Steny Hoyer

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOYER. No, I expect the supplemental to be marked up in committee next week.

Mr. HOYER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOYER. So you would have on the week of the 19th the supplemental and on the week of the 26th the budget on the floor.

Mr. HOYER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. As you know, Mr. Davis is the author of this bill. He had extensive hearings on this bill, as you know, in the last Congress; reported this bill out in the last Congress. It was never brought to the floor, but it was reported out. And as you know, it was Mr. Davis' and the committee's conclusion that this could be effected by legislation, as has been the admission of States to the Union, and the admission, therefore, of new voting Representatives in the Congress of the United States. Now, I don't represent that there is not another view as to whether or not you can do this statutorily or whether you need to do it constitutionally. But I can tell you, as you well know, that it was Mr. Davis' conclusion, the committee's conclusion, under his leadership when your party was in control of the House, and it was the conclusion of the committee that it could be done statutorily, and we are proceeding on that theory.

Mr. HOYER. Will the gentleman yield before we go on to a different subject?

Mr. HOYER. The hearings I expect to be held next week, I believe. Hearings and markup, I think, will be next week, so I can't tell you exactly, obviously, because it hasn't been marked up yet. But it is my contemplation that there would be a special election in the case of the District of Columbia Representative, and in the case of the Utah Representative. As we all know, the only way you can get to be a Member of this House is to be elected. There are no appointments to this, so that we would contemplate providing for a special election for both.

Mr. HOYER. And on the floor the week of the 19th.

Mr. HOYER. We don't know that yet. We are discussing that. I don't know yet

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for the question. As you know, I feel very strongly that the representative of the District of Columbia should have full voting membership in the House of Representatives, as does the representative in parliament of, I believe, every other capital of every other democracy in the world, except for the District of Columbia. I expect that legislation, and hope that legislation, will be on the floor before we adjourn for the Easter work period, which would probably mean the week of the 26th. The legislation is the legislation, as you know, that is sponsored by Mr. Davis, Tom Davis, the Republican former chairman of your campaign committee, but more importantly, the former chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and cosponsored by Mrs. Norton, the representative of the District of Columbia. I would expect that legislation to include, as the original legislation included, an additional Member from Utah and full voting rights being extended, and full membership as a full Member, both of the new Utah Representative, but also of the Representative of the District of Columbia.

Mr. HOYER. Yes.

Mr. HOYER. I believe that is the week of the 19th.

Mr. HOYER. Yes, sir. I expect the supplemental to be on the floor the week of the 19th, and then we are very hopeful that the budget will be on the floor the week of the 26th.

Mr. HOYER. I thank the minority whip for yielding. On Monday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for morning hour business and 2 p.m. for legislative business. We will consider several bills under suspension of the rules. There will be no votes, Madam Speaker, on Monday before 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10:30 a.m. for morning hour business, and noon for legislative business. We will consider additional bills under suspension of the rules, and a complete list of those bills for the week will be announced by the close of business today. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. We will consider several important pieces of open government and accountability legislation from the Oversight and Government Reform Committee: H.R. 1309, the Freedom of Information Act and amendments; H.R. 1255, Presidential Records Act Amendments; H.R. 1254, Presidential Library Donation Reform Act; H.R. 985, Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act; and H.R. 1362, Accountability in Contracting Act. Notwithstanding everybody is requesting to meet next Friday, we are not going to do that.

Mr. HOYER. I would expect a markup, certainly this is the target for markup, the week of the 19th and on the floor the week of the 26th.

Mr. HOYER. I would ask my friend, would the gentleman be for a constitutional amendment if such an amendment were brought to the floor?

Mr. HOYER. Nobody in the House, other than yourself and Mr. Boehner, know that pressure more than I.

