John Linder

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me just say that I have met Lindy Boggs personally on one occasion in the Ambassador's residence in Rome when she was an Ambassador to the Holy See. Knowing of her remarkable history, her remarkable contributions to this country, I only left that meeting saying, gee, what a nice lady. I hope someone says that about me sometime, what a nice person. All of us have made contributions one way or another, but she was a lovely lady.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), I suspect a long- time friend of the Boggs family.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 439) honoring Corinne ``Lindy'' Claiborne Boggs on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Congressional Women's Caucus.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize and honor one of the most influential and respected women in the history of American politics, former Congresswoman Lindy Boggs of Louisiana. Assuming the seat held by her late husband, then House Majority Leader Hale Boggs in 1973, Lindy Boggs once considered herself to be ``a bridge between the old and new, liberals and conservatives, whites and blacks, men and women, Republicans and Democrats.'' This assertion, given by the long-time Secretary for the Congressional Women's Caucus and the longest serving female Member of Congress from the South, in my opinion, exemplifies what the spirit of public service ought to be. Mr. Speaker, it is said that behind every great man stands a great woman, but I believe that great women stand not only behind great men, but beside them. And in a large number of cases, in front of them. Lindy Boggs certainly stands out as one of the most respected and successful women in the history of this country. Her 17 years of service to the people of Louisiana, her representation of the women of America, her grace, and her presence have earned her an esteemed place not only in the annals of Congress, but in the history of this country. As such, Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute this devoted mother, wife, Member of this body, and Ambassador of the people of the United States to the Holy See, and thank her for setting an example not only to the Members of this body, but to the people of this great Nation. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to join my colleagues and rise in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Congressional Women's Caucus. On April 19, 1977, 15 Members of Congress met in what was formally known as the Congresswoman's Reading Room to establish one of the most influential and respected organizations within the House since then. Originally known as the Congresswomen's Caucus, this group has successfully fought for a number of important issues affecting the millions of women across this country, including pension reform, welfare reform, increased child support enforcement, and better awareness and stiffer penalties for domestic violence. Though we rise today to celebrate 25 years of service by the Congressional Women's Caucus, I believe that changes brought on by this group have only just begun. As such, on behalf of the American people, I thank all of the members of the Congressional Women's Caucus for the hard work and dedication to make our country a better place. I am proud to stand beside each and every one of them as we work together to lead this country now and into the future. 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 Louisiana (Mr. Vitter), the sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. LINDER

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

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, parliamentary inquiry.

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 488 and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to note that the permissiveness that led to such problems in this country with WorldCom and Enron and others was the permissiveness of the 1990s, and we know who was in charge of the institutions of regulation during that time. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for purposes 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 purposes of debate only. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 488 is an open rule providing for the consideration of H.R. 5120, the fiscal year 2003 Treasury, Postal Service appropriations bill. It provides for 1 hour of general debate, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations, and it waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. H. Res. 488 also waives points of order against provisions in the bill for failing to comply with clause 2 of rule XXI, which prohibits unauthorized appropriations or legislative provisions in an appropriations bill, except as specified in the resolution itself. H. Res. 488 provides that the amendment printed in the Committee on Rules report accompanying the resolution may be offered only at the appropriate point in the reading of the bill, shall be considered as read, and shall not be subject to amendment. The rule provides that the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole shall accord priority in recognition of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss) or his designee to offer the amendment printed in the report. The rule also waives all points of order against the amendment printed in the report. Further, the rule also authorizes the Chair to accord priority in recognition to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the Congressional Record. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Once H. Res. 488 is approved, the House can begin its consideration of fiscal year 2003 Treasury, Postal Service appropriations bill, which is the fifth regular appropriations bill to come to the House floor. H.R. 5120 provides roughly $18.5 billion in funding for a variety of Federal departments and agencies. The committee included funding supporting State and local law enforcement efforts, enhancements in Federal information technology, and homeland security. I urge my colleagues to adopt the rule so that the House can proceed with general debate and consideration of the underlying bill. 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, do those 30-second editorials work against their time?

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to 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. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 463 and ask for its immediate consideration.