[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14911-14914]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                AIRPORT AND AIRWAY EXTENSION ACT OF 2015

  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3614) to amend title 49, United States Code, to extend 
authorizations for the airport improvement program, to amend the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure 
authority of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 3614

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Airport 
     and Airway Extension Act of 2015''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

                  TITLE I--AIRPORT AND AIRWAY PROGRAMS

Sec. 101. Extension of airport improvement program.
Sec. 102. Extension of expiring authorities.
Sec. 103. Federal Aviation Administration operations.
Sec. 104. Air navigation facilities and equipment.
Sec. 105. Research, engineering, and development.
Sec. 106. Funding for aviation programs.
Sec. 107. Essential air service.

                      TITLE II--REVENUE PROVISIONS

Sec. 201. Expenditure authority from Airport and Airway Trust Fund.
Sec. 202. Extension of taxes funding Airport and Airway Trust Fund.

                  TITLE I--AIRPORT AND AIRWAY PROGRAMS

     SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) In general.--Section 48103(a) of title 49, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``and $1,675,000,000 for the period beginning on 
     October 1, 2015, and ending on March 31, 2016.''.
       (2) Obligation of amounts.--Subject to limitations 
     specified in advance in appropriation Acts, sums made 
     available pursuant to the amendment made by paragraph (1) may 
     be obligated at any time through September 30, 2016, and 
     shall remain available until expended.
       (3) Program implementation.--For purposes of calculating 
     funding apportionments and meeting other requirements under 
     sections 47114, 47115, 47116, and 47117 of title 49, United 
     States Code, for the period beginning on October 1, 2015, and 
     ending on March 31, 2016, the Administrator of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration shall--
       (A) first calculate such funding apportionments on an 
     annualized basis as if the total amount available under 
     section 48103 of such title for fiscal year 2016 were 
     $3,350,000,000; and
       (B) then reduce by 50 percent--
       (i) all funding apportionments calculated under 
     subparagraph (A); and
       (ii) amounts available pursuant to sections 47117(b) and 
     47117(f)(2) of such title.
       (b) Project Grant Authority.--Section 47104(c) of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended in the matter preceding 
     paragraph (1) by striking ``September 30, 2015,'' and 
     inserting ``March 31, 2016,''.

     SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF EXPIRING AUTHORITIES.

       (a) Section 47107(r)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``October 1, 2015'' and inserting ``April 
     1, 2016''.
       (b) Section 47115(j) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting ``and for the period beginning on 
     October 1, 2015, and ending on March 31, 2016'' after 
     ``fiscal years 2012 through 2015''.
       (c) Section 47124(b)(3)(E) of title 49, United States Code, 
     is amended by inserting ``and not more than $5,175,000 for 
     the period beginning on October 1, 2015, and ending on March 
     31, 2016,'' after ``fiscal years 2012 through 2015''.
       (d) Section 47141(f) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``September 30, 2015'' and inserting 
     ``March 31, 2016''.
       (e) Section 50905(c)(3) of title 51, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``October 1, 2015,'' and inserting 
     ``April 1, 2016,''.
       (f) Section 186(d) of the Vision 100--Century of Aviation 
     Reauthorization Act (117 Stat. 2518) is amended by inserting 
     ``and for the period beginning on October 1, 2015, and ending 
     on March 31, 2016,'' after ``fiscal years 2012 through 
     2015''.

[[Page 14912]]

       (g) Section 409(d) of the Vision 100--Century of Aviation 
     Reauthorization Act (49 U.S.C. 41731 note) is amended by 
     striking ``September 30, 2015'' and inserting ``March 31, 
     2016''.
       (h) Section 140(c)(1) of the FAA Modernization and Reform 
     Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 47113 note) is amended by striking 
     ``fiscal years 2013 through 2015,'' and inserting ``fiscal 
     years 2013 through 2016,''.
       (i) Section 411(h) of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act 
     of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 42301 prec. note) is amended by striking 
     ``September 30, 2015'' and inserting ``March 31, 2016''.
       (j) Section 822(k) of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act 
     of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 47141 note) is amended by striking 
     ``September 30, 2015'' and inserting ``March 31, 2016''.

     SEC. 103. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION OPERATIONS.

