C. Young

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I would like to engage in a colloquy with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) regarding two provisions in section 11 of the bill. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend the chairman on a good bill which is long overdue. However, it is my understanding there are two provisions in section 11 that would create an additional requirement for discretionary appropriations. Specifically, subsection (b)(5) strikes a current fee collected by the INS to support the cost of processing certain immigrant applications, and subsection (b)(6) then authorizes appropriations for these applications. I further understand that this may require upwards of $1 billion over the next 4 years. Mr. Chairman, is my understanding of these provisions correct?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, as you have just said, you and I have established great communications. We have had numerous discussions about the need of the Committee on Appropriations to be able to determine the appropriate balance of competing needs and priorities within the discretionary segment of the budget. The needs are great for the prosecution of the war against terrorism, homeland security and other critically important Federal programs. We both recognize that the cuts anticipated in the highway program are too great to be sustained this year, though these reductions in the highway program are required by provisions of existing law in TEA21 in which expenditures must equal receipts. Those provisions were supported by a majority of the House and had the full backing of the highway lobby at the time. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of support to increase spending for highways beyond the collections of the trust fund this year. By contrast, the resources to fund all these unmet needs are limited. That is why the gentleman from Wisconsin and I introduced legislation that would ensure that any increase for the highway program not come at the expense of other Federal programs. H.R. 3900 adjusts the highway category. It ensures that additional spending is guaranteed for highways in fiscal year 2003. H.R. 3900 has been referred to your committee. Is your committee expected to report favorably this legislation to ensure that the highway firewalls are increased above the $23.864 billion this year?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the very distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee for yielding. I rise to engage the distinguished chairman of the Budget Committee in a colloquy.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, as you know, the budget resolution includes a reserve fund for highways and highway safety. My reading of the relevant provisions indicates to me that if the Appropriations Committee reports a bill with obligation limitations for programs within the highway category in excess of $23.864 billion, then you as the chairman of the Budget Committee may increase the allocation for outlays for the highway program if the Appropriations Committee bill allocates the additional funding in accordance with TEA-21. In addition, the outlays from the reserve fund cannot exceed $1.18 billion. Is that correct?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the commitments of the gentleman from Iowa and the clarity that he has provided to me and to the House today. I would like to add that his job is not the easiest job in the Congress. It is a difficult job to bring all of the divergent views together. I applaud the gentleman for the good job he has done. He can count on my vote for this resolution.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Would the chairman also agree that discussions on establishing discretionary caps in fiscal year 2003 and beyond and extending the highway and transit firewalls beyond the current fiscal year should include the Committee on Appropriations?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. In the course of my review of the budget resolution before us today, I see no provision that establishes discretionary caps in fiscal year 2003 or extends the highway and transit guarantees beyond 2003. Is that accurate?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. It is also my understanding that the budget resolution does not require the Committee on Appropriations to report a bill containing obligation limitation for programs within the highway category in excess of $23.864 billion. Is that correct?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

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 on H.J. Res. 79, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. That would make our life a lot easier, but we probably could not get that kind of unanimous consent. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this continuing resolution merely extends the date of the previous continuing resolution until the 10th of January. We do this not because we need the extra time in the Congress, but the President does need some additional time to review these last bills that we have sent to him. I hope that we can pass this expeditiously and everybody get home for a very merry Christmas or a happy Hanukkah or whatever celebration that we all enjoy.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 323, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 79) making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2002, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this is a very good bill, and I think we will pass it expeditiously here this morning, but I want to remind the Members that it does include the $20 billion emergency supplemental, which is divided into three basic sections; which is national defense, or military, homeland defense, and the recovery effort for after the terrible September 11 attack. I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) for being a good partner on the minority side, and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), who has been a tremendous partner as we went through this process. And, of course, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) is an outstanding chairman of the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations. I am happy to report, Mr. Speaker, that this is the 15th, let me repeat, the 15th appropriation bill that we have done this year. We have not lumped any of them together. Each bill has had its own identity. This is something we have been striving to do for years, and this year we finally accomplished it. Mr. Speaker, today the House is considering a very important piece of legislation, our last appropriations bill--H.R. 3338, the Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002. Included in this bill is not only critical funding for the Defense Department and the Intelligence Community, but also an allocation of the $20 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations enacted as part of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States. I commend Chairman Lewis, working closely with his partner, the ranking Member of the subcommittee, Jack Murtha--as well as all of the members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, on the cooperation that has produced a truly bipartisan Defense portion of this bill that shares broad-based support. This was not only because of the way this bill was put together, but because of what it does. It is a bill which provides strong support for our troops--both in the immediate circumstances they find themselves, as well as the longer term security challenges confronting our Nation. You may know that the Defense Subcommittee was actually beginning its subcommittee mark-up of this bill on the very morning of September 11th--when our country suffered the horrific attacks on New York and Washington. As we all know, those attacks have changed so many, many things--and I can report that this Defense Appropriations bill was re- worked by the committee following the attacks as well as the onset of our military operations overseas, to reflect the new demands of the war on terrorism as well as the other challenges we confront around the world. The bill addresses new threats of this new century--ranging from areas such as Ballistic Missile Defense, to force protection measures for our troops in the field, and new equipment and technologies such as aerial refueling aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. It also fully funds the President's initiatives in the area of military pay and quality of life programs--such as the largest military pay raise in 15 years, and more than a 50 percent increase in funding for the medical programs supporting our troops and their families. And it includes a new title to deal with counter-terrorism--ranging from more funding for intelligence, to providing additional resources in the area of so- called ``cyber war'' (computer network protection) and improved equipment and research to counter the threats of chemical and biological weapons. emergency supplemental With regard to Emergency supplemental portion of the bill--Division B--I believe we have struck an appropriate balance between funding to address our homeland security, recovery efforts and humanitarian assistance, and defense requirements. We expect that this is only the first bill that will provide funding to support our war against terrorism and the needs of this country to respond and recover from the attacks of September 11th. The conference report before you today includes $20 billion to address the immediate requirements. recovery The bill provides approximately $8.2 billion to help impacted areas recover from the terrorist attacks. This brings the total provided for recovery at $11.2 billion when $3 billion in previously released funds are added. Included is: $2 billion for the Community Development Block Grant for economic recovery assistance in New York City; $4.357 billion for FEMA disaster relief $300 million in additional transportation assistance and security enhancements, including funds for Amtrak, subways and ferries; and $140 million in reimbursement to hospitals impacted by the terrorist attacks. homeland security The bill provides approximately $8.3 billion to improve our homeland defense and to assist communities in their emergency preparedness, including: $399.7 million for the Customs Service for increased border and seaport inspections, $285.5 million more than the request; $209 million for the Coast Guard, $6 million above the President's request; $2.5 billion for Public Health and Bioterrorism activities, $1 billion above the request; Aviation security initiatives through the Federal Aviation Administration receive $200 million which includes $100 million for cockpit door modifications and $65 million for the hiring of additional Sky marshals. An additional $108.5 million is provided to the FAA for the purchase and installation of explosive detection systems; $93 million for grants to U.S. seaports for security assessments and enhancements; $745 million for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a variety of counterterrorism efforts, $206 million above the request; $256 million for Legislative branch security and the U.S. Capitol Police are authorized to hire an additional 195 FTEs; $226 million for Nuclear Nonproliferation, including $120 million to secure nuclear materials at sites in Russia and the Newly Independent States. national defense The bill provides $3.5 billion for the Department of Defense for increased operational costs, Pentagon reconstruction and classified activities. This brings the total for defense spending in the counter- terror supplemental to $17.2 billion. Also provides authority for agencies to reimburse the National Guard. I am asking that we move this important legislation forward so we can get it to the President for his signature. Critical funding for our military during a time of war and for homeland security and recovery efforts is at stake.