C. Young

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Harris) knows exactly what it is like to live through a hurricane and to suffer severe damage to properties and investments. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Harris). (Ms. HARRIS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I will say to the gentleman that, yes, this is my understanding.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 5212 is a bill to further respond to the devastation brought upon the State of Florida and other neighboring States by Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Jeanne, and Tropical Storm Bonnie, more adverse weather than a State has seen in hundreds of years. This is the second supplemental that the House will consider. The first supplemental was introduced on September 7, the day we reconvened. We passed that bill on September 7, the other body deemed it passed on September 7, and it arrived at the President's desk just in time to make sure that the cash flow to the needy folks in Florida would not be disrupted. We are now reaching a similar situation. The FEMA funds are about to run out once again, and this bill will provide additional funds for FEMA and other disaster recovery and relief efforts. I want the Members to know how I feel about this bill. This is a good bill, as far as it goes. There is nothing political in this bill, at least not yet. There are no special projects for any Member. We resisted all attempts to add to this supplemental. So this really gets to the point of recovery from five major storms. I have lived in Florida for 58 years. I have seen the devastation of hurricanes and tornadoes. They go together. Hurricanes are large storms and hurricanes spawn tornadoes. I have seen homes totally destroyed. I have seen mobile home parks obliterated, gone. I have seen major buildings with their roofs gone. I have seen infrastructure for cities and counties destroyed. I have seen highways, believe it or not, that have been totally destroyed, with large chunks of asphalt just lying around like parts of a jigsaw puzzle waiting to be put together. But you cannot just put them back together. You have to rebuild them. Last week, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd) and I went to Florida to Pensacola, to the Naval Air Station; and there we were met by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller), and we reviewed some tremendous, very costly damage created by the hurricanes. There is a lot more to be said about the tremendous pressure of living through a hurricane, and I have lived through a number of hurricanes. These five storms that I have talked about, have affected every section of Florida, and in some cases three of the storms have hit the same section. Governor Jeb Bush became the manager of the recovery effort, and he has done an outstanding job. He managed the recovery effort on the part of the State. He coordinated the counties, and he coordinated the cities and all of the relief agencies that have been there to help out the people that really needed help. President Bush visited the State five times, and visited the hurricane sites and viewed for himself the disaster and visited with the people. He handed out bags of ice and bottles of water. He did a good job, and he made commitments and promises to the people of Florida. It is my intention, Mr. Chairman, to make sure that no one stands in the way of following through on those promises that President Bush made to the people of Florida. Mr. Chairman, the bill that we take up today meets a lot of these promises, but it does not meet them all. There is another bill that I introduced today, H.R. 5227, that does include, in fact, the promises that President Bush made to the people of Florida. And, the additional funds that we have included in H.R. 5227, over and above the President's request of approximately $11 billion, we have offset. We have offset $1.6 billion that we would have added to the President's request. We are not permitted to bring this bill up today, but I will tell my colleagues, and I will tell anyone willing to listen on either side of the aisle; this hurricane relief has been very bipartisan, and I appreciate all of the support that Members have given us; and this Chairman is going to do everything possible to see this bill enacted into law because it meets the real requirements of recovery efforts in the great State of Florida. It is not the bill that we are considering today, but we are going to do everything possible to make sure that it ends up on the President's desk. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd) would have offered an amendment that would have increased H.R. 5212 by $1.6 billion, and that is what this second bill (H.R. 5227) does, it increases the bill by $1.6 billion. He and I traveled together to many parts of Florida; we visited and we saw for ourselves what the damages were and what the recovery effort was going to take. So we will do our very best to make sure that the promises that the President made to the people of Florida will not be stymied by some bureaucracy or some group of people who might not want us to move this legislation. But one way or another, we are going to move it. Mr. Chairman, a lot of Members wish to be heard on this issue, especially Florida Members, so at this point I reserve the balance of my time. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC04.003 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC04.004 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC04.005 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC04.006

