Bill Thomas

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order.

Mr. THOMAS. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, the real American way is to play by the rules. I move to lay the appeal on the table.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure, then, to yield the remainder of my time to the honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert).

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, as is made imminently clear by the reading of the table of contents, the motion to recommit is not germane. It is in violation of clause 7 of rule XVI of the House because the motion to recommit relates to subject matter not contained in the underlying bill. The underlying bill only relates to reducing income taxation. Therefore, the amendment is not germane and, therefore, is out of order.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, in examining the number of Members who are enthusiastic on my side of the aisle about this bill, what I am trying to do is figure out a way to allow for senior members on the committee to have a full expression of their support in a particular manner, and there are many other Members of the Republican Conference who are not on the committee and have requested time to speak as well. And what I am trying to do is manage the time in a way that the more-senior members have an opportunity to present the particulars of the bill and that the other Members also have a chance to speak. So we are going to be working on trying to fit all of the people in.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the majority leader of the House of Representatives.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, has all time expired on the other side of the aisle?

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady).

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad), a member of the committee. (Mr. RAMSTAD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. THOMAS. I believe we have at least three remaining.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Hulshof).

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), a member of the committee, for the purpose of a colloquy.

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

Mr. THOMAS. I will tell the gentleman he raises an important point, but it is also a part of a larger tax policy problem. Currently, as the gentleman may know, under the U.S. Tax Code we punish U.S. corporations for being U.S. corporations. Several provisions of our Tax Code put U.S. corporations at a disadvantage versus their international competitors. These flaws in the Tax Code force U.S. companies to move their headquarters overseas in order to compete. We must reform our Tax Code to improve our international competitiveness. The Committee on Ways and Means will be addressing this larger issue in this Congress. With regard to the specific issue of dividend payments to U.S. citizens by foreign corporations, it is my intent as the legislation process proceeds to craft a solution that treats all American shareholders of either domestic or foreign-owned corporations fairly and equally, while improving the competitiveness of the U.S. Tax Code.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Dunn), a member of the committee.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, here we go again. This motion does not recommit the bill. It kills tax relief, job creation, and economic growth, because the motion to recommit contains the word ``promptly'' instead of ``forthwith.'' Have you heard this before? Do you want me to stop? Vote no on the motion to recommit. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. McCrery), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on my time, to respond to the gentleman from New York, I asked that the measures be treated equally and fairly. That was my position. But apparently the Committee on Rules rejected my position, and, notwithstanding the fact that I was trying to support the gentleman from New York, in the opinion of the Committee on Rules, apparently the gentleman's bill was so far out of the normal procedure that they determined not to make it in order. I had asked that the Committee on Rules treat both bills the same way, and I was denied in my request to the Committee on Rules. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson), a member of the committee. (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means who understands when someone stands up and says give us more, that is all they ever talk about, just give us more.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of H.R. 2, the bill just passed.