Martin Frost

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), who is a prime sponsor of legislation that will actually help some people today dealing with the issue of generic drugs.

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 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey).

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, people around the country watching this today, people reading the newspapers, may be scratching their heads and saying, What is going on here? What are these people doing? I will tell Members what people on the other side are doing: They do not want to work; they do not want to do anything serious. What are the facts? Congress is charged to pass 13 appropriation bills by October 1. The House of Representatives, controlled by the other party, by the Republican Party, has passed exactly 5 of those 13 bills. Where are the other appropriation bills? Mr. Speaker, we never did this when we were in charge. We always brought the appropriation bills to the floor so they could then be sent to the Senate and come back in a conference committee and dealt with in an orderly way. We have an October 1 deadline for the start of the fiscal year. The other side refuses to work, refuses to bring appropriation matters to the floor. Why are they doing this? I can only speculate. Perhaps they are trying to shield some of their vulnerable Members from having to cast some tough votes to cut the budget. These folks on the other side, like they say, they want to cut the budget and they want to keep spending down. If they want to do that, where are the other eight appropriations bills? Bring them up and let us have a series of votes. This is probably as irresponsible as any action by any leadership that I have seen in the 24 years that I have been in Congress. That brings us to today. They do not want to bring appropriation bills to the floor because they are afraid. They are worried that some of their poor, vulnerable Members might have to actually vote on something, go on the record on some issues, on education spending, on health care spending, on a variety of issues. So what do they do? They bring meaningless resolutions to the floor, sense of the Congress resolutions urging the Senate to take action. Mr. Speaker, the people who should be acting are the Members of this body. What has happened here? We come in at 6:30 on Tuesday. That is 6:30 p.m., not 6:30 a.m., and we vote on a couple of procedural matters; and then we are on the floor for a few hours on Wednesday and we vote on a few things, again noncontroversial matters; and then we are on the floor for a few hours on Thursday, and we leave at 3 o'clock on Thursday afternoon. Without having done the people's business. Shame on the other side. Shame on them. Today, if that is what they want to do, if they do not want to consider appropriation bills, which we ought to be doing, which ought to be the first priority of this Congress, we have another suggestion for them. If they are not willing to take up the appropriation bills, let us take up some legislation that actually tries to help some people. Let us take up some legislation dealing with the cost of prescription drugs. We have legislation that has in fact already passed the Senate dealing with the generic drug issue. Mr. Speaker, as I said, the underlying resolution made in order under this rule has only one real purpose, and it is not to help pass a responsible welfare reform bill. It is a sham. Let us take a more positive approach. Let us look at legislation that the other body has passed, for example, the Prescription Drug Fair Competition Act. Today the Republican leadership is asking the House to take up meaningless legislation that is not going to go anywhere. The Prescription Drug Fair Competition bill has the potential to help millions of consumers right now. But I do not have to tell you that it has not been considered in the House yet, and I do not see any indication that it is on the schedule in the immediate future. Right now, millions of seniors pay too much for vital medicines because big drug companies are boosting their own profits by keeping lower-cost generic drugs off the market. The Waxman-Brown-Thurman bill, which we would like the opportunity to bring up for a vote since they are not bringing anything else up for a vote, would stop this abusive practice and reduce the cost of prescription drugs for millions of American senior citizens. In fact, the legislation would reduce total spending on prescription drugs by $60 billion over 10 years according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. We are going to ask for a ``no'' vote on the previous question, and I will talk about this again a little bit later so that we can actually bring this legislation up, legislation that will help senior citizens right now. But no, the other side, they do not want to do anything. They do not want to do this. They do not want to do appropriation bills. They do not want to be here. They want to go home. We all know there is an election going on and sure we would like to spend some time with our constituents; but our first obligation is to legislate, is to be on the floor of this House working, not to be here for 2\1/2\ days starting at 6:30 on a Tuesday and ending at 3 o'clock on a Thursday. Shame. Shame on the other side. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Thurman).

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

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. The previous speaker mentioned running out the clock. The Republican leadership announced we are not going to be in session tomorrow and we are not going to be in session Monday. They have lots of time for this. They just do not have time to actually legislate. Now, the Republican leadership has announced that we will not be in session on Friday, we will not be in session on the next Monday, and we will not come back until 6:30 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, time is ticking away and all Federal agencies are going to run out of money because appropriation bills have not been passed by this body on September 30. So I would urge them, if they are very concerned about time, that they bring those appropriation bills to the floor so our Federal agencies did not run out of money on October 1. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).

