Sue Myrick

Mrs. MYRICK

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 yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss), the distinguished chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 242 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 Ohio (Mr. Hall) pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, 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 an open rule for H.R. 2465, the Fiscal Year 2000 Military Construction Appropriations Act. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate equally divided between the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Appropriations. The rule waives clause 2 of House rule XXI, prohibiting unauthorized or legislative provisions in a general appropriations bill, against provisions in the bill. The rule authorizes the Chair to accord priority and recognition to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the Congressional Record. The rule allows the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole to postpone votes during consideration of the bill and to reduce votes to 5 minutes on a postponed question if the vote follows a 15-minute vote. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, the United States' military is clearly the best in the world. The young men and women in our Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines are thoroughly dedicated and patriotic professionals, the best our Nation has to offer. So how do we reward them? We pay them with wages so low that many military families are forced to eat with food stamps, and we lodge them in substandard World War II era housing. These, among other reasons, are why we are losing good men and women who stop serving their country because the hardships on their families are so great. This is inexcusable, and Congress has been working hard to do something about it. This year we have passed a 4.8 percent military pay raise, and with this bill we will improve military housing. H.R. 2465 provides $747 million for new housing construction and $2.8 billion for the operation and improvement of existing housing. The bill also provides $964 million for barracks and medical facilities for troops and their families. Finally, because of an increase in two-income and single-parent families, the bill provides $21 million for child development centers. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 242 is an open rule for a good, noncontroversial bill. In addition to taking care of our military personnel, this bill is good for the environment. It includes $69 million for environmental compliance programs. I urge my colleagues to support this rule and to support the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment of the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr). I would just like to reiterate what the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) has already said. This amendment does not harm the delicate compromises of this bill. Jefferson Pilot has been in the insurance business and the communications business for 40 years. The amendment is narrowly crafted, and it maintains the 15-percent gross revenue limitation on nonfinancial activities. They also are subjected to the 10-year divestiture requirement. Madam Chairman, a vote for this amendment is a vote for ACC basketball.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 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 yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bartlett). (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, for purposes 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, yesterday, the Committee on Rules met and granted a closed rule for H.R. 1218, the Child Custody Protection Act. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. It provides for consideration of H.R. 1218 in the House with 2 hours of debate equally divided and controlled between the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, the Child Custody Protection Act is important to any parent who has a teenage daughter. As we all know, the people of several States have recently decided that a parent should know before their child has an abortion. We all hope that our teenage daughters have the wisdom to avoid pregnancy but if they make a mistake, a parent is best able to provide advice, counseling and love. Also, more than anyone else, a parent knows their child's medical history. For these reasons, my home State of North Carolina requires a parent to know before their child checks into an abortion clinic. Last month, the House Subcommittee on the Constitution heard chilling testimony about how law- breaking citizens risk children's lives by taking them from their parents for out-of-State abortions. The testimony was chillingly similar to a hearing last year before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, at which Joyce Farley, a mother from Pennsylvania, told the tragic story of her 13-year-old daughter. Four years ago this summer, a stranger took Ms. Farley's child out of school, provided her with alcohol, transported her out of State to have an abortion, falsified medical records at the abortion clinic and abandoned her in a town 30 miles away, frightened and bleeding. Why? Because this stranger's adult son had raped Joyce Farley's teenage daughter, and she was desperate to cover up her son's tracks. Even worse, this all may have been legal. It is perfectly legal to avoid parental abortion consent and notification laws by driving children to another State. This is wrong and it has to be stopped. According to the Reproductive Law and Policy Center, a pro-abortion group in New York, thousands of adults across the country carry children over State lines to get abortions in States without parental notification laws. So-called men in their 20s and 30s coerce