David Dreier

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at noon on Tuesday, February 21, 2012; when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet at 10 a.m. on Friday, February 24, 2012; and, when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet at 2 p.m. on Monday, February 27, 2012.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a resolution (H. Res. 558) directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide a copy of the on-the-record portions of the audio backup file of the deposition of William R. Clemens that was conducted by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 5, 2008, to the prosecuting attorneys in the case of United States of America v. Clemens, No. 1:10- cr-00223-RBW (D.D.C.), and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, it's not difficult to believe that our Florida colleague, Connie Mack, could become a grandfather. But what is shocking is that our youthful and beautiful California colleague, Mary Bono Mack, has become a grandmother. Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to announce to the House that yesterday, to Mary's daughter, Chianna, was born Sonny William Hrabe, who, in fact, is the grandson, also, of our late colleague, Sonny Bono. And what is interesting to note is that, while this 8-pound, 4-ounce baby boy was born on February 16, February 16 was the date of his grandfather's birthday, and February 16 was the date of Sonny Bono's father. So Sonny William Hrabe's great-grandfather and grandfather share the exact same date, February 16, the birthday that he has. So congratulations go to the parents, Chianna and Mark, and, of course, to all of our colleagues and our friends and the Bono Mack family. And we look forward to having a chance to meet Sonny William sometime soon.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Chair, since 1999, the Committee on Rules has worked to standardize the practices related to expedited consideration of legislation. In general, the Committee believes that expedited procedures are unnecessary, particularly in the House. However, when necessary, the Committee strives to ensure that these procedures are uniform in application and agnostic toward the content of any measure considered thereunder. The circumstances surrounding consideration of H.R. 3521 are unique, and several changes are included in the manager's amendment that represent the uniqueness of this legislation. The procedures contained in the House-passed version of H.R. 3521 should not be viewed as a new standard for future expedited procedures the House may consider.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, it was very sad to get the news last Friday of the passing of our former colleague, Congressman Jim Lloyd. Jim Lloyd and I began as political adversaries in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and we ended up as great friends and allies on a wide range of issues. Jim was a dedicated patriot. He was a public servant and had a very distinguished military record as well. Politically, he began as the mayor of West Covina, California, and many have said that he indicated right then that he wanted to have an opportunity to serve in the United States House of Representatives. He also had served as a Navy fighter pilot. Mr. Speaker, I had a conversation with his son, Brian, last night and his grandson, Seth, and Jim was able to spend his last moments on this Earth with his grandson, who was following in his footsteps. His grandson, Seth, is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, and is now training at Pensacola, Florida. Jim had driven across the country and was visiting Seth, and had just been with him before he suffered a massive stroke and drove off the road, ending his life as a hero. His son, Brian, told me last night that there was a woman who was in the way of the car, and even though his foot had gone to the accelerator and he suffered a stroke, he was still a hero in that he was able to steer the car away from hitting this woman before it went into a ravine. Last summer, his wife of 63 years, Jackie, his great ally, passed away. Jim told me during a lengthy conversation following her passing that it was as if half of him was gone. So, Mr. Speaker, I have to say that Jim lived a very full 89 years. He was a very distinguished Member of this institution, serving on the Armed Services Committee and as a member of the Science and Technology Committee, where he chaired a subcommittee. He made a great mark on many very, very important questions that we faced. I have to say, it was a privilege for me, again, having begun as an adversary of his, to have ended as a very close and dear friend and political ally. I have to say also that there are many people here in this Capitol who knew him and worked with him even though he left more than three decades ago. I have to say to Mary Klappa, who now works for our colleague John Mica, who was the one who informed me of this sad news, and the many others who worked with Jim Lloyd, who was so dedicated to constituent service and provided an example and model for me, that our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, ``Praise Silence.'' Praise Silence is the very British expression that was used regularly by Ambassador Charles Price when he would stand up after dinner to offer thoughtful, insightful, and humorous remarks. He did it most often at the wonderful home--Sunnylands--of Ambassador Walter and Mrs. Annenberg, and he was one who provided a great deal of inspiration and leadership. I'm very saddened to have had the news, Mr. Speaker, of his passing, but I have to say that he lived a very, very full and active 80 years. Ambassador Price and I shared a hometown and many mutual friends in Kansas City, and we also shared a great love of California. Mr. Price was someone who was very big physically, he was