C. Young

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. In response to the comments of the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), I would refer all of the Members of the House to the adverse report that the Committee on Appropriations did report on H.R. 853, which would have created this lock box. It is a very good description of why it is not workable.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. I rise in part to compliment him and congratulate him for having brought what is a fairly difficult bill to the floor in what I think will be a fairly bipartisan approach. I also thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), the ranking minority member, who has been just a tremendous partner in this whole effort. I would like to say that this is Thursday, and hopefully the agreement that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I are working on, along with the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), will allow us to complete consideration of this bill early enough tomorrow that Members can make their weekend plans. I also want to compliment the Committee on Appropriations, the staff, and the Members of this House. This is the eighth appropriations bill that the House will have sent down to the Senate for this fiscal year. That is in addition to the supplemental that we did earlier. Eleven of our subcommittees have marked up their bills. The full committee has marked up 10 bills and has sent them to the House. The 11th bill will be marked up on Tuesday morning. That is the foreign operations bill. Next week we expect to have on the floor the agriculture bill, which is basically ready for floor consideration, and the energy and water bill, which we intend to have on the floor before next weekend. Also, we fully anticipate having the conference report on the military construction bill ready for House consideration next week. So all in all, by the end of June, most of these appropriations bills will be through the House and down in the other body. One bill, the District of Columbia, will not be, and basically that is because the District of Columbia has a different fiscal year than the Federal government. We have not yet received the budget request from the District of Columbia, so we are not able to have that bill ready by the end of next week. The appropriations committee has done a good job moving the bills. The House has done a very good job moving the bills. I want to compliment all of the Members of the Committee on Appropriations for their excellent work.

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would just make this one point, that I think all of us who pay any attention to baseball understand that we cannot go from home plate to home plate. We have to go to first base first, and then we go to second, and then we go to third, and then we go home. We just cannot get there without passing first base.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman is well aware, he and I read every word and every comma of each report. I have not seen the name Mr. Lextra ever, and I doubt the gentleman from Wisconsin has.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make the following statement to correct a printing error in the Record. Mr. Speaker, the report to accompany the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001, House Report 106-645, includes a printing error. On page 204, roll-call vote number 4, the amendment dealing with ergonomics, under the column for Members voting ``nay,'' there is a name ``Mr. Lextra.'' That name should not be in that column. There is no such person on the Committee on Appropriations or in the House of Representatives. Under the column for Members voting ``present,'' the name of the gentleman from California (Mr. Dixon) appears. The report the committee filed with the House shows that the gentleman from California (Mr. Dixon) voted ``nay,'' not ``present.'' His name should not have been printed in the ``present'' column but in the ``nay'' column. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that this statement reflecting the accurate vote of the gentleman from California (Mr. Dixon) on the ergonomics issue appear not only in today's Record but in the permanent Record for the day that this legislation was initially considered, June 8, 2000.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh).