teenage girls to have abortions out of State and without their parents' knowledge. The Child Custody Protection Act will put a stop to this child abuse. If passed, the law would make it a crime to transport a minor across State lines to avoid laws that require parental consent or notification before an abortion. Right now a parent in Charlotte, North Carolina, must grant permission before the school nurse gives their child an aspirin, but a parent cannot prevent a stranger from taking their child out of school and up to New York City for an abortion. Give me a break. This is nonsense and it has to be stopped. Let us do something to help thousands of children in this country. Let us pass the Child Custody Protection Act and put an end to the absurd notion that there is some sort of constitutional right for an adult stranger to secretly take someone's teenage child into a different State for an abortion. I urge my colleagues to support this rule and support the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 233 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, outwardly as a Nation we are very prosperous and healthy, we are the envy of the world, but inwardly we are falling apart. We have witnessed so much violence today, especially among our young people. We keep asking, why? There is road rage and there is sky rage, and it has become a way of life. There is anger everywhere. Why? We need to continue to search for answers to these and other questions, but I do believe that a great deal of the reason we are having these problems is because America has turned her back on God. Gone is the gentleness that we used to experience, respect and love for one another, the basic Golden Rule. Do unto other as you would like them to do unto you, just simple kindnesses, it is missing today. We are going through great pain in our Nation, and prayer heals pain. I believe it is fitting for Congress to set an example and urge our people to turn to prayer. At home people around me come up all the time and say, this is the same message, but we need to get back to God. Every day Congress opens with prayer. ``In God we trust'' is over the Speaker's chair. This resolution does not establish religion, mandate prayer, or violate the separation of church and State, it simply affirms something we should not take for granted.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as cosponsor from H.R. 222 and H.R. 1145.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, this is not original. It was sent to me by someone else, but I thought it was very apropos for our life today. It is called If Noah Lived in the United States Today. And the Lord spoke to Noah and said, ``In 1 year I'm going to make it rain and cover the whole earth with water until all flesh is destroyed, but I want you to save the righteous people and two of every kind of living thing on the earth. Therefore I'm commanding you to build an ark.'' In a flash of lightning God delivered the specifications for an ark, and fear and trembling, Noah took the plans and agreed to build he ark. ``Remember,'' said the Lord, ``you must complete the ark and bring everything aboard in 1 year.'' Well, exactly 1 year later fierce storm clouds covered the earth, and all the seas of the earth went into tumult. The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard weeping. ``Noah,'' he shouted, ``Where is the ark? Lord, please forgive me,'' cried Noah ``I did my best, but there were big problems. ``First, I had to get a permit for construction, and your plans did not meet the codes. I had to hire an engineering firm to redraw the plans. Then I got into a fight with OSHA over whether or not the ark needed a fire sprinkler system and floatation devices. ``Then my neighbor objected, claiming I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission. Then I had problems getting enough wood for the ark because there was a ban on cutting trees to protect the spotted owl. I finally convinced the US Forest Service that I needed the wood to save the owls. ``However, the Fish and Wildlife Service won't let me catch any owls, so no owls. The carpenters formed a union and went on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board before anyone would pick up a saw or a hammer. ``Now I have 16 carpenters on the ark, but still no owls. When I started rounding up the other animals, I got sued by an animal rights group. They objected to me only taking two of each kind of animal aboard. Just when I got the suit dismissed the EPA notified me that I could not complete the ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed flood. ``They didn't take very kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the conduct of the Creator of the universe. Then the Army Engineers demanded a map of the proposed new flood plain. So I sent them a globe. Right now I'm trying to resolve a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that I'm practicing discrimination by not taking Godless or unbelieving people on board. ``The IRS has seized my assets claiming I'm building an ark in preparation to flee the country to avoid taxes. I just got a notice from the State that I owe them some kind of tax and that I failed to register the ark as a recreational watercraft. ``Finally, the ACLU got the courts to issue an injunction against further construction of the ark saying that since God is flooding the earth it is a religious event and therefore unconstitutional. I really don't think I can finish the ark for another 5 or 6 years,'' Noah wailed. The sky began to clear and the sun began to shine and the seas began to calm. A rainbow arched across the sky, and Noah looked up hopefully. ``You mean you're not going to destroy the earth, Lord?'' ``No,'' the Lord said sadly, ``I don't have to. The government already has.''

