Sue Myrick

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul). (Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), 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, yesterday the Committee on Rules met and granted a modified closed rule for consideration of the Gerald Solomon Freedom Consolidation Act. The rule provides for 1 hour of debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on International Relations. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. The rule provides that the amendment recommended by the Committee on International Relations now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. The rule provides for consideration of only the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the Congressional Record, if offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) or his designee, which shall be considered as read and shall be debatable for 1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, this is a noncontroversial rule for a noncontroversial, but important, bill. The Gerald Solomon Freedom Consolidation Act endorses the work of President Bush and President Clinton to expand NATO into Eastern Europe. It also authorizes military assistance to seven potential NATO members. Mr. Speaker, during its markup of this measure, the Committee on International Relations passed one amendment, an amendment to name H.R. 3167 after our former Committee on Rules chairman, Gerald Solomon. Chairman Solomon, who passed away the week before last, was a dear friend to all of us on the Committee on Rules, and he and Mr. Moakley, who, unfortunately, passed away earlier this year, were quite a pair together. They disagreed often, but they always did it as gentlemen and they always did it with a great deal of humor, and quite frankly, all of us miss them a lot. While he was a Member, Chairman Solomon was also a strong advocate for NATO. Indeed, during his last year on the Hill, he even published a book about NATO expansion. It is fitting, therefore, that we honor Mr. Solomon with this bill today. I urge my colleagues to support this rule, as well as the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman for his historical perspective on what has happened with NATO over the years. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the author of this legislation. (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss). As chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and vice chairman of the Committee on Rules, we rely on him a lot for his expertise in this area, and it is quite evident that he has been involved in this for many, many years. So I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, Rush Limbaugh is an inspiration to all of us. Although he is facing a personal challenge, it is not stopping him from continuing to be a champion for our cherished way of life. Rush has been a strong voice for freedom, free enterprise and our military during this difficult time in history. I salute you, Mr. Limbaugh. You're a great American.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I would like to ask the gentleman if this is because Secretary of Education Paige has asked that all of the schools in the country say the Pledge of Allegiance at 2 p.m. tomorrow?

Mrs. MYRICK. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, I would say that it is an exciting show of unity in this country. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 246 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MYRICK. 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. Yesterday, the Committee on Rules met and granted a rule providing for further consideration of H.R. 2586, the fiscal year 2002 Department of Defense Authorization Act. The rule makes in order only those amendments printed in the Committee on Rules report accompanying the resolution, which may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, 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 waives all points of order against such amendments. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, this rule allows us to finish up our work on the defense bill. All of us on both sides of the aisle recognize that we must provide for our military in this time of crisis. The gentleman from Arizona (Chairman Stump) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) deserve great credit for coming together this week to grease the skids on this bill. The rule simply ratifies their agreement by providing for five amendments. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), who is managing the rule for the minority, worked hard on one of these amendments. In the wake of the terrorist attacks 2 weeks ago, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump) worked to ensure that the Pentagon commends its civilian employees who are killed and injured by terrorist attacks by awarding them a medal for the defense of freedom. This is a new medal to recognize civilian Department of Defense employees who are injured in the line of duty. The rule makes in order another amendment that I strongly oppose, an amendment to allow abortions on our military bases overseas. There is no place for abortion at our sensitive foreign bases. Finally, Mr. Speaker, in addition to a noncontroversial manager's amendment, the rule provides for two amendments that would beef up our military's ability to fight terrorism. All of America realizes how important this is. We can leave nothing to chance. The primary purpose of our Federal Government is to defend our citizens, and the military is our primary source of that defense. The need for these amendments is all too clear. We must act quickly to give our men and women the tools that they need to patrol our borders and prevent terrorist attacks to protect us. So let us pass this rule and pass the underlying defense authorization bill. At the end of the day, we will have provided $343 billion to our Armed Forces, the largest increase in support for our military since the 1980s. At this crucial time in our history, this bill is most important. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say to the gentleman from Puerto Rico that I hope he will accept our condolences for all of the people of Puerto Rico who lost their lives in that senseless act. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, it is a true honor for me to have Dr. Harold Bales here to offer prayer to us at this most difficult time in our Nation's history. Dr. Bales and his wife, Judy, have been friends of my husband, Ed, and myself for over 20 years, as well as pastor. Judy and their daughter, Suzannah, are here with him today. He has served in many capacities in the Methodist Church, from being a pastor to organizing the World's Fair in Knoxville to administrative positions; and many years ago in Charlotte, he was among the first to recognize our growing problem with homeless people. And our church, First United Methodist, was among the first to start a program uptown to help. He was also instrumental in building our homeless shelter. When tornados raked through North and South Carolina in 1986, Harold was one of the first responders, not only with spiritual leadership, but also in a relief and recovery effort in the basement of First Methodist, over a hundred miles away. Recently he has battled cancer, but that has not stopped him from caring and working for others. Harold relieves many tense situations with his wonderful sense of humor. He always makes everyone feel comfortable, and he has always got a real story to tell that is funny as the dickens. He also writes poetry. One of his masterpieces is called Ode to Okra. Yes, that is the vegetable. Harold loves okra. As an instrument of reconciliation, Harold has repeatedly brought together people of diverse beliefs and different factions to celebrate their similarities in honor of God. His surgeon, who coincidentally was also my surgeon for breast cancer, recently shared something with me. She has become a dear friend, also. Dr. Teresa Flippo told me that he always had an aura of calm about him. Whenever he would come in and when she would go in to see him, he would end up ministering to her and really being concerned about all the stresses that she underwent in her profession, had far more concern for her than he did for his own condition. That is Dr. Bales, a true servant of God.

