Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker,

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)2 of Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, I hereby submit the Rules of the Committee on Energy and Commerce for the 108th Congress for publication in the Congressional Record. The Committee adopted Rules on January 29, 2003, and amended the Rules on February 12, 2003, both in meetings that were open to the public.

Rules for the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of

Representatives, 108th Congress

Rule 1. General Provisions. (a) Rules of the Committee. The

Rules of the House are the rules of the Committee on Energy

and Commerce (hereinafter the ``Committee'') and its

subcommittees so far as is applicable, except that a motion

to recess from day to day, and a motion to dispense with the

first reading (in full) of a bill or resolution, if printed

copies are available, is nondebatable and privileged in the

Committee and its subcommittees.

(b) Rules of the Subcommittees. Each subcommittee of the

Committee is part of the Committee and is subject to the

authority and direction of the Committee and to its rules so

far as applicable. Written rules adopted by the Committee,

not inconsistent with the Rules of the House, shall be

binding on each subcommittee of the Committee.

Rule 2. Time and Place of Meetings. (a) Regular Meeting

Days. The Committee shall meet on the fourth Tuesday of each

month at 10 a.m., for the consideration of bills,

resolutions, and other business, if the House is in session

on that day. If the House is not in session on that day and

the Committee has not met during such month, the Committee

shall meet at the earliest practicable opportunity when the

House is again in session. The chairman of the Committee may,

at his discretion, cancel, delay, or defer any meeting

required under this section, after consultation with the

ranking minority member.

(b) Additional Meetings. The chairman may call and convene,

as he considers necessary, additional meetings of the

Committee for the consideration of any bill or resolution

pending before the Committee or for the conduct of other

Committee business. The Committee shall meet for such

purposes pursuant to that call of the chairman.

(c) Vice Chairmen; Presiding Member. The chairman shall

designate a member of the majority party to serve as vice

chairman of the Committee, and shall designate a majority

member of each subcommittee to serve as vice chairman of each

subcommittee. The vice chairman of the Committee or

subcommittee, as the case may be, shall preside at any

meeting or hearing during the temporary absence of the

chairman. If the chairman and vice chairman of the Committee

or subcommittee are not present at any meeting or hearing,

the ranking member of the majority party who is present shall

preside at the meeting or hearing.

(d) Open Meetings and Hearings. Except as provided by the

Rules of the House, each meeting of the Committee or any of

its subcommittees for the transaction of business, including

the markup of legislation, and each hearing, shall be open to

the public including to radio, television and still

photography coverage, consistent with the provisions of Rule

XI of the Rules of the House.

Rule 3. Agenda. The agenda for each Committee or

subcommittee meeting (other than a hearing), setting out the

date, time, place, and all items of business to be

considered, shall be provided to each member of the Committee

at least 36 hours in advance of such meeting.

Rule 4. Procedure. (a)(1) Hearings. The date, time, place,

and subject matter of any hearing of the Committee or any of

its subcommittees shall be announced at least one week in

advance of the commencement of such hearing, unless the

Committee or subcommittee determines in accordance with

clause 2(g)(3) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House that

there is good cause to begin the hearing sooner.

(2)(A) Meetings. The date, time, place, and subject matter

of any meeting (other than a hearing) scheduled on a Tuesday,

Wednesday, or Thursday when the House will be in session,

shall be announced at least 36 hours (exclusive of Saturdays,

Sundays, and legal holidays except when the House is in

session on such days) in advance of the commencement of such

meeting.

(B) Other Meetings. The date, time, place, and subject

matter of a meeting (other than a hearing or a meeting to

which subparagraph (A) applies) shall be announced at least

72 hours in advance of the commencement of such meeting.

(b)(1) Requirements for Testimony. Each witness who is to

appear before the Committee or a subcommittee shall file with

the clerk of the Committee, at least two working days in

advance of his or her appearance, sufficient copies, as

determined by the chairman of the Committee or a

subcommittee, of a written statement of his or her proposed

testimony to provide to members and staff of the Committee or

subcommittee, the news media, and the general public. Each

witness shall, to the greatest extent practicable, also

provide a copy of such written testimony in an electronic

format prescribed by the chairman. Each witness shall limit

his or her oral presentation to a brief summary of the

argument. The chairman of the Committee or of a subcommittee,

or the presiding member, may waive the requirements of this

paragraph or any part thereof.

(2) Additional Requirements for Testimony. To the greatest

extent practicable, the written testimony of each witness

appearing in a non-governmental capacity shall include a

curriculum vitae and a disclosure of the amount and source

(by agency and program) of any federal grant (or subgrant

thereof) or contract (or subcontract thereof) received during

the current fiscal year or either of the two preceding fiscal

years by the witness or by an entity represented by the

witness.

