Martin Frost

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Berry).

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. Well, Mr. Speaker, Republicans' shameful refusal to lead the House continues today. We are into the new fiscal year, and this House has still only passed 5 of the 13 appropriation bills. Now, Republicans have been turning back flips to try to shift the blame for their own shameful failures. They like to say it is the fault of the other body that the House has not done its work, but we all know how an appropriations bill becomes a law. The Constitution requires the House to pass it before the other body can. Mr. Speaker, there is nothing to stop House Republicans but themselves. And what is stopping them? Simply put, some Republicans are afraid to vote for the cuts in education, health care, and other priorities that most members of the Republican Conference seem to support. So Republican leaders have quit even trying to do the work Americans elected them to do. While House Republicans refuse to do their work, Mr. Speaker, millions of Americans would be happy just to find a job. After all, America is suffering through the weakest economy in 50 years, and a recent Gallup Poll found that 52 percent of Americans believe the economy is getting worse. Frankly, it is hard to argue with them. Long-term unemployment is at an 8-year high, and some 2 million Americans have lost their jobs. The Census Bureau reports the number of people living in poverty has increased, and the median household income has dropped. Corporate scandals, the massive criminality at Enron, WorldCom, and the like, have rocked the economy and devastated the retirement plans of millions of Americans. After the worst quarter for the S&P 500 since 1987, millions of Americans are dreading the arrival of 401(k) statements, statements that may now look more like 201(k) statements. Overall, the stock market has lost $4.5 trillion in value since Republicans took control in Washington a year ago January. And the Dow has hit a 4-year low. What has been the response of the Republican House during this troubled time? They refuse to stop corporate expatriates who flee overseas to avoid paying their fair share in taxes and who leave other Americans stuck with the bill, and they refuse to extend unemployment insurance for all Americans suffering in this economy. Mr. Speaker, this is a shameful failure of leadership. I do not think it is going to end as long as Republicans control the House of Representatives. But there is one important step we can take today. We can finally allow the House to vote on the education funding necessary to implement the bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act. At the appropriate time, I will oppose the previous question. If it is defeated, we will amend the rule to provide for a fair vote on the appropriations bill for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Since Republican leaders cannot decide how to bring up this critical bill, we would offer Members several options. The Committee on Appropriations chairman could bring his bill to the floor. Conservatives and their Republican Conference who have seemed so interested in slashing education spending so far could bring up their version, and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations, could bring up his bill. In addition, my amendment to the rule would require the House to immediately consider legislation extending unemployment benefits to the millions of American workers who have exhausted those benefits and have no immediate prospects of finding employment. And to help spur the creation of jobs in the country, we will call on the House to consider economic stimulus legislation before we adjourn for the elections. This body has wasted enough valuable time. We have only a few days left to do the people's business; and by defeating the previous question, perhaps we can start taking care of the business we were sent here to do. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time. Mr. Speaker, the continuing resolution before us is an indictment of the Republican majority. They have failed to help the unemployed, failed to rescue the economy, failed to complete the appropriations process and failed the American people. If the previous question is defeated, I will introduce a package that contains the CR we are debating today, extends unemployment insurance, brings the Labor-HHS bill to the floor so that we can move the appropriations process forward, and calls for an economic stimulus package to get this country moving again. Meaningless sense of the House resolutions will not get it done, Mr. Speaker. Passing continuing resolutions to avoid tough choices is not going to get it done either. There is an unfinished agenda of issues that mean something to the middle-class Americans, Mr. Speaker, and Democrats want to help them, even if Republicans do not. By defeating the previous question, the House can take up this economic package and reverse the economic decline that the Republicans have brought us. Let us get America back to work again. I urge a no vote on the previous question.

