John Linder

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, 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. 263 waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII, which requires a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the same day it is reported from the Committee on Rules. This waiver will be applied to a special rule reported on the legislative day of Friday October 12, 2001, providing for the consideration or disposition of the bill, H.R. 2975, to combat terrorism and for other purposes. I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this rule which will enable the House of Representatives to debate and consider the President's antiterrorism package later today. 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.

Mr. LINDER

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

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), 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, House Resolution 256 is a modified, closed rule providing for 1 hour of debate on H.R. 1992, the Internet Equity and Education Act. The 1 hour of debate time will be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. The rule provides that the amendment recommended by the Committee on Education and the Workforce now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted and all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived also. House Resolution 256 provides for consideration of an amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the Committee on Rules report accompanying the resolution, if offered by the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink) or her 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. House Resolution 256 waives all points of order against the amendment in the nature of a substitute and provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, the underlying legislation, H.R. 1992, which has been sponsored by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) is designed to expand Internet-based learning opportunities and higher education across the United States by allowing greater and more effective use of the Internet as an educational tool. As both students and busy professionals turn to computers to assist them in advancing their educational goals, it is becoming critically important for the Federal Government to lend a helping hand. Passage of H.R. 1992 does just that. This bill is the first step in removing restrictions to furthering the educational endeavors of our citizens by the Internet. I applaud the work of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson), the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner), and the entire Committee on Education and the Workforce for bringing this legislation to the floor. I encourage my colleagues to let the House move on to consideration of this important bill by adopting the rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, at this time I urge my colleagues to support this fair rule and move on with the debate of the bill. 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 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, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson).

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon), chairman of the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 256 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINDER

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

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule so we can get on with the debate on the important appropriations bills. 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.

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. 245 is an open rule providing for the consideration of H.R. 2944, the Fiscal Year 2002 District of Columbia Appropriations Act. Overall, this bill provides a total of $7.1 billion in local funding and a $398 million Federal payment to the District of Columbia. By way of comparison, the final fiscal year 2001 D.C. appropriations bill provided a total of $6.8 billion in local funds and $464 million in Federal payment. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 245 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 clause 2 of rule XXI (prohibiting unauthorized appropriations or legislative provision in a general appropriations bill) against provisions within H.R. 2944. The rule also provides that the bill be considered for amendment by paragraph. The rule provides that amendments in part A of the Committee on Rules report accompanying H. Res. 245 shall be considered as adopted. It also waives points of order against the amendment printed in part B of the Committee on Rules report, which may be offered only by a Member designated in the report and only at the appropriate point in the reading of the bill, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report, equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. The rule also allows the chairman of the Committee of the Whole to accord priority and recognition to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the Congressional Record. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. I urge my colleagues to support this rule on H.R. 2944, which will allow the House to work its will on the various funding and policy matters contained in this bill. I should note that the bill is the 11th of 13 regular appropriations bills that the House will need to consider and enact in order to complete the fiscal year 2002 discretionary budget. 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 245 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINDER

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

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, not one Member of this body ran for election to go to war. We seek peace. But in the last century, America has spent the lives of our young men and women in major conflicts on five occasions on other shores to restore peace, and now war comes to us. We did not invite this, but we will not shirk from it. A band of thugs has visited upon this Nation and upon innocent American citizens death and destruction, the likes of which the world has never seen. It falls upon us to ensure that not only can it not succeed on our soil, but that it should not be tolerated in any corner of the globe. This resolution gives to our President the tools to begin a long and arduous campaign to end this terrorism. It will not end with the punishment of one man or group or even one nation sympathetic to their cause. It will end with a victory so brutal and decisive that no one or group, no matter how much they hate freedom, will dare to risk repeating the terror they have put the world through for the last 30 years. No nation state, no matter how much they hate America as the world's most conspicuous example of freedom, will find it in their nation's interest to attempt to surreptitiously support them. This will not be quick or easy, but this is a united Congress, this is a dedicated President, the American people are fully committed to our goal, and we will succeed.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding. By noon on yesterday, I was thinking about a wonderful book I read many years ago by Alan Paton. It was entitled Cry the Beloved Country. On Tuesday we cried, too. We cried for different reasons than Alan Paton, but we too cried for our beloved country. The acts of the terrorists on that unbelievable day were acts of ultimate violation on a society that is so open and so free that even they could travel unrestrained among us. When the prayers are said, when the tears are dried, when the bodies are buried, we must remember always. The war against terrorism has been engaged in only casually for the past 30 years. Now we must get serious and win it. There are only two sides in this war. To those who believe there is neutral ground, we must say that belief put them on the side of the enemy; and we will punish those with such beliefs. To those who believe that they can quietly harbor and help the terrorists, we must say they are the enemy; and our military will bring our enemies to their knees. To those who commit these unspeakable acts of war, we will find those individuals and kill them. I am not without hope. Eugene McCarthy once observed that America can choke on a gnat, but swallow tigers whole. Mr. Speaker, I have listened for 2 days to the Members of this body. This is the tiger we were sent here to deal with, and we will. There will be no lack of resolution here. There will be no rancor. We will stand behind the President and do what our Nation must do both here and abroad. We must end the time when radicals can inflict pain, suffering and death on innocent citizens without recourse. We must end the ability for nation states to see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil, even while living in evil's midst. America has been changed forever through this tragedy. It falls upon us to rebuild the confidence in our society that this great Nation will not cower, that we will be safe again, that freedom works.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, when the prayers are said; when the tears are dried; when the bodies are buried--we must go on remembering. Always. The war against terrorism has been casually engaged for nearly thirty years. Now we must get serious and win it. There are only two sides in this war, ours and the enemy's. To those who believe that there is a neutral ground we must say that you are on the side of the enemy and we will punish you. To those who believe that they can quietly harbor and help the terrorists we must say that you are the enemy and our military will bring you to your knees. To those who commit these acts we must say that we will find you and kill you. America has been changed forever through this tragedy. If falls upon us to rebuild the confidence in our society that great nations will not cower, that you will be safe again, that freedom works!

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ``We rail at trade, but the historian of the world will see that it was the principle of liberty; that it settled America, and destroyed feudalism, and made peace and keeps peace.'' I could not agree more. Trade is not just about exports and imports. It is not solely about opening new markets to American technology and services. Instead, trade is about harnessing the growth and innovation of the American marketplace to improve the quality of life both domestically and internationally. Trade promotion authority in turn further enables the exchange of services, goods and services, ideas and information. TPA requires a collaborative partnership between the President and the Congress allowing Congress to share concerns, priorities and goals before and throughout negotiations. The House is allowed to express its interest in issues whether they relate to environment or labor that otherwise might not be considered during the negotiation process at all. The United States must lead by example. On trade, however, we are far behind. Of the more than 130 trade agreements worldwide, the United States is party to only two. TPA will enable the President and the Congress to reverse this trend and ensure that our exports reach the outside world along with our outlook and ideals.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. I thank the gentleman.

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

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