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley), whose district enjoyed the visits of several hurricanes.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my young colleague from Florida for yielding me the time. I want to congratulate him for having risen to the high level of being a member of the Committee on Rules, the newest member of the Committee on Rules. And I believe that his expertise and his talents will show through as he presents these rules from day to day. I look forward to working with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Putnam) because in Florida he is a hero, and I think as Members get to know him as a member of the Committee on Rules, they will agree. There is good news and bad news here today. The good news is Florida has not had a hurricane in the last 10 days. Now, that is a switch because we have become so accustomed to them. This delegation on a bipartisan basis has joined together to help the people of Florida recover from these tragedies. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Putnam) mentioned several of the problems that his part of the State has experienced. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) has talked about other issues. So I wanted to mention to the membership that there are two bills today. This bill, H.R. 5212, is the one that we will call up under this rule. This bill, H.R. 5227, which I also introduced today, includes everything in H.R. 5212 plus $1.6 billion in additional funding that is required, and that we, as a delegation, have identified. I just want you to know that I am going to do everything possible, everything that I can, to make sure that H.R. 5227 is the bill that goes to the President's desk and not H.R. 5212 because it is short. Incidentally, for those who are concerned about the extra $1.6 billion, I have offset it. I have offset the entire $1.6 billion so, in fact, the top number is going to be the same in either bill. But H.R. 5227 covers a lot more of what has been promised to the people of Florida and neighboring states due to these terrible, terrible tragedies called Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne and Tropical Storm Bonnie. Not one section of the entire State of Florida escaped damage from one of these storms or maybe in some cases three of these storms. And so the Governor has made promises, the President has made promises to the people of Florida, and I am going to do everything that I can, despite any bureaucracy or despite any problems here in the Congress, to help the President of the United States deliver on his promises. I will discuss this more in length as we get into the bill itself.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, the legislation before the House, H.R. 5202, is to assist the Members of the House in understanding scoring relevant to the continuing resolution that we passed last week. As my colleagues know, the current CR expires on November 20, 2004. As I explained last week, the CR continues all ongoing activities at current rates, including supplemental funding, under the same terms and conditions as fiscal year 2004. As in past CRs, it does not allow new starts, and it restricts obligations on high initial spend-out programs. So the annualized funding levels in this bill will not impinge on our final budget deliberations. As a courtesy to those in this body who do not understand how OMB determines the rate of operations, I have been asked to put this bill on the floor today to clarify that the term ``rate for operations'' for 2004 supplementals will be apportioned pursuant to OMB Bulletin Number 04-05. So, in reality, this bill does not change anything. However, some believe it is needed to clarify for CBO the amount of money the executive branch intends to spend during the period of the CR. The deficit will not change by one dime as a result of this bill. How much money the government spends will not change by one dime as a result of this bill. CBO's and the Committee on the Budget's job under the Budget Act is to provide an estimate of bills that are being considered and then are enacted into law. Let me emphasize the word estimate, which is based on a set of assumptions made at the time. Those estimates are sometimes good, and sometimes, they are off. An example where they were off was the Medicare bill. But thankfully, these estimates do not become the actual balance in our checkbook. That is a real number, based on the checks actually issued by the U.S. Treasury. That is the real number that drives the surplus or deficit. CBO scoring is only relevant to keep a scorecard on how Congress is doing relative to the budget assumptions. As we all know, during the year, we often wait for a revision by CBO of its scoring to determine the level of a deficit. This revision comes when CBO marries its numbers with the reality that is driven by actual spending. So we are doing this bill today because some feel that we need to set the record straight. I believe the record is already straight and the OMB apportionment process will dictate the actual level of spending of the CR. By the way, under OMB's apportionment process, the CR will actually save $5 billion from the level that was allocated for fiscal year 2005 discretionary spending in the budget. This savings is going to happen with or without this bill, but I urge that we pass the bill. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, September 30, 2004. Bulletin No. 04-05 To the Heads of Executive Departments and Establishments. Subject: Apportionment of the Continuing Resolution(s) for Fiscal Year 2005. 