Thomas Reynolds

Mr. REYNOLDS

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman from Florida, I have some speakers left, but I was under the impression the gentleman had many, so I was looking to continue moving through the flow. We will not use the entire time.

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

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the Committee on Rules has requested such time as he may consume, and if the gentleman from Florida is prepared to close, I will urge that upon my chair, as he would speak to close.

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

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder).

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 509 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), 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, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYNOLDS

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present, and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am proud to be a member of the Committee on Rules. We are usually the last here. This week we have been the last here and the first here. We can continue and use the entire full hour on this same-day resolution and have all our colleagues debate the same day. And then we will have a consensus on whether the House approves of the same-day rule or they do not, and then we will move into the opportunity to have the Committee on Rules meet because they were noticed last evening. At eight this morning, we put out this same-day rule which led the indication that we would be considering the trade bill which many in the House knew was being negotiated actively by the entire Conference Committee. So we will continue and do the full hour here. We will then have a Committee on Rules meeting and we will do a full hour on the rule and then we will take it to debate, if that is what the body chooses to do. I am prepared to yield back the balance of my time if the ranking member yields his time back and we can move forward, or we will continue to take the hour. So I will ask the ranking member if he has further speakers or whether he wants to yield his time, in which I will follow.

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

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, both Republicans and Democrats have told me that the Committee on Ways and Means conference report has been on its Web site since this afternoon. Two, as is always customary in the Committee on Rules, there will be notice to, first, the Committee on Rules itself, which will have an ample time to see the legislation, and then we will hold a hearing and move forward on the decision of granting a rule on the legislation. To my knowledge, in the time I have been here, that provides not only the Web site access to the entire membership, but also close scrutiny by both the Committee on Rules staff and the entire majority and minority staffs that choose to look at it and have comments, both in the Committee on Rules and then, finally, as we had that debate on the floor. Certainly there is no secret that we have been in a long journey looking to have an opportunity to have trade legislation passed here in the House. We now have a conference report that has brought a consensus not only of a Republican majority here in the House, but Republican and Democrats who supports free trade in this body and in the other body. So we will have plenty of opportunity for our colleagues, both the majority and the minority, to review the legislation. Some have already done so as they have gone to the Committee on Ways and Means Web site. Others will have the opportunity through the process this evening. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 507 waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII requiring a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the same day it is reported from the Committee on Rules. The rule applies the waiver to a special rule reported on the legislative day of Friday, July 26, 2002, providing for consideration or disposition of the conference report to accompany the following bill: H.R. 3009, the Trade Act of 2002. The rule will allow this body to consider the conference agreement on the important topic of trade promotion authority. The rule moves the process forward so this body can work its will on a long overdue piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, there are only a few months remaining in the 107th Congress. In the past 2 years, we have had many accomplishments, but success in the area of expanding trade and opening markets is yet to be realized. But the power to change that is within our reach. I ask my colleagues to join me in taking the first step in the final leg of our efforts to bring to fruition this critical piece of legislation. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this rule so that we will be able to bring up this important issue. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important that we review again that we are not going to do anything other than the possibility of having a late decision of debate, but on this day, since 4 p.m., the minority staff of the Committee on Rules has been given a hard copy of the conference report. We also know that it has been on the Web site. We also know that some Members have started this and reviewed it early, and very thoroughly; other Members may not have had an opportunity to open their Web site to garner the information. We are moving here methodically. The methodical aspect is first of all having the debate on the same-day rule, which the Committee on Rules granted this morning. We now bring that to the body as a whole for their consideration. We will then schedule a Committee on Rules meeting, of which there will be a hearing to consider a conference report that has been made available since this afternoon to the entire body and has a majority of signatures, as the chairman of the Committee on Rules has indicated, from what he is aware of, and that the minority of the Committee on Rules has had documentation, hard copy, written, before them since 4 p.m. today. So as we move forward, my hope is that the Congress, this body, can make a decision of whether we will continue on a same-day rule to take up the trade promotion authority and have the opportunity to move forward with consideration of what has been a long journey, a process that has had the House deliberate, the other body deliberate, a conference report negotiated off and on throughout weeks, and now an opportunity for the House to consider an up-or-down on that conference report that has been put together not by just the majority of the House or the other body, but by a consensus of those who support free trade. The votes, as they have been in the past in this instance, have been of those who support free trade, both Republican and Democrat, and those who are opposed to free trade. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Chairman Dreier), from the Committee on Rules.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my colleague, 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 purposes of debate only. (Mr. REYNOLDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYNOLDS. Yes.

Mr. REYNOLDS

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 507 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. REYNOLDS

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

Mr. REYNOLDS

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), the former chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation and now the chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman).

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this legislation represents the best of what our government is about, bipartisan coalitions working together not only to produce legislation, but to revisit issues that can be enhanced or improved as need be. America is slowly regaining its confidence in traveling, in large part because of the swift action this Congress took last fall in the aftermath of September 11. But our work is not done. It is incumbent upon us to continue doing everything in our power to make sure that travel by any means, but especially by air, is as safe and secure as possible. Safe travel must include defenses on both the ground and in the air. Our vigilance today will provide a final layer of defense against terrorism in the skies and, more importantly, peace of mind for America. I urge a yes vote on 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. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 472 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, we have had the privilege of hearing from two subcommittee chairmen, and I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the chairmen of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. REYNOLDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).