(c) Questioning Witnesses. The right to interrogate the

witnesses before the Committee or any of its subcommittees

shall alternate between majority and minority members. Each

member shall be limited to 5 minutes in the interrogation of

witnesses until such time as each member who so desires has

had an opportunity to question witnesses. No member shall be

recognized for a second period of 5 minutes to interrogate a

witness until each member of the Committee present has been

recognized once for that purpose. While the Committee or

subcommittee is operating under the 5-minute rule for the

interrogation of witnesses, the chairman shall recognize in

order of appearance members who were not present when the

meeting was called to order after all members who were

present when the meeting was called to order have been

recognized in the order of seniority on the Committee or

subcommittee, as the case may be.

(d) Explanation of Subcommittee Action. No bill,

recommendation, or other matter reported by a subcommittee

shall be considered by the full Committee unless the text of

the matter reported, together with an explanation, has been

available to members of the Committee for at least 36 hours.

Such explanation shall include a summary of the major

provisions of the legislation, an explanation of the

relationship of the matter to present law, and a summary of

the need for the legislation. All subcommittee actions shall

be reported promptly by the clerk of the Committee to all

members of the Committee.

(e) Opening Statements. Opening statements by members at

the beginning of any hearing or markup of the Committee or

any of its subcommittees shall be limited to 5 minutes each

for the chairman and ranking minority member (or their

respective designee) of the Committee or subcommittee, as

applicable, and 3 minutes each for all other members. With

the consent of the Committee, prior to the recognition of the

first witness for testimony, any Member, when recognized for

an opening statement, may completely defer his or her three-

minute opening statement and instead use those three minutes

during the initial round of witness questioning.

Rule 5. Waiver of Agenda, Notice, and Layover Requirements.

Requirements of rules 3, 4(a)(2), and 4(d) may be waived by a

majority of those present and voting (a majority being

present) of the Committee or subcommittee, as the case may

be.

Rule 6. Quorum. Testimony may be taken and evidence

received at any hearing at which there are present not fewer

than two members of the Committee or subcommittee in

question. A majority of the members of the Committee shall

constitute a quorum for the purposes of reporting any measure

or matter, of authorizing a subpoena, or of closing a meeting

or hearing pursuant to clause 2(g) of Rule XI of the Rules of

the House (except as provided in clause 2(g)(2)(A) and (B)).

For the purposes of taking any action other than those

specified in the preceding sentence, one-third of the members

of the Committee or subcommittee shall constitute a quorum.

Rule 7. Official Committee Records. (a)(1) Journal. The

proceedings of the Committee shall be recorded in a journal

which shall, among other things, show those present at each

meeting, and include a record of the vote on any question on

which a record vote is demanded and a description of the

amendment, motion, order, or other proposition voted. A copy

of the journal shall be furnished to the ranking minority

member.

(2) Record Votes. A record vote may be demanded by one-

fifth of the members present or, in the apparent absence of a

quorum, by any one member. No demand for a record vote shall

be made or obtained except for the purpose of procuring a

record vote or in the apparent absence of a quorum. The

result of each record vote in any meeting of the Committee

shall be made available in the Committee office for

inspection by the public, as provided in Rule XI, clause 2(e)

of the Rules of the House.

(b) Archived Records. The records of the Committee at the

National Archives and Records Administration shall be made

available for public use in accordance with Rule VII of the

Rules of the House. The chairman shall notify the ranking

minority member of any decision, pursuant to clause 3(b)(3)

or clause 4(b) of the Rule, to withhold a record otherwise

available, and the matter shall be presented to the Committee

for a determination on the written request of any member of

the Committee. The chairman shall consult with the ranking

minority member on any communication from the Archivist of

the United States or the Clerk of the House concerning the

disposition of noncurrent records pursuant to clause 3(b) of

the Rule.

Rule 8. Subcommittees. There shall be such standing

subcommittees with such jurisdiction and size as determined

by the majority party caucus of the Committee. The

jurisdiction, number, and size of the subcommittees shall be

determined by the majority party caucus prior to the start of

the process for establishing subcommittee chairmanships and

assignments.

Rule 9. Powers and Duties of Subcommittees. Each

subcommittee is authorized to meet, hold hearings, receive

testimony, mark up legislation, and report to the Committee

on all matters referred to it. Subcommittee chairmen shall

set hearing and meeting dates only with the approval of the

chairman of the Committee with a view toward assuring the

availability of meeting rooms and avoiding simultaneous

scheduling of Committee and subcommittee meetings or hearings

whenever possible.

