Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1956) to regulate certain State taxation of interstate commerce, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1096 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

(Mrs. CAPITO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 1096 waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII requiring a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the same day it is reported from the Rules Committee against certain resolutions reported from the Rules Committee. The resolution applies the waiver to any special rule reported on this legislative day.

The rule also provides that suspensions will be in order at any time on this legislative day.

The resolution also provides that the Speaker or his designee shall consult with the minority leader or her designee on any suspension considered under this rule.

Mr. Speaker, this Congress has accomplished many things. We have worked on a variety of initiatives that will provide our working men and women with the resources necessary to succeed, expand access to health care, secure our borders, and continue to grow our economy. I would like to just comment on a few of these.

I am proud to say that I was part of the majority of Members that passed a raise in the Federal minimum wage for the first time in 9 years. It is important that we assist those who are struggling with the necessary tools to help them develop as individuals and in the workforce. I tell you that the hardworking men and women of West Virginia deserve this raise.

Another component of helping Americans succeed is making health care more affordable and accessible. This Congress has led the charge in modernizing our entitlement programs, allowing them to better serve the 21st-century senior.

Three years ago, we stood on this floor and passed a monumental enhancement to Medicare, the creation of a prescription drug plan under Medicare. This program has helped to provide prescription drug coverage to 91 percent of the seniors in my home State of West Virginia. The numbers do not lie. This program has been a success, and I look forward to continued work with various groups in West Virginia and throughout the country to help the remaining beneficiaries find a prescription plan that best suits their needs.

Regardless of their district's geographic location, no Member can honestly say that our Nation's immigration problems have not touched their constituents. We are all suffering from an immigration system that is clearly broken. The House passed a strong enforcement first approach last December, but, unfortunately, our friends in the other body could not come to agreement and insisted on a different plan. We must secure our borders and gain control over the flow of immigrants coming into our Nation before we can discuss any way to form a pathway to citizenship.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the pro-growth tax policies put in this place by this Congress have fostered a strong economy. We are seeing some of the lowest unemployment in my State, the lowest unemployment in history; tax receipts have surged from economic growth, and, as a result, the deficit is beginning to fall.

We still have work to do, and that is why we are here today. Despite this record of success, there is much more work to be done. We have several measures left that should garner bipartisan support, and in an attempt to make sure that this important work is finished by the end of the legislative week as well, we are here today to pass a rule to provide for the consideration of bills under rules that would require them to pass by two-thirds majority. This allows us to consider items in a timely manner and ensure that last-minute issues are resolved prior to our adjournment.

This balanced rule provides the minority with the ability to consult with the Speaker on any suspension that is offered, ensuring that their input and views are duly considered before any legislation considered under this rule is brought to the floor.

This rule also allows for consideration of special rules reported on this legislative day. We are obviously nearing the end of our session, and this rule will allow the House to finish its business in a timely fashion.

I am proud of the accomplishments of this House over the past 2 years. I now ask my colleagues to support this rule so that we may continue the work of the American people in a timely fashion today. Completing consideration of these suspensions and remaining bills ensures that we may accomplish as much as possible in the final days in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this balanced rule.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee, who has led us very ably over the last several years.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as one who cares about responsible legislating, I guess I would like to say that I have been in the legislative process now for 10 years, 4 years in my State House and 6 years now here in Congress. When you reach the end of a legislative session, there is always, rightly or wrongly, a rush to wrap up loose ends, to make sure that you don't leave issues undone, untied, so that you can start afresh in the new Congress.

But I would like to tell the gentleman something he probably already knows, that in the 103rd Congress, which was the last Congress that the Democrats had control, they actually used the same-day rule provisions 22 times, and this Congress, rightly or wrongly, has used the same-day rule 20 times.

So I would like to ask the gentleman, what I am hearing you say, and I know you will be on the Rules Committee and I will be leaving the Rules Committee because of the new majority-minority makeup in the committee, but what I am hearing you say is that you are basically promising that this same-day rule provision that we have used in the 109th Congress will not be a provision or mechanism that you will be using next December when you have control of the Rules Committee.

I would like to hear if that is what you are saying, and I would hope that by the rhetoric that I am hearing from you today that this is the direction that you want to take the committee. You will be part of the leadership of that committee.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I thank the gentleman for his response, and I have enjoyed my 2 years of service with him on the Rules Committee. He is a mighty adversary. And I also want to say congratulations to you and to the new majority. You fought hard for it, you won it, and I look forward to the new open process that you are proposing and particularly in the first 100 hours that you are proposing in the first several days of our legislative session in the 110th Congress.

I would like to just kind of piggyback on one thing you said, and I think it really rings true. It certainly rings true in my State and everywhere.

