Thomas Reynolds

Mr. REYNOLDS

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, by the direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 320 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I just need to put on the record, I have heard some of my Democratic colleagues run around with a figure of $250 billion. I just want to make clear that as we see this cost now, it is far less than under $150 billion. Also, as I listened to my colleagues who preceded me, the export jobs depend on this type of legislation. Many U.S. manufacturers have financing arms to fund overseas sales of its products as do other companies. Caterpillar, for example, has 16,500 export-related jobs to suppliers that employ another 33,000. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), the ranking member of the Committee on Rules, 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. REYNOLDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 320 is a closed rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3529, the Economic Security and Worker Assistance Act of 2001, with 2 hours of debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill, and it provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, while the images of September 11's terrorist attacks will last forever in the minds of the American people, the fact is that the full impact of that day goes beyond that which we could conceive in the piles of rubble and twisted metal. While economic indicators show this Nation's economic downturn began in September of 2000, a full year before the attacks of September 11, that vicious assault on our Nation and its people only exacerbated an already fragile situation. Months before the latest crisis, this Congress showed the leadership, the bipartisanship, and sense of purpose needed to bring our economy back through tax reduction for working Americans. We knew then that tax cuts put more money in the pockets of working families, increased consumer savings and spending, and spurred our economy back to recovery. We came together, too, immediately after September 11, in another strong showing of leadership, bipartisanship, and sense of purpose when we gave this President the tools he needed to fight terrorism and punish those responsible for the attacks on our country, and began our financial commitment to rebuild those areas devastated by terrorism. Today, we need to come together yet again, this time for America's workers; and the leadership, bipartisanship and sense of purpose we have shown the people of this great country must be evident again. Cutbacks, layoffs, plummeting consumer confidence. These are some of the key factors contributing to our current economic situation. Just as we fortified our Nation's military in response to the attacks on our shores, we have the opportunity to fortify this Nation's economy against the attack on it by keeping jobs, by creating jobs, and by giving needed help to displaced workers. Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues might be aware, we have an hour on this rule and a 2-hour debate on the economic stimulus bill yet before us tonight. Make no mistake. This economic stimulus is critical to the workers and working families of America. President Bush warned us this past weekend that without an economic stimulus package, we stand to lose as many as 300,000 American jobs; and no one knows of the current job struggle like my constituents and fellow New Yorkers across my great State. In New York City alone, some 79,000 workers lost their jobs in the month of October. The ripple effect, where an estimated 15 percent of all State revenues are generated in Lower Manhattan, is, indeed, being felt across our State and our Nation. In fact, between September and October, 62,000 workers across New York became unemployed. According to the New York State Labor Department, the Buffalo-Niagara region where I hail from lost 2,900 jobs over the last year. This is the longest decline in the local job market in 8 years. The fact is that jobs just do not create themselves, and we in this Congress have both the ability and the responsibility to help create those jobs. This bill recognizes that we cannot create employees if we do not work with employers to create jobs. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, ``I believe, I have always believed, and I will always believe in private enterprise as the backbone of economic well-being in America.'' Through new incentives to compete, grow, and expand, the bipartisan, bicameral Economic Security and Worker Protection Act of 2001 will help business rebuild and create jobs for the American people. Workers want and they deserve a paycheck, not an unemployment check. Of course, this stimulus package recognizes that job creation is a long-term project, and that assisting those out of work requires immediate short-term solutions. For those who have lost their jobs, an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits will be provided, retroactive to March, 2001. Part-time workers will be aided by $9 billion in surplus Federal unemployment funds transferred to States in order to help with health care or employment services. Equally important to our work force is the availability and affordability of adequate health care. With the refundable health care tax credit provided in this legislation, no worker eligible for unemployment insurance will be left without the means to obtain quality health care protection. So when my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and in the other Chamber wanted only COBRA-eligible workers to get a tax credit, leaving 45 percent of laid-off workers in small- and medium-sized businesses and those who never had job-based health care, let us not forget, not for a minute, who some of those workers are. What about those who owned or worked in the delis or dry cleaners, those who delivered goods and cleaned offices in lower Manhattan? Should they have been excluded from being able to have affordable health care, as many would under the plan advanced by the Democratic leadership in the other body? The bipartisan compromise plan, on the other hand, provides a refundable 60 percent tax credit for health insurance premiums paid by displaced workers. Those workers who had prior health insurance coverage will have the right to guaranteed coverage. Additionally, the bill provides for an extension of the Archer Medical Savings Accounts, allowing families and individuals to be in charge of their own health care dollars. Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to wind down the first session of this 107th Congress, we can look back on a record of great accomplishment for the American people. We cut taxes for working families, we enacted sweeping education reforms that provide the blueprint and resources to ensure that no child is left behind, and we came together to lead a global war on terrorism, a war that we and freedom-loving people everywhere are winning. Our action tonight sends a strong message that this House is working to retain jobs, to create jobs, and to protect displaced workers in their time of need. Mr. Speaker, let us finish this year as it began, in a strong bipartisan effort that will protect American workers and create American jobs. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the first thing when we listen to my colleague is, let us make no mistake about it, the Committee on Rules has allowed as the tradition of the Republican majority long before I got here, beginning in its majority in 1995, they made a vow then, a commitment then, that it carries out each and every time: A motion to recommit by the minority, something that in the 40 years that the Republicans were in the minority, they did not have that opportunity to see. When we talk about the debate, which I hope, in the 2-hour debate that the Committee on Rules afforded the Committee on Ways and Means chairman and the ranking minority member to air out these important details, that we will not lose sight, as the ranking member has talked about some of the deficiencies he saw, that first and foremost, the Democratic plan involves a tax increase. That is how they want to pay for it, a tax increase. Second, when my colleague talks about the plan that is before us, when my State has 15 percent of its revenues that were generated in the area, in the 15 blocks around the World Trade Center, how can anyone say repairing our economy in the wake of September 11 is not part of the war on terrorism? Finally, when the ranking member talked about some of the health care, the view of the Democratic plan is if you are COBRA eligible, we are going to take care of you. Except they have lost sight of the 45 percent of the other American workers across this country, across my State, across the City of New York that do not have COBRA eligibility and do not have COBRA option. The Thomas bill addresses the opportunities of those 45 percent of the displaced workers that need the type of help that this legislation has. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske). (Mr. GANSKE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. What I do know is that if this legislation is passed tonight, it is not going to be that Tom Reynolds wins. The American people and those displaced workers are going to win because we are going to get them some help immediately if we can get the other body to take some action before we break now. I want to tell my colleagues this, whether you are a Blue Dog or you are a liberal or a Republican or a Democrat, you vote on the motion to recommit, which is a Democratic plan, you voted for tax increases, make no mistake about it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Just as we fortified our Nation's military in response to the attack of the response of our shores, we have the opportunity tonight to fortify this Nation's economy against the attack on it, keeping jobs by creating jobs and giving needed help to displaced workers. Make no mistake about it, this economic stimulus is critical to workers and worker families in America. President Bush warned us this past weekend that without an economic stimulus package, we stand to lose as many as 300,000 American jobs. The Republicans mean to me and the agenda we put forth on this Thomas bill as it is debated over the next couple of hours is creating jobs and protecting workers. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, the Republican Party in this Congress extended the life of Social Security; and the same leadership will ensure that we preserve and strengthen it. I share with my colleague who is under some fallacy that there is not a tax increase on the Democratic plan. On page 2 at the bottom, a revenue offset freezing the top rate 38.6. Mr. Speaker, we passed law of the land that changed that tax rate. If we are going to restore higher taxes, it is a vote to increase taxes. Make no mistake about it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are going to bring out that same old thing and beat that dog on Social Security. As I said earlier, the Republicans extended it, and they are going to take care of it. I also remind my colleagues on the lock box and both the speakers who spoke before me, there were three conditions set on the lock box that we said would cause us to have to look at the lock box. One was war; two was the economy; and three was natural disaster. We have seen natural disaster, we have seen our economy, and we have seen war as conditions, as we have faced those tough decisions together on a bipartisan basis starting the day of September 11 when this Congress came together in a bipartisan fashion. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, after the gentleman from Texas closes, I will close.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there are new incentives to compete and grow and expand the bipartisan, bicameral Economic Security and Worker Protection Act. The Act will help businesses rebuild and create jobs for the American people. So far all I have heard from the other side is a lot of rhetoric about what they would like to do, but we cannot get them to sit down and negotiate out a compromise. So what do we have? We have the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means move from where his past position was over to adding more unemployment insurance money, adding more incentives to try to lure a bipartisan compromise that could be completed. The reality is he has moved as far as he can until the other body determines that they will negotiate. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that the workers deserve a paycheck, not an unemployment check. Of course this stimulus package recognizes that job creation is a long-term project, and assisting those out of work requires immediate short-term solutions. For those who have lost their jobs, an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits will be provided retroactive to March 2001. Part-time workers will be aided with $9 billion in surplus Federal unemployment funds transferred to States in order to help with health care or employment services. Equally important to our workforce is the availability and affordability of adequate health care. With the refundable health care tax credits provided by this legislation, no worker eligible for unemployment insurance will be left without the means to obtain quality health care protection. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and in the other Chamber wanted only COBRA-eligible workers to get a tax credit, leaving out 45 percent of laid off workers in small and medium-sized businesses, and those who never had job-based health care at all. And let us not forget, not for one minute, who some of these workers are. What about those who owned or worked in the delis and the dry cleaners or delivered goods and cleaned offices in lower Manhattan, should they have been excluded from being able to afford health care, as many would under the plan advanced by the Democratic leadership in the other body? The bipartisan compromise plan, on the other hand, provides a refundable 60 percent tax credit for health insurance premium paid by displaced workers. Those workers who had prior health care insurance coverage will have the right to guaranteed coverage. Additionally, the bill provides for an extension of the Archer Medical Savings Accounts allowing families and individuals to be in charge of their own health care dollars. Mr. Speaker, our action tonight sends a strong message that this House is working to retain jobs, create jobs, and to protect displaced workers in their time of need. Colleagues, let us finish this year as it began, in a strong bipartisan effort that will protect American workers and create American jobs. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. REYNOLDS