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

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It is with deep regret that I observe the timidity on the other side. We have two great political parties in this country. We want to join the issues. We want to enter into debate on this floor. We want to cast votes. We know that we do not necessarily have the votes here; they are in the majority, they probably can pass anything they want to, but we want the opportunity to debate and consider legislation. They are denying us this opportunity, not just with this generic drug legislation that we would like to bring up today, but the legislation that funds the Government of the United States. Mr. Speaker, it is a sad day for the country, quite frankly, that the Republican Party has become so timid that they want to show up at 6:30 on Tuesday and leave at 3 o'clock on Thursday because they do not want their Members to have to vote on tough issues. We are paid, hired by the American people, and paid to show up here, to work a full week, and to take tough votes, and if they are not willing to take tough votes, if they are not willing to bring matters to the floor, then perhaps it is time for someone else to be in charge. 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 these do-nothing resolutions, it will take up the Prescription Drug Fair Competition Act of 2002, H.R. 5272. My amendment provides that the bill will be considered under an open amendment process so that all Members will be able to fully debate and offer amendments to this critical bill. It is time for the House to do its work and pass legislation to help the American people, not simply play blame games. A ``no'' vote on the previous question will allow the House to take up this bill and provide much-needed relief for the high cost of prescription drugs. However, a ``yes'' vote on the previous question will prevent the House from taking up a bill that actually makes a difference. 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. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I was unexpectedly detained during the vote for H. Res. 523 recognizing the contributions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, the Waxman-Frost amendment preserves the national security flexibility the President needs without sacrificing the current civil service protections for the new Department. It strikes from the bill a needlessly partisan attack on the civil service system and replaces it with the bipartisan compromise adopted unanimously by the House Committee on Government Reform, the committee with original jurisdiction and expertise on civil service. The Waxman-Frost amendment is essential because the underlying bill and the Quinn amendment just agreed to contain language that actually turns back the clock on important civil service protections. That may be crucial to the ideology of some on the other side of the aisle, but it will harm the effectiveness of the new Department. Throughout this process, Mr. Chairman, some Republican leaders have thrown around attacks on worker protections in current law. The truth is the civil service system protects Americans against a ``spoils'' system that would allow politicians to reward their friends and supporters with important government jobs. And it is crucial that the Department of Homeland Security be staffed by professionals, not by the cronies of whichever party happens to hold the White House. Mr. Chairman, Democrats and Republicans on the Committee on Government Reform recognized this fact, so they voted unanimously to protect the fundamental title V protections of employees in the new Department. Mr. Chairman, much has been said about flexibility. I want to assure the House that the Waxman-Frost amendment ensures that the Department of Homeland Security has the flexibility to effectively and efficiently carry out its mission to protect the American people. Mr. Chairman, our Federal employees are our most valuable asset in the Department of Homeland Security. They are our first line of defense. We are entrusting our safety to them because we know they will rise to the challenge and serve the Nation well. So it is critical that the new Department hires and retains the best and the brightest employees to protect our Nation from terrorism. The question is, do we treat these people with the respect and professionalism they deserve? Or do we undermine the morale of these employees, and risk compromising the mission of the new Department, by gutting their most fundamental workplace rights? I urge Republicans to join Democrats in supporting worker protections and the professionalism of the Department of Homeland Security. Support the Waxman-Frost amendment.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, it is curious that this document has been somewhere in cyberspace since 4 o'clock and yet has not been made available to the House, apparently because someone was thinking about making a change in that document. Otherwise, it would have been made available to the House. I would point out that one of the earlier speakers said, well, the Committee on Rules members will have plenty of time to review this document. Actually, we will have 15 minutes. We have been given 15 minutes from the time we get the document until the Committee on Rules will be meeting. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I would point out that the gentleman from Florida is a member of the conference committee and has not signed the conference report.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 9 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).

Mr. FROST. Reclaiming my time, everyone on that side of the aisle. When the gentleman says everyone, he means everyone on that side of the aisle.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, is the gentleman prepared to yield back his time so that the House may proceed to a roll call vote on this particular matter?

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. Speaker, I would make a couple of observations. First of all, the gentleman has just stated that, well, the conference report is on the Web site. I would ask, is that the conference report that is going to be signed by the conferees? And if so, why has it not been signed earlier in the evening? Apparently someone on the gentleman's side had some reservations about what was posted on the Web site and was not sure that that was going to be the final product.

Mr. FROST. I yield to the gentleman from California.

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, Democrats strongly support free and fair trade that grows the economy and benefits American workers. At the same time, we insist on fulfilling our responsibility to ensure a level playing field for American businesses, farmers, and workers; and we insist on ensuring that Americans who lose their jobs because of trade are given the assistance and opportunity they need to adapt to the new economy. Unfortunately, this trade promotion authority conference agreement fails to accomplish these goals, and therefore, risks future trade agreements negotiated under it. That much we know about the conference report, Mr. Speaker. But since the conference report has not been filed, and since the Committee on Rules has not reported out the rule for consideration of the conference report, we have no way of knowing what is in this conference report that we are now clearing the parliamentary way for. That is a major problem for this House of Representatives because Republican leaders now want to pass this martial law, thereby waiving the House rule that gives every Member 1 day to review legislation before it comes to the floor. If that occurs, then the overwhelming majority of the Members of this House will have absolutely no way of knowing what is in this conference report. Now, we would like to be able to trust what the Republican leadership says is in the bill, but they have been caught red-handed on too many occasions when they tried to sneak controversial provisions into big pieces of legislation like this. As I understand it, they have even put such controversial provisions in this agreement that committee chairmen are objecting to it in the strongest possible terms, this after the Republican leadership snuck into the homeland security bill provisions that were objectionable to many Members of this body, but who did not know they were there until the bill was on the floor. So the Republican leadership has lost the credibility to come to the House floor and say, trust us. For that reason, I urge my colleagues to defeat this martial law rule. That is the only way Members will be able to figure out what is really in this conference report. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks, and include extraneous material.)