Martin Frost

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark). (Mr. Stark asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, if the previous question is defeated, I will offer an amendment to the rule. My amendment will provide that immediately after the House passes this resolution, it will take up legislation to extend the Federal unemployment insurance that is set to expire for new enrollees just 2 days after Christmas. This legislation would continue the extended unemployment insurance program through the first 6 months of next year. The bill would also increase to 26 weeks the amount of benefits provided under that program, up from 13 weeks. This would provide new help to the 1.4 million workers who have already exhausted their extended benefits and have yet to find work. This measure is identical to the text of H.R. 3244, the Rangel-Cardin unemployment extension; and it also contains the text of H.R. 3554, sponsored by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), which would fix a flaw in current law that penalizes people in States with exceptionally high long-term unemployment rates by preventing them from receiving the unemployment benefits they need. Here is why it is needed, Mr. Speaker. Americans continue to be unemployed at alarmingly high rates. The percentage of Americans exhausting their unemployment benefits without finding a job has reached its highest level on record. More than 2 million workers have been unemployed for more than 6 months. These Americans need relief, and they need it immediately. If we do not fix this today, over 400,000 jobless Americans will not be eligible for unemployment compensation after the first of the year. Mr. Speaker, it appears likely that Congress will adjourn sine die within the next few days. This will very likely be the only opportunity we have to help unemployed Americans this year. Let us not abandon them today. Let me make very clear that a ``no'' vote on the previous question will not stop consideration of this resolution for consideration of the appropriations items, but a ``no'' vote will allow the House to vote on legislation to help provide some much-needed relief to our Nation's unemployed workers, some relief that might be nice during the upcoming holiday season. Again, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the amendment be printed in the Record immediately before the vote on the previous question.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. FROST asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, here we go again. Another month has passed and this Republican government still refuses to do its most basic job, funding the Federal Government that they control. That is why we are here, once again, to pass yet another short-term continuing resolution to keep Republican incompetence from shutting down the Federal Government. Mr. Speaker, I do not know why Republicans refuse to do the job taxpayers pay them for, especially while millions of those same taxpayers cannot find jobs on their own. Perhaps they are so busy twisting arms to dismantle Medicare and force seniors into HMOs that they cannot be bothered with deciding how badly to shortchange education in this year's spending bills. Or maybe the White House has been consumed with spending their expensive efforts to rebuild Iraq that they do not have time to worry about America. Who knows. But it is clear that this Republican government has stopped working for the American people. Mr. Speaker, I do not know if you watched ``West Wing'' last night on television, but actually the subject of the ``West Wing'' program was this exact issue, a continuing resolution. And at that point you had a Republican Congress trying to blame a Democratic President for closing down the government. But here, of course, we have a Republican Congress and a Republican President. So what is going on here? Republican President, Republican Congress, and we still have to have a short-term continuing resolution because those folks cannot do their job. Just take a look at the record. Today, millions of hard-working Americans no longer share in the prosperity that they enjoyed during the Democratic-led economic boon of the 1990s. In fact, since the Republican Party took over the government nearly 3 years ago, more than 3 million American jobs have been lost in the private sector. Or to put it another way, since George W. Bush got his job, millions of Americans have lost their jobs. That is the worst jobs record of any President since Herbert Hoover in the Great Depression. Over the same period, Republican fiscal irresponsibility has turned record surpluses into astronomical and out-of-control deficits, increasing the death tax on all Americans and threatening the future of Medicare and Social Security. In the private sector, Mr. Speaker, that kind of failure would get you fired. But Republicans are counting on their special interest friends to save their political skins. And they have spared no taxpayer expense to do their work. Take, for example, the small elite group of big contributors who fund Republican campaigns like the Bush campaign Pioneers and now the Bush campaign Rangers. They are undoubtedly happy because this Republican government has drained the U.S. Treasury by repeatedly passing expensive tax breaks for the wealthiest few. And earlier this week Republicans gave big polluters a pass to keep fouling the air of some of America's major metropolitan areas, including my home in north