Rule 10. Reference of Legislation and Other Matters. All

legislation and other matters referred to the Committee shall

be referred to the subcommittee of appropriate jurisdiction

within two weeks of the date of receipt by the Committee

unless action is taken by the full committee within those two

weeks, or by majority vote of the members of the Committee,

consideration is to be by the full Committee. In the case of

legislation or other matter within the jurisdiction of more

than one subcommittee, the chairman of the Committee may, in

his discretion, refer the matter simultaneously to two or

more subcommittees for concurrent consideration, or may

designate a subcommittee of primary jurisdiction and also

refer the matter to one or more additional subcommittees

for consideration in sequence (subject to appropriate time

limitations), either on its initial referral or after the

matter has been reported by the subcommittee of primary

jurisdiction. Such authority shall include the authority

to refer such legislation or matter to an ad hoc

subcommittee appointed by the chairman, with the approval

of the Committee, from the members of the subcommittee

having legislative or oversight jurisdiction.

Rule 11. Ratio of Subcommittees. The majority caucus of the

Committee shall determine an appropriate ratio of majority to

minority party members for each subcommittee and the chairman

shall negotiate that ratio with the minority party, provided

that the ratio of party members on each subcommittee shall be

no less favorable to the majority than that of the full

Committee, nor shall such ratio provide for a majority of

less than two majority members.

Rule 12. Subcommittee Membership. (a) Selection of

Subcommittee Members. Prior to any organizational meeting

held by the Committee, the majority and minority caucuses

shall select their respective members of the standing

subcommittees.

(b) Ex Officio Members. The chairman and ranking minority

member of the Committee shall be ex officio members with

voting privileges of each subcommittee of which they are not

assigned as members and may be counted for purposes of

establishing a quorum in such subcommittees.

Rule 13. Managing Legislation on the House Floor. The

chairman, in his discretion, shall designate which member

shall manage legislation reported by the Committee to the

House.

Rule 14. Committee Professional and Clerical Staff

Appointments. (a) Delegation of Staff. Whenever the chairman

of the Committee determines that any professional staff

member appointed pursuant to the provisions of clause 9 of

Rule X of the House of Representatives, who is assigned to

such chairman and not to the ranking minority member, by

reason of such professional staff member's expertise or

qualifications will be of assistance to one or more

subcommittees in carrying out their assigned

responsibilities, he may delegate such member to such

subcommittees for such purpose. A delegation of a member of

the professional staff pursuant to this subsection shall be

made after consultation with subcommittee chairmen and with

the approval of the subcommittee chairman or chairmen

involved.

(b) Minority Professional Staff. Professional staff members

appointed pursuant to clause 9 of Rule X of the House of

Representatives, who are assigned to the ranking minority

member of the Committee and not to the chairman of the

Committee, shall be assigned to such Committee business as

the minority party members of the Committee consider

advisable.

(c) Additional Staff Appointments. In addition to the

professional staff appointed pursuant to clause 9 of Rule X

of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the

Committee shall be entitled to make such appointments to the

professional and clerical staff of the Committee as may be

provided within the budget approved for such purposes by the

Committee. Such appointee shall be assigned to such business

of the full Committee as the chairman of the Committee

considers advisable.

(d) Sufficient Staff. The chairman shall ensure that

sufficient staff is made available to each subcommittee to

carry out its responsibilities under the rules of the

Committee.

(e) Fair Treatment of Minority Members in Appointment of

Committee Staff. The chairman shall ensure that the minority

members of the Committee are treated fairly in appointment of

Committee staff.

(f) Contracts for Temporary or Intermittent Services. Any

contract for the temporary services or intermittent service

of individual consultants or organizations to make studies or

advise the Committee or its subcommittees with respect to any

matter within their jurisdiction shall be deemed to have been

approved by a majority of the members of the Committee if

approved by the chairman and ranking minority member of the

Committee. Such approval shall not be deemed to have been

given if at least one-

third of the members of the Committee request in writing that

the Committee formally act on such a contract, if the request

is made within 10 days after the latest date on which such

chairman or chairmen, and such ranking minority member or

members, approve such contract.

Rule 15. Supervision, Duties of Staff. (a) Supervision of

Majority Staff. The professional and clerical staff of the

Committee not assigned to the minority shall be under the

supervision and direction of the chairman who, in

consultation with the chairmen of the subcommittees, shall

establish and assign the duties and responsibilities of such

staff members and delegate such authority as he determines

appropriate.

