Tom DeLay

Mr. DeLAY

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I want this bill as much as anybody. It is very, very important, as the gentleman has already stated. It is important to give our military families the tax relief that they deserve, and we want to do this. I remind the gentleman that this bill, the Military Armed Services Tax Fairness Act, has passed this House almost unanimously twice, and we hope that we can get it up here just as soon as possible. As soon as we get everything ironed out and the bill ripens a little bit, we will bring it to the floor.

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield.

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman was absolutely right. It was an open process in the committee, and I may stand corrected, but I believe there were Democrat amendments approved by the committee as well as Republican amendments approved by the committee in developing what at least the committee thought was a bipartisan bill. So, unfortunately, these things happen in the legislative process, and fortunately, we can correct those problems hopefully.

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield.

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I do not believe there has been any discussion as to what kind of rule we would bring to the floor in order to bring the medical justice bill to the floor. In the past, we have always, on this kind of legislation, allowed the minority to have a substitute. The chairman of the Committee on Rules obviously, along with the Committee on Rules, will consider amendments that other Members may offer, and as the gentleman well knows, the rule will be written sometime next week, so that we can bring the bill to the floor.

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, would the gentleman yield?

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's concerns, and the gentleman said earlier it is all in the eyes of the beholder. In the eyes of this beholder, we think we have been more than generous with the minority, and in showing that, to entice Mr. Pitts to come work for the Committee on Rules shows our generosity to the minority because he is a very fair man, a very creative man in dealing with rules and really understands how this House works, and we hoped that by Mr. Pitts coming to work for the Committee on Rules it was a signal to everyone in the House that everyone in the House would be treated fairly.

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will continue to yield.

Mr. DeLAY. The distinguished whip understands that the Committee on the Budget is working as we speak, and continues to work to develop a product that they can mark up in the very near future. We fully expect to move a budget resolution through the House under a time frame that gives us ample opportunity to have a conference with the Senate and complete the budget resolution by April 15, as required by law. It is a very ambitious schedule, I know; and it is putting a lot of pressure on a lot of Members to make a lot of decisions in a very short period of time. But we feel very strongly that we need to get this budget done as quickly as possible.

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will further yield.

Mr. DeLAY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. We want to follow precedent as to how we want to approach the debate on the budget, and certainly I do not want to make decisions for the Committee on Rules. They are more than capable of making their own decisions about how to bring the budget to the floor and what kind of debate we will have. But as the gentleman has already noted, we have always been open to alternatives to the majority's budget as laid out by the Committee on the Budget. The Congressional Black Caucus has always had a substitute and others have had substitutes. I think this is because it is such an important issue, the budget of this Nation and its government; and we are hoping to have as open a debate as possible.

Mr. DeLAY

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns on Monday, March 10, that it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2003, for morning hour debates.

Mr. DeLAY

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the business in order under the Calendar Wednesday rule be dispensed with on Wednesday next.

Mr. DeLAY

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at noon on Monday, March 10, 2003.

Mr. DeLAY

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman for yielding. I am told that the airports are still open. I know all of our Members are rushing to catch their planes to go back to their districts, and I wish them a very good weekend. But, Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, the House will convene on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. We will consider several measures under suspension of the rules, and a final list of those bills will be sent to the Members' offices early next week. There will be no votes in the House before 6:30 on Tuesday. On Wednesday we expect to consider two bills from the Committee on Ways and Means: the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003 and H.R. 743, the Social Security Protection Act of 2003. On Thursday we expect to consider H.R. 878, the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I will be happy to answer any questions the gentleman may have.

Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would continue to yield, that is correct.

Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would continue to yield, I appreciate the gentleman asking. My understanding is that the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Energy and Commerce have tentative plans to mark up the medical liability bills sponsored by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood) sometime next week. Once that bill is reported by the two committees, I would expect quick action in this House. I would also note that the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means have held mark-ups of legislation dealing with medical errors. I would expect legislation dealing with medical errors to be considered soon by the House as well, probably in the same week as the medical liability bill.

Mr. DeLAY. The gentleman is correct.

Mr. DeLAY. I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I will say we will be as ambitious as I have seen in a long time in trying to bring the budget to the floor of the House, get the budget process done in an expedited manner. The Committee on the Budget is continuing to hold hearings with administration officials, economists and other budget experts; but we expect the House to consider the budget resolution actually on a schedule that allows us to have the conference report completed by April 15, as the Budget Act requires.

Mr. DeLAY. I appreciate the gentleman yielding, and I would expect that there would be a tremendous debate over the size of the Economic Growth and Jobs Creation Act, and whatever that size is would be included in the budget that comes out of the Committee on the Budget, yes.

Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would continue to yield, that decision has not been made yet. I know there are ongoing consultations with the chairman of the Committee on the Budget in the other body and also with the majority leader in the other body. The Speaker and the leadership on this side are consulting with them. That decision has not been made yet, but probably will be made fairly soon, certainly by the time the chairman lays out his mark.

Mr. DeLAY. If the gentleman would continue to yield, as the gentleman knows, it will probably be in the press before we even make the decision, so the gentleman can probably read it there.

Mr. DeLAY. I appreciate the gentleman yielding to me. At this time I do not believe the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) has scheduled any action on this legislation, the partial birth abortion ban. Having said that, I do believe that this is really important legislation. This is something that the Senate has indicated they will move early this year, and it is certainly something that I would expect the House to vote on at least by the beginning of the summer.

Mr. DeLAY

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it stand adjourned to meet at noon on Monday, March 3, 2003.

Mr. DeLAY

Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns on Monday, it stand adjourned to meet at 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 4, 2003 for morning hour debates.