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

Mr. REYNOLDS

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the notice requirements of House Resolution 314, I now set the following measure to be considered under suspension of the rules on Wednesday, December 19, 2001: S. 1202.

Mr. REYNOLDS

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me, and I want to thank him for his leadership in moving this legislation before we end this week's work, with the hope of continuing and getting a resolve before we end the session. I thank him for his leadership, along with that of our ranking member, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), and particularly the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella), who has worked diligently, as well as the New York City representative helping our conference understand clearly some of the agenda needed. Then also we must turn to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton), who has the very, very important ingredient of his expertise so he was able to work with the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) in helping him in this legislation. That comes from listening to our Governor and mayor on the agendas of what it is going to take to rebuild tens of millions of lost square footage of space in those 15 blocks of lower Manhattan, let alone the countless loss of jobs that have occurred in that tragedy. Mr. Speaker, this is part of a working, fundamental solution to bring that to fruition. I salute all for bringing it to the floor today.

Mr. REYNOLDS

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus). (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas). (Mr. GEKAS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks, and include extraneous material.)

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with the Committee on House Administration. We need to act today. This is bipartisan legislation. It has the best chance of passing Congress this year and becoming law before next November's elections. Time is of the essence. There are only a few days left in the session of this Congress, and we must act now. The train has sounded its whistle. Election reform must be aboard. The American people expect and deserve real election reform that ensures that every single vote is counted. Mr. Speaker, there also must be some facts brought into the record as to the result of the Committee on Rules. With 435 Members of Congress, there are 435 ideas. That is important. It brings debate and consensus. But the Committee on Rules also has done the least partisan action today by taking a bipartisan product of 108 Democratic Members and 61 Republicans, which have come together with the bipartisan support of the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the ranking member, and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), the chairman, and most of us on the Committee on House Administration. It was constructed in a bipartisan way, not only in the hearings and in the committee and in the result of the committee, but in the press conferences. Quite frankly, maybe not allowing partisanship to come in now as each side of the aisle tries to figure out how they can angle their leverage up, to leverage up their best position on election reform. A closed rule ensures that the bipartisan bill which actually has more Democratic Members than Republican on it, remains bipartisan. I remind my colleagues for the record in the Chambers and throughout the Capitol that no viable formal substitute came before the Committee on Rules until late in the process. As a matter of fact, in consultation with the other side of the aisle, they did not even know which Member was going to submit a formal amendment. There was no amendment on the summary list that all members, Republican and Democrat, that the Committee on Rules had before them because there was not a formal one presented yet. In the end, the ranking member of the Committee on Rules submitted the Menendez as a substitute. The reality, as I opened my remarks, is maybe the best way to get a bipartisan result of what started with hearings months ago and came with bipartisan input, bipartisan sponsorship, bipartisan passage in the Committee on House Administration and now before the House under this rule if passed, is the best way to have bipartisanship is to move forward on a bipartisan bill without trying to leverage it up from either side of the aisle. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the chairman of the Committee on Rules. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This legislation authorizes $2.65 billion for Federal election reform, including $400 million to buy out unreliable punch card voting systems that was brought out in this rule debate earlier, and $2.25 billion in election fund payments to improve equipment, recruit and train poll workers, improve access for disabled voters, and educate voters about their rights. The Help America Vote Act would require States to adopt minimum election standards, including a statewide voter registration system, in-precinct provisional voting, assurances that voters who make errors will be able to correct them, and a means for disabled voters to cast secret ballots on new voting equipment. The bill is real, meaningful reform that will significantly improve our election system and restore public confidence in it. I just want to outline that this bill is a bipartisan bill. It is not a magic elixir for the problems that plagued us last November, but it prescribes the right medicine for our ailing election system and Federal assistance to the States and minimum election standards that they must adopt. This bipartisan bill is the outgrowth of a series of hearings by the Committee on House Administration earlier this year and input from a wide variety of advocates for civil rights, disabilities and election reform groups. Their views were solicited and given serious consideration and this bill reflects their views and their efforts. This bipartisan legislation has been endorsed by the National Association of Secretaries of State as well as the National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL, and others, like the Carter-Ford Commission. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. It is a bipartisan bill that has the opportunity to be considered by this House today to move forward on election reform. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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