Dave Obey

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, let me simply reiterate what the chairman of the committee has said. This is an effort to simply extend this, along with a number of other provisions in the law, for 3 weeks, the same as all of the other items in the CR, so that there is more opportunity to deal with the issue. The real live consequences for people if this is not done is that persons have to leave the country and they cannot return for 2 years. That would create an unacceptable disruption of human beings' lives if in fact the Congress were to decide in 3 weeks that they were entitled to stay here. We are not prejudging the outcome of this. The committee is simply extending it for 3 weeks so that a proper resolution can be reached.

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

Mr. OBEY

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

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I think in plain English Members need to understand that that means tonight all votes will be rolled. The debate on the census will occur on Tuesday.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I would ask support for the amendment. The public has the right to know this information.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I object.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to make certain that Members on both sides of the aisle understand that if they are interested in either party's position on the census question and on sampling, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to vote against this rule. The rule provides on a self- executing basis for the insertion of what will be considered the Republican preference on the issue. It also provides a straight opportunity for the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Mollohan] to offer an amendment which would in essence allow sampling to go forward, as is the Democratic preference. So, on either side of the aisle there is no reason to oppose this rule. Both sides have been accommodated fully.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I, too, yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the motion. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I do not intend to take very much time. This amendment simply would raise by $4.1 million above the House figure the amount that we would support for congregate meals for the elderly. The Senate is $4 million higher than the House bill is. This would simply instruct the conferees to move to the Senate position. This program reaches our most vulnerable senior citizens, and I would think and hope that it would have broad support within the House. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. OBEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous material.)

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I know that there are a few persons in politics who will use the fact that an occasional fool has misused NEA funding to produce decadent and objectionable pieces of art under endowment funding, but I would simply point out one thing. Even Babe Ruth struck out 1,300 times, and no sane manager would have benched Babe Ruth. I do not think we should bench the National Endowment for the Arts. I would say that for every occasional grant that any Member of this body can find that has funded a piece of so-called art that we would find objectionable or outrageous, there are literally tens of thousands of grants that are provided that raise people's spirits, that open the eyes of young people to their greater and finer possibilities. And I would just suggest that it is not the urban centers of this country who would be the great losers if the Endowment were to die, it would be the thousands of small communities across this country who need the seed money that the Endowment provides in order to enrich the cultural lives of their children in many areas where they would otherwise not have the opportunity to see some of the grand things that funding under the Endowment can provide. Mr. Speaker, I would simply urge that we support this motion of the gentleman from Illinois. I also want to take this opportunity to say about the gentleman that I do not think there is a finer human being who has ever served in this House than the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Yates]. He has devoted a great portion of his energies and his passions to improving the lives of many people in material ways as well as spiritual ways. I think this endowment is just one of the ways that he has tried to do that. On behalf of every person who cares about this program all across the country, I would like to personally thank him for the efforts he has shown. I think he does the House proud when he takes the positions that he has. We are, I think, all very happy to stand with him today in this effort to make the Congress finally do what is right on this issue.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order against the amendment.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is not in order under the rules of the House. It is a nongermane amendment. Unlike the other body, this House does have rules which relate to germaneness. I do not think either I or the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter] want to stand in the way of getting something done which is obviously the will of the House, but we have a long way to go on this bill. The Durbin amendment, make no mistake about it, is going to be accepted in conference. I congratulate both of the gentlewomen for being interested in this, and I would be willing to withdraw my reservation if we have an understanding that this is going to take very little time of the House today. If we are going to debate something for a considerable period of time, and we have a tight schedule with many other Members who have noticed germane amendments, then I would be constrained to object, even though I do not want to.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, could I inquire of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter], is he prepared to yield his time back if we do the same here?

Mr. OBEY. In that case, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Hawaii [Mrs. Mink]. (Mrs. MINK of Hawaii asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I have only one speaker left, so I will reserve my time.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi]. (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Etheridge]. (Mr. ETHERIDGE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Tierney]. (Mr. TIERNEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against the amendment.