Mr. HOYER. The supplemental I expect to be marked up in committee. We have moved it one week, as the gentleman knows, as we have worked on trying to get language that is appropriate language from the perspective of the committee. And Mr. Obey has been working very hard on that, as have others. I expect that to be marked up next week, and I expect the language to be available early next week.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the business in order under the Calendar Wednesday rule be dispensed with on Wednesday next.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Monday next for morning hour debate.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my congratulations to the South River Ruritan Club in Edgewater, Maryland. This weekend they are hosting an event to mark their 50th anniversary. The South River Ruritan Club, a community service organization, was chartered on March 13, 1957, and for 50 years has been providing much needed services to the citizens of Edgewater, Annapolis and southern Maryland. The club, whose members are all volunteers, have contributed well in excess of half a million dollars in direct financial aid, and countless hours of time, to numerous community service projects. The club awards local students scholastic and vocational scholarships and provides assistance to local Scout Troops, youth athletics, and other youth-related programs. They conduct an annual essay contest for 5th grade students, and have sponsored students to the National Association of Student Council Conference and Exchange Student programs. They contribute annually to the local fire and rescue departments, the Maryland and Anne Arundel County police departments, and support environmental programs, including efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Our active duty military, retired and disabled military, and veterans organizations also benefit from the volunteer efforts of the club. They have sent direct aid to our troops in Iraq, and provide additional financial assistance through the military's Morale and Welfare assistance programs. Their work also includes assistance in such areas as financial aid to needy families, victims of violent crimes, families displaced by catastrophes such as fires, and hurricanes, and assistance through Habitat for Humanity. They contribute annually to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital Children's Center and they loan wheelchairs, walkers and other medical assistance equipment to members of the community. Madam Speaker, I congratulate the South River Ruritan Club on their wonderful record of community service over the last 50 years, and wish them enormous success as they continue their commitment to improving the overall quality of life of the residents of Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding, the chairman of the committee, who has done such an extraordinary job for decades now in taking care of the environment and particularly providing for clean water and sewer treatment for our country, so critical to our public health and to the health of our country. I want to, at the outset, however, make an observation, that I am not surprised, very frankly, I tell my friends on the other side of the aisle, that they are concerned about Davis-Bacon provisions in this bill. After all, of course, most of those who have risen voted against raising the minimum wage in this country from $5.15 to $7.25 over a 2\1/2\-year period. If you don't believe in raising the minimum wage from $5.15, it is not surprising to me that you are not for paying a prevailing wage to workers on public projects. I have observed in the past, of course, how much cheaper projects would be if we didn't pay our laborers at all, and we just forced them to work. But hopefully we will not pursue, ever, a policy like that. I want to commend the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mr. Oberstar of Minnesota, for all of his hard work and leadership on this important legislation reauthorizing the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for the first time in 13 years. It is interesting that our friends on this side of the aisle have been in charge of this Congress and bringing legislation to the floor for the last 12 years. So since they took charge, they have not reauthorized this program; again, not because of the observations, as has been pointed out, they didn't think we needed to have a clean water program, but because they didn't want to pay prevailing wages. I want to thank Chairman Oberstar for his leadership, and I want to thank my dear friend, Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, for her very important leadership as well. As you know, we have passed two other bills this week reauthorizing sewer overflow control grants, H.R. 569 and H.R. 700, related to combined sewer overflow grants to States for aging sewers. We know that is a problem throughout this country. That handles storm water and sewage water, and H.R. 700, which is a pilot project for getting clean water to rural communities. We know that we focus on urban communities, but it is very important for us to also make sure that our rural communities have clean water. I believe that this bill, as has been indicated, has bipartisan support, notwithstanding the difference on prevailing wage. Madam Chairman, the fact is a clean safe water supply is vital in communities, both large and small, rural and urban, all across this Nation. We are not talking about a luxury, a perk or a non-necessity. Clean water, safe water is absolutely indispensable to the good health of all Americans, as well as our way of life and our continued prosperity. Just consider, my colleagues, that our Nation's farmers and fishermen and manufacturing