesday 
and Thursday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for legislative business. 
On Friday, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business.
  We will consider several bills under suspension of the rules. The 
complete list of suspension bills will be announced by the close of 
business tomorrow, as is the custom.
  In addition, we will consider H.R. 2442, the Bay Area Regional Water 
Recycling Program Expansion Act of 2009; the conference report on H.R. 
2892, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010; 
and quite possibly, assuming the conference is completed, the 
conference report on H.R. 2996, the Department of the Interior, 
Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. I would also like to thank the 
gentleman for his courtesy and his time in meeting with me earlier 
today in the discussion of health care, and I'm hopeful that that 
discussion was fruitful and that we could see a dialogue continue 
towards some type of working relationship in the areas that we can 
agree on. So I do thank the gentleman.

[[Page 24394]]

  At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the gentleman some of 
the things we didn't cover in the meeting, and that is, first off, the 
timing of any kind of health care bill reaching the floor of this House 
and whether he could provide any clarity on that.
  I yield.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for 
coming by my office and spending time in discussion.
  As the gentleman knows, health care has been the focus of this 
Congress for much of our present session; three committees have 
completed their work, ongoing discussions about how to put the work 
product of the three individual committees together. The Senate Finance 
Committee is, we think, going to vote on theirs next week. The Senate 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee has reported out a 
bill. So we have five committees that have essentially completed their 
work. There will be, obviously, once the bills are put together and all 
the suggestions are incorporated, a necessity to get a score from CBO. 
We expect that to take at least a week, 7 days, maybe more.
  In addition to that, the Speaker and I have both indicated that there 
will be 72 hours' notice of the bill and a manager's amendment. I want 
to clarify that. If they both come out at the same time, it will be one 
72-hour period. If for any reason they come out separately, then we 
will make sure that the last issued will have 72 hours before we put 
the bill out on the floor.
  In light of that, my expectation is certainly the bill will not be on 
the floor either the next week or early in the following week. The 
earliest, in my opinion, the bill could be on the floor would be the 
latter part of the second week from now.
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman.
  So if I hear correctly, we're talking about the final week of this 
month at the earliest.
  Mr. HOYER. I think that would be the earliest, as a practical matter, 
that we could put the bill on the floor with the notice that we have 
indicated we're going to give and, of course, with the CBO score.
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for that.
  I would ask the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, about some statement that the 
Speaker made indicating how the reimbursement rates would work and 
whether there is clarity on that or not yet. I think the Speaker had 
asked the question rhetorically whether Medicare rates would be the 
reimbursement rates in the bill, and any kind of enlightenment that he 
can shed on that, I'd appreciate it.
  I yield.
  Mr. HOYER. At this point in time, these are still under discussion, 
and, therefore, I don't have a specific answer for the gentleman. But 
the Speaker's comments, I think, spoke to the fact that they are still 
under discussion.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I would say, again, the gentleman and I had 
discussed in general the opposition to the public option that we have 
on this side, and I would just like to ask the gentleman again, given 
the Speaker's comments about reimbursement rates, Medicare rates, 
whether the public option is still where the Speaker and he are in 
terms of what a House bill would look like given where the Senate is.
  I yield.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  In terms of where the Speaker and I are, we have been consistently 
for, as you know, a public option. The Speaker and I continue to be for 
a public option, as is the President, and we believe the majority of 
the House is for that.
  I will tell the gentleman that I think that in terms of the 
reimbursement rates, as I said, that's still under discussion, but I 
think there is consensus that a public option is something, as the 
President has indicated, as we have indicated, that will provide a 
competitive model to both bring prices down and to protect consumers. 
So I think the answer is that that's certainly still part of our plan.
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for that. And again, he and I have 
discussed the differences that the sides have philosophically and about 
Medicare rates being the prevailing rate in terms of required coverage, 
which would essentially mean, in our opinion, that we will be on a path 
to a single-payer system, something that certainly our Members would 
not want to see.
  But I thank the gentleman for sharing, and we look forward to perhaps 
working on those parts or, if we could, just items that we can agree 
on, again, if the public option begins to have trouble. So, again, I 
thank the gentleman.
  If I could, Mr. Speaker, turn to the question of foreign policy and 
where we are in terms of the bill coming from the Foreign Affairs and 
Financial Services Committees.
  Last week, Mr. Speaker, the gentleman had said that the White House 
was engaging in discussions with China and Russia, that perhaps that 
was why the bill would not be moving forward. This, again, is the Iran 
Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act. And to paraphrase the gentleman, Mr. 
Speaker, I would say that the gentleman indicated that Mr. Berman will 
be talking to the White House about timing.
  I yield to find out whether we have any clarity on that and when that 
bill will be coming to the floor.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I have talked to Mr. Berman. He is in discussions with the White 
House. Both you and I are strong supporters of the legislation, as is 
Mr. Berman. My expectation is he has indicated that he wants to 
consider this bill and bring it to the floor, and I have told him that 
as soon as it's ready to come to the floor, I will schedule it for the 
floor.
  In addition, I will tell the gentleman that it is possible that we 
will have the sanctions bill out of the Financial Services Committee. 
As you know, there are two different bills. The Berman bill is the 
stronger of the two. But we may well move next week, on the Financial 
Services sanction bill, which deals with, obviously, financial 
transactions.