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Chairman, today the average murderer in the United States serves only 6 years in prison. One out of ten convicted rapists serves no jail time. Time and time again we hear about repeat offenders out on the street repeating their crime. It is time to draw a line in the sand. If one commits murder, rape, or molests a child, one should spend the rest of one's life in prison. Let us pass this amendment because some criminals do not deserve a second chance.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Chairman, under current law, the local airports are authorized to collect a $3 per passenger fee. I represent one of the busy airports in the country, a medium-sized airport, which has not currently charged the fee. I realize our airport is definitely the economic engine for our community and we rely on it a lot, and it is very important to what happens in growth because we are a fast-growing area. But no matter how we cut it, this is a tax increase. There is currently a surplus in the aviation trust account, and I just do not think it is right for Congress to be at this point placing an added burden on small businesses and families. We are talking about tax relief and we have been promising that to the American people, and I believe it is pretty hypocritical of us to come back now and implement a $3 tax increase on each airline ticket that the people in this country purchase. Mr. Chairman, I just want to state that I will support this worthwhile amendment.

Mrs. MYRICK

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 reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mrs. MYRICK. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 200 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MYRICK. Madam Speaker, for purposes 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. Madam Speaker, yesterday the Committee on Rules met and granted a structured rule for H.R. 1401, the Fiscal Year 2000 Department of Defense Authorization Act. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate, equally divided between the Chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services. The rule makes in order the Committee on Armed Services amendment in the nature of a substitute now printed in the bill, which shall be considered as read. The rule waives all points of order against the amendment in the nature of a substitute. The rule makes in order only those amendments printed in the Committee on Rules report and pro forma amendments offered by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services for the purposes of debate. Amendments printed in Part B of the Committee on Rules report may be offered en bloc. The rule makes in order an amendment by the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) printed on June 8, 1999, in the Congressional Record. The rule provides that except as specified in section 5 of the resolution, amendments will be considered only in the order specified in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, and shall not be subject to a demand for a division of the question. The rule provides that except as otherwise specified in the report, each amendment printed in the report shall be debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to amendment, except that the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services each may offer one pro forma amendment for the purpose of further debate on any pending amendment. The rule waives all points of order against the amendments printed in the Committee on Rules report and those amendments en bloc described in section 3 of the resolution. The rule provides an additional period of general debate prior to the consideration of the last 5 amendments in Part A of the Committee on Rules report for 1 hour, which shall be confined to the subject of United States policy relating to the conflict in Kosovo. The rule authorizes the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services or his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of amendments printed in Part B of the Committee on Rules report or germane modifications thereto which shall be considered as read, except that modifications shall be reported, shall be debatable for 20 minutes, equally divided between the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Armed Services or their designees, and shall not be subject to amendment or demand for a division of the question. The rule provides that for the purpose of inclusion in such amendments en bloc, an amendment printed in the form of a motion to strike may be modified to the form of a germane perfecting amendment to the text originally proposed to be stricken. The original proponent of an amendment included in such amendments en bloc may insert a statement in the Congressional Record immediately before the disposition of the en bloc amendments. The rule allows the chairman of the Committee of the Whole to postpone votes during consideration of the bill, and to reduce voting time to 5 minutes on a postponed question if the vote follows a 15- minute vote. The rule permits the chairman of the Committee of the Whole to recognize for consideration of any amendment printed in the report out of order in which printed, but not sooner than 1 hour after the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services or a designee announces from the floor a request to that effect. The rule provides that before consideration of any other amendment, it will be in order to consider the amendment printed in the Congressional Record on June 8, 1999, by the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), if offered by the gentleman from California or his designee, which will be considered as read, debatable for 1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, will not be subject to amendment, and will not be subject to a demand for a division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole, and waives all points of order against the amendment. The rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions. The rule provides that after passage of H.R. 1401, it shall be in order to take from the Speaker's table S. 1059 and to consider the Senate bill in the House. The rule waives all points of order against the Senate bill and against its consideration. The rule provides that it shall be in order to move to strike all after the enacting clause of the Senate bill and to insert in lieu thereof the provisions of H.R. 1401 as passed by the House, and waives all points of order against the motion. Finally, the rule provides that House Resolution 195 is laid upon the table. Madam Speaker, this new rule for the Fiscal Year 2000 Department of Defense Authorization Act differs from the old rule, H.R. 195, in two important ways. First, it makes in order several amendments relating to the Kosovo conflict. The old rule self-executed out Section 1006 of the authorization bill, which would end funding for a war in Kosovo on October 1. The new rule permits the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) to offer an amendment that would strike Section 1006, and it permits four amendments that would make it harder for the President to fund an extended military operation in the Balkans. This new rule also includes a bipartisan amendment offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) to implement the Cox report and to crack down on spying at nuclear labs. In other words, Madam Speaker, the new rule provides for a full and fair debate on Kosovo and this whole issue, and allows for a bipartisan legislative answer to security lapses at our weapons facilities. This is something that all Members should support. The underlying legislation, H.R. 1401, is a good bill. It is a bill that would allow us all to rest a little easier at night knowing that our national defense is stronger and that our troops are being taken care of. We now know that China has stolen our nuclear technology, something that the Soviet Union could not do during the entire Cold War. We live in a dangerous world, but Congress is doing something about it. We are working to protect our friends and family back home from our enemies abroad. We are helping to take some of our enlisted men off of food stamps by giving them a 4.8 percent raise, and we are providing for a national missile defense system so we can stop a warhead from China, if that day ever comes. We are boosting the military's budget for weapons and ammunition, and we are tightening security at our nuclear labs, doing something to stop the wholesale loss of our military secrets. Madam Speaker, the Committee on Rules received more than 90 amendments to this bill. We did our best to be fair and to make as many amendments in order as we could. We made over half of them in order. The rule allows for a full and open debate on all the major sources of controversy, including publicly funded abortions and nuclear lab security. It allows for a debate on a lot of smaller issues, too. So I urge my colleagues to support this rule and to support the underlying bill, because now more than ever we must provide for our national security. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson).

Mrs. MYRICK. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules.

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

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter).