Hal Rogers

Mr. ROGERS

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in opposition to the amendment. Mr. Chairman, this amendment does not belong on this bill. It is a subject for the Committee on Ways and Means. It is within their jurisdiction. And they are objecting. In addition, the administration is strongly opposing the amendment. It will bog down this bill. So, for all of the foregoing reasons, Mr. Chairman, I am in opposition. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane) the chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, as I have said before, we have been under severe funding constraints, and I will be happy to work with the gentleman as we proceed to see if there is some way to do that.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman's concern. This is an unauthorized program that has been requested, and given the spending constraints that we have been operating under, there are a lot of new programs that we just were not able to fund, this included. This is certainly not alone; there are a lot of other programs that we were not able to find money to fund. I am really concerned about the gentleman's amendment, though, because it would cut the National Weather Service by some $15 million. The administration has already said that we have underfunded the Weather Service; and yet this would cut another $15 million from such things as providing tornado warnings and flash flood warnings, winter storm warnings, hurricane warnings and the like. So I would hope that the gentleman could see his way clear to withdraw the amendment, and we can discuss the PRIME program as we proceed to final conclusion on the bill; and I would appreciate the gentleman's advice as we do that.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I think we are at the end of the process here, or close to it; but I do want to take a moment before we do get to the end of the bill to thank the Members for their courtesies and for being as brief as we could be under the circumstances. We have had a great number of amendments, as all Members know, and the Members have been cooperative, and I appreciate that very, very much. Also, I want to thank my ranking member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), for being the gentleman that he is, my partner, if you will, on this bill. The teamwork with him has been heart-warming and, I think, fruitful. Lastly, I want to again say to our staff on both sides of the aisle how dependent we are upon them and how much we appreciate their hard work, trying to keep our tempers under control all the while supplying us with the information necessary to help with the amendments and the bill itself. We cannot say enough for the work of our staff on the committee and on our personal staffs, both minority and majority staff members. We appreciate them very much. We would not be here without them. Amendment No. 11 Offered by Mr. Rush

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks. The bill does provide $104.8 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, and the gentlewoman has been one of the biggest supporters we have had, and we appreciate that.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman would briefly yield, I made a misstatement, the program is authorized. I said it was unauthorized. It is authorized, in fact.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word for the purpose of a colloquy with the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson). Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for reminding us of this enormous problem in his district. I know of few districts that are impacted as significantly as the gentleman's district in Georgia. In fact, we included an additional $11 million in the bill which was not requested by the administration to expand this QRT program around the country. In fact, I want to tell the gentleman that he is the inspiration for the QRT program, and I appreciate the problem he is facing in his home area, as well as other areas of the country; and I assure the gentleman that we will be happy to work with him as we proceed to address the problem.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word for the purpose of yielding to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Deal) for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, but I will not oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I have no objection to this amendment. I do not think it is necessary. I appreciate the gentleman bringing the issue to the attention of the Congress and the country, particularly in light of the recent bugging of the State Department headquarters building itself. The State Department tells us that this sale to the Chinese Government news agency does require their approval, so they agree with us. State will consult with the intelligence community, and it is my expectation that they will not approve the sale. Furthermore, I am told State would likely take action on this matter before the end of this fiscal year. So I hope this provision will prove unnecessary, but I do support the adoption of the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman bringing this issue to our attention. I would be happy to work with the gentleman as the bill proceeds to conference to see if we can address the gentleman's concerns and congratulate him on the work that he has done on the issue. Amendment No. 13 Offered by Mr. Allen

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word for the purpose of yielding to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) to engage in a colloquy. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose).

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of the time to the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), a hardworking member of our committee. (Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ROGERS. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I would advise the gentlewoman that, yes, I do believe this is a function that would be adequately covered by the funding provided in the bill for NIST. It is my understanding that NIST has begun a technical analysis on this very issue.

Mr. ROGERS. I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois.

Mr. ROGERS. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his work on this issue. I will work to assure the program is funded in fiscal 2001 at least at the level of funds available in the current year. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy with the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert).

Mr. ROGERS. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his statement and his long-standing efforts on behalf of International Broadcasting. Should H.R. 4444 become law, and additional funding be provided in our allocation, we will endeavor to fund Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, and Broadcasting Capital Improvements at a level which reflects the increasing needs in Asia.

Mr. ROGERS. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word for the purpose of entering into a colloquy with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter).

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word, and I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. ROGERS

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, we are not opposed to the amendment.

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