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this bill does not enjoy as much support as many of our other appropriations bills, but I really compliment the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) for having been able to bring together a bill that has many reforms and that changes a lot of the foreign aid programs that are of interest to the United States. As I said, it is not the easiest bill to produce, but they have done a really good job. I know that we will all start to breathe a sigh of relief, because this is the next-to-the-last appropriations bill for this season. Tomorrow, we will have the last appropriations bill for this season. I hope that we can proceed quickly with the completion of this bill and the rest of the business of today, and I would advise everybody to get a good night's rest, because the largest bill in our pack is tomorrow, and that is our bill for national defense and homeland security. Mr. Speaker, this is the first year for the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) as chairman of this subcommittee. He had chaired another subcommittee for quite a long time, but because of the term limits that are self-imposed in the House, the gentleman changed to this job this year. I would say to the gentleman that he has done an outstanding job. He has visited with heads of State from all over this planet and has met them with great integrity and with mutual respect. He has done a really fine job representing the Congress as he deals with the foreign leaders, and the gentleman from Arizona deserves the pride of this House and the respect of this House for the great job that he has done. His partner, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), has, in fact, been a partner all the way through; and while there were some differences, most of them were overcome without too much difficulty. They have done a good job, and I think it is okay to vote for this bill today.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this conference report. I want to add my compliments to the chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey). The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) plays a dual role. He is the ranking member on this subcommittee as well as the ranking member on the full Committee on Appropriations. They have done a good job. The health part of this bill maintains our commitment to double the money invested in medical research over a 5-year period, and this bill keeps us on track. In addition, we have made major investments in educational programs; and I want to compliment the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), his ranking member, for having passed H.R. 1 through the whole process. This bill that we have today and H.R. 1 are very compatible in the educational area. So a good job has been done by the Congress, both bodies, the House and the Senate; and we have a good package before us today. It was interesting that the final conference committee meeting was held last night. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and very cooperative. We resolved a lot of outstanding differences; and, Mr. Speaker, we might expect that this is the second largest appropriations bill, second only to Defense. But the two of them go together, because as we have evolved our military from a trench and over-the-top type of charge to the high-tech weapons and systems that we use today, without a good education, we would not have men and women properly prepared to deal with the high technology that our defense system requires. So these two bills work hand in hand. They constitute over half of our discretionary accounts too, by the way, Mr. Speaker. But they have done a good job working out all of the many differences between the bodies, and I again compliment the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula). He is an outstanding subcommittee chairman. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has been a tremendous partner. With the cooperation we have enjoyed on all of our appropriations bills, this year has just been tremendous. I want to thank all of the Members. I want to say again, Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the subcommittee and the ranking member both mentioned the staff. I do not know how many committees go through the same drill that Committee on Appropriations staff do. On our bills, once we start to get a bill ready to read it, to write it, to prepare it to bring to the floor, staff will work very late into the night, four or five nights a week; and I am talking about 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning and come back in and start again at 8 o'clock the next morning. They devote a lot of time; they are very dedicated. They are very devoted to the job that they do, and we are lucky to have such an outstanding staff on the Committee on Appropriations. So I thought we might just say some good words about them so they can these words home and show it to mom and the kids or dad and the kids, whatever the case might be. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. It is time to move it on. We will then have two more appropriations bills to finish, foreign operations and defense. The committee is prepared to present those bills at any time we are given time on the floor, and I would hope that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I can push the off button tomorrow afternoon sometime, and wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy Hanukkah.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the managers on the part of the House have until 6 a.m., December 19, 2001, to file a conference report on the bill (H.R. 3061) making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it shall be in order at any time after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, December 19, 2001, to consider the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 3061) making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes; that all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration are waived; and the conference report shall be considered as read.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