and tourism industries rely on a clean water supply, and their activities contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to our economy every year. Our Nation, as has been pointed out, now faces a clean water crisis. As the Environmental Protection Agency warned in a recent report, and I am quoting from the administration's Environmental Protection Agency: ``Without continued improvements in wastewater treatment infrastructure, future population growth will erode away many of the Clean Water Act achievements.'' And I want to congratulate Mr. Baker and Mr. Oberstar for their leadership in trying to confront that crisis. One key reason for the clean water crisis is that much of the water infrastructure in our Nation is rapidly approaching or already exceeding its projected life. So I am proud today, Madam Chairman, that the new House majority, with the support of many Republicans, will take an important step toward addressing our Nation's water needs by reauthorizing the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and authorizing $14 billion over the next 4 years to ensure safe water for our families and for our people. And I congratulate both sides of the aisle for working towards that objective. The fund is the primary source of Federal funding for clean water, helping to provide low-interest loans to local communities for construction of wastewater treatment facilities and other water pollution abatement projects. In fact, since 1987, when the fund became the major Federal source of clean-water funding, it has provided States with more than $50 billion for more than 18,600 low-interest loans to local communities. The unfortunate truth is, the recent Congresses allowed the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to expire in 1994 and failed to reauthorize it because, as I have said, and as we have seen on the floor, the concern about Davis-Bacon, the concern about paying a prevailing wage, wages that I think are fair and appropriate for public projects. In recent years, the former majority cut funding for the funds involved in this project by 34 percent, and the President has proposed cutting it even further. Madam Chairman, it is a new day in this, the people's House. It is long past time for us to act on this important legislation. The new House majority is absolutely committed, under the leadership of Jim Oberstar, who has been one of the giants on this issue, for, as I said, decades, not days, not weeks, not months, not years, but decades he has been in the leadership of this effort. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, in a bipartisan way, to reauthorize this critically important piece of legislation.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support legislation by Congressman Jack Inslee that will save thousands of lives by speeding the kidney donation process. By making paired kidney donation legal, this bill will facilitate the identification of kidney donors and speed the process by which donors are matched with patients. In fact, this bill could increase the number of live kidney donor transplants performed each year by 14 percent according to a study by the Journal of Transplantation. In addition to the positive effects for kidney transplant patients, speeding the donation process will also help reduce federal spending. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill will reduce Medicare spending for dialysis by $500 million over 10 years. This legislation has a wide base of support from the medical community, including the United Network for Organ Sharing, the American Society of Transplantation, the Kidney Fund, the Transplant Surgeons, and the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations. I am proud to add my vote of support to this list. This bill will give much needed hope to the more than 95,000 people who are waiting for a life-saving organ donation. I commend Congressman Inslee for introducing this important bill.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, today I join Congressman Gene Green and a bipartisan group of the Texas delegation in supporting the renaming of the Department of Education headquarters building to the ``Lyndon Baines Johnson Federal Building.'' It is a fitting tribute to name the building that houses the Department of Education after President Lyndon B. Johnson. Under his watch, over 60 education bills were signed into law, several of which changed the face of education in America. One such bill enacted by President Johnson is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. For the first time, Federal funds were explicitly directed to elementary and secondary public schools. These funds have improved the quality of education received by millions of students over the past 42 years. President Johnson soon followed this measure with the Higher Education Act of 1965. This legislation made a college education possible for millions of Americans by creating the Federal student aid program. Additionally, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 contained the provisions creating the Head Start Program, which has put generations of preschool-age children on the path of learning and success. Head Start gives children the foundation they need in order to be successful in school in the future. As President Johnson himself once said, ``Poverty must not be a bar to learning and learning must offer an escape from poverty.'' By opening the doors of education to millions of Americans, President Johnson improved countless lives and put the American dream within the reach of many. I thank Congressman Green for bringing this bill to the floor so that we all may recognize the contributions of President Johnson to this Nation and to our educational system.