(b) Supervision of Minority Staff. The professional and

clerical staff assigned to the minority shall be under the

supervision and direction of the minority members of the

Committee, who may delegate such authority as they determine

appropriate.

Rule 16. Committee Budget. (a) Preparation of Committee

Budget. The chairman of the Committee, after consultation

with the ranking minority member of the Committee and the

chairmen of the subcommittees, shall for the 108th Congress

prepare a preliminary budget for the Committee, with such

budget including necessary amounts for professional and

clerical staff, travel, investigations, equipment and

miscellaneous expenses of the Committee and the

subcommittees, and which shall be adequate to fully discharge

the Committee's responsibilities for legislation and

oversight. Such budget shall be presented by the chairman to

the majority party caucus of the Committee and thereafter to

the full Committee for its approval.

(b) Approval of the Committee Budget. The chairman shall

take whatever action is necessary to have the budget as

finally approved by the Committee duly authorized by the

House. No proposed Committee budget may be submitted to the

Committee on House Administration unless it has been

presented to and approved by the majority party caucus and

thereafter by the full Committee. The chairman of the

Committee may authorize all necessary expenses in accordance

with these rules and within the limits of the Committee's

budget as approved by the House.

(c) Monthly Expenditures Report. Committee members shall be

furnished a copy of each monthly report, prepared by the

chairman for the Committee on House Administration, which

shows expenditures made during the reporting period and

cumulative for the year by the Committee and subcommittees,

anticipated expenditures for the projected Committee program,

and detailed information on travel.

Rule 17. Broadcasting of Committee Hearings. Any meeting or

hearing that is open to the public may be covered in whole or

in part by radio or television or still photography, subject

to the requirements of clause 4 of Rule XI of the Rules of

the House. The coverage of any hearing or other proceeding of

the Committee or any subcommittee thereof by television,

radio, or still photography shall be under the direct

supervision of the chairman of the Committee, the

subcommittee chairman, or other member of the Committee

presiding at such hearing or other proceeding and may be

terminated by such member in accordance with the Rules of the

House.

Rule 18. Comptroller General Audits. The chairman of the

Committee is authorized to request verification examinations

by the Comptroller General of the United States pursuant

to Title V, Part A of the Energy Policy and Conservation

Act (Public Law 94-163), after consultation with the

members of the Committee.

Rule 19. Subpoenas. The Committee, or any subcommittee, may

authorize and issue a subpoena under clause 2(m)(2)(A) of

Rule XI of the House, if authorized by a majority of the

members of the Committee or subcommittee (as the case may be)

voting, a quorum being present. Authorized subpoenas may be

issued over the signature of the chairman of the Committee or

any member designated by the Committee, and may be served by

any person designated by such chairman or member. The

chairman of the Committee may authorize and issue subpoenas

under such clause during any period for which the House has

adjourned for a period in excess of 3 days when, in the

opinion of the chairman, authorization and issuance of the

subpoena is necessary to obtain the material set forth in the

subpoena. The chairman shall report to the members of the

Committee on the authorization and issuance of a subpoena

during the recess period as soon as practicable but in no

event later than one week after service of such subpoena.

Rule 20. Travel of Members and Staff. (a) Approval of

Travel. Consistent with the primary expense resolution and

such additional expense resolutions as may have been

approved, travel to be reimbursed from funds set aside for

the Committee for any member or any staff member shall be

paid only upon the prior authorization of the chairman.

Travel may be authorized by the chairman for any member and

any staff member in connection with the attendance of

hearings conducted by the Committee or any subcommittee

thereof and meetings, conferences, and investigations which

involve activities or subject matter under the general

jurisdiction of the Committee. Before such authorization is

given there shall be submitted to the chairman in writing the

following: (1) the purpose of the travel; (2) the dates

during which the travel is to be made and the date or dates

of the event for which the travel is being made; (3) the

location of the event for which the travel is to be made; and

(4) the names of members and staff seeking authorization.

(b) Approval of Travel by Minority Members and Staff. In

the case of travel by minority party members and minority

party professional staff for the purpose set out in (a), the

prior approval, not only of the chairman but also of the

ranking minority member, shall be required. Such prior

authorization shall be given by the chairman only upon the

representation by the ranking minority member in writing

setting forth those items enumerated in (1), (2), (3), and

(4) of paragraph (a).

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4, the Personal Responsibility, Work and Family Promotion Act of 2003. This bill does a number of things that are very important to the Committee on Energy and Commerce that I chair. It contains an extension of

funding for the abstinence-only education, and also reauthorizes transitional medical assistance, and I want to speak to both of these issues briefly.