Texas. Now, Mr. Speaker, Republicans are desperately trying to pull the wool over the eyes of America's seniors so that they can shower billions of dollars on HMOs, insurance companies, and the big drug companies. Under the Republican plan, millions of senior citizens would pay more and get less for Medicare. Up to one in four Medicare beneficiaries would actually pay more for prescription drugs than they do right now. Up to 7 million seniors would be forced to join an HMO and give up their choice of doctor or pay higher Medicare premiums. Between 2 and 3 million retirees would lose the drug coverage they now get from their former employers. And millions of seniors would go without drug coverage for months each year and be forced to pay premiums year round even when they are not getting any drug benefits. While seniors lose under the Republican plan, drug companies and HMOs win big. Republicans are giving insurance companies a $12 billion slush fund. They are giving big drug companies $139 billion in windfall profits because they are actually making it illegal for Medicare to negotiate lower prescription prices for seniors. That is right, Mr. Speaker, Republicans can find billions of dollars for HMOs and drug companies, but they cannot afford year-round drug coverage for senior citizens. No wonder Republicans do not want their plan to take effect until after the 2004 elections. They are afraid that once seniors sit down and do the math they will see the Republicans have sold them a bill of goods. This kind of outrage, Mr. Speaker, is simply business as usual under this Republican government. Nothing gets done for the American people, but Republicans and their allies do plenty of harm to the American people. It is a shameless abuse of power, Mr. Speaker; and the American public are the victims. Meanwhile, we have before us another 2-day continuing resolution, which is the subject of this rule today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let us be very clear about what is going on here. The current continuing resolution runs out tomorrow. The Republican leadership is giving itself another 2 days. So by passing this next CR, that takes us through Sunday. They will not tell us when the next CR, how far it will go, whether we will be here Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of next week doing the people's business. They will not tell us when the omnibus bill is going to come to the floor or whether it will come to the floor. They will not tell us how long the next CR will run, whether it will run to December 8 or whether it will run until some time in February. Either they simply do not know, or they will not tell. Either way, they make it very difficult to legislate in an orderly fashion. We would all like to wind up the business for this year. I would hope that the Republican leadership can finally get their act together, bring the remaining appropriations bills or an omnibus bill to the floor in an orderly way, so that we can conclude the people's business this year and not continue to operate on a 2- or 3-day CR while the Republicans try and figure out what their next step is. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter). (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the ranking member of the committee. (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall). (Mr. HALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman have multiple speakers or only one speaker?

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. FROST asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, we live in a dangerous world, a place where America's major oil supplies can be disrupted by Middle East dictators. And here at home, we have seen the economic disruption that resulted from the distortion of the domestic delivery of electricity by those eager to game the system. We all agree that a comprehensive energy policy could help move this country toward greater energy independence and could prevent the kind of high rates that victimized millions of people throughout the West several years ago. So, Mr. Speaker, I share the disappointment that so many Members feel about the nearly 1,000-page energy conference report that Republicans released just before 3 a.m. this morning, only a few short hours ago. Make no mistake, it contains some good provisions, like tax incentives for small, independent oil and gas producers. It also gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission new authority to establish mandatory reliability standards for utilities, as well as the power to sanction utilities that do not comply with them. And I am glad that Democrats have beaten back the Republican plan to spoil the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But it represents a missed opportunity, and it demonstrates the dangerous arrogance of this all-Republican government. Mr. Speaker, Democrats support a balanced, comprehensive energy policy. We have proposed a plan to increase America's energy independence, strengthen the economy, and protect the clean air and water that we all value. Over and over again, we have tried to work with Republicans to pass such a plan but, true to form, Republicans have repeatedly refused to work with us. For this conference, they retreated to the secrecy of the back room to hold their discussions. They hid their negotiations in little rooms not open to anyone but a very few and shut out Members who were legitimately part of the conference process. In doing so, Republicans