Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the majority whip.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 401 provides that H.R. 3289, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, shall be considered as read, and that no further motion or amendment shall be in order. Mr. Speaker, the House began debate 3 days ago on this emergency appropriations bill that provides for the needs and protection of our troops in Iraq. The unanimous consent agreement provided for 5 hours of general debate that began on Wednesday. The House resumed debate yesterday morning with discussion and consideration of amendments lasting well into last night. The House began a third day of debate this morning with consideration of 13 amendments. After hours and days of debate, delay of a final vote on the emergency supplemental bill means a delay in getting the men and women in our military the resources and the equipment that they need. This rule, H. Res. 401, would end the delay and give our troops the funding they require and the support that they deserve. I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I would advise my friend from Texas (Mr. Frost) that we just have one more speaker, so if he wants to close.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker), a member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), a member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce), a member of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 396 is an open rule waiving all points of order against consideration of H.R. 3289, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004. The rule also waives points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule XXI except as specified in the resolution. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. In accordance with the rules of the House, the rule provides that the bill shall be read by paragraph. The rule also authorizes the Chair to accord priority recognition to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the Congressional Record. Finally, Mr. Speaker, the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions. This supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 3289, was approved and reported out of the Committee on Appropriations by a strong bipartisan vote, with a majority of Republicans and Democrats on the Committee on Appropriations supporting this emergency funding measure. The Committee on Appropriations worked diligently to review the administration's request; and having personally observed a portion of the committee's work, I can attest to the seriousness with which they approached their responsibilities. The bill provides a total of $86.9 billion in supplemental appropriations with $64.7 billion dedicated to our military personnel and national defense, $18.6 billion for Iraq relief and reconstruction, and $1.2 billion for Afghanistan relief and reconstruction. The funding provided in this bill is vital to winning the war on terrorism, Mr. Speaker. The bill places a priority on ensuring our men and women in uniform receive the support that they need. Funding is provided to protect our forces, including increased funds for body armor and equipment to jam radio frequencies to better protect our soldiers from explosives detonated from afar by cell phones. The bill also fully funds hazardous pay and family separation allowances. Winning the war on terrorism requires us to ensure that the removal of Saddam Hussein from power leads to a free and secure Iraq, and not a haven and breeding ground for terrorists. The Iraq reconstruction funds provided in this bill are not only an investment in building this safe and secure Iraq; it is an investment in protecting America and in making Americans safer from terrorists. The bill includes a commonsense provision that prohibits the use of any of these emergency supplemental funds from being used to pay any of Iraq's foreign debts. Mr. Speaker, as I stated, this emergency supplemental received strong bipartisan support in the Committee on Appropriations. Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support both the rule, House Resolution 396, and the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost); pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. HASTINGS of Washington asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield the balance of our time to the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, Washington state the largest pear and sweet cherry producing state in the nation. In recent years pear and cherry growers in Central Washington have invested time and resources into developing the market for high quality fruit. Under federal marketing orders U.S. fruits and vegetables are held to certain grade, size and quality standards. The bill I am introducing today simply holds foreign grown pears and cherries to these same standards. My bill would add pears and cherries to Section 8e of the Agricultural Adjustment Act. Section 8e lists certain imported fruits and vegetables that are held to the same federal requirements as domestic produce. Agriculture is at the heart of Central Washington's economy and our farmers are working harder than ever to produce some of the world's finest products. My bill would ensure that our pear and cherry farmers are able to compete more fairly and aggressively with foreign growers in the U.S. marketplace.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his commitment.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify the point, that it is your intent, as the subcommittee chairman and the chairman of the committee, that you will not proceed on this sort of legislation without the concurrence of the States that are affected, which, of course, are South Carolina, Idaho and Washington State.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding me time. I thank the committee for their work on this and taking the position that they have had that they are simply not going to move forward on these delicate issues and extremely important issues with the States that are affected by this without the concurrence of those agencies within those States. I appreciate the gentleman taking that position. Mr. Speaker, let me say very bluntly, as I can, that the Department of Energy language that was proposed and potentially proposed in this conference report was simply not acceptable to any of the States that were involved. I know they were not acceptable in my case because in the past I have been focused on trying to get these issues resolved with our State Department of Ecology who has jurisdiction in Washington State at Hanford. Because these things will not move forward, the acceleration that we have had success with at all of these sites, will not move forward unless you have the cooperation; and I have been focussed on getting that sort of cooperation enacted. But I have to state what frustrates me in my case and specifically at Hanford is that I know, genuinely know, at that time Department of Energy and the Department of Ecology want to get this site cleaned up in a safe and timely manner. But I also have to say to be here on the floor and condemn the language that DOE had suggested does not solve this problem, and it will not resolve the long-term disputes that may arise in the future. So I do not consider that. This passed and will pass, of course, unanimously. This is not really a victory for the States. It is not a victory for the DOE. The reason I say that, once again, Mr. Speaker, is to reemphasize the States, in my case the State of Washington Department of Ecology and DOE have the shared responsibility to resolve these matters and to move forward and keeping the cleanup, the acceleration, timely and safe for the workers at all these sites. Mr. Speaker, I intend to continue to work on this to try to resolve this because, in my view, the most important thing we can do for our constituents is to make sure that this acceleration and cleanup goes in a timely and safe manner. Mr. Speaker, I once again want to thank the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) and the committee as a whole for their commitment to making sure that any legislation that is offered has the concurrence and the input of the States that are involved.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 375 is a structured rule providing for the consideration of H.R. 2557, the Water Resources Development Act of 2003. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The rule provides that the amendments in the nature of a substitute, recommended by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, now printed in the bill shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of amendments and shall be considered as read. The rule also waives all points of order against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. Furthermore, the rule makes in order only those amendments printed in the Committee on Rules report accompanying this resolution. It provides that the amendments printed in the report shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report, equally divided and controlled by a proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for a division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. Finally, the rule waives all points of order against the amendments printed in the report and provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2557 is a bill providing for the conservation and development of water and related resources and authorizing the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects to improve rivers and harbors in the United States, and for other purposes. The bill establishes a traditional 2-year cycle of congressional action to authorize, modify and improve the projects, programs and policies of the Corps of Engineers. It authorizes 13 ``Chiefs Reports'' on Federal flood damage reduction, navigation, hurricane and storm damage reduction and environmental restoration. It should be noted, Mr. Speaker, that this bill includes provisions for streamlining and expediting Corps of Engineers project delivery and permits. It also reflects an important consensus agreement on peer review of Corps of Engineers projects. I am particularly pleased, Mr. Speaker, that the committee has included in the manager's amendment, language permitting the Corps of Engineers employees working at dams in the Pacific Northwest, my area, to participate in wage surveys that are conducted to determine their rate of pay. This important provision would allow these employees the same participation allowed similar employees at dams in the region operated by the Bonneville Power Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation. I appreciate the committee's consideration of my request on this matter. Finally, Mr. Speaker, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementing H.R. 2557 would cost $2.6 billion over the 2004-2008 period and an additional $2.1 billion over the following 10 years. In addition, the CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2557 would increase direct spending by $17 billion from the 2004 to 2008 period and by $32 billion through 2013. H.R. 2557 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Federal participation in water resources projects and programs authorized by this bill would benefit State, local and tribal governments, and any costs incurred by those governments to comply with the conditions of this Federal assistance would be entirely voluntary. With broad bipartisan support, this bill was reported favorably to the House on July 23 by voice vote. Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support both H.R. 2557 and the underlying rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. HASTINGS of Washington asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 375 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.