John Boehner

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the business in order under the Calendar Wednesday rule be dispensed with on Wednesday, December 13, 2006.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns on this legislative day pursuant to this order, it adjourn to meet on the third Constitutional day thereafter, unless it sooner has received a message from the Senate transmitting its concurrence in House Concurrent Resolution 503, in which case the House shall stand adjourned pursuant to that concurrent resolution.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members may have until publication of the last edition of the Congressional Record authorized for the Second Session of the 109th Congress by the Joint Committee on Printing to revise and extend their remarks and to include brief, related extraneous material on any matter occurring before the adjournment of the Second Session sine die.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the chairman and ranking minority member of each standing committee and each subcommittee be permitted to extend their remarks in the Congressional Record, up to and including the Record's last publication, and to include a summary of the work of that committee or subcommittee.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the retirement of Mrs. Ann Baird, County Commissioner of Miami County, OH, and to express my appreciation for her dedication and commitment to public service. For more than 40 years, Mrs. Baird has contributed her talents to the betterment of Miami County, and for this, I offer her my utmost congratulations and thanks. Her love of Miami County is unmistakable. During her long career in public service, Mrs. Baird has served on countless community boards and organizations in various roles including: Director of Community Services at Upper Valley Medical Center, Past President of the Miami County Chapter for the American Cancer Society, Past President of the United Methodist Women, Past President of the Troy United Fund, member of the Edison Community College Board of Trustees, and of course serving as the first female Miami County Commissioner for the past 12 years. Mrs. Baird's record--as an elected official, a church leader, and as a good neighbor helping those in need--will leave an enduring legacy in Miami County. Her leadership will be missed, but the footprint she has left will inspire many to emulate her good works. Mrs. Baird, I offer my congratulations and gratitude for your long and successful career in public service. I wish you well in your future retirement, and I hope you continue to achieve happiness and success wherever your life journey may lead you.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 1108) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Madam Speaker, the conference report I am filing is the conference report on the nuclear agreement, the India nuclear agreement which will be named after our esteemed colleague, Henry Hyde, who is on the verge of his retirement. When I came here some 16 years ago, I think one of the first meetings I had as a Member was with Henry. And I went to Henry because he was one of the most respected Members of the House. I thought I could learn something from him, and, as importantly, I wanted him to know who I was. But over the years, I have learned an awful lot from Henry Hyde. And I can remember vividly the spring of 1995 when the Republicans had taken control of the Congress for the first time in 40 years. We had pledged that we would move the Contract with America in the first 100 days of a Republican Congress. And I don't think any of us realized the amount of work that was involved in that contract, nor how much of it fell within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee of which Henry Hyde was the new chairman. And Mr. Hyde, in his committee, worked tirelessly day and night for 93 days to produce their part of the Contract with America. And I remember sitting in leadership meetings where we were concerned about Henry's health during that 93 days. And here it is, some almost 11 years later, Henry is strong, still with us and still doing a great job and producing good work. It was an honor for me to serve with Henry Hyde, and I was proud that he supported me to be the majority leader. Thinking back some 16 years ago, I would have never looked at myself as a potential majority leader. I would have been looking towards Henry. But he is a fine man and a great asset to this institution.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, I want to give everyone an update on the schedule for the balance of the week. We were attempting to finish our business by late tomorrow. That does not look possible to me at this point. And in order to give everyone as straight a heads-up as possible, I do expect that we will be finished by the end of business on Friday. And so I would suggest to Members that sometime Friday we will be finished. It is only Wednesday, so I can't tell you what time Friday, so don't ask. But for those of you that have big plane reservations, if you want to make reservations for Saturday morning, I think that you will be relatively safe.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 496) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a resolution (H. Res. 1083) and I ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today pursuant to this order, it adjourn to meet at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, November 17, 2006, unless it sooner has received a message from the Senate transmitting its concurrence in House Concurrent Resolution 496, in which case the House shall stand adjourned pursuant to that concurrent resolution.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the business in order under the Calendar Wednesday rule be dispensed with on Wednesday, December 6, 2006.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a joint resolution (H.J. Res. 101) and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. I thank my colleague for yielding. After this series of votes, we have a series of suspensions. Any votes that may be called, we will roll and take at the time of the vote on the rule for the port security bill.

Mr. BOEHNER. It will be sometime closer to 10:30 or 11 o'clock.

Mr. BOEHNER. There will be no votes until probably closer to 11.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. I would expect that the port security vote around midnight would be the last vote for the day. I do expect that will be our last vote, we will complete our work, and I will have met my commitment to all of you.