1. Purpose and Background. H.J. Res. 107 (continuing resolution) will provide continuing appropriations for the period October 1 through November 20, 2004. I am providing an automatic apportionment for amounts provided by this continuing resolution (CR) as specified in section 2. This Bulletin supplements instructions for apportionment of CRs in OMB Circular No. A-11, section 123, and applies to this CR and any extensions of this CR. 2. Automatic Apportionments. Calculate the amount automatically apportioned through the period ending November 20th (and any extensions of that period) by multiplying the rate (amount) provided by the CR by the lower of: the percentage of the year covered by the CR (e.g., for H.J. Res. 107 use 13.97 percent), or the historical seasonal rate of obligations for the period of the year covered by the CR. See Attachments A and B to this Bulletin for more detailed instructions on calculating the amount provided by the CR and the amount automatically apportioned. Sec. 111 of the CR requires that the resolution be implemented so that only the most limited funding action permitted in the CR is taken. The Administration has interpreted this section to mandate that agencies in general spend at a minimum level, so as not to infringe upon the prerogative of Congress to set full-year funding levels. Funding apportioned under the CR excludes one-time, non-recurring projects and activities that were funded in FY 2004, which includes most projects and activities funded by FY 2004 supplemental appropriations. The only FY 2004 supplemental projects and activities that may be factored into the ``not to exceed current rate'' can be found in Attachment B. Under an automatic apportionment, all of the footnotes and conditions placed on the prior year apportionment remain in effect. H.J. Res. 107 expires at midnight on Saturday, November 20, 2004. 3. Written Apportionments. If a program requires an amount different from the total amount automatically apportioned, you must request a written apportionment from OMB. Once a written apportionment is approved, the terms and conditions of the automatic apportionment bulletin cease to apply. Joshua B. Bolten, Director. Attachments. Attachment A--Calculating the Amount Made Available by the CR and the Automatic Apportionment Calculate the amount automatically apportioned (whole dollars) through the period ending November 20, 2004, (and any extensions of that period) by multiplying the rate (amount) provided by the CR by the lower of: the percentage of the year covered by the CR (rounded to the nearest hundredth); (for a seven-week CR, use 51 days/365 days=13.97%); or the historical seasonal rate of obligations for the period of the year covered by the CR. 1. What is the rate (annualized, full-year amount) provided by the continuing resolution (CR)? The rate (full-year amount) provided by the CR for all accounts is the rate of operations not exceeding the current rate, calculated as follows: Take the net amount enacted in FY 2004, i.e., add only the supplemental appropriations amounts listed in Attachment B of OMB Bulletin 04-05; subtract any rescissions (e.g., across- the-board reductions), and factor in transfers mandated by law; Add the unobligated balance (including those for emergencies) carried forward to FY 2004 start-of-the-year (SOY), if any; and Subtract the unobligated balance (including those for emergencies) at the end of FY 2004 end of year (EOY), if any. 2. Which estimates of FY 2004 (EOY) unobligated balances should agencies use in the calculation? Agencies are required to use current estimates of FY 2004 (EOY) unobligated balances. You can adjust the unobligated balances with the following conditions: FY 2004 SOY unobligated balances: Use the amount shown on the most recent FY 2004 apportionment/reapportionment. This would be shown on line 2a (``Unobligated balance: brought forward, October 1 (actual)'') of the SF 132/letter apportionment. FY 2004 EOY unobligated balances: Again, you must use the most recently approved apportionment. For the majority of the accounts, this should be the FY 2005 initial apportionment. You may request OMB to apportion the revised estimates of unobligated balances, SOY FY 2005, and if apportioned by OMB, you may use the revised amounts to calculate the amount available under the CR. 3. How should mandatory appropriations and balances be treated? A continuing resolution is an appropriations bill. As such, it normally does not affect mandatory appropriations provided in substantive or authorizing legislation. Therefore, for accounts with a mix of discretionary and mandatory appropriations, take the mandatory component out before calculating the amount provided by the CR. This includes both the budget authority and unobligated balances. 4. What is the amount of the automatic apportionment under a CR? Multiple the rate (annualized, full-year amount) provided by the CR (see note 1) by: The percentage of the year covered by the CR (rounded to the nearest hundredth); The historical seasonal rate of obligations for the period of the year covered by the CR; or The lower number will be the amount automatically apportioned. 5. Are entitlement and other mandatory payments whose budget authority was provided in Appropriations Acts for fiscal year 2004 continued at the FY 2004 level or FY 2005 program level? Sec. 126 of H.J. Res. 107 allows entitlements and other mandatory payments whose BA was provided in Appropriations Acts for FY 2004 to continue at the ``rate to maintain program levels under current law, under the authority and conditions provided in the applicable appropriations Act for fiscal year 2004, etc.'' In other words, these programs can operate at the FY 2005 level but the appropriated administrative expenses associated with these programs must be based on the FY 2004 levels. Attachment B--FY 2004 Supplemental Projects and Activities (Recurring) To Be Included in Determination of Current Rate Amounts Provided by the Continuing Resolution \1\ Agency/Account FY 2004 BA [Millions of dollars] Department of Energy: Other Defense Activities..........................................3 Department of Homeland Security: U.S. Coast Guard.................................................80 International Security Assistance: Economic Support Fund...........................................672 Foreign Military Financing Program..............................287 Peacekeeping Operations..........................................20 Non-Proliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining & Related Programs....35 Migration and Refugee Assistance.................................25 Department of Justice: FBI, Salaries and Expenses.......................................15 Department of State: Contributions for International Peacekeeping....................245 International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement.............170 United States Agency for International Development: International Disaster and Famine Assistance.....................70 \1\ This list, compiled by OMB, excludes one-time, non-recurring projects and activities funded in FY 2004 Supplemental Appropriation Acts, including the FY 2004 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan (P.L. 108-106), Title X of the FY 2005 Department of Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-287), and the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act, 2004 (P.L. 108-303). Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time. I just urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5202) to clarify the treatment of supplemental appropriations in calculating the rate for operations applicable for continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2005.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5202.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this motion to recommit actually would be an appropriations bill. The continuing resolution merely extends existing appropriations. All of the issues in this motion are in the process of being considered on regular appropriations bills. For example, I would remind the Members that we had the issue of the military housing cap in our appropriations bill that our committee strongly supported; but on a point of order raised by the Committee on the Budget, we lost that section of the military construction bill. But as we produce the military construction bill in conference, that provision will be in there. The other issues in this motion are VA medical, children's health, higher education; all of these issues are being addressed as we address the balance of the appropriations bills. So this motion to recommit, if it were successful, and I hope it will not be, would actually turn this into an appropriations bill that would likely require conferencing and probably would not be concluded by midnight tomorrow night, just because of the amount of time it takes to conference a bill and go to the other body and then come back here for conference, and then to appoint the conferees. We are running a deadline as of midnight tomorrow night. So I would hope that while all of these are very important issues in this motion, and, frankly, I am supportive of all of the issues that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) would have in this motion to instruct, this is not the place to do it. This is a continuing resolution that has to be on the President's desk and signed before midnight tomorrow night. We just really do not have the time to deal with these issues on this bill. We will deal with all of those issues on the other bills that will be working through the Congress in the next few weeks. So, Mr. Speaker, having said that, basically all I can say is that I would urge the Members to oppose this motion and to get on with the passage of the continuing resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 802, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 107) making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2005, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am doing something today that I had hoped throughout the year could have been avoided, and that is a continuing resolution because the Congress has not completed all of its appropriations bills. Before I get into that, though, I think it is important that I say just a brief word about the Committee on Appropriations in the House and the House of Representatives. The House Committee on Appropriations reported every one of its bills by July 22. Today is September 29. The House has passed 12 of those bills, and all of those bills have been at a level within the budget resolution, the budget resolution which in fact we do not really have. We did not pass a budget resolution this year, and finally about 6 weeks after we should have passed it, we passed a deeming resolution that did allow us to set a 302(a) allocation and our 302(b) allocations. The House has done a good job. Unfortunately, only one of those bills has actually become law because the House and the Senate must agree on legislation before it can be sent to the desk of the President for his signature. That has only happened on one bill, despite the fact the House has passed 12 appropriations bills and several supplementals. This continuing resolution would keep the government functioning at existing levels until November 20, 2004. This will allow Congress to recess for a brief period of campaigning for the election which happens on November 2. But we will be back. We will be back the week of November 15 in order to conclude the balance of the appropriations bills. The Senate has passed a total of six appropriations bills. We will have one of those in conference, hopefully tomorrow, the homeland security bill. There are four other bills that we believe we can conference and report to the House sometime next week before we adjourn for the election. In the meantime, an omnibus bill is going to be necessary. Between the October 8 recess and November 15, the appropriations committees in both Houses will work to conclude the work on an omnibus bill so the Members will have a chance to vote on it prior to sine die adjournment. The CR includes a continuation of funding for all agencies except those included in the Defense appropriations bill because it has already been enacted into law. We are continuing to work on the other bills, as I mentioned. Let me say something about what is included in this CR, because there are some anomalies that are time sensitive that must be taken care of. As I said, the CR will go to November 20. As in past continuing resolutions, it does not permit any new starts, and it restricts obligations on high initial spend-out programs so the annualized funding levels in this bill will not impinge on our final budget deliberations. It includes provisions that allow for the continuation of programs and fee collections that would otherwise expire, such as