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill. I would just restate to my colleagues, this is a fiscally responsible appropriations bill. I would hope we could get to the vote and pass the bill.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Chairman, I would explain briefly that the amendment reduces all discretionary budget authority provided in this bill by 0.617 percent. I do not want to offer this amendment, Mr. Chairman; but it is essential and necessary that I do. It is the only fair and reasonable way to address the problem that was created when the emergency designation in this bill was struck on a point of order. The emergency designation related to the funding in this bill approved by the subcommittee and the full Committee on Appropriations for the public health and social services emergency fund, and a declaration of emergency was attached to that funding. Now, because a Member on my side of the aisle decided that he did not like that, they struck it on a point of order. Under the budget rules, removing an emergency designation from a bill, that has the effect of reducing the committee's budget allocation. Thus this bill is $500 million in budget authority and $217 million in outlays over its allocation thanks to that point of order. So this has to be fixed. If it is not fixed in this bill, then we would need to reduce the 302(b) allocations for one or more of the other subcommittees that have not yet marked up a bill. In other words, the allocations for the Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary appropriation bill, or the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs appropriation bill, or the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government appropriation bill, or the District of Columbia appropriation bill would have to be cut. We have to make up this $500 million. This cut is required to remain within our allocation, and they must be found in this bill unless we intend to disrupt all of the other 302(b) allocations. I would point out that this bill is an increase over last year. There is $2.7 billion in discretionary funding more than last year's bill. There is $11.5 billion more in this bill for the mandatory accounts. So this bill has had an increase. But despite that increase, I would really prefer that we allow this emergency declaration to stick with the public health and social services emergency fund. But that has been struck on a point of order, therefore, Mr. Chairman, this amendment is necessary. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time, and just let me say again that I really regret that it is necessary for me to offer this amendment, but it is essential that we pass this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. I have no objection to that.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that during further consideration of H.R. 4577 in the Committee of the Whole pursuant to House Resolution 418 and the order of the House of June 8, 2000, no further amendment to the bill shall be in order except: One, pro forma amendments offered by the chairman or ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their designees for the purpose of debate; Two, the amendment printed in part B of House Report 106-657; Three, the remaining amendments listed in the order of the House of June 8, 2000, as previously modified; And four, the following additional amendments by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), regarding across-the-board reduction; the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra), regarding reductions in Education for the Disadvantaged, Impact Aid, School Improvement Programs, and Bilingual and Immigrant Education and increase in special education; further, by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Schaffer), regarding reduction in education research, statistics, and improvement and increase in special education; by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Schaffer), regarding reduction in Even Start and increase in special education for grants to States; by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Schaffer), regarding reduction in Job Corps Training and increase in special education for grants to States; by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Schaffer), regarding reduction in the United States Institute of Peace and increase in special education for grants to States; by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn), regarding fetal tissue research; by the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), regarding a report of the impact of PNTR on United States jobs; by the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), regarding NIH; by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), regarding additional funding for Meals on Wheels; and the amendments printed in the portion of the Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule XXVIII and numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 189, 190, 191, 192, 196, 198, and 201. Each additional amendment may be offered only by the Member designated in this request or a designee or the Member who caused it to be printed or a designee; shall be considered as read; shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent; shall not be subject to amendment; and shall not be subject to a demand for a division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. That is what I am asking the gentleman, who agreed on our side to the 9:00 adjournment tonight?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Reclaiming my time, I would ask the gentleman to read the next line and see who responded from our side to agree to the 9:00 adjournment tonight.

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Reclaiming my time, let me suggest to the gentleman that the unanimous consent agreement that the gentleman and I developed last week, had a time limit on the specific amendments but there was no time limit on when the House would complete its business today. Secondly, the time that we spent last week on this bill, and today, has been on amendments from your side of the aisle. There are a substantial number of amendments that will probably be offered from our side of the aisle that have already been printed in the Record, and certainly each Member has the option to offer those amendments. Now my suggestion would be that we take up the next amendment and during that time we sit down and see if we can develop another unanimous consent request to propound that would be agreeable to the House; that would put some time limits on the rest of the amendments as we did on the first series of amendments, and guarantee the Members that we will complete action on this bill by tomorrow night. Also, tonight we would like to appoint conferees on the military construction bill, which would also become a vehicle for a large portion of the supplemental that the House passed very early in the year, which is important to very many Members who are serving here in the House.

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

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word so we can have this colloquy. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I have been discussing the order of business for the balance of the evening and for the completion of this bill. I would like to say that this is the first time in 3 years that this bill has come to the floor as a separate independent individual piece of legislation, and I think it is important that we deal with it expeditiously. Mr. Chairman, there are a substantial number of amendments that have been printed in the Record. I am satisfied that Members who have had them printed would probably want to offer them. I think it would not be a bad idea if Members would let their respective subcommittee leaders know whether or not they intend to offer those amendments. I make this suggestion for this purpose: I understand that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and many Members would like for the committee to rise and continue our work tomorrow. It is extremely important that we complete this bill tomorrow. Otherwise the rest of our appropriations schedule will fall considerably behind, and I do not think any of us want that to happen. So the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I have been discussing how do we get out of here at a reasonable time tonight and also be able to complete this bill tomorrow? Mr. Chairman, I would be happy to yield to the gentleman for his comments on this subject.

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. It was not part of the Record that you just read, is that correct?

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I would point out to our colleagues that this amendment was offered in the full committee and it was debated at great length followed by a recorded vote. The amendment was not agreed to. It was not so much that we did not agree with what the gentlewoman would like to accomplish, but we did not have the money. The budget approved by this House and by the other body put a severe restriction on the funds available. If the gentlewoman would have offered some way to pay for this or offered an offset somewhere else in the bill, we might be more friendly toward the amendment, but, unfortunately, that is not the case. I would like to point out also for the benefit of our colleagues, this bill provides the President's budget request for the Substance Abuse Block Grant, $31 million more than last year's level. I know it is not as much as the gentlewoman would like. It is not as much as I would like, but it was the best we could do, given the allocation that we had. Mr. Chairman, I must oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.