       Section 106(k) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (C) by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in subparagraph (D) by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
       ``(E) $4,870,350,000 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2015, and ending on March 31, 2016.''; and
       (2) in paragraph (3) by inserting ``and for the period 
     beginning on October 1, 2015, and ending on March 31, 2016'' 
     after ``fiscal years 2012 through 2015''.

     SEC. 104. AIR NAVIGATION FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.

       Section 48101(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) $1,300,000,000 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2015, and ending on March 31, 2016.''.

     SEC. 105. RESEARCH, ENGINEERING, AND DEVELOPMENT.

       Section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (7) by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in paragraph (8) by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(9) $78,375,000 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2015, and ending on March 31, 2016.''.

     SEC. 106. FUNDING FOR AVIATION PROGRAMS.

       (a) In General.--Section 48114 of title 49, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(2) by striking ``2015'' and inserting 
     ``2016''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)(2) by striking ``2015'' and inserting 
     ``2016''.
       (b) Compliance With Funding Requirements.--The budget 
     authority authorized in this Act, including the amendments 
     made by this Act, shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements 
     of subsections (a)(1)(B) and (a)(2) of section 48114 of title 
     49, United States Code, for the period beginning on October 
     1, 2015, and ending on March 31, 2016.

     SEC. 107. ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE.

       Section 41742(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``and $93,000,000 for fiscal year 2015'' 
     and inserting ``$93,000,000 for fiscal year 2015, and 
     $77,500,000 for the period beginning on October 1, 2015, and 
     ending on March 31, 2016,''.

                      TITLE II--REVENUE PROVISIONS

     SEC. 201. EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY FROM AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST 
                   FUND.

       (a) In General.--Section 9502(d)(1) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 is amended--
       (1) by striking ``October 1, 2015'' in the matter preceding 
     subparagraph (A) and inserting ``April 1, 2016'', and
       (2) by striking the semicolon at the end of subparagraph 
     (A) and inserting ``or the Airport and Airway Extension Act 
     of 2015;''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 9502(e)(2) of such Code 
     is amended by striking ``October 1, 2015'' and inserting 
     ``April 1, 2016''.

     SEC. 202. EXTENSION OF TAXES FUNDING AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST 
                   FUND.

       (a) Fuel Taxes.--Section 4081(d)(2)(B) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``September 30, 
     2015'' and inserting ``March 31, 2016''.
       (b) Ticket Taxes.--
       (1) Persons.--Section 4261(k)(1)(A)(ii) of such Code is 
     amended by striking ``September 30, 2015'' and inserting 
     ``March 31, 2016''.
       (2) Property.--Section 4271(d)(1)(A)(ii) of such Code is 
     amended by striking ``September 30, 2015'' and inserting 
     ``March 31, 2016''.
       (c) Fractional Ownership Programs.--
       (1) Treatment as non-commercial aviation.--Section 4083(b) 
     of such Code is amended by striking ``October 1, 2015'' and 
     inserting ``April 1, 2016''.
       (2) Exemption from ticket taxes.--Section 4261(j) of such 
     Code is amended by striking ``September 30, 2015'' and 
     inserting ``March 31, 2016''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 3614.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on September 30, 2015, the authorization for the Federal 
Aviation Administration programs and taxes that fund those programs 
will expire. H.R. 3614 is a clean, 6-month extension of all necessary 
authorizations through March 31 of 2016.
  As the chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, I believe it is 
critical for Congress to come together in a bipartisan, long-term FAA 
reauthorization bill.
  On the Aviation Subcommittee, Chairman Shuster and I have had great 
working partnerships with Congressman DeFazio and Congressman Larsen. I 
want to thank Congressman DeFazio and Congressman Larsen for their 
bipartisan cooperation in this very important area.
  Without an extension, the FAA will not be able to spend funds from 
the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Therefore, airport construction 
projects across the country will be halted, contractors that support 
FAA will not be paid, construction jobs will be lost, and thousands of 
FAA employees could be furloughed.
  In my district in New Jersey, I have the privilege of representing 
approximately 4,000 FAA employees and contractors who work at the FAA's 
premier technical center in the Nation. They contribute an 
extraordinary amount of energy and dedication to making sure that 
aviation continues to move forward. Without them, the state of aviation 
in our country would suffer, and we cannot afford them to be at home 
for failing because we failed to do our work and pass an extension 
bill.
  A lapse in the authorization will also result in the halt of 
certification and registration of new aviation products, greatly 
disrupting the aviation manufacturing industry and jeopardizing more 
good paying jobs. The FAA's aircraft registry would close, delaying 
deliveries of new aircraft. As many as 10,000 aircraft a month could be 
grounded if registration cannot be renewed.
  H.R. 3614 will allow us to continue developing a bipartisan, long-
term reauthorization bill which will improve, rebuild, and modernize 
our Nation's safe, yet highly antiquated, aviation system.
  I urge support of H.R. 3614.
  I reserve the balance of my time
  Mr. DeFAZIO. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my good friend, the gentleman from New 
Jersey, that it is essential that we pass H.R. 3614--the Senate passed 
it expeditiously--and it be signed by the President. We cannot afford 
even, you know, the thought of a shutdown of the FAA. We have actually 
gone down that road in the past.
  Chairman Mica, in July of 2011, put some provisions into an FAA 
reauthorization that were objectionable to two very powerful Senators, 
and we actually went through a shutdown. What we lost was $400 million 
of revenue because the excise tax expired.
  Now, one airline, to give them credit, did pass the savings through, 
the excise tax, Alaska Airlines. All the other airlines kept the money, 
and we lost $400 million from the trust fund.
  Capital programs ground to a halt. Airport construction ground to a 
halt, threatening tens of thousands of jobs. Airport inspectors had to 
work. They were essential employees. They weren't paid, and they 
couldn't get government vouchers, so they had to use their personal 
credit cards to purchase tickets to go to work to do their job, which 
they weren't being paid for.
  I mean, this was the ultimate of absurdity. I only go into some 
detail on that because that is relevant to this extension.
  This is a 6-month extension. That should give us more than ample time