entitlements under the food stamp program, Medicare part B premium assistance, certain child nutrition programs, the WIC program, and certain SBA loan programs. The CR also allows for continuation of Department of Defense authorities that expire on September 30. We have worked with the Committee on Armed Services to ensure that these authorities are extended through the period of the CR, and they include something very important to the families of those of our military who were wounded in Iraq, Afghanistan and who are in hospitals or in VA hospitals getting treatment for their wounds. The authority to pay for travel and transportation benefits for those family members and clothing allowances for the military personnel injured during these operations would expire on September 30, tomorrow, at midnight. We provide a correction for that by extending that provision for the period of this CR. We also extend the authority to provide prepaid phone cards to all of our troops in certain combat zones. Also authority for bonuses and special pay for certain military personnel is extended. Authority for DOD to use funds available for drug interdiction and counterdrug activities to provide assistance to the government of Colombia in support of ongoing counterterrorism efforts is extended. And also authority for a chemical weapons destruction facility in Russia is extended. A provision is also included that reallocates funds provided under the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund in response to the request submitted to the Congress by the Secretary of State on September 14, 2004, and through a reallocation of existing funds provides sufficient funding for operating costs of the Agency for International Development, continuation of oversight and Iraq debt forgiveness. The CR also allows the District of Columbia to spend local funds through the period of the CR at the budget levels passed by the House. The CR ensures that funding is available to conduct administrative oversight and to pay certain Department of Transportation personnel managing surface programs in the absence of reauthorizations for such programs. It also ensures sufficient funding for the Election Assistance Commission and funding for Presidential transition staff, if necessary, to be available immediately following the Presidential election. Mr. Speaker, I do not think this is a controversial CR at all, but it does include these important items that I mentioned. But it is important because tomorrow at midnight, the government runs out of money, so it is important to pass this continuing resolution, get it to the other body, and get it to the President. I hope we can pass this expeditiously. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I think earlier my first comment was that I am doing something today that I am reluctant to do and I hoped I would not have to do it, and that is to ask the House to pass a continuing resolution inasmuch as the appropriations process has not been concluded. There have been some criticisms of the majority party leadership in the House. It is easy to criticize anybody, but I would suggest that our leadership has done a pretty good job, considering the fact that we are a bicameral legislature. We have two bodies in this Congress, and one body cannot determine totally the legislative program, any more than the other one can. So as hard as our leaders have struggled to try to make the process work, they have had some difficulties with their counterparts in the other body. I want to make sure that the Members know that the Committee on Appropriations, and I will repeat this from what I said earlier, completed all of its work, reported all of its bills, by the 22nd of July. That was quite a long time ago. We passed 12 of the appropriations bills, plus a supplemental. There is still one other appropriations bill remaining that has some difficulties that will be dealt with at a later time, probably in the omnibus bill. And we have worked in a bipartisan fashion. We have tried to keep the minority party at the subcommittee level advised every step of the way. We have tried to make sure they knew what we were planning to do, and to get their input. We did not surprise anybody. I think that good proof of that bipartisanship, Mr. Speaker, is that we have developed a pretty good record here in the committee and in the House. For example, our appropriations bill for Interior passed on June 17 with a vote of 334 to 86. The Homeland Security bill passed on June 18 with a vote of 400 to 5. On June 22 we passed the defense appropriations bill, 403 to 17. The conference report later was passed with a vote of 410 to 12. On June 25, the energy and water bill passed 370 to 16. On the 8th of July the Commerce-Justice-State Department bill passed with a vote of 397 to 18. On July 12, the legislative branch bill passed with a vote of 327 to 43. The agriculture bill passed on the 13th of July, 389 to 31. On the 15th of July, the foreign ops bill passed 365 to 41. On the 20th of July, the District of Columbia bill passed 371 to 54. On the 22nd of July, the military construction bill passed 420 to 1. We then passed on September 7 a supplemental to deal with Hurricane Charlie, which was devastating to certain parts of my State of Florida. We passed that on a voice vote. On the 9th of September we passed the Labor-HHS bill, 388 to 13. On the 22nd of September we passed the transportation appropriations bill, 397 to 12. So I make the case that the House has worked together very well, majority party and minority party. The committee has worked together very well, majority party and minority party. But we are only half of the equation. We are the House of Representatives. We are the people's House. The other body, for whatever their reasons, did not pass these bills, and we cannot pass a bill in the House and send it to the President without having the other body agree to it, or at least go to conference and have an agreement on what that conference decides. So, all in all, the criticisms