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 gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, over the past several months, Democrats and Republicans on the Bipartisan Working Group on the Continuity of Congress have worked together to think the unthinkable: to consider how Congress would function in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. This is not an idle question, Mr. Speaker. September 11 made clear once and for all just how vulnerable the U.S. Congress is to such an attack. For the past year, many of us in Washington have believed that if not for the courage of the passengers of United Flight 93, the fourth hijacked plane may well have hit the U.S. Capitol. Well, just weeks ago, our suspicions may have been confirmed by an al-Jazeera interview with the man suspected to be the twentieth September 11 hijacker, who said that Flight 93 was indeed headed for the Capitol, code-named ``The Faculty of Law.'' Obviously, Mr. Speaker, if Flight 93 had reached the Capitol on September 11, countless lives would have been lost. Additionally, the legislative branch of the United States Congress would have been crippled. This is a very dangerous possibility, Mr. Speaker; and I am glad the Committee on House Administration, the Capitol Police, and others have worked so hard since September 11 to increase the security of all of the staff and Members who work here in the Capitol complex. But the Congress is the branch of government closest to the people; and all of us, I believe, want it to remain as open as possible. For that reason, the Congress will always be somewhat vulnerable to those who might wish to strike at the United States through the Capitol, the symbol and the seat of our democracy. That means that we have to prepare for what used to be unthinkable and we have to answer the question, How would the House function in the aftermath of such an attack? Personally, Mr. Speaker, I believe that it would be critical for the American public to have secure representation in Congress in a time of national emergency. But this is a weighty matter, one that gets to the heart of representative democracy in this country. On the one hand, we want to ensure the stability of the legislative branch in the aftermath of a catastrophe. On the other hand, we all understand the importance of preserving the unique function of the House of Representatives that it has served in the American system of government for more than 200 years. This bipartisan working group was formed to study the very important, very complicated, and very difficult series of questions raised by this situation. We have benefited, and are still enjoying, the tremendous expertise of all of the members who have participated. We have received tremendous assistance from the committees of jurisdiction and their staff; and as the gentleman from California (Chairman Cox) mentioned, I want to personally recognize the Parliamentarian, Charlie Johnson, as well as his staff. After serving on the House Committee on Rules for more than 20 years, I have known for a long time what fine professionals they are. This process could have never started without the support of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert), the Speaker of the House, and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), our Democratic leader. Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize my colleagues on the working group, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), as well as the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird), the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin), and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter). Of course, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and his staff have been a pleasure to work with on this project. Mr. Speaker, the working group is examining proposed changes to the House Rules regarding quorum requirements and succession of House officers, amendments to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, and constitutional amendments. But our primary goal has been to examine the law to ensure that Congress can function in the event of an attack or a catastrophe. That is what House Resolution 559 addresses today. It encourages the States to examine their existing statutes, practices, and procedures governing special elections; and it urges Governors and State representatives to amend their election laws so that in the event of a catastrophe, vacancies in the House of Representatives could be filled in a timely fashion. As we can see, Mr. Speaker, this is an ongoing process, and the resolution on the floor today does not solve all of the problems we face; but it takes a sensible, bipartisan step toward addressing one of them. So I urge my colleagues to join the bipartisan working group and passing it overwhelmingly. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird), the Member of the House who really first raised this issue.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird).

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, I urge adoption of the resolution. I have no further requests for time, and 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 rise today in honor of Ms. Dorella Bond, from my district in Grand Prairie, Texas. On October 2nd of this year, Ms. Bond will celebrate her 50th anniversary working for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control and its predecessor companies. Ms. Bond has spent a lifetime in dedicated service to her country and her company; a company that has produced many of the military's most recognizable defensive systems: systems that have helped guarantee our freedoms as Americans. Dorella first joined the Lockheed Martin family at the tender age of 18 when, on October 2nd, 1952, she was hired by one of Lockheed Martin's predecessor companies, Temco Electronics and Missiles. Although she began her career as a Production Control Clerk-B, she quickly progressed up company ranks. Today, five decades later, Dorella serves as Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President of Finance/ Chief Financial Officer. She still displays the same tenacity and dedication that she brought to the job 50 years ago, and shows no sign of stopping. Ms. Bond truly exemplifies the positive work ethic, experience, loyalty and dependability so important to our society today. She is truly a shining example of the American worker. Mr. Speaker, fifty years of service with an organization is a tremendous accomplishment, one deserving special recognition and honor for a job well done. I know my colleagues will join me today in honoring a remarkable woman and a tireless worker. We salute Dorella Bond today, and wish her continued success and accomplishment at Lockheed Martin.