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 on H. J. Res. 78, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 10 seconds to urge Members to support this continuing resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the previous order of the House, I call up the joint resolution (H. J. Res. 78) making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2002, 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, the legislation before the House, House Joint Resolution 78, will extend the current continuing resolution until December 21, at which time we hope to have all of the appropriations bills completed and on the President's desk. Mr. Speaker, this is a noncontroversial CR. The terms and conditions of the previous continuing resolution will remain in effect. All ongoing activities will be continued at current rates, under the same terms and conditions as fiscal year 2001, with the exception of the agencies covered by the fiscal year 2002 appropriations bills that have already been enacted into law. Nine of the fiscal year 2002 13 appropriations bills have already been signed, plus two supplemental appropriations bills. One more 2002 bill is awaiting the President's signature. That is the District of Columbia appropriations bill. Most of the government agencies are already operating at fiscal year 2002 levels. We are prepared to present the three remaining bills, the Foreign Operations bill, the Labor-HHS bill and the Defense bill when the House reconvenes next week, and we expect those bills to be completed and ready to go through the process. I urge the House to move the CR to the Senate and so we can get on with the rest of the business of the day. 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 want to thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the ranking member on the Committee on Appropriations because he is right. When he pointed out how well the appropriations process has worked this year, he is exactly right; and that is because we had a good working relationship. We had some differences but we worked them out. And we got, except for one bill, we got very substantial votes on the other bills and I think that is a very good sign. We got off to a little late start this year because the President was late getting started since it took a while to decide who was going to be President. So we were fairly late in getting the detailed appropriations request from the administration. But once we got started, it has been a while ago now, but I hope the House Members will remember that we actually passed all of our appropriations bills, except 3, prior to the July 4 recess. And two of those three that we did not pass, well, actually, all 3 of them, we were very late getting the District of Columbia budget request. So that bill is usually late because we are late getting their request. The other 2 were Labor HHS and Health and Education, and that was because H.R. 1 had not passed yet. Shortly after H.R. 1 passed, which is the Education bill, then we did pass our Labor, Health and Education bill. The other was national defense, and we were asked to hold up on the national defense bill until such time as the President could send us his budget amendment. That amendment arrived about the first week of July. Shortly after we received it, we began to do some hearings on the budget amendment. Then the August recess came; and so we sat in this Capitol building on September 11 to mark up that bill in the subcommittee, and it was that morning that the terrible, tragic terrorist attacks on the United States took place. The building was evacuated, the subcommittee had to leave, and following that we had to do the supplementals; so that bill got delayed. But the bulk of our work was completed in the House prior to the July 4 recess, and Members ought to be proud of that. There is another reason we have had to have several continuing resolutions. If Members remember, one of the biggest complaints in previous years was that at the end of the process, we lumped five or six or seven bills altogether in an omnibus bill that no one had an opportunity to really understand what was in it, and months later we found things in the omnibus bill that surprised many of us. The hue and cry went up, no more omnibus bills. Mr. Speaker, no omnibus bill this year. All 13 appropriations bills plus two supplementals have been done as they should be done. So we come to the end of the process and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) is correct, we both believe when the House comes back next week, the final appropriations bills will be prepared to be voted on, and the House will have completed its appropriations business by next week. I thank Members for the support and correction that they have given us on both sides of the aisle. We have worked around our differences. As the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) said, we were victorious on occasion. We lost a few, but the House worked its will. That is what the House is all about, the House works its will. We have had strong leadership from the Republican side. The Speaker of the House has been a very strong leader and very strong supporter of the appropriations process. He understood the difficulties that we faced, and understood some of the decisions we had to make. But we come to the end of the process now. I think everyone is still smiling at each other, everyone is still shaking hands after the bills are completed, so I think we end the appropriations season with a pretty good feeling, and I thank all Members for that. I particularly thank the chairmen and ranking members of the subcommittees, and I particularly thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) as the ranking member, and I thank the members of the staff. A lot of Members do not know this, but on so many occasions, to get an appropriations bill through the process requires many, many, many 24-hour days where the staff actually stays throughout the night. My staff is led by Jim Dyer, our clerk, and the staff of the ranking member is led by Scott Lilly. We have a good staff relationship. Some of these people work 24 hours a day on many, many days during an appropriation season. And it seems like the appropriation season goes all year long some years.