John Linder

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder).

Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to point out it is not us backing out of the agreement, it is the President and the Secretary of Education backing out of the agreement. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Ballenger).

Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Graham).

Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I am not sure we are going to settle that violation question here today. But I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul) to try.

Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Shadegg.

Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, at this point, I would like to urge all of my colleagues to vote for the previous question and for the rule. This is the third rule we have had on the floor in the second half of the 105th Congress. All three of them have been open rules, allowing any amendment in order at any time. What the gentleman from Texas would like to do is create a political issue, to say, if you vote against the previous question, you are voting against schools construction when, in point of fact, they are not germane to the bill. They have nothing to do with testing. Even were he to win his previous question vote, those amendments would continue to be ruled out of order for lack of germaneness. So I urge my colleagues to see through this little bit of a game. Vote for the previous question. Vote for the rule. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 314, the following suspensions are expected to be considered today: S. 738, Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997; S. 562, Senior Citizen Home Equity Protection Act; H.R. 3025, a bill to repeal the Federal charter of group hospitalization and medical services; And the FDA reform bill.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, this rule provides for an exception from the limitation of clause 6(d) of House rule X to permit the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight to temporarily establish an eighth subcommittee for the remainder of the 105th Congress. When the House adopted the opening day rules package for the 104th Congress, it amended clause 6(d) of House rule X to require that no House committee shall have more than five subcommittees. As a result of this change, the number of subcommittees of standing committees fell from 118 in the 103d Congress to 84 in the 104th Congress. However, the rule made an exception for the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. The panel was authorized by the rule to have no more than seven subcommittees. The committee was granted the exception because it absorbed the functions of two standing committees, the District of Columbia Committee and the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, which the House also abolished as part of the opening day package of reforms. The issues which were consolidated in the government reform panel are important, complex, and often contentious. This is particularly so with respect to the Census Bureau's plans for conducting the year 2000 decennial census. It is an issue that is so complex and contentious that it has held up passage of the Commerce, Justice, State appropriations bill until the very last day of this session. The Committee on Government Reform and Oversight believes that the type of oversight that is needed over issues such as sampling, questionnaire content, and continuous measurement cannot be done effectively by the full committee or by its other subcommittees. Thus, the resolution will allow the committee to establish an eighth subcommittee to accommodate the need for extensive oversight over the census. I share the concerns of some in the minority that we resist the temptation to expand the number of subcommittees in the House. Some will suggest that oversight of the census can be achieved by transferring that responsibility to another subcommittee, or by consolidating subcommittees to make room for a census subcommittee under the existing limit. As I mentioned, the committee feels that effective oversight cannot be conducted under the existing subcommittee structure, and I am inclined to give the committee the benefit of the doubt. But to protect against a permanent expansion of the committee bureaucracy, this resolution does not change the limitations of clause 6(d) of rule X. It simply provides for what will essentially be a 1- year exception for the purposes I just outlined. I also believe that, irrespective of this temporary exemption, additional subcommittee downsizing is achievable, and that it would facilitate more integrated approaches to policymaking and oversight. Further, it is my hope that the expenses needed to establish this temporary new subcommittee will, to the extent possible, be derived from the existing resources of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. Given the unique nature of the request for this additional subcommittee and the safeguards against a permanent increase in committee bureaucracy, I urge the adoption of this rule. 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. LINDER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous material.)

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 326 and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the name of gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] be added as a cosponsor to H.R. 2676.

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Regula]. (Mr. REGULA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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 purpose of debate only. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 277 waives all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration. The rule also provides that the conference report shall be considered as read. The conference report for the Department of the Interior and related agencies appropriations bill for fiscal year 1998 incorporates a total of $13.8 billion for the fiscal year 1998. Mr. Speaker, the agenda of the majority has been misrepresented on a number of issues in the past, one of those issues being our commitment to preserving our natural treasures and the environment. In the 104th Congress, we passed a very proenvironment farm bill, a safe drinking water bill, and nine other major bills that had the support of countless environmental groups. Today we have before us a funding bill that takes care of our national parks and protects our environmental resources by providing funding increases for the national parks, the National Forest System, national wildlife operations, and Everglades restoration. I am also very pleased that the Interior bill amends the recreational fee demonstration program that will now allow parks, forests, and other public lands to keep all the fees that are collected. This initiative, when combined with the $362 million remaining from the $699 million appropriation for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, will help address the backlog in maintenance on public lands. We all want our children and grandchildren to enjoy the natural beauty of our Nation's treasures, and I believe that this effort will ensure a better maintained and operated parks system for future generations. Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased that the Interior bill includes funding increases for some quality museums and artistic institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, the Holocaust Memorial Council, and the Kennedy Center. I am not, however, supportive of the funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, which receives a $1.5 million cut in this bill below last year's level. While I am disappointed that we were unable to hold the House position that I strongly supported, I am pleased that this bill contains some major oversight reforms of this agency. We all know that private donations and corporate sponsors provide billions of dollars to encourage an appreciation of the arts, and I simply do not believe we need to fund the NEA when these funds could be put to better use. I urge my colleagues to support this rule so we may proceed with the general debate and consideration of the merits of this very important bill. 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 277 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss]. (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado, Mr. Dan Schaefer. (Mr. DAN SCHAEFER of Colorado asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, urging all of my colleagues to support this rule, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore [Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on the resolution.

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

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

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

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, is it not customary for lines forming to sign discharge petitions, that they do so along the side, so that they are not in the middle of the gentlewoman from New York who is trying to present a rule?

Mr. LINDER

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

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.