[[Page 14913]]

to agree upon a long-term FAA authorization. Much work has already been 
done on major portions of the bill, but some disagreements remain over 
the future of the air traffic organization.
  My preference would be to insulate the entire FAA from future 
vicissitudes of Congress going off the rails with a shutdown and 
furloughs and provisions that are unacceptable to the Senate that cause 
a temporary lapse in authorization. You know, we can get there. We are 
very close now. This year, all but 7 percent of the FAA's budget will 
be paid for by user fees, excise taxes, and others, so we are quite 
close.
  We would like to reform procurement, to streamline it and make it 
work better at the FAA. When I was a very young Member of Congress, I 
got to witness the airport air traffic controller's workstation of the 
future. That was 1987. Well, it is 2015, and they don't have them yet.
  The FAA is the only agency of government worse at procurement than 
the Pentagon. Congress has tried to reform it; it didn't stick. We have 
got to try something different to get it to be more agile to give us 
the 21st century equipment and software that we need.
  Then there are issues of the actual sort of shape of the FAA 
bureaucracy, a little bit like that in the middle. Congress, also back 
in 1986, gave the FAA license to reform personnel practices to deal 
with some of that midlevel management bulge and streamline the agency 
and decisionmaking process, but that didn't take either.
  So the three problems are the predictability of funding and the 
agency being able to look into the future without having to worry about 
shutdowns, furloughs--I don't know how much time they spent over the 
last couple of weeks getting ready for this shutdown that everyone 
thought would come this week before Speaker Boehner announced his 
retirement; that has got to be dealt with--and then also the 
procurement reform and the personnel.
  The chairman's solution is to separate only the air traffic 
organization from the FAA and insulate that from Congress and those 
sorts of problems and make it, you know, free of the procurement rules 
and a lot of the personnel rules. I would prefer to do that with the 
entire agency, because there are functions--we do have the best air 
traffic control system in the world. We are busier in the U.S. with 
more planes under instrument flight rules on a daily basis, about 20 
percent more on an IFR average, than Canada, U.K., France, and Germany 
combined.
  So we know we have a safe system. We move massive amounts of air 
traffic. We don't want to mess that up. And I understand, but I also 
don't think we can isolate it from other decisionmakers in the agency 
and leave them subject to the vicissitudes of Congress.
  The people who do the certifications, who do the inspections, who do 
the safety, it seems to me it should all be moved; and I propose a 21st 
century constitutionally chartered corporation in order to accomplish 
those goals and make it self-funding, self-sufficient, and not subject 
to appropriations or shutdowns or anything else that a future Congress 
might imagine. So that is the hangup. We haven't agreed on that part 
yet, but I think we can.
  We share common objectives, and 6 months should be more than ample 
time. I am hopeful that early this fall the chairman and I can resolve 
those issues with other members of the committee, and then we can go 
forward with our colleagues in the Senate and hopefully have, you know, 
a bill on the President's desk early, early next year, if not by the 
end of this year, although December promises to be perhaps a bit 
chaotic around here.