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I expect this short-term continuing resolution will pass the House by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. But make no mistake. When it does, it will represent an overwhelming bipartisan indictment of the failures of this Republican House of Representatives. The fiscal year ends next week, and this Republican-controlled House has passed only five of the 13 appropriation bills. The gentleman who just spoke, the chairman of the committee, is an honorable man and his committee has been doing its work. His own leadership has prevented him from bringing the appropriation bills to the floor even though those bills have been reported out of his committee. Republican leaders have stopped even trying to do their work. They have given up on doing the most basic job Congress is elected to do, fund important initiatives in education, health care, and other key American priorities. It is a shocking abdication of leadership, Mr. Speaker. America is suffering through the weakest economy in 50 years. Unemployment and the poverty rate are up while the stock market and retirement security is down. For too many Americans, the drop in the stock market has turned 401(k) plans into 201(k) plans, but while millions of Americans are busy looking for jobs, House Republicans refuse to do their jobs, the jobs they are getting paid to do. What accounts for this shameful failure to lead, Mr. Speaker? Simply put, Republicans have put America in a huge deficit ditch, one that poses a grave threat to Social Security and other priorities like education, prescription drugs, and homeland security, and now they refuse to pick up the shovels and dig their way out of it. We can see it most clearly on education. With much fanfare last year, Democrats and Republicans passed the No Child Left Behind Act, but now Republicans refuse to provide schools with the resources they need to carry out the reforms Congress mandated last year. That is why the appropriations process is stuck in the House, Mr. Speaker. The majority of the House Republican Conference wants to gut resources for education and other priorities in the bill funding the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. But a few moderate Republicans are afraid to take that vote on the eve of the election. Over the past week, Mr. Speaker, Republican leaders have turned the House floor into little more than a PR vehicle for the Republican Party. They have wasted time and taxpayers' dollars on numerous, meaningless resolutions. Mr. Speaker, Americans are facing real challenges right now. The economy is weak, prescription drug prices are still sky high, the budget is in deficit, and many Republicans want to privatize Social Security. It is time to quit playing politics. It is time to get back to doing the American people's business. Free the Committee on Appropriations. Let them bring their bills to the floor. What is the leadership on that side afraid of?

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, this rule and the three meaningless sense of the House resolutions it will bring to the floor represent a complete abdication of leadership by House Republicans. On the front page of today's New York Times, the Census Bureau reports that the number of people living in poverty has increased, the median household income has decreased, and Americans are suffering under the weakest economy in 50 years. But congressional Republicans are fiddling about, cynically playing politics in order to run out the clock before the November elections. The majority leadership should be ashamed of itself, Mr. Speaker. Republicans refuse to do the most basic job that they were elected to do: fund the Federal Government. House Republicans have passed only five of the 13 appropriation bills, and the fiscal year ends in less than 1 week. Later today, or perhaps tomorrow, or perhaps some day next week, we will pass the first of several continuing resolutions to keep the government operating. But instead of working overtime to do their most fundamental job, Republican leaders are worried about their own political power, so they are wasting time on the meaningless bipartisan propaganda that these resolutions represent. Never have I seen such timidity, timidity from the Republican leadership. Meanwhile, long-term unemployment is at an 8 percent high, and 2 million Americans have lost their jobs. Consumer confidence is at its lowest level since November of 2001, and prescription drug prices are still sky high, leaving senior citizens unable to afford vital prescription medicine. Mr. Speaker, corporate scandals, the massive criminality at Enron, WorldCom, and the like have rocked the economy and devastated retirement plans of millions of Americans; but House Republicans overwhelmingly voted against real pension protection legislation a few months ago, blocking Democratic efforts to protect Americans' retirement plans. Just yesterday, the Dow hit a 4-year low. The NASDAQ is at a 6-year low. Overall, the stock market has lost $4.5 trillion in value since Republicans took control in Washington a year ago January. How have Republicans responded, Mr. Speaker? Last week they wasted the taxpayers' time and money on two utterly meaningless resolutions. This week they are doing it again, issuing a rule that brings three more utterly meaningless resolutions to the House floor, since we have already passed these bills that