Chief Deputy Whip
Rep. Diana DeGette
DeGette is a fourth generation Coloradoan, educated at Denver's South High School and Colorado College. Read More...

The Daily WhipLine

Thursday, March 8, 2007

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Floor Schedule and Procedure

• H. Res. 215-Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 700 - Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007 (Rep. Cardoza – Rules):  The House will consider a modified open rule to provide for consideration of H.R. 700. The rule provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, makes in order only those amendments to the bill that are pre-printed in the Congressional Record or are pro forma amendments for the purpose of debate, provides that each amendment may be offered only by the Member who caused it to be printed or a designee, and that each amendment shall be considered as read and considered under the 5-minute rule. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Debate on the rule will be managed by Rep. Cardoza and will proceed in the following order:

• One hour of debate on the rule.
• Possible vote on the Democratic motion to move the previous question.  Democrats are urged to vote YES.
• Vote on adoption of the rule. Democrats are urged to vote YES.

• H.Res. 219 – Rule providing for consideration of H.Res. 202 –Providing for the expenses of certain committees of the House of Representatives in the 110th Congress (Rules): The closed rule provides one hour of general debate on H. Res. 202 in the House equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration and provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on House Administration now printed in the resolution, modified by the amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying the resolution (providing for a new Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming), shall be considered as adopted. The rule provides one motion to recommit which may not contain instructions.  Debate on the rule will be managed by Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter and will proceed in the following order:

• One hour of debate on the rule.
• Possible vote on the Democratic motion to move the previous question.  Democrats are urged to vote YES.
• Vote on adoption of the rule. Democrats are urged to vote YES.

• H. Res. 202 - Providing for the expenses of certain committees of the House of Representatives in the 110th Congress (Rep. Millender-McDonald - House Administration):  Next the House will consider H. Res. 202.  Pursuant to the rule, debate on the resolution will be managed by House Administration Chair Millender-McDonald, or her designee, and consideration will proceed in the following order:

• One hour of debate on the resolution.
• Possible debate and vote on a Republican motion to recommit the resolution. Democrats are urged to vote NO on the motion to recommit.
• Vote on adoption of the resolution. Democrats are urged to vote YES on adoption of the resolution.

• H.R. 700-Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007 (Rep. McNerney – Transportation and Infrastructure): H.R. 700 will be managed by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair James Oberstar, or his designee, and consideration will proceed in the following order:

• One hour of debate on the bill.
• Debate and votes on amendments to the bill.
• Possible debate and vote on a Republican motion to recommit the bill. Democrats are urged to vote NO on the motion to recommit.
• Vote on final passage of the bill. Democrats are urged to vote YES on final passage.

Bill Summary and Key Issues

Anticipated Amendments to H.R. 700:

REP. TOM PRICE, R-Ga., may offer an amendment identical to the amendment he offered on Wednesday to H.R. 569 that would prohibit the bill's authorization levels or other provisions from taking effect if they would result in costs to the federal government, except to the extent that the bill also provides offsetting decreases in federal spending. The amendment would require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to determine the costs of the bill's provisions as well as the bill's effect on the deficit or surplus.
(NOTE: Authorization measures generally do not affect direct spending, because funds authorized under such measures must subsequently be appropriated by Congress, and thus they are generally not covered by the pay-as-you-go rule. CBO reported that this bill would not affect direct spending or federal revenue.) Please see the attached document, prepared by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for further information on the Price amendment.  The identical amendment, when offered during consideration of H.R. 569 on Wednesday, was defeated on a vote of 260 (228D, 32R) to 166 (165R, 1D). Democrats are again urged to VOTE NO.

REP. DANA ROHRABACHER, R-Calif., may offer an amendment that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from making a grant to an entity unless the EPA has been provided satisfactory assurance that the entity will require all persons, including contractors and subcontractors, that are carrying out grant-funded activities to participate in the Employment Eligibility Verification Pilot Program. (The Employment Eligibility Pilot Program, which is managed by the Homeland Security Department's U.S. Customs and Immigration Service, allows employers to verify the employment eligibility of potential hires and validate Social Security numbers using an Internet-based system connected to government databases. Participating employers voluntarily register with the system and are then required to verify all new hires, although they can leave the program at any time.) It is anticipated that the Rohrabacher amendment will be ruled non-germane to the underlying bill.

Rep. Mike Conaway, R-TX., may offer an amendment that adds an additional factor for the Administrator of EPA to consider in making grants under this section of whether the project is located in an area served by a public water system that serves 10,000 or fewer individuals. 

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-OH., may offer an amendment that imposes a new limitation on eligibility that recipients of funding do not permit the use of water for retail sale. 

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-TX., may offer an amendment that limits authorization of appropriations to fiscal years ending before October 1, 2008.

H.R. 700, Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007

• This pilot program was authorized for 2002 through 2004, but the Republican-controlled Congress never appropriated any funds and let the authorization expire.
• This pilot program to increase usable water supply will be particularly critical in California, the Southwest and other arid parts of the country.
• This bill seeks to improve water quality by authorizing a total of $125 million to fund projects that increase usable water supply by encouraging innovation in water reclamation, reuse and conservation. 

NOTE: According to the Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) issued on March 6, 2007, the Administration strongly opposes this pro-environment bill that seeks to provide our communities with additional clean water and innovative reclamation tools and resources.

H. Res. 202-Committee Funding Resolution/Creation of the bipartisan Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming:

• On Thursday, the House will consider H.Res. 202, the Committee Funding Resolution. The rule for the bill incorporates provisions establishing a Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. The measure provides House Committees with a 4 percent increase in 2007 and 3 percent increase in 2008 – the smallest increase for the Congress in the last 12 years (except for 1999-2000), and provides the Minority the customary 1/3 allotment of resources and staff.  All Members are urged to vote YES on the rule and the funding resolution. 

• With this resolution, the new Congress will use taxpayer money responsibly in resourcing the congressional committees – investing additional funds for much-needed oversight to bring accountability to the War in Iraq.
  
  
• The bipartisan Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is critical to generating new ideas and seeking new solutions to meet the most urgent and complex challenge facing this generation.
  
  
• The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will raise the visibility of these two urgent issues and collect information that will assist us in finding solutions to the challenges presented by global warming and our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable regions of the world.
  
  
• The Select Committee will not have legislative jurisdiction, but will develop recommendations on policies, strategies, technologies and other innovations to reduce the dependence of the United States on foreign sources of energy, and to achieve substantial and permanent reductions in emissions and other activities that contribute to climate change and global warming. 
  
  
• At least eight standing Committees of the House share jurisdiction affecting energy independence and global warming.  The Select Committee will provide a much-needed overview of the key issues and solutions.
  
  
• While each of those Committees is aggressively considering these issues, the Select Committee will be able to step back and look at the bigger picture.
  
  
• The Select Committee will conduct fact-finding to look both at state and local efforts as well as international efforts to combat global warming.
  
• The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will be bipartisan and will have 15 members appointed by the Speaker, of whom six will be appointed on the recommendation of the Minority Leader, and will cease to exist at the end of the 110th Congress.

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