People are tired of the way we conduct our debate here in Congress. They turn us off. They do not listen to us because we heighten the words that we use, we disrespect each other as individuals. I am not saying that you and I do, but certainly several of our Members do on both sides of the aisle. We use words that are meant to catch the 30- second sound byte, that are meant to inflame one side or the other.

In my service in the Rules Committee, Chairman Dreier asked me to chair a Subcommittee on Civility, and

I began working with that and working with Representative Cleaver on the other side. We joined together in a Special Order where we both debated civilly over the pros and cons of tax relief without throwing the usual big word bantering, disrespecting words at one another that we have a tendency to do in our debate. I would ask my colleagues who are listening, join together in this effort with Representative Cleaver so we can grow the amount of Members, we can have Special Orders where we debate the pros and cons of such hot issues like the war in Iraq or immigration or tax relief, all these things that are so important to the American public, but we do it in a way where we have a little bit more time where we can go back and forth and ask each other questions. It is difficult the way our structured debate is, to actually make a point in one minute and then be able to respond to the other side.

So I would join with my colleague and maybe convince him to join our Subcommittee on Civility and we can have longer, more meaningful, and I think the American public would actually embrace the opportunity to sit down in front of their TV, watch C-SPAN for an hour, become educated on an issue on both sides, and then understand a little bit more about why we are voting one way or the other, where our belief systems are.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague. Again, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this rule to provide that suspensions will be in order anytime the legislative day of December 7, a very historic day in our Nation's history, 2006, and that special rules will be considered on the same day.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, the 109th Congress is ending the same way it started, in a closed and secretive fashion. I guess old habits die hard. Once again we are here on the floor debating a martial law rule that also makes today a suspension day. Here we are, once again, unsure of what we will be considering today, tonight, or tomorrow.

Now, it is hard to be shocked by the majority's tactics, because this is business as usual. Time after time the Republican majority has forced this House to consider bills under a closed process. In the 109th Congress, out of the 190 total rules reported, only one non- appropriations bill was considered under an open rule. One out of 190. That is a dismal record, even for this Republican majority.

Mr. Speaker, the trouble with this martial law rule is that it allows the House to consider any bill before we even have a chance to read it. What is going to be included in the final bill? We already know about the tax extenders, Medicare fixes and offshore drilling that will be cobbled together in one bill. What else will be thrown in here? What other surprises does this Republican majority have in store?

Just a few years ago, Mr. Speaker, liability protection for pharmaceutical companies was included in a conference report after the conference was closed. Is that going to happen again in their rush to get out of town?

Legislation is not supposed to work like this. None of the issues we are considering here are new. The Ways and Means Committee knew about the Medicare problem all year, but didn't care to act. The offshore drilling measure should be considered under regular order, but the Republican majority appears unwilling to schedule it that way. And the tax extender provisions, things like the R&D tax credits and work opportunity tax credit, to name a few, should be passed on their own and considered in the Senate in regular order.

Mr. Speaker, there is a better way to run this body. The truth, Mr. Speaker, is that the American people expect and deserve better. That is why the 110th Congress must be different. I believe we need to rediscover openness and fairness in this House. We must insist on full and fair debate on the issues that come before this body. People should have time to read the bills before they are considered. The Rules Committee will end its regular practice of meeting in the dead of night simply to report out a closed rule. There will be a new direction for the House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I don't expect that the Democratic majority will be perfect, but I do expect the incoming majority to understand that every Member of this House, Republican and Democrat, deserves to be treated with respect and fairness. Every Member, whether it is the Speaker of the House or a freshman in the minority party, represents the same number of people. Everyone deserves to be heard, everyone deserves to know what we are voting on, and nobody deserves a process as undemocratic and insulting as the one before us.

Mr. Speaker, this is a sad, but fitting, way to end the 109th Congress. As I said, old habits die hard. I hope this is truly the end of an era where rules, respect for this institution, and democracy didn't matter, and the beginning of a new direction for the House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, just for the record, I have no problem with the fact that people can offer suspension bills today. My problem is with the martial law rule, the martial law rule which waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII to provide for same day consideration of any rule reported on the legislative day of December 7, 2006.

This rule, which circumvents the regular 1-day layover requirement for consideration of a rule, will allow the House to consider any rule on any piece of legislation on the House floor on the same day the rule is reported without requiring the standard two-thirds vote for same-day consideration of a rule.

I guess the problem I have is, again, not with suspension bills, which are mostly noncontroversial bills, but my problem is with significant pieces of legislation, some legislation which may not have even been heard by committees of jurisdiction, which may not have been reported out of committees of jurisdiction, bills that will come before us that the House has never even considered, things that we will not have an opportunity to be able to read before we vote on them.

