[House Report 108-236] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] 108th Congress Report HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 108-236 ===================================================================== PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2861, DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004 _______ July 25 (legislative day, July 24), 2003.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed _______ Ms. Pryce of Ohio, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following R E P O R T [To accompany H. Res. 338] The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration House Resolution 338, by a record vote of 8 to 4, report the same to the House with the recommendation that the resolution be adopted. SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 2861, Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2004, under an open rule. The rule provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. The rule waives points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule XXI (prohibiting unauthorized appropriations or legislative provisions in an appropriations bill), except as specified in the resolution. The rule authorizes the Chair to accord priority in recognition to Members who have pre-printed their amendments in the Congressional Record. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. The waiver of all points of order against consideration of the bill includes a waiver of clause 4 of rule XIII (requiring a three-day layover of the committee report and requiring the three-day availability of printed hearings on a general appropriation bill). The waiver of clause 2 of rule XXI (prohibiting unauthorized appropriations or legislative provisions in an appropriations bill) is needed, because there are numerous legislative provisions included in the bill. The waiver of clause 2 of rule XXI does not extend to the provision specified in the resolution, which falls under the authorizing jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and is as follows: ``, except that, notwithstanding section 1452(n) of the Safe Water Drinking Act, as amended, none of the funds made available under this heading in this Act, or in previous appropriations Acts, shall be reserved by the Administrator for health effects studies and drinking water contaminants'' under the heading in the bill ``State and Tribal Assistance Grants''. COMMITTEE VOTES Pursuant to clause 3(b) of House rule XIII the results of each record vote on an amendment or motion to report, together with the names of those voting for and against, are printed below: Rules Committee Record Vote No. 191 Date: July 24, 2003. Measure: H.R. 2861.--Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004. Motion by: Mr. Frost. Summary of motion: To make in order and provide the appropriate waivers for the amendment offered by Representative Edwards, which adds $2.2 billion to VA medical care for both the priority 1-6 and priority 7-8 veterans. The addition is offset by reducing the tax cut provided in the Jobs and Growth Reconciliation Act of 2003 by 12.5 percent for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income in excess of $1 million. Results: Defeated 4 to 7. Vote by Members: Goss--Nay; Linder--Nay; Diaz-Balart--Nay; Hastings (WA)--Nay; Sessions--Nay; Reynolds--Nay; Frost--Yea; Slaughter--Yea; McGovern--Yea; Hastings (FL)--Yea; Dreier--Nay. Rules Committee Record Vote No. 192 Date: July 24, 2003. Measure: H.R. 2861.--Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004. Motion by: Mr. Frost. Summary of motion: To make in order and provide the appropriate waivers for the amendment offered by Representative Smith of New Jersey which increases by $1.8 billion the dollar amount (for a total of $17,579,220,000) for medical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans in priority categories one through six. Results: Defeated 4 to 7. Vote by Members: Goss--Nay; Linder--Nay; Diaz-Balart--Nay; Hastings (WA)--Nay; Sessions--Nay; Reynolds--Nay; Frost--Yea; Slaughter--Yea; McGovern--Yea; Hastings (FL)--Yea; Dreier--Nay. Rules Committee Record Vote No. 193 Date: July 24, 2003. Measure: H.R. 2861.--Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004. Motion by: Mr. Goss. Summary of motion: To report the resolution. Results: Agreed to 8 to 4. Vote by Members: Goss--Yea; Linder--Yea; Diaz-Balart--Yea; Hastings (WA)--Yea; Myrick--Yea; Sessions--Yea; Reynolds--Yea; Frost--Nay; Slaughter--Nay; McGovern--Nay; Hastings (FL)--Nay; Dreier--Yea.