of the House leadership I think are not really in order, but I understand that we are getting close to election time, so I am not offended by that. I just do not think that the criticisms really stand. Our leadership has worked hard with us to pass these good bills with good votes. I do not like the fact that we did not complete our work. But I would say, again, the House Committee on Appropriations and the House of Representatives, we completed our work, except for one bill that will be held to become part of the omnibus appropriations bill. So, all in all, criticize if you like, but the House has done a really good job in getting its work done. Now, because we have not concluded the bicameral work on these bills, it is important that we pass this continuing resolution. None of us want the government to shut down, and, without a CR, as of midnight tomorrow night the end of the fiscal year comes and goes, and without an appropriations bill, people would not be reporting to work on Friday. So we are going to pass this CR now, the other body is going to pass this CR, and we are going to get it to the President in plenty of time so there will not be a government shutdown. We are just not going to do that anymore. We had an experience with that some years back. We are not going to do that again. That is not responsible, and it is important that we meet our responsibility. Mr. Speaker, I would just appeal for a good strong vote on this continuing resolution. I ask for a ``yes'' vote. Mr. Speaker, I yield back my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to the motion to recommit.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.J. Res. 107, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, what is left, is a good bill. And whatever repairs need to be made will be made in the conference. So I urge the Members to vote against the motion to recommit and for final passage on the bill. Announcement By The Chairman

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I rise to compliment the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), the ranking member, for having brought this bill to a successful conclusion. Despite some parliamentary obstacles that we had earlier in the debate, they have produced, what I think will be, a highly acceptable bill. I would like to say, Mr. Chairman, this is number 12 of the 13 regular appropriations bills. There is only one more to go to the floor. But I also want our colleagues to know that the Committee on Appropriations had completed work on all 13 bills prior to the August summer work period. So we have been prepared to move the bills as time became available on the floor. This is a good bill. As I have said, there were some parliamentary problems that I suggested will need to be repaired when we get to conference. And I am being optimistic when I say it will get to conference. We are hoping there will be a conference. We would like to conclude our appropriations business before we break for the election. I understand why the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has suggested that he would vote against this bill. I am going to vote for it, and I think it is worthy of a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I raise a point of order on page 24, line 15, to page 25, line 20, because it provides an appropriation for an unauthorized program and therefore violates section 2(a) of rule XXI. Clause 2 of rule XXI states in pertinent part, ``An appropriation may not be in order for an expenditure not previously authorized by law.'' Mr. Chairman, this program is not authorized.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I raise a point of order on page 25, line 21, to page 26, line 19, because it provides an appropriation for an unauthorized program and therefore violates section 2(a) of rule XXI. Clause 2 of rule XXI states in pertinent part ``An appropriation may not be in order for an expenditure not previously authorized by law.'' Mr. Chairman, this program is not authorized by law.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I wanted to briefly explain what is happening here with these points of order that are being raised by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the subsequent points of order that are being raised by the Committee on Appropriations. The bill was finely tuned and very well crafted. The gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook), of the subcommittee, did a really good job bringing out a transportation bill. They could have used more money but they had a certain amount available and they used it wisely. But when the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure raises their points of order, and when the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) concludes raising these points of order, this bill will be at least a billion dollars over its 302(b) allocation. And, of course, we have committed ourselves, since I have been chairman of this committee, to staying within our 302(a) allocation and the subcommittees to staying within their 302(b) allocations. So we are required to raise our own points of order to deal with unauthorized projects that we had agreed to fund but that we will no longer be able to fund, because the points of order raised by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will take us beyond our 302(b) allocation. I explain that in advance because very shortly I will raise several points of order that will bring the bill back into balance within the 302(b) allocation.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I raise a point of order. For the reasons that I announced earlier I make a point of order on page 14, line 21 to page 15, line 3, because it provides an appropriation for an unauthorized program and, therefore, violates section 2(a) of rule XXI. Clause 2 of rule XXI states in pertinent part, ``An appropriation may not be in order for an expenditure not previously authorized by law.'' Mr. Chairman, this program is unauthorized and I insist on my point of order.