José Serrano

Mr. SERRANO

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I object.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, when the Committee rises and reports this bill to the House, I understand that a separate vote may be called for on the amendment I offered that was adopted in the House last Wednesday. If that should occur, it is my intention to call for a separate vote in the House on several other amendments that passed in the Committee of the Whole. My amendment requires that the Secretary of State issue a report every 3 months listing all complaints by the Government of Cuba to the United States Government agencies. If we are going to be taking another vote on this amendment, I believe then that some other amendments also deserve another vote. My amendment is not controversial; rather, its purpose is to make sure that Congress has enough information to make informed judgments on our policies toward Cuba. There is no reason to select this particular amendment out of all of the amendments that have been agreed to for a revote. In fact, there is no reason to vote against my amendment, unless Members do not want to see the more balanced and complete view of Cuba that these State Department reports could present. I believe that this information will help Congress make wiser decisions and perhaps prevent future misunderstandings. For example, before the Brothers to the Rescue planes were shot down on February 24, 1996, Cuba made over 10 complaints to the Federal Aviation Administration about the group's violations of Cuban airspace. If Congress had seen these complaints, this tragedy might have been prevented. At present the Cuban Government makes formal complaints to the State Department, but complaints are also made to other agencies, such as the FAA or the American interest section in Havana. Some complaints have involved violations of Cuban airspace, the dropping of leaflets in Havana that the Cuban Government finds offensive, traveling too close to Cuban shores, and even, according to the Cuban Government, terrorist acts against Cuban territory. My amendment would put these complaints in one comprehensive report. If a separate vote is asked on my noncontroversial amendment, whose purpose is to give Congress information, I will ask for separate votes totaling close to 26 on many of the other amendments already passed.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I object.

Mr. SERRANO. I object.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from California for yielding to me. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman is correct. I came to this floor that evening under the rules of this House and passed an amendment with a number of people on the floor, no different than when other people have passed amendments. The fact of life is that the only reason we are revoting this amendment is because it has to do with the one issue this House never wants to yield on or debate fully. Second, according to that statement that the gentlewoman made, I think it is proper, then, to revote the others, because some of them passed by a very slim margin. If it is proper to revote one that passed with no vote, then it is proper to revote the other margins. Then, lastly but not unimportant, I think, it is interesting that so much is made about a report that will come to Congress. I do not know at what point it is improper to tell the taxpayers that Congress should be informed before it makes a decision. But it is interesting to note that at the insistence of some of the people who would be calling for this vote, the bill currently calls for reports on the enforcement of the ongoing Cuban embargo. In other words, in this bill right now there are provisions for reports to be made to Congress every few months on how that issue is going. So I felt that it was proper to add another report that would balance the issue a little bit, and prevent further problems in the future.

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

Mr. SERRANO. 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. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I object.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.