                              {time}  1545

  My expectation is Mr. Berman is looking at this and does hope and 
expect to bring this bill out either at the very latter part of a 
couple weeks from now or perhaps the first week in November. But I know 
he's very much engaged in this, and we very much support moving on 
this.
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for that.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman has noticed that the Homeland Security 
appropriations bill is coming to the floor next week. Reports have 
indicated that perhaps some of the trouble surrounding bringing that 
bill to the floor deals with the language of dealing with the detainees 
at Guantanamo Bay and their transfer. And as the gentleman knows, 
Republican-sponsored language that was adopted by the House is 
something that we would very much like to see included in the 
conference report.
  I do know, Mr. Speaker, that the Senate just adopted in the Defense 
appropriations bill that they are deliberating upon that no funds would 
be allocated or appropriated for the transfer of those detainees, by an 
overwhelming vote.
  So I would ask the gentleman, should we expect that language, the 
House-passed language, to be in the conference report that would come 
to the floor?
  Mr. HOYER. Of course, the conference hasn't been held so I don't want 
to predict what's going to be in there or not. I will tell the 
gentleman, as the gentleman knows, the authorization bill, the 
conference report that we just passed does have within it, as you know, 
a prohibition on the release of Guantanamo detainees in the United 
States, territories, and possessions. In addition, it restricts 
detainee transfers to the United States or its territories or 
possessions until 45 days after the President has submitted a plan to 
Congress certifying that the detainees will pose little or no threat or 
risk to the United States if transferred. That language we just passed.
  Now, I can't predict whether the appropriations conference will track 
that language or will have different language such as the language to 
which

[[Page 24395]]

you just referred. But I expect there to be language on that issue.
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman.
  I would just note as well that the House-passed language in the 
Homeland Security bill also had a provision lacking in the bill we just 
passed which had to do with States' ability to veto a decision to 
transfer detainees--something very much, I would say to the gentleman, 
our Members would like to see in the bill that comes to the floor next 
week on the Homeland Security appropriations bill.
  I would just like to lastly turn to the issue of the remainder of the 
year and the calendar and what Members can expect as far as November is 
concerned.
  Today is October 8. The House is scheduled to adjourn at the end of 
this month on October 30, and I was hoping that the gentleman could 
give us a better sense of the session that we will expect in November.
  And I yield.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  As I have said before, my expectation is that Members ought to be 
planning on at least 4-day weeks in the first week in November and the 
third week in November. As the gentleman knows, Veterans Day falls in 
the middle of the second week of November, and my belief is it's going 
to be very difficult to get Members back for a day and a half--and very 
impractical and costly--then to have to go back for Veterans Day and 
then probably not come back doesn't seem to be a very useful use of 
time.
  But I have caveated that with the issue of health care. Health care 
is, as I said, the major issue that we're focused on. We think it's 
critically important for the American people to have access to 
affordable, quality health care, which is our objective. As a result, 
that second week we haven't given it away yet, but my expectation is 
that we probably will not be meeting that week. My expectation is 
also--and my plan will be--not to meet Thanksgiving week. I think 
people ought to be home during Thanksgiving week and, again, I make the 
caveat as to where we may be on health care.
  Now of course if we can get unanimous consent to put it on a consent 
calendar and pass it, maybe we can shorten the time. But absent that, I 
want to make sure that we all understand that if health care, for 
instance, was being considered that third week and we had to move into 
Saturday or Monday to pass it, we might do that.
  But again, I reiterate that for November, my expectation is first and 
third week probably here at least Tuesday through Friday of each week, 
and with respect to the second week, probably not here and the fourth 
week probably not here.
  Having said that, you asked for the balance of the year.
  Again, it will depend upon whether we can complete our work within 
those 2 months. If we can't, we will clearly be here in December. 
Again, as someone who has served here a long time and has seen us meet 
as late as December 23 or 24, I think that's not good for our families, 
it's not good for the Members, and I certainly am not one that looks 
forward to that, and I am going to do everything I can to make sure 
that we get our work done no later than the end of the second week of 
December.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.

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