I keep on hearing that we need to consider our business in a timely fashion. Well, what is the rush? We could be here next week. Since they didn't get their work done before the election, we can stay here another week and do this right.

I think people expect Members of Congress when they vote on legislation to know what they are voting on. They don't want any more backroom deals. They don't want to read in the newspapers a week or two weeks from now that the House passed some omnibus bill that had all these objectionable provisions included in it.

So my point is that this is a bad process and we should do better, and I hope in the future we will do better. But here we are today, and I think those who care about responsible legislating should oppose this rule.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me respond to the gentlewoman by saying that I hope that we do not have to use martial law rules, and I hope that we will do our business. Actually, we are going to work 5 days a week, so we will be able to get our business done in a timely fashion, in a professional fashion.

But what I object to about the way this House has been run, it is not just the martial law rules, it has been the closed rules in general. It has been the closing off debate and denying not just Democrats but Republicans the chance to offer amendments on the House floor, the chance to be heard.

I am not saying every rule will be an open rule. I am not saying the Democrats are going to be perfect, but what I do believe is that we will be significantly better. We have to be.

I think one of the reasons why people have such a low regard for this Congress is they have watched how this Congress has been run, and they have seen how closed it has been and they have seen the results of that closed process: items that appear in legislation that never had committee hearings, that had never been debated on the House floor mysteriously appearing in conference reports.

I think people want a more open process, a more fair process. I think if the new majority, and I hope, and I know this is a tall order, but I hope if Speaker-elect Pelosi can create a more open and fair process in this House, that it will go a long way to increasing collegiality and respect for one another.

I think a lot of the bitterness and rancor that exists in this Congress is when people feel locked out, when they feel disrespected.

So I hope we do better and I am going to fight in the Rules Committee to do better.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me also say to my colleague from West Virginia that I have enjoyed serving on the Rules Committee with her as well, and I have enjoyed our debates. I admire her intellect and I appreciate her efforts to create a more civil Congress, and I regret that she will no longer be on the Rules Committee because I thought she added a lot to the debate and to the civility in that committee.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I would simply say to my colleagues that this process is not the process in which we should conduct our business. This martial law rule is not needed. We can stay here next week and get our business done in regular order. There is no need to rush out of here, and my fear is that we have created a process in which Members are not going to have an opportunity to even know what they are voting on.

So, with that, I would urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this martial law rule.

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by expressing my appreciation to the gentlewoman from West Virginia for her great service on the Rules Committee and to say that I was listening to the comments of my colleague on the other side of the aisle upstairs and came down because I was reminded of what is described as the ``Moral of the Work'' at the beginning of each of Winston Churchill's great volumes that he provided: The Gathering Storm. You can go through the litany of them. But there were four points in the ``Moral of the Work.'' He said in war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity; in peace, goodwill.

We all acknowledge and congratulate our Democratic colleagues on the fact that they have won the majority. I certainly hope that it is going to be for only a 2-year period. But I congratulate them and look forward to working with them in a bipartisan way on a wide range of public policy questions that we will face in the 110th Congress.

But the rule that we are considering right now, Mr. Speaker, will allow for Democrats to have an opportunity to offer measures under suspension of the rules. We receive loads of requests from Democrats who very much want to have an opportunity to have their measures brought to the floor. This rule allows for consideration of those measures.

I would also like to say that as we look at the challenge of trying to ensure that we open up new markets for U.S. workers around the world, and as we work to put into place the economic growth policies that have brought us

an amazingly low unemployment rate, and I heard my friend from West Virginia talk about the fact that we have seen an unemployment rate in her State of West Virginia actually at an extraordinarily low level, and across the country we have a 4.6 percent unemployment rate, and what we are trying to do is to put into place policies before we adjourn the 109th Congress that will sustain that economic growth pattern that we fortunately have seen, and, as we got the news this morning, a plummeting of the number of jobless claims.

So we continue to have very positive news, and it is because of these policies, and we are determined before we adjourn the 109th Congress sine die to make sure that we have these measures in place. That is all this rule does.

So we can have a wide range of criticism leveled at what it is that we have done. I frankly am very proud of the things that we have accomplished.

I see two of my colleagues from Georgia here, Mr. Price, and Dr. Gingrey, who have worked very hard on the Rules Committee. I mentioned my friend from West Virginia, Mrs. Capito. And we have been able to do a lot of things in a bipartisan way as well, Mr. Speaker.

So it seems to me that we should recognize that moving ahead with this rule, passing it, will allow us to get on a road towards completing our work on behalf of the American people.

So again I conclude by congratulating my colleagues for having won the majority. I congratulate them and look forward to working with them. And it is my hope that the ``Moral of the Work'' as put forward by Winston Churchill can in fact be subscribed to by people on both sides of the aisle.