are the subject of these resolutions. Mr. Speaker, in case anyone has any doubt as to the substantive significance of the resolutions on the floor today, let me tell the Members how we got here. Originally, Republicans had one meaningless resolution on the schedule for today. Apparently, however, that would not waste enough time, so in the middle of the Committee on Rules meeting yesterday evening, Republicans happened to mention that they were going to add two more meaningless resolutions. Then they told us that they had to adjourn the committee until the new resolutions had been written. Mr. Speaker, this is a shameful failure to lead. It demonstrates an embarrassing intellectual bankruptcy on the part of the Republican Party. They have given up on addressing the real priorities of the American people and turned the House floor into a propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I pose a simple question to my Republican colleagues: Are they afraid to do the job their constituents elected them to do? If not, I urge them to join Democrats in opposing the previous question. If we defeat the previous question, we will amend the rule to bring to the floor real corporate accountability legislation offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Social Security. The Matsui measure would ensure that big corporations treat their employees the same way they treat their favorite executives: if the CEO gets a guaranteed pension, then so should the front line employees; if the company restricts employees who want to change their 401(k) plans, then it should restrict CEOs who want to cash in their stock options. The Matsui bill embodies the values that President Bush set forth months ago. If it is good enough for the captain, it is good enough for the crew. I urge my Republican friends to join us in defeating the previous question so this House can finally address the corporate scams that have hurt so many employees and investors. By the way, it might be nice if the Republicans would also bring the eight appropriation bills that are still languishing in committee to the floor. They have utterly failed to do the job that they were sent here to do. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I was listening to my colleague, the gentleman from Texas, a while ago; and he was talking about why we need to be voting on this today, and I think he is a little confused. I do not know, maybe he was sick the day they did the legislative process during freshman orientation. I do not know. But it sounded like he was talking about voting on a conference report. We do not have a conference report before us. We have a bill that has already passed the House, has not been taken up by the Senate. So it is meaningless to vote a second time on the same bill that has already passed the House when it has not been passed by the Senate, has not gone to conference, and has not come back to us. So this really is an extraordinary waste of everybody's time, the minority's time, the majority's time, and the taxpayers' time and money. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin).

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. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, when people who are watching this on television, maybe listening to us on the radio, perhaps following these proceedings in the newspaper tomorrow, when members of the public get their quarterly 401(k) statements next week and the statements from their mutual funds, think of the Republicans when you open that up. Think of the Republicans and what they have not done and what they are not willing to do to improve the economy. They are not willing to bring any legislation to the floor today that makes any difference. They bring meaningless resolutions. I urge members of the public, think of my friends on the Republican side when you open your quarterly 401(k) statement next week. Mr. Speaker, the majority should be ashamed to bring these sense of Congress resolutions to the floor. These resolutions are pieces of paper that do nothing, help no one, and waste the time of the House of Representatives. No wonder the American people are cynical about their government. Mr. Speaker, I would be, too, if this is the best the majority can produce. If there is any Member on the majority side who wishes to pass some actual legislation, they should join us in defeating the previous question of the rule. If that occurs, then I will offer an amendment that provides immediately after the House passes this meaningless rule, it will take up a bill that contains real corporate welfare reforms. While the Republican majority is busy indulging their aversion to passing actual legislation so close to an election, Democrats want to crack down on corporate executives who get cheap leases for their corporate jets while their company's 401(k) plan collapses. The majority allows these executives to shield their earnings and retire to their penthouses and benefits for life, while the American people are left playing for this largess. This is wrong, Mr. Speaker. Democrats know it and are willing to do something about it, while the Republicans pretend these problems do not exist. I do not know about anybody on the other side, Mr. Speaker, but Democrats want to work. We are elected to help make things better for the American people, not to stall legislation we were afraid would hurt us with our big donors too close to an election time. By defeating the previous question, the House can take up this bill and stop the two classes of people we now have in this country: executives who walk away with millions and live the life of luxury, and the rank-and-file worker who goes home every day hoping their 401(k) plan will last until retirement. Mr. Speaker, Members, all a ``yes'' vote does is waste time, and Congress has done enough of that for the past 3 weeks. Let us actually pass something that matters. Let us get some work done. 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, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. FROST asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)