John Linder

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, at what point does this series of speeches become credited against their time?

Mr. LINDER. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I, too, enjoyed that parade; and I particularly enjoyed the fact that they had not a particular thing to say about the bill. To say something about impact the bill and how it impacts women, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson), who wrote the bill.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham).

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the chairman of the Committee on Rules. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 451 is a modified closed rule providing for the consideration of H.R. 4931, the Retirement Savings Security Act of 2002, a bill that makes permanent the pension and IRA enhancements contained within President Bush's 2001 tax relief program, the Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act. H. Res. 451 provides for 1 hour of debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means. It also provides for consideration of the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the Committee on Rules report accompanying this resolution, if offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui) or his designee, which shall be considered as read and shall be separately debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. H. Res. 451 waives all points of order against the amendment printed in the report and provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, this is a fair rule which will allow the House to work its will on the underlying bill, H.R. 4931. This legislation helps to provide for a new national strategy to promote more retirement security by providing a supplement to Social Security by enhancing employer- provided benefits and giving companies and individuals incentives to save more money for their retirement. The underlying bill increases 401(k) contribution limits and IRA contribution limits and provides for enhanced flexibility by allowing employees to roll their pension savings from a prior employer to a new employer. These are just a few of the noteworthy benefits available to individuals looking to provide themselves with a more secure retirement. H.R. 4931 also waives certain IRS user fees and enhances catch-up provisions to assist women who enter and leave the work force when they have children or care for their families. I urge my colleagues to approve this rule so that the full House can proceed to adopt H.R. 4931 in order to ensure that we encourage investment in the market and continue to encourage older and younger workers to prepare for retirement. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means. (Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of refocusing this discussion on what is actually on the floor, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I presume the gentleman who just spoke from Texas will be happily voting on the Democrat substitute, which is spending five or six times as much as this bill, but that will not be considered fiscally irresponsible. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule so we can get on with the underlying bill, which is a good bill and will pass. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 451, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, there was a time in this country that if someone went into business in some of the urban areas, they would get a visit by someone from a crime family who would say something like this: ``We'll let you go in business, and if you lose everything, it's your loss. But if you make profits, I want 35 percent of your profit every year. If you sell this business, we are going to take 20 percent of the sale price.'' If the government found that out, they would arrest them, indict them and put them in jail. But even the Mafia would not come along and say, ``If you die we are going to value your company and take half of it.'' That is exactly what the Federal Government is doing. The Mafia would realize if you kept that business moving to a new generation, it would generate more revenues, maintain more jobs and in the long run they would be better off. The death tax is a job-killer, but more than anything, it is immoral.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 427 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) 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, H. Res. 427 is a rule providing for the consideration of the conference report for H.R. 3448, the bioterrorism bill. The rule waives all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration. It also provides that the conference report shall be considered as read. The Committee on Rules approved this rule last night, and I urge my colleagues to support it so that we can proceed with an hour of debate and consideration of this bipartisan conference report. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to applaud the commendable work of my friends and colleagues on the Committee on Energy and Commerce for the work they have done to bring this final bill to the floor today. The gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), the committee chairman, and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), along with the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), who is the chairman of the Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, all of whom played an instrumental role in securing the much- needed $600 million in authorization for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to upgrade and enhance its facilities over the next 2 years, which is one of the conference report's most noteworthy proposals. Among the many good things that this bill does, it included a bill that I introduced in the first part of November that will allow the reauthorization of the building-out of the CDC. Mr. Speaker, the CDC is a group of world class intellects in a Third World facility. It has no security. They have scientists working on computers that are covered by polyethylene so that leaking roofs do not destroy them. As the American people recover from the discovery of anthrax in our mail system last year, we will continue to turn to the CDC for new ways to confine and eradicate these dangerous threats to the public health. This enhanced funding for the CDC to upgrade its facilities will be an important part of that process, and I look forward to President Bush, who visited the CDC with the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), myself and other members of the Georgia congressional delegation last year, I look forward to him signing this measure into law. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), the chairman of the committee.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule so we can begin the debate on this important conference report. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.