John Linder

Mr. LINDER

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. H. Res. 270 is a modified closed rule, waiving all points of order against consideration of H.R. 3090, the Economic Security and Recovery Act of 2001. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the ranking minority member and the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. It also provides that the amendment recommended by the Committee on Ways and Means now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. H. Res. 270 provides for the consideration of only the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the Committee on Rules' report accompanying the resolution, if offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) 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. The rule waives all points of order against the amendment in the nature of a substitute. Finally, it provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House to join me in approving this resolution so the House can move on to consideration of this stimulus package, arguably one of the most important legislative measures we will debate this year. In light of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, along with more recent developments here in Washington, D.C., New York, New Jersey and Florida, observers are increasingly concerned about our Nation's economy going into a recession. Indeed, President Bush has called upon the Congress to quickly send him legislation that he can sign into law to avoid such a scenario. With all of these events in mind, it is imperative for the House of Representatives to take prompt action on legislation that will provide our economy with a jump-start, and H.R. 3090 does just that. I wanted to commend the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), for bringing this package to the floor and doing so in a fiscally responsible fashion. As approved by the committee, H.R. 3090 provides hard-working American workers and businesses with roughly $99 billion in tax relief to help stimulate the economy in the first year, and only $159 billion over the next 10 years. Constructing the bill in this fashion will hopefully maximize its stimulative impact, while minimizing its long-term budgetary impact. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the rule on this important stimulus package to ensure the economic security of our country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds to thank the gentleman from Texas for the generous and bipartisan spirit of his remarks and for his honesty in pointing out that the Democratic substitute is a spending program financed by tax increases. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella). (Mr. FOSSELLA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant). (Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller). (Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan). (Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 270 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of the bill, H.R. 3162, the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections and conforming changes to the bill.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 263 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon).

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch), so he can complete his comments.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, both the Senate and the House took up, at the beginning, a base bill proposed by the administration. Both the Senate and the House added provisions to the bill. In the compromise last night with the Senate, both took the most egregious provisions out. The ones that concerned me the most were the Senate bill at one point had reversed the McDade law. That has been taken back out. The Senate provisions had reversed our efforts of several years by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) to change the forfeiture laws. That has been removed. So we have pretty much the beginnings of the House bill here stripped down from the additions. I have not read them. I have asked for explanations. That is the best I can do.

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

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

Mr. LINDER. Also, the Senate had no provision for sunsetting or review. The House provisions had a 2-year plus 3-year, so about a 5- year provision for sunsetting.