very big intellectually, and he had a great big heart. I always felt comforted around him because he had that wonderful embrace when he would bring you in. And with me, for the past several decades, he's offered very thoughtful political insight and advice and counsel on a wide range of issues. He served as Ambassador to the Court of St. James after having served as Ambassador to Belgium under President Reagan during the 1980s. He was the first American to go to the site in Lockerbie, Scotland, where Pan Am Flight 103 went down. He was on the cutting edge of very, very important decisions that were made with our very important ally, Margaret Thatcher. And I have to say that Ambassador Price was someone who had that very unique ability, Mr. Speaker, to, as Rudyard Kipling said, ``walk with kings and keep the common touch.'' He was known for his great sense of humor, and he was known for having a great desire to spend time with working men and women. And to listen to people, he would often go to pubs in England, and I suspect that Charlie Price might have enjoyed a Guinness or two at the same time. But, Mr. Speaker, he was also a great business leader and a great philanthropist. I remember that, as the leading diplomat that he was, our great former Secretary of State, George Schultz, once said to me, in describing Charlie Price, that when the Secretary would arrive in London and he would get into the car with Charlie Price, there was no ambassador who could provide him with more cogent, thoughtful insight into the circumstances that existed on the ground as they were. Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of Winston Churchill, I read in my original hometown paper--and Charlie Price's as well--the Kansas City Star, that he had just, not long ago, written a note to a grandson of his to lift his spirits. In that note he said: ``Never, never give up. You will always succeed if you accept that you will not succeed every time. But never accept losing as anything other than a learning experience to drive you to be a champion in all walks of life.'' Mr. Speaker, my thoughts and prayers go to Carol Price and to the wonderful family. I have to say that, as we look to next week's--a week from this Sunday--dedication of the great new operation at Sunnylands in southern California, I know that Carol will be there, but Charlie Price will be greatly missed.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from North Charleston for his superb management of this rule. Mr. Speaker, we regularly point to the fact that uncertainty is the enemy of prosperity and economic growth, and we know that extending this package for a year will, in fact, be doing exactly what President Obama has said is necessary for us to do. He said it's inexcusable for us not to extend this for a year, and so we've got a great chance to do this. The other issue that I think is important to note, Mr. Speaker, is that uncertainty is now posing a national security threat to the United States of America. I say that because last night Stephen Harper, the prime minister of Canada, had an interview on Canadian television in which he made it very clear that he had been told that there would be approval of the Keystone XL pipeline that would have allowed for the flow of Canadian energy to come into the United States, and obviously, uncertainty exists. And so he made it very clear. He said he is very serious about selling that energy, moving that energy to Asia, and we know that that means to China. Now, I'm not an opponent of China's economic growth, but I do believe that the potential for us to work with our close ally to the north is a very, very important part of our economic growth. Job creation here would be enhanced by it, and we know it would help us have access to lower cost energy. And so, Mr. Speaker, not only is uncertainty the enemy of economic growth and prosperity, but uncertainty is now jeopardizing our national security. Now, Mr. Speaker, some have tried to make the claim that we're not going to have an up-or-down vote on the Senate measure. Let me explain to our colleagues what, in fact, is going to happen. The distinguished chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, Mr. Camp, is going to move to disagree with the Senate amendments and request a conference. That's the motion that the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee will have. What that means, Mr. Speaker, is that any Member who believes that we should accept the Senate temporary 2- month extension, that proposal that the National Payroll Reporting Consortium has said is unworkable and that Bloomberg News has said is unworkable and other independent analyses have said is unworkable, if a Member supports that measure, they should vote ``no'' to the motion that will be offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) which says, I move to disagree to the Senate amendments and request a conference. And so I think it's very clear: We have a responsibility, a responsibility to do the people's business. It's true, our Senate colleagues have gone home. Our Senate colleagues have gone home, and they say they don't want to act. We need to request this conference so that the Speaker of the House can appoint conferees and work can begin immediately. Why is it that one would believe that creating this uncertainty in a temporary 2-month extension will allow us to get the work done next year? It needs to be done now. We have a December 31 deadline. We're going to see a tax increase go into effect if we don't act because, while the Senate measure provides a $166 tax benefit on the payroll issue, ours would provide $1,000. Mr. Speaker, we need to make sure that we get this work done as quickly as possible, and we are here prepared to do it.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. I say to my friend, first of all, happy birthday.

