Legislation giving power to pass emergency supplementals introduced in APRIL 2001!

"107th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1473

To provide for expedited consideration by Congress of supplemental appropriations bills for the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard to meet critical national security needs.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 4, 2001

Mr. JONES of North Carolina introduced the following bill ; which was referred to the Committee on Rules

A BILL

To provide for expedited consideration by Congress of supplemental appropriations bills for the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard to meet critical national security needs.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Emergency Military Supplemental Procedures Act'.

SEC. 2. EXPEDITED CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN DEFENSE SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILLS.

(a) QUALIFYING BILL - This section applies with respect to a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill . For purposes of this section, the term `qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill' means a bill that states that the purpose of the bill is to meet critical national security needs and that otherwise only makes supplemental appropriations for any fiscal year for one or more of the following purposes:

(1) Operation and maintenance for the Department of Defense.

(2) Military personnel for the Department of Defense.

(3) Procurement of ammunition for the Department of Defense.

(4) Procurement for the Department of Defense (other than ammunition) to replace a loss or expenditure of material.

(5) Defense Health Program.

(6) Military construction to repair or replace structures damaged or destroyed by natural disaster.

(7) Operating expenses of the Coast Guard.

(b) CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES- A motion in the House of Representatives to resolve into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for consideration of a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill reported from the Committee on Appropriations shall be decided without intervening motion. A motion to reconsider the vote to resolve into the Committee of the Whole is not in order. Consideration of the bill in the Committee of the Whole may not extend for a period in excess of 10 hours. When the Committee on the Whole rises and reports the bill to the House, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the bill is passed is not in order.

(c) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE- (1)(A) A qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill shall be considered in the Senate in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.

(B) Such a bill received in the Senate from the House of Representatives shall be held at the desk in the Senate and may be considered in the Senate only in accordance with subsection (d). Such a bill introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

(2) If after a period of 10 legislative days after the date of referral to it of a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate has not reported the bill , that committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill and the bill shall be placed on the appropriate calendar.

(3) On or after the third legislative day after the date on which the Committee on Appropriations has reported, or has been discharged (under paragraph (2)) from further consideration of, a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill , it is in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) for any Member of the Senate to move to proceed to the consideration of the bill . A Member may make the motion only on the day after the calendar day on which the Member announces to the Senate the Member's intention to make the motion. The motion is privileged and is not debatable. The motion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the bill is agreed to, the Senate shall immediately proceed to consideration of the bill without intervening motion, order, or other business, and the bill shall remain the unfinished business of the Senate until disposed of.

(4) Debate on the bill , and on all amendments thereto and debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than a total of 10 hours, which shall be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the bill . A motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consideration of other business, or a motion to recommit the bill is not in order.

(5) Debate on any amendment to the bill shall be limited to two hours, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager of the bill , and debate on any amendment to an amendment, debatable motion, or appeal shall be limited to one hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager of the bill , except that in the event the manager of the bill is in favor of any such amendment, motion, or appeal, the time in opposition thereto shall be controlled by the minority leader or his designee. No amendment that is not germane to the provisions of the bill shall be received.

(6) A motion to further limit debate is not debatable. A motion to recommit (except a motion to recommit with instructions to report back within a specified number of days, not to exceed three, not counting any day on which

the Senate is not in session) is not in order. Debate on any such motion to recommit shall be limited to one hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager of the bill .

(7) Immediately following the conclusion of the debate on the bill and a single quorum call at the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the Senate, the vote on advancing the bill to third reading shall occur.

(8) A motion to reconsider the vote by which third reading of the bill is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.

(9) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the application of the rules of the Senate to the procedure relating to a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill shall be decided without debate.

(d) ACTION IN SENATE ON MEASURE FROM HOUSE- If, upon the ordering of the third reading of a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill in the Senate the Senate has received from the House of Representatives a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill that is being held at the desk pursuant to subsection (c)(1) or, if not, then upon the receipt from the House of Representatives of a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill , the following procedures shall apply:

(1) if the bill received from the House of Representatives is identical to the bill as advanced to third reading by the Senate, the vote on final passage shall be on the bill of the House of Representatives; and

(2) if the bill received from the House is not identical to the bill as advanced to third reading by the Senate--

(A) the bill received from the House shall be considered as amended with the text and title (if different) of the bill of the Senate;

(B) the vote on final passage shall be on the bill of the House of Representatives as so amended; and

(C) a motion shall be in order to insist on the amendment or amendments of the Senate and to request a conference with the House of Representatives on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon.

(e) ACTION IN HOUSE ON REQUEST FOR CONFERENCE FROM THE SENATE- Upon receiving from the Senate a message that the Senate has passed with an amendment or amendments a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill and that the Senate insists upon its amendment or amendments and requests a conference of the two Houses on the disagreeing votes thereon, the House of Representatives shall be considered to have disagreed to the amendment or amendments of the Senate and agreed to the conference requested by the Senate.

(f) LIMITATION PENDING CONCLUSION OF CONFERENCE- After a conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill has been agreed to under subsection (e), it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider a motion to adjourn that House for a period of more than three days until the committee of conference has filed its report.

(g) SENATE ACTION ON CONFERENCE REPORTS, ETC- (1) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the consideration of a conference report on a qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill may be made even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to.

(2) During the consideration in the Senate of the conference report (or a message from the House) on qualifying defense supplemental appropriations bill , and all amendments in disagreement, and all amendments thereto, and debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, debate shall be limited to five hours, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and minority leader or their designees. Debate on any debatable motion or appeal related to the conference report (or a message between Houses) shall be limited to one hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager of the conference report (or a message from the House).

(3) Should the conference report be defeated in the Senate, debate on any request for a new conference and the appointment of conferees shall be limited to one hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the manager of the conference report and the minority leader or his designee, and should any motion be made to instruct the conferees before the conferees are named, debate on such motion shall be limited to one-half hour, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager of the conference report. Debate on any amendment to any such instructions shall be limited to 20 minutes, to be equally divided between and controlled by the mover and the manager of the conference report. In all cases when the manager of the conference report is in favor of any motion, appeal, or amendment, the time in opposition shall be under the control of the minority leader or his designee.

(4) In any case in which there are amendments in disagreement, time on each amendment shall be limited to 30 minutes, to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the manager of the conference report and the minority leader or his designee. No amendment that is not germane to the provisions of such amendments shall be received.

(h) LEGISLATIVE DAY DEFINED- For the purposes of this section, with respect to either House of Congress, a legislative day is a calendar day on which that House is in session.

(i) SECTION ENACTED AS EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWER OF THE TWO HOUSES- The provisions of this section are enacted by the Congress--

(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and, as such, shall be considered as part of the rules of either House and shall supersede other rules only to the extent they are inconsistent therewith; and

(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of either House to change the rules (so far as they relate to the procedures of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House."