                              {time}  1600

  In any case, 6 months should be ample time. I do not anticipate 
multiple short-term extensions. I don't want them, nor does the 
chairman, nor do, I believe, any other thoughtful members of the 
committee.
  I see the gentleman from New Jersey shaking his head. We couldn't 
agree more. We have been down that road before, down that runway 
before. We don't want to go down that runway again.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen).
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the 
temporary measure to extend the authorization of the FAA today, but I 
do so with great disappointment. We could be on the floor today to 
enact a longer term FAA reauthorization bill.
  In the last 2 years, the Subcommittee on Aviation, led by my 
colleague from New Jersey, Mr. LoBiondo, has held 16 hearings on a 
variety of topics. We have heard from stakeholders that there is a long 
list of things that we need to do to stay competitive with our economic 
rivals and keep our airspace the safest and most efficient in the 
world:
  We need to reform aircraft certification so that manufacturers can 
get the newest, safest equipment to market.
  We need to set clear rules for unmanned aerial vehicles and 
accelerate efforts for their safe use.
  We need to advance NextGen programs to move air traffic faster and 
more efficiently.
  Chairman Shuster, Chairman LoBiondo, Ranking Member DeFazio, and I 
have achieved a bipartisan agreement on most of these major key issues 
that we need to address. That bill is ready to go.
  We didn't hear during these hearings that we needed to privatize air 
traffic control. Now, some people want to privatize air traffic 
control. I know that they want to do this in good faith. But we don't 
need to do it, and it is preventing the things that we need to do from 
getting done.
  An entire bipartisan bill is being held up because we can't agree yet 
on the details of what would be a very complex proposal. I fail to 
understand why at this juncture such a proposal is necessary, 
particularly when it prevents significant and much-needed reform from 
taking place.
  There is no dispute that today we safely operate the most complex and 
congested airspace in the world. Last year the Government 
Accountability Office asked 76 aviation stakeholders whether the FAA is 
capable of operating an efficient air traffic control system. The 
overwhelming majority, 64 of those, said the FAA is, in fact, capable 
of doing so. Privatizing the current system is clearly not a pressing 
need. It is a want.
  I wish I could say today I am surprised that we find ourselves here 
today, but many people have been saying for a long time that this was 
the situation that we would be facing on September 30. In fact, when we 
held a hearing on air traffic privatization back in March, I predicted 
we were headed down this road of multiple short-term reauthorizations.
  The bipartisan portions of the bill that Chairman Shuster, Chairman 
LoBiondo, Ranking Member DeFazio, and I have agreed to would have 
immediate benefits all over the country.
  In my home State of Washington, it would protect and create American 
jobs through airport construction and aerospace manufacturing; it would 
improve aviation safety; it would improve the way the aircraft and 
parts are certified to get newer and safer technology to market; it 
would build on the safety improvements that this body has made 
following the tragic Colgan flight 3407 in 2009; it would improve the 
regulation and the development of unmanned aerial systems, which 
continue to proliferate in our airspace.
  We need a strong regulatory system in place to safely grow the 
unmanned aircraft industry, and until we act, that system cannot be in 
place. For every day of this extension, travelers and the aerospace 
industry will not receive the improvements and protections that we have 
crafted in the bipartisan portions of the bill that we are close to 
agreeing on. We will continue to fall behind other countries that are 
making similar improvements.
  As many lawmakers and aviation stakeholders recall, the last FAA 
reauthorization bill came after a period of 5