ignored Members who represent nearly half of America, Members with extensive expertise in energy policy. They brought in Vice President Cheney to broker deals but refused to work with the dean of the House, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), a man who has probably passed more energy legislation than anyone in American history. They even shut out those Democratic conferees who voted for the original legislation when it passed the House. Ultimately, that is why this conference report is so disappointing in so many respects. For instance, Republicans refuse to pay for even the $23 billion that the tax provisions will cost U.S. taxpayers. Instead, they are simply increasing a Republican budget deficit that is already hovering around $500 billion, and that will raise the Republican debt tax on all Americans. Mr. Speaker, it would be interesting to hear Republicans explain why they refuse to pay for energy tax breaks, especially since they have repeatedly blocked needed financing for veterans health care and homeland security by insisting that those priorities be paid for. But I am sure that that explanation will not be part of the Republican talking points today. Instead, we are going to see Republican Members march down here to the floor to blithely sing the praises of a nearly 1,000-page bill that almost none of them have read. The truth is, almost no one knows what is really in this conference report. And almost no one knows which special interest got what special favor, and how much it will ultimately cost American taxpayers. That is because this bill ended as it started, in secrecy. It began in 2001 with Vice President Cheney's infamous energy task force. And since the White House still refuses to come clean with the American people about its secret dealings with Big Energy executives, it should come as no surprise that this bill was finally pasted together last week in the back room of some Capitol hideaway, far removed from the scrutiny of the public. Neither should it surprise anyone that one of the provisions buried in this massive bill would permanently establish Mr. Cheney's energy task force in the White House, guaranteeing for it the secrecy the Bush administration so adamantly demands. Or that Republicans have violated the rules in order to sneak into the conference report numerous provisions that were not part of the original bills passed by either the House or the Senate. Yesterday, Rules Committee Democrats wrote Chairman Dreier asking for a list of all the new provisions that violate the rules of the House, but Republicans refuse to publicize them. We do know that Republicans waived a Clean Air Act requirement aimed at cleaning up air pollution in metropolitan areas like my Dallas-Fort Worth home, despite my opposition and that of other area officials, like the gentlewoman from Dallas, Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) who led the fight against it in the House. And it will not surprise anyone when we discover, long after this bill has passed, that this conference report contains other hidden special favors for Republican special interests that had access to the final back-room negotiations that were closed to everyone else. Mr. Speaker, that is the danger that some of my Republican colleagues on the Committee on Rules warned of a few years ago. In a 1993 report entitled, ``The Decline of Deliberative Democracy in the People's House,'' Chairman David Dreier and Representatives Porter Goss, Deborah Pryce, and Lincoln Diaz-Balart wrote, ``The House and Senate have been repeatedly embarrassed over the years by conference reports on voluminous pieces of legislation which have been voted on before even properly printed or distributed, let alone understood. Only after their enactment have some of the provisions come back to haunt the Congress.'' Mr. Speaker, that is why Democrats on the Committee on Rules yesterday, and this morning, urged Republicans to allow Members, the public and the press 3 days to examine the final conference report in detail. That is what the rules of the House require, and it is the only way to allow Members to make an informed decision about this conference report. But, apparently, Republicans do not want anyone to read this massive bill. Because instead of giving Members more time to examine it, they are waiving the House rules to rush it through the House today. It was nearly 3 a.m. today, Mr. Speaker, before House Republicans made the final conference report available, leaving Members with just a few short hours to read all 1,000 pages before voting on it. This is not just an outrageous abuse of the process; it is an insulting attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people. Mr. Speaker, Members have only one way to defend the public against this abuse, by voting ``no'' on the important parliamentary vote known as the previous question. If it is defeated, I will amend the rule to ensure that all Members have 3 days to examine the nearly 1,000 pages of this conference report before voting on it, as the rules of the House require. Make no mistake, a ``no'' vote on the previous question will not defeat this conference report. It will only give Members a chance to actually read it. But a ``yes'' vote will allow Republican leaders to circumvent the rules of the House for no reason except to keep Members, the public, and the press in the dark. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall). (Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).