[House Report 105-628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     105-628
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 PROVIDING FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4194, DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS 
  AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES 
                       APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 1999
                                _______
                                

   July 15, 1998.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

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    Mr. Linder, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 501]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 501, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

               BRIEF SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for the consideration of H.R. 4194, 
the ``Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban 
Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, 
1999'' under an open rule. The rule provides one hour of 
general debate divided equally between the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Appropriations.
    The rule waives section 306 (prohibiting consideration of 
legislation within the Budget Committee's jurisdiction, unless 
reported by the Budget Committee) of the Congressional Budget 
Act against consideration of the bill. Additionally, the rule 
provides that the amendment printed in this report shall be 
considered as adopted.
    The rule waives clause 2 of rule XXI (prohibiting 
unauthorized and legislative provisions in an appropriations 
bill) and clause 6 of rule XXI (prohibiting reappropriations in 
an appropriations bill) against provisions in the bill as 
amended, except as otherwise specified in the rule.
    The rule makes in order the amendment printed in the 
Congressional Record and numbered 12, which may be offered only 
by Representative Leach or a designee, shall be considered as 
read, shall be debatable for 40 minutes equally divided and 
controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be 
subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for 
division of the question in the House or in the Committee of 
the Whole. All points of order against the amendment numbered 
12 are waived.
    The Chair is authorized to accord priority in recognition 
to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the 
Congressional Record.
    The rule allows for the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole to postpone votes during consideration of the bill, and 
to reduce votes to five minutes on a postponed question if the 
vote follows a fifteen minute vote.
    Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit, with 
or without instructions.

                            committee votes

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(2)(B) of House Rule XI the results 
of each rollcall vote on an amendment or motion to report, 
together with the names of those voting for and against, are 
printed below:

Rules Committee Rollcall No. 99

    Date: July 15, 1998.
    Measure: H.R. 4194, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
Appropriations Bill, 1999.
    Motion by: Mr. Moakley.
    Summary of motion: Strike the provision making in order an 
amendment by Representative Leach.
    Results: Defeated 3-9.
    Vote by Members: Dreier--Nay; Goss--Nay; Linder--Nay; 
Pryce--Nay; Diaz-Balart--Nay; McInnis--Nay; Hastings--Nay; 
Myrick--Nay; Moakley--Yea; Frost--Yea; Hall--Yea; Solomon--Nay.

Rules Committee on Rollcall No. 100

    Date: July 15, 1998.
    Measure: H.R. 4194, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
Appropriations Bill, 1999.
    Motion by: Mr. Moakley.
    Summary of motion: Waive points of order against Sec. 424 
which concerns F.H.A. loan limits.
    Results: Defeated 5-7.
    Vote by Members: Dreier--Nay; Goss--Nay; Linder--Nay; 
Pryce--Yea; Diaz-Balart--Nay; McInnis--Yea; Hastings--Nay; 
Myrick--Nay; Moakley--Yea; Frost--Yea; Hall--Yea; Solomon--Nay.
    Amendment considered as adopted:
    Page 54, strike the sentence beginning in line 25.
    Page 69, line 8, strike ``three-year pilot project'' and 
insert ``pilot project, to be completed within 15 months from 
the date of enactment of this Act,''.
    Page 69, strike the sentence beginning in line 10 and 
insert ``The U.S. Fire Administration shall transmit the 
results of its pilot project to the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission and to the Committee on Science of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate.''.
    Page 91, add after line 6 the following:
    Sec. 425. (a) The Consumer Product Safety Commission shall 
contract with the National Institute on Environmental Health 
Sciences (NIEHS) to conduct a thorough study of the toxicity of 
all the flame retardant chemicals identified by the Commission 
as likely candidates for addition to residental upholstered 
furniture for the purpose of meeting regulations proposed by 
the Commission for flame-resistance of residential upholstered 
furniture. Where NIEHS has existing adequate information 
regarding the chemicals identified by the Commission, such 
information can be transmitted to the Commission in lieu of an 
additional study on those chemicals.
    (b) The Commission shall establish a Chronic Hazard 
Advisory Panel, according to the provisions of section 28 of 
the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2077), convened for 
the purpose of advising the Commission on the potential health 
effects and hazards, including carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, 
mutagenicity, and other chronic and acute effects on consumers 
exposed to fabrics intended to be used in residential 
upholstered furniture which would be chemically treated to meet 
the Commission's proposed flame-resistant standards. In lieu of 
the requirements of section 31(b)(2)(B) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
2080(b)(2)(B)), the Panel may meet for up to one year.
    (c) The Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel convened by the 
Commission under subsection (b) for purposes of advising the 
Commission concerning the chronic hazards of flame-retardant 
chemicals in residential upholstered furniture shall complete 
its work and furnish its report to the Commission not later 
than one year after the date of the establishment of the Panel, 
except that if the Panel finds that it is unable to complete 
its work adequately within the one year after its 
establishment, it shall--
          (1) advise the Commission that it will be unable to 
        complete its work within one year;
          (2) furnish the Commission with an interim report at 
        the expiration of such year discussing its findings to 
        date; and
          (3) provide the Commission with an estimated date on 
        which it will complete its work and submit a final 
        report to the Commission.
    (d) The Commission shall furnish the interim report, and 
the estimated date on which the Panel will complete its final 
report, to the House Committee on Commerce, the Senate 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the House 
Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on 
Appropriations. The Commission shall furnish the final report 
to the House Committee on Commerce, the Senate Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the House Committee on 
Appropriations and Senate Committee on Appropriations.
    (e) No additional funds shall be expended by the Commission 
on developing flammability standards for residential 
upholstered furniture until 3 months after the Commission has 
furnished either the interim report or the final report of the 
Panel to the House Committee on Commerce, the Senate Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the House Committee 
on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Appropriations.
    (f) The Commission, before promulgating any final rule 
setting flammability standards for residential upholstered 
furniture shall report to the House Committee on Commerce, the 
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the 
House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on 
Appropriations on the report of the Panel, and the anticipated 
costs of the flammability standards regulation, including costs 
resulting from--
          (1) public exposure to flame-retardant chemicals in 
        residential upholstered furniture;
          (2) exposure of workers to flame-retardant chemicals 
        in the manufacture, distribution and sale of textiles 
        and residential upholstered furniture;
          (3) the generating, tracking, and disposing of flame-
        retardant chemicals and hazardous wastes generated from 
        the handling of flame-retardant chemicals used on 
        textiles and residential upholstered furniture; and
          (4) limited availability in particular geographic 
        regions of competing flame-resistant chemicals approved 
        for use for residential upholstered furniture.
  (g) In addition to amounts appropriated elsewhere in this 
Act, there is appropriated to the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission $5,000,000,000 to carry out this section.