John Linder

Mr. LINDER

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

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. 465 is a rule that waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII with respect to same-day consideration against certain resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules. Specifically, this rule waives the requirement for two-thirds majority vote by the House to consider a rule on the same-day that it has been reported by the Committee on Rules. This rule's waiver applies to any special rule reported by the Committee on Rules on or before the legislative day of January 31, 2004, providing for the consideration of disposition of any of the following: First, a bill or joint resolution making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2004, or any amendment thereto, or any conference report thereon; or, second, a bill or joint resolution making general appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, any amendment thereto, or any conference report thereon. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules reported this same-day rule on November 21 in order to provide some flexibility to the House leadership in terms of bringing the consolidated appropriations bill to the floor. On November 25, the text of the conference report on H.R. 2673, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004, was printed in the Congressional Record for review by House Members. While the rule before the House today permits consideration of a number of appropriations options, the purpose of processing of this rule today is to expedite the consideration of the remaining fiscal year 2004 appropriations bills in the House. Once this rule is adopted, the House will be able to consider a consolidated appropriations rule and the underlying conference report without delay. This consolidated bill includes the Foreign Operations bill, the Transportation-Treasury bill, the Agriculture bill, the VA-HUD bill, the Commerce-Justice bill, the District of Columbia bill, and the Labor-HHS bill. I commend the hard work of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and the Committee on Appropriations for their efforts in crafting this important funding bill. As I stated, the provisions of the consolidated appropriations bill were printed in the Congressional Record almost 2 weeks ago, and the passage of the same-day rule will provide for prompt consideration of these important funding bills this afternoon. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the passage of this rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous question and ``yes'' on the rule, so we can hopefully have an appropriation bill later this evening or this weekend we can vote on and finish things up. The text of the amendment previously referred to by Mr. Frost, is as follows: Previous Question for H. Res. 458--Rule on waiving 2/3rds for C/R and Appropriations Measures At the end of the resolution add the following new section: Sec. 2. ``Immediately after disposition of this resolution, it shall be in order without intervention of any point of order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 3568) to provide extended unemployment benefits to displaced workers, and to make other improvements in the unemployment insurance system. The bill shall be considered as read for amendment. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bills to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the Chairman and ranking Minority Member of the Committee on the Ways and Means; and (2) one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. LINDER. 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, H. Res. 458 is a rule that waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII with respect to same-day consideration against certain resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules. Specifically, this rule waives the requirement for a two-thirds majority vote in the House to consider a rule on the same day it has been reported by the Committee on Rules. This rule's waiver applies to any special rule reported on the legislative day of November 21, 2003, providing for the consideration or disposition of any of the following: A, a bill or joint resolution making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2004 or any amendments thereto; or B, a bill or joint resolution making general appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, any amendment thereto or any conference reported thereon. I urge my colleagues in the House to join me in approving H. Res. 458. Its passage will help expedite the consideration of either another continuing resolution, if that becomes needed, or even conference reports on the last few remaining fiscal year 2004 appropriations bills, including the Foreign Operations bill, Transportation-Treasury bill, the Agriculture bill, the VA-HUD bill, the Commerce-Justice bill, the District of Columbia bill, and the Labor-HHS bill. I believe that we are in the waning days of this year's legislative session with only a relatively small number of must-do legislative items still left to finish. Approving this same-day waiver rule will help provide for prompt consideration of these important funding bills. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules approved this rule last night, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume just to observe the lesson I just learned from the gentleman from Michigan. When President Clinton ran for President, he said we had the worst economy in 50 years, and just a few months later, he turned everything around. Things were so wonderful that he could stop unemployment compensation. I had not realized he had done it so quickly. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 458 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 135, the 21st Century Water Commission Act of 2003. H.R. 135 is designed to bring together our Nation's premier water experts to recommend strategies for meeting our water challenges in the next century. I would like to first thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Calvert) and his staff and the gentleman from Tennessee (Chairman Duncan) and his staff for being so helpful in bringing this bill to the floor and having hearings. Ensuring fresh water for U.S. citizens will be a critical challenge facing the United States as we enter the 21st Century. Water related issues have been of interest to me for many years. In fact, I wrote an article in 1978 that predicted that one of the 12 major challenges for our country in the next century would be providing enough fresh water for our booming population. Since that time, about 25 years ago, America still does not have an integrated or comprehensive water policy, even with hundreds of thousands of Federal, State, local and private sector employees working to solve water problems. If we wait another 10 or 20 years to get serious about meeting our demand for clean water, it will be too late. According to the October 27, 2003, edition of U.S. News and World Report, ``Our population has more than doubled since World War II, and at this rate, we could be on our way to 1 billion people living in the United States by the end of this century.'' The population growth will clearly put a strain on our already-burdened water supply. As my colleagues are aware, many States across the Nation are currently facing a water crisis. Once thought to be a problem only in the arid West, severe droughts last summer caused water shortages up and down the east coast. States once accustomed to an unlimited access to water realized that they are not immune to the problems which the West has experienced for decades. In addition, numerous news articles over the past few years have increased our attention to other water problems that we currently face. To name just a few, aquifers are being challenged by salt water intrusion, rivers and wells are drying up all over the country, crops are being threatened, and our aging water pipes leak billions of gallons of fresh water in our cities all over the country. For example, New York City loses 36 million gallons per day and Philadelphia loses 85 million per day just through leaks in infrastructure. Let me be clear about one thing: my bill does not give the Federal Government more direct authority or control over water. This commission is designed to make recommendations about how we can coordinate water management efforts on all levels, so that localities, States, and the Federal Government can work together. Some highlights of the bill are as follows: The commission will look for ways to ensure fresh water for citizens for the next 50 years. The commission will be composed of nine members, appointed by the President and key leaders in the House and Senate. The commission will look for ways to eliminate duplication and conflict among Federal Government agencies. The commission will consider all available technologies and other methods to optimize water supply reliability. The commission will hold hearings in distinct geographical regions of the United States and in Washington, D.C., to seek a diversity of views, comments, and input. Not later than 6 months after the date of the first meeting of the commission, and every 6 months thereafter, the commission will transmit a report to the Congress. A final report will be due within 3 years of the commission's inception. In John Steinbeck's novel, ``East of Eden,'' the narrator observes, ``It never failed that during the dry years that people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.'' The United States cannot afford to reevaluate its water policies every time a crisis hits. Now is the time to get ahead of this issue, and I believe the 21st Century Water Commission can serve as the channel for doing so.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say something about the rule. It is a fair rule. It is a rule that was used often as long as I have been here toward the end of a session to get pieces of legislation to the floor. The rule gives an extra hour for those opposing this bill to argue about it, and we are going to hear lots of arguing and lots of whining. But in the event we get through this rule and the rule on Medicare reformation and get to the bill, I think the public is going to know an awful lot about what is in it. Frankly, the substance of this agreement was known last Sunday, several days ago. And the 3-day rule layover that we are avoiding this time is normal for the end of year. I just want to make one comment about something that I heard twice in a 4-hour hearing today in the Committee on Rules, and we will hear it later on the floor. On two occasions, it was said that former Speaker Gingrich said in a speech to the Blue Cross organization, or Blue Shield, that he wanted Medicare to wither on the vine. That was made into a commercial by AFL-CIO and run across the country. And Brooks Jackson on July 15, 1996, did an expose on that. He showed the entire speech, and he showed that what they had done was cut up a piece. What Newt Gingrich was talking about was not Medicare or its beneficiaries, but the bureaucracy that runs it. He said that given the opportunity to make free choices, our seniors will voluntarily, voluntarily, opt out of the Health Care Financing Administration, and it will wither on the vine. When Brooks Jackson did that expose, he said what the unions were doing was dishonest. I want to make this point before the debate starts because I want you to know that we know that you know you are dishonest.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me just say to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost) that it is not that we do not want to inform them. It is that we do not know. We are dealing with people in the other body who have not given us any indication of when they are prepared to move. But I will say that I agree 100 percent with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey). We are moving piece by piece on these. And our side would like very much to pass them one at a time and get out of here Friday night or Saturday. I do not think it will be that soon on Friday night, but we are very close to getting our work done on the appropriations process so we would like to do that one at a time. 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, I reserve the balance of my time.