Mr. DREIER. And the great birthday present is that we will not shut the government down, and we obviously will see this measure passed today. I also want to say to my friend that I believe we've made history here. To have any Member of the House stand up, especially on his birthday, Mr. Speaker, and speak in complimentary ways of the other body is, in fact, historic in and of itself.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the Chair how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield my colleague an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. DREIER. I say to my friend from Rochester, would you yield time to the gentleman so I can engage in a discussion with him?

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time remains on each side.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I'd like to yield to my friend from Worcester to engage in a discussion. I'm sorry, would the gentlewoman like me to yield? I'm happy to yield to my friend from Rochester if she would like me to yield. Would the gentlewoman like me to yield to her? I've just been recognized.

Mr. DREIER. Would the gentlewoman from New York like me to yield to her, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. DREIER. Then I will reclaim my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 500 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my very good friend from Rochester, New York (Ms. Slaughter), the distinguished ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 500 provides for the consideration of three measures that will ensure that the government is funded through the end of the fiscal year; and this rule, as was outlined by the reading Clerk, provides very important tools to deal with important issues that have yet to be resolved. Now, Mr. Speaker, we all know that, as we sit here at 3 minutes of 10 o'clock this morning, we are faced at midnight tonight with the prospect of a government shutdown. There is a bipartisan consensus on the need to ensure that we don't face a government shutdown; and it's very important that we take action to prevent that from taking place, and that's exactly what our opportunity is here today. At the same time, it's important for us to realize that it is absolutely imperative, if we are going to get our economy growing and create jobs, for us to reduce the size and scope and reach of the Federal Government. That's the message the American people have sent to us overwhelmingly, and that's why I have to say that I believe this bipartisan compromise, which has been worked out with Members of the House and the Senate and the White House, moves us in the direction of doing just that. Why? Because we are actually bringing about in this conference report a $95 billion reduction in discretionary spending, merely a drop in the bucket. We all recognize that it's not enough. We all recognize that much, much more remains to be done, but, Mr. Speaker, this is an important first step. And the fact that it's been done in a bipartisan, bicameral way, working not only with the first but the second branch of government as well, is, I believe, a positive indicator for us. As I think about the challenges that we have--and I said this during the management of our jobs bill that we had, the so-called extenders measure that deals with the question of extending unemployment insurance, doing everything we possibly can to keep taxes low by extending for a year the payroll tax holiday, ensuring that people have access to Medicare dollars, and, of course, focusing on job creation by proceeding with the Keystone XL pipeline. As I pointed out during that debate, right now, our job is jobs. The American people want us to focus on job creation and economic growth, and I believe that this bipartisan, bicameral compromise will help us in that quest. It hasn't been pretty getting here. We all know the famous Otto von Bismarck line, that you don't want to watch sausage or laws being made. This has been ugly. And, actually, I was not going to say what I'm about to say right now, Mr. Speaker, but I am going to proceed and I will explain to you why. It's been a painful and difficult and ugly and messy process which, frankly, is exactly what James Madison wanted. He is looking down at us saying, The process is working just as I envisaged it, because he wanted there to be this clash of ideas and a struggle. But, at the end of the day, he wanted there to be a compromise; and he wanted there to be an agreement at the end of the day, recognizing that that needed to be done. We know that the chairs of the Committee on Appropriations, Messrs. Rogers and Inouye, shook hands on Monday and had an agreement. Again, I was not going to say this; but the Rules Committee completed its work early this morning, and I got a few hours of sleep, and I woke up to National Public Radio, which I do. That's what wakes me up in the morning, Mr. Speaker. And I know that there are some of my Republican friends who are not fans of National Public Radio. I like to watch MSNBC TV and listen to National Public Radio. It keeps my blood circulating very well, Mr. Speaker. But I woke up this morning to listen to a report on this conference agreement. I am very happy to see my good friend from Seattle, the distinguished ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, arrive on the floor. And I wasn't going to say this, but because of this report on NPR, I'm going to share it. Tamara Keith, who is the congressional correspondent for NPR on Morning Edition, characterized why it is that we are here on Friday rather than having met the 3-day layover requirement and all these things that we wanted to do when the agreement was struck on Monday, and what she said was that Senate Democrats held this bill hostage. Those are not my words, again, Mr. Speaker. Those are the words of Tamara Keith who reported on National Public Radio this morning that this measure was held hostage by Senate Democrats. And she went on a second time, using the word ``hostage.'' She said, Well, finally the hostages have been released. Again, those are not my words. Those are the words of National Public Radio. So some people wanted me to say it, but I decided not to say it myself. But when I heard it early