[[Page 14914]]

years and 23 short-term extensions. I had hoped we would avoid serial 
extensions this time around, but today we start down that path.
  Yes, it is with disappointment that I am here to support a temporary 
extension and strongly urge all my colleagues to make sure this is the 
only temporary extension before enactment of a long-term bill.
  We have a long list of things that we need to do today to improve our 
airspace. We should focus on those things instead of the things only 
that we want to do.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), the chairman of the 
committee.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, here we are with a short-term extension for 
6 months. I believe it is critical that we do this, obviously, as it is 
about to expire. There are things that not only do we want to do, but 
we need to do, to make sure that we have the safest airspace in the 
world.
  We also need to make sure it is the most efficient airspace in the 
world. We can do that if we deploy the technology and the things we 
have been talking about for almost 2 years now to transform the FAA 
into something that can move quicker, that can deploy the technology 
that is available to us.
  When we look around the world, there are over 50 countries that have 
taken the air traffic control organization out of government and have 
been able to maintain the highest levels of safety, but deploy 
technology that makes their airspace more efficient. That is the kind 
of thing we are looking at.
  I think we are at a critical time. What we have been talking about is 
not anything new. It is something that we have been talking about for 
20 years. In fact, the Clinton administration had a similar proposal, 
the Bush administration had a similar proposal, and here we are today 
talking about it. But I think that we have different groups that are 
looking positively at this.
  We are very close to putting something together that, as I said, will 
transform the air traffic control system while keeping back in 
government the safety and regulatory oversight to this agency to make 
sure that we are streamlining the certification process for our 
aviation industry that is manufacturing everything from Boeings to 
Gulfstreams, to the avionics, to the parts that go into these flying 
systems.
  We have got to maintain our lead in the world. The way we do that is 
to streamline the certification process. The gentleman from Washington, 
who has Boeing in his district, agrees with me on that issue. There is 
a lot more in this that we need to do to move forward.
  I think, as we get through September and into October, we are going 
to be able to see the bill that we have put forth that is going to 
have, I believe, bipartisan support not only from Congress, but around 
the country, around Washington, D.C., and, as I said, here in the 
House. In talking to the Senate, I am encouraged by what they have said 
about what we are looking at proposing.
  Again, I would encourage all Members to support this 6-month 
extension to give us the time to get our bill on and off the floor and 
let the Senate work on it so we can truly do something that is bold, do 
something that is transformational, and do something that will be very, 
very positive for aviation, not only travel, but for the manufacturing 
industry in this country.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I have requests to speak from Members who 
aren't here.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to thank Mr. Shuster, 
Mr. DeFazio, and Mr. Larsen. I urge all my colleagues to support the 
legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, with passage of H.R. 3614 today, the House 
will ``kick the can down the road'' on a long-term FAA reauthorization 
for another six months. I certainly recognize the dire need to keep our 
airports and air travel system functioning in the face of an expiration 
of the FAA's authorization in less than 72 hours. However, I'm very 
disappointed that this bill does not contain any changes to current 
policy regarding aircraft noise impacts on communities surrounding 
airports.
  Over the last several months, constituents throughout my 
Congressional District have experienced an alarming increase in 
aircraft noise due to the implementation of new flight paths under the 
FAA's Next Gen program. The new flight paths have caused certain 
communities to be hit especially hard by airplane noise, and other 
rural communities that have never experienced it are now being 
bombarded by noise. Many of these communities received little or no 
advance notice or opportunity to comment on the flight path changes 
before they were implemented, and they were blindsided when the changes 
went into effect earlier this year.
  In July, I joined the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus so that 
together we could make recommendations for the Transportation Committee 
to include in an FAA reauthorization bill. These recommendations 
include: ensuring that FAA completes a robust community engagement 
process before flight paths are changed; requiring the FAA to use a new 
method of measuring noise that captures the true levels of noise on the 
ground; removing the categorical exclusion from full environmental 
reviews for flight path changes; and mandating independent research on 
the health impacts of aviation noise. These important reforms would 
substantially improve the FAA's process of addressing and avoiding 
noise impacts.
  Once again, I wish to express my disappointment that the bill before 
us today simply reauthorizes the FAA for another six months with none 
of these important changes included. As the debate over a long-term FAA 
reauthorization continues, I hope these recommendations will be 
carefully considered and ultimately included in the final legislation. 
The ability to get a good night's sleep for thousands of my 
constituents depends on it.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3614.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________