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, just to give everyone as much information as I have, after this series of votes we will move to a series of suspension votes. We are expecting to have a port security conference report available some time this evening. I wish I could give you a more exact time. I expect that we could see this at 9 to 10 o'clock in the Rules Committee, or somewhere in that vicinity, and have it on the floor and hopefully be finished by midnight. I would be happy to yield to my colleague from Maryland.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I think all of us realize this is a very serious matter. We have not seen this resolution nor known of its contents until this moment; and, given the seriousness of the matter, I would ask that the House refer this issue to the Committee on Ethics immediately. Again, this is a very serious matter, and I think we all realize it is a serious matter, but I would ask we do this under the rules of the House. Referring this to the Ethics Committee is the appropriate place to do it. Mr. Speaker, I move the previous question on the motion.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I want to give all Members an update on where we are so Members can make their travel arrangements if they would like to. I believe that we are going to be able to complete all of our work by the end of tomorrow. I would like to be able to tell you it is going to be 4 o'clock or 6 o'clock or 8 o'clock or midnight. I can't do that, so don't ask. But here is what I would expect our schedule is for tomorrow. We are completing the action on the terrorist surveillance bill tonight. Tomorrow we expect a same-day rule, and Private Property Rights Implementation will be considered tomorrow. We believe the Department of Homeland Security appropriations conference report will be up tomorrow. The terrorist tribunal bill that we passed yesterday, the identical bill passed the Senate today; but under the rules we will likely take up the terrorist tribunal bill here tomorrow. And we have in conference the SAFE Ports Act which is moving along and could be considered tomorrow. We also have the DOD authorization bill which could be considered tomorrow. So I am trying to do my best in giving all the Members, and I see my friend Mr. Miller over there smiling at me, I am trying to give Members as much notice as I can. But I do expect that I will meet the commitment that I have made to all of you over the last couple of months that we will be finished tomorrow, and I hope tomorrow doesn't last any longer than it has to. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, let me thank my colleague for yielding. We all know that in the years since 9/11 we have been focused on one vital goal, and that is stopping terrorist attacks before they happen. I want to commend Chairman Hunter and Chairman Sensenbrenner for their work on this piece of legislation. I think we all know that to stop terrorist attacks before they happen, we need to be able to interrogate terrorist suspects, find out what they know, and put them on trial. After 9/11, President Bush vowed to devote his Presidency to protecting the American people, and he vowed to use every tool at his disposal under the law to fight the terrorists and attack them before they attack us. If we are serious about stopping terrorist attacks before they happen, the ability to extract information from terrorist suspects and put them on trial is essential. President Bush put together a system to accomplish these goals after 9/11. We have captured some of the world's most dangerous terrorists. But now our efforts are on hold because of a Supreme Court decision in June and that without congressional authorization, the Federal Government lacks the authority to use military tribunals for these suspected terrorists. In the wake of this Court decision, Congress has a choice. We can do nothing and allow the terrorists in U.S. custody to go free or to go into a trial meant for American civilians; or we can authorize tribunals for terrorists, find out what they know, and bring them to justice. This bill will allow us to continue to gather important intelligence information from foreign terrorists caught in battle or caught while plotting attacks on America. As President Bush has said, the information we have learned from captured terrorists ``has helped us to take potential mass murderers off the streets before they were able to kill us.'' We know these interrogations have provided invaluable intelligence information that has thwarted terrorist attacks and has saved American lives. This bill allows Congress to draw the parameters for detaining and bringing to justice terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the driving force behind the terrorist attacks of September 11. The bill will provide clear guidance for Americans who are interrogating the terrorist suspects on behalf of our country. It will preserve this crucial program while meeting our commitments and obligations under the Geneva Conventions. It will also help us meet a 9/11 Commission recommendation that America develop a common coalition approach toward the detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists. We recognize military tribunals play a critical role in helping us fight the global war on terror, and we will give these tools to our President as he fights to help keep all of us safe. But the real question today is, what will my colleagues, my Democrat colleagues, do when it comes to this vote today? Virtually every time the President asks Congress for the tools he needs to stop terrorist attacks, a majority of my Democrat friends have said ``no.'' Democrats by and large voted ``no'' on establishing the Department of Homeland Security in July of 2002. A majority of Democrats voted ``no'' on additional funds to respond to the attacks of September 11 and bolster homeland security efforts in May of 2002. The majority of the Democrats voted ``yes'' to deny funding for law enforcement to carry out provisions of the PATRIOT Act in July of 2004. And a majority of Democrats voted ``no'' on the REAL ID Act, which makes it difficult for terrorists to travel freely throughout the United States, in February of 2005. And Democrats voted ``no'' on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act, and gloated about killing it, in December of 2005. And more recently, many Democrats voted against a resolution condemning the illegal leaks of classified intelligence information that could impair our fight against terrorism. Democrats voted ``no'' in the Judiciary Committee against allowing the terrorist surveillance program to go forward. And the Democrats in the Judiciary Committee voted ``no'' on this bill as well. So the question is, will my Democrat friends work with Republicans to preserve this crucial program or oppose giving the President the tools that he needs to protect the American people? Will my Democrat friends work with Republicans to give the President the tools he needs to continue to stop terrorist attacks before they happen, or will they vote to force him to fight the terrorists with one arm tied behind his back? Now, I do not, and will never, question the integrity or the patriotism of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. This is about giving our President the tools he needs to wage war against terrorists who are trying to kill us. And I hope that we will stand together this week and vote to give our President the tools that we need to fight and win in our war against terrorists all over the world.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 483) providing for an adjournment or recess of the two Houses, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that during further proceedings today in the House, the Chair be authorized to reduce to 2 minutes the minimum time for electronic voting on any question that otherwise could be subjected to 5-minute voting under clause 8 or 9 of rule XX.

Mr. BOEHNER

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that, during further proceedings today, the Chair be authorized to reduce to 2 minutes the minimum time for electronic voting on any question that otherwise could be subjected to 5-minute voting under clause 8 or 9 of rule XX.