this morning, I couldn't help but say it. So that's the reason I'm looking across the Chamber right now at 3,000 pages stacked this high right next to the distinguished ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules, right across the aisle from the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks). Mr. Speaker, we've had to waive the 3-day layover requirement because, again, according to NPR, we had this conference report held hostage, but we've finally gotten here. Now that we're here, I'm happy to say that, while I'm not ecstatic with every measure in it--just as I know that Mr. Dicks is not ecstatic with every measure in it; I know that Ms. Slaughter is not ecstatic with every measure in it; I'm not ecstatic with the process that has gotten us here because of the challenges and ugliness and messiness we've gone through this week. We are here because it is absolutely essential that we not see the government shut down in several hours at midnight tonight. So I believe that we need to realize--and I know Mr. Dicks and I have had this conversation repeatedly, along with our friend Mr. Rogers of Kentucky, the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations--that we want a clean slate as we head into next year so that Mr. Dicks and Mr. Rogers will be able to go through regular order, bring the appropriations bills to the floor and, we hope and pray, get each bill done ad seriatim, the way they're supposed to be done, rather than dealing with what has been characterized as an omnibus, a mini-bus, a megabus. But the term that I like that was given by the distinguished chair of the Committee on Appropriations last night is this is ``the rest of the bus.'' And that's really where we are. But it's essential for the American people, for those who are representing us so diligently around the world in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other spots, for people who rely and need to have support from government programs that do exist, it's essential that we get this measure passed, and pass it with what I hope will be strong bipartisan support. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to say that I am happy that we are doing the things that will be outlined, I know, very thoughtfully by the distinguished former chair and current ranking member of the Committee on Rules. I will say that we have got 3,000 pages. By the way, I should say, before my friend begins this, that on Monday, virtually all of that was available, and it was put online at 12:30 Wednesday night. Right after midnight Wednesday, it was made available online. And so while we have not actually met the exact 3-day layover requirement, I should point to the fact that we always said-- and I'm so proud of the fact that we have been able to do it. But when we faced what is really a very, very important deadline, that being the closure of the government that would take place 14 hours from now, I think it is very important that we take this action and do it as quickly and as well as we possibly can. With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, as my good friends from the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Rogers and Mr. Dicks, congratulate each other in the well, I will ask them to move out of the well so that I am able to yield 3 minutes to my good friend from Grandfather Community, who left the Rules Committee at 1 o'clock this morning and went down to her office to work before going down to the White House at 7:30 for a tour for her constituents. So I underscore the fact that Virginia Foxx is extraordinarily dedicated, and for that reason and many others, I am happy to yield her 3 minutes.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to simply make a couple of very important points, and that is we are here faced with this situation because of the inability of our colleagues in the other body, the United States Senate, to act. I am just looking at the list of the conferees, and I listened to my friends criticize the bill--and I actually don't know whether my friend from Rochester is going to end up supporting the conference report or not. I didn't get a conclusion on that--but I will say that every single House Member, Democrat and Republican, every subcommittee chairman, every ranking member of a subcommittee, the so-called cardinals, the chairs of the subcommittees, signed this conference report. It is bipartisan. Unfortunately, in the Senate, we have a number of Members of the Senate who didn't sign the conference report. But I believe that we need to realize that we went for 963 days--nearly 1,000 days, Mr. Speaker--without a budget having passed from the United States Senate. We know, Mr. Speaker, that we didn't have any appropriations bills done last year. We're trying to clean this process up. With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to a very thoughtful, diligent new member of the Committee on Rules, the gentleman from Lawrenceville, Georgia (Mr. Woodall).

Mr. DREIER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs for yielding me the time. I rise to congratulate my very good friend, the gentleman from Virginia, Frank Wolf, who has just talked about both Sudan and China as being very key areas where religious persecution has taken place and continues to be a threat. I've been working with the chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and with other Members in a bipartisan way on the situation that exists in Egypt. One of the reasons I wanted to offer remarks is that, when she stood up and talked about the Coptic Christians in Egypt, we obviously know that there are challenging days ahead; and I think it's very important for us to do everything that we can to encourage those who may have had a history of engaging in religious persecution in the past to recognize religious freedom, human rights, the rights of women, the rule of law, and all of the other very critical items that are a key part of the development of democracy. So many people believe that you have a democracy if you hold an election. Well, Mr. Speaker, as you know very well, one election a democracy does not make; and there are other very important aspects of the development of democracy, and religious freedom is a key part of that.