Jerry Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Reclaiming my time, the gentleman is always a gentleman. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. I appreciate very much the gentleman having this colloquy with me and raising this important issue. As we have discussed, the smoking policy in the House office buildings is under the jurisdiction of the House Office Building Commission. That commission is made up of leaders on both sides of the aisle; and, frankly, I am very hesitant to interfere with their responsibility or their work. But I think it is very important that the gentleman is raising this issue today, and I am happy to have this discussion with him.

Mr. LEWIS of California. If the gentleman will yield, I would be pleased to do so.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, let me tell the gentleman that I am very appreciative of his interest in the institution's history. As he is aware, the Speaker controls the placement of plaques on the House side of the Capitol. Their placement is very restricted, and we attempt to achieve recognition of events and places normally through other means. The Capitol Visitors Center is being designed to provide our visitors with a much fuller understanding and history of the House and Senate. Included in the CVC is a 16,000 square-foot exhibit hall. In this exhibit hall, the architectural and legislative history of the institution are highlighted. As part of the currently proposed CVC exhibits are detailed sections on the history of the Capitol and included in this is the fact that when the Capitol was originally built, it was used for more than legislative meetings. It was commonly used as the community center for the citizens of Washington, D.C. During that time, there were few places for meetings or church services. Thus, it is correct that such religious services were held here. All these facts are included in the CVC exhibits, and I would encourage that the education of citizens be pursued in this venue so that a more complete history beyond a plaque can be presented.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I must say I understand the points that the gentleman is making. I believe he has a constitutional amendment that proposes an alternative approach. I must say the Speaker has been most concerned, and he asked me to put this in this bill, because a constitutional amendment takes so long to accomplish. We could be out there for Lord knows how long if it is ever accomplished. In the meantime, he has a proposal that will go forward and will be altered significantly as we go forward in order to expedite the process. That is what the Speaker is asking us to do here.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. LEWIS of California. I would be very happy to join with the gentleman in that discussion. I think I probably will discuss it with my wife as well; but in the meantime, you and I work together on the committee, and I am happy to work with you on almost any issue you might raise.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise to yield time to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier); but before doing so, I just want to mention that the previous speaker had a constitutional amendment regarding the issue of continuity in the last Congress, and on that constitutional amendment the vote was 63 yeas and 353 nays. To say the least, the constitutional approach is difficult. Mr. Chairman, I am glad to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman would yield further, he does have a constitutional amendment proposed. He knows how long and how risky constitutional proposals are. They hardly ever happen. And, therefore, the Speaker wants to make sure this proposal goes forward, and that is what we are suggesting.

Mr. LEWIS of California. And I do as well.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, by way of suggesting that the leadership on both sides of the aisle made the decision about building our visitors center and that process has gone forward, and many a fit and start, but nonetheless it is going to be the largest expansion of the Capitol in modern time. It is going to be a fabulous visitors center when it is all completed. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I have been on the other side of that issue in the past; but, nonetheless, like the visitors center, the Speaker has suggested we include the continuity of government item in this package. That too is at a pay grade that is above mine, and I feel very strongly we should have some mechanism to make certain that in times of a real tragedy the House can get its work done.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Chairman, since 1999 we have appropriated over $170 million to the Capitol Police specifically for security enhancement. In addition, we have provided $84 million for the Architect for perimeter security. In addition to the $2,345,000 provided in this bill for general expenses, the Capitol Police have $32,653,000 in unobligated balances, for a total of almost $62 million. This $2 million amendment is interesting, but the police, in this instance, do not need an additional $2 million, and because of that, I strongly oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate very much my colleague's comments. Mr. Chairman, during the markup of this bill, we pared down the total requests considerably from roughly $3 billion to $2.8 billion, a 9 percent reduction from the requested amount. The bill is currently only 1.7 percent over fiscal year 2005. This increase barely sustains services. It provides for cost-of-living increases, some inflationary items, and a minimal number of projects to keep our buildings and grounds in reasonably good order. A further reduction of 1 percent will adversely impact the operation of the legislative branch during the fiscal year ahead. The amendment would reduce the total bill to a level that is less than 1 percent over current services. The reduction will severely impair the ability of the House and legislative branch agencies to provide the full cost-of-living increases for all of our employees. This is a good bill that has received balanced consideration. It is nice to say we will cut 1 percent across the board, but frankly, that is really not the way to legislate, and because of that, I strongly oppose the gentleman's amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), my colleague.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to the amendment, and I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) control 2\1/2\ minutes of that time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, the fiscal year 2006 appropriations has been held at the fiscal year 2005 level. This is a decrease of $2.5 million below the 2004 level. The Record is distributed in accordance with title 44, chapter 9 of the U.S. Code; and within that there are 3,000 copies that go to Members, of the House and Senate, 153 copies to the Library of Congress, et cetera. I can provide the balance of this in the Record. 3,018 copies to Members, House 1,479 copies, Senate 1,539 copies; 153 copies to the Library of Congress; 754 copies to public agencies and institutions designated by Senators; 698 copies to Federal agencies that pay for the copies; 521 copies to subsribers who pay for the copies; 692 copies to Federal Depository libraries nationwide. I would say to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), that it is my feeling that an amendment like this where people are kind of reacting to the Congressional Record, et cetera, will likely pass overwhelmingly. And if I am correct in that, I would be inclined for us to stand back in this discussion, if the gentleman agrees with me, and perhaps discuss this further as we go to conference. What would be the gentleman's reaction to that?

Mr. LEWIS of California. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I think it is important for the public to know that all of us are concerned about continuity of government in the event of a tragedy. We certainly would not be having this discussion if it had not been for 9/11. But, indeed, there are differences in the approach that one might take. Some prefer a constitutional amendment; and yet we have tried that on more than one occasion. We have had the debate, and very few in this House have supported that proposition. So the Speaker has asked us to go forward with an idea that will be worked on carefully between now and the time we finish our work with the Senate. But from that point forward, let me talk a bit about the Capitol Visitors Center. My colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), and I, early on in this Congress, were not active supporters of a CVC. But, indeed, his leadership and my leadership, at a higher pay grade, made a different decision; so we are carrying forward their work in this process. I have looked at the visitors center very carefully. It is rather a fabulous addition to the Capitol, the greatest addition that has been made in this century, I believe. Indeed, within the mix of that, while I might change some things, I prefer not to suggest what the details ought to be that the Architect moves forward with. I am critical of the Architect; but in the meantime, I am not one. Therefore, we are going to add this major change whereby visitors can enter the Capitol, and it will have a very significant piece of our future history in the Capitol complex. It is going to be a fabulous addition. Indeed, it will be a very high-quality addition that we will all be proud of, but I think it would be a mistake for me to try to be the architect between now and then. So with that, Mr. Chairman, this has been a very interesting debate about the work of the people's House. I am very happy to participate in this with my friend, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2985, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.