Mrs. MYRICK

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

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a tragedy of just unspeakable proportions. It was an act of war against this country, no question. Our thoughts, our prayers are with all those people who are involved in this horrible situation. We need to be sure who did this despicable act, and we will find them and then we need to go after them and wipe them out. If there is a nation or another country that is harboring these terrorists, they also are an enemy of the United States; and we will wipe them out, too. Our Nation's greatness seems to come through adversity. We as a Nation will overcome this. We will triumph over our enemies. And I can assure you that we will remain a beacon for freedom for all mankind.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time on September 5, 2001, or any day thereafter, to consider in the House the joint resolution (House Joint Resolution 51) approving the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment with respect to the products of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; that the joint resolution be considered as read for amendment; that all points of order against the joint resolution and against its consideration be waived; that the joint resolution be debatable for 2 hours equally divided and controlled by the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means and a Member opposed to the joint resolution; and that consistent with section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 the previous question be considered as ordered on the joint resolution to final passage without intervening motion.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, this morning a Dear Colleague letter was sent to all Members informing them that the Committee on Rules is planning to meet early in the week of September 10 to grant a rule which may limit the amendment process on H.R. 2586, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2002. The bill was ordered reported by the Committee on Armed Services on August 1 and the committee report was filed yesterday. Any Member wishing to offer an amendment should submit 55 copies of the amendment and one copy of a brief explanation of the amendment to the Committee on Rules in room H 312 in the Capitol no later than 2 p.m. on Friday, September 7. Amendments should be drafted to the text of H.R. 2586, as ordered reported by the Committee on Armed Services. That text is available at the Committee on Armed Services or on its Web site. Members should use the Office of Legislative Counsel to ensure that their amendments are properly drafted and should check with the Office of the Parliamentarian to be certain that their amendments comply with the rules of the House.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time on the legislative day of Thursday, September 6, 2001, without intervention of any point of order, to consider in the House H.R. 2833, the Vietnam Human Rights Act; that the bill be considered as read for amendment; that the bill be debatable for 1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on International Relations; and that the previous question be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Kerns).

Mrs. MYRICK. Yes, I do. I have several more speakers.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. (Mr. TAUZIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood)

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon), the sponsor of this bill.