The 1996 welfare reform law included a permanent appropriation of $50 million over 5 years for abstinence-only education under title V of the Social Security Act. With tight State budgets and a requirement that States must match every 4 Federal dollars with 3 of their own, it is noteworthy that almost every State in the Union has now participated in this block grant program. The high rate of State interest suggests that abstinence-only education is indeed one of the ways to address the terrible problems of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in our society.

Last year, my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the chairman of our Subcommittee on Health, held a hearing on abstinence-only education. It was an eye opener.

At that hearing we learned that problems stemming from increased sexual activity among teens has not abated at all in this country. Even though teen birth rates have declined, we still have the highest teen birth rates of any industrialized nation in the world, and sexually transmitted diseases have grown dramatically. Every day in America, 10,000 young people contract a sexually transmitted disease, 2,400 become pregnant, and 55 contract HIV.

When we were growing up in the 1960s, there were really only two sexually transmitted diseases that were of a real concern. Now we are aware of more than 25, and the diseases that are primarily affecting young people today are now the viral diseases, such as human papillomavirus, herpes and chlamydia.

Mr. Chairman, these viral diseases cannot be cured. They are incurable sexually transmitted diseases. Chlamydia, for example, a major cause of infertility in young women, is asymptomatic in up to 85 percent of the cases. That means for 85 percent of the young women contracting this sexually transmitted disease, which is incurable, they may lose their opportunity ever to bear a child, ever to become a mother, ever to experience the joys and the tremendous rewards of motherhood.

One of the other things we learned was that 50 percent of the sexually active young women between the ages of 18 and 22 are now infected with the papillomavirus, or HPV. Now, this is a virus, again we learn, that most young women do not realize they have, because again it is asymptomatic in most cases. But what we have learned about it is that it is a precursor, it is one of the incurable diseases that often leads to cervical cancer. And guess what else we learned? We learned that there is no evidence whatsoever that condoms reduce the sexual transmission of this infection.

These statistics are terrifying. But they show that the safer sex model has not solved all of these problems despite more than 20 years of a variety of education programs aimed at promoting condom or contraception use.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues, for the sake of these young men and women in our society who are being infected by these incurable diseases, many of which will cause them incredible damage in their lives, and they are not aware, that we extend the abstinence-only education programs under H.R. 4. H.R. 4 simply maintains the status quo, extends the level of funding of $50 million each year through the year 2008.

New research is beginning to suggest that abstinence-only education can effectively address the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases among young people and the proportion of births occurring to unmarried mothers. We must continue indeed that effort begun in 1996 and support abstinence-only education programs that empower students to choose abstinence for themselves, while receiving the relevant facts and information that would make them want to make that choice.

The 1996 welfare reform law also included a critical work support for former welfare recipients called transitional medical assistance.

Former welfare recipients typically enter low-wage jobs that do not offer private health insurance coverage or offer coverage with very expensive premiums. Transitional medical assistance extends up to a year of Medicaid coverage to these individuals and their families. This is the bridge of health care coverage that helps take young people out of welfare and into the workforce with adequate medical coverage in the bridge years.

There is strong bipartisan support for this assistance, which provides a valuable incentive for people to move off of welfare into work, and this 1 year reauthorization of transitional medical assistance will have a 5-year cost of $355 million.

Because funding was not included, Mr. Chairman, in the last year's budget resolution, we had to find the money to pay for it, so H.R. 4 includes a limited offset to do so.

We recognize the Medicaid budget difficulties many States are currently experiencing and important functions that are funded with Medicaid administrative costs, and for that reason, the offset included in H.R. 4 is merely a partial adjustment that lasts for only 2 years and pays for the 1-year extension of this important program.

Before 1996, common costs for administering food stamps, Medicaid and welfare were often charged to the AFDC program, the predecessor of the TANF program. These common costs have been included in the calculation of each State's TANF funds. The offset reduces Federal reimbursement for Medicaid administrative costs to reflect the portion of these costs that are already included in the TANF block grants the States receive.

In effect, this offset for the 2-year period deals with a problem we already corrected in the food stamp program in 1998, this double reimbursement for administrative costs. This is a partial adjustment that lasts for only 2 years and then phases out.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 4, which indeed responsibly pays for the 1-year reauthorization of transitional medical assistance. I know there are many in this room who would like us to extend it for longer than a year. We simply have problems funding it in this bill at this time.

We recognize the careful balance we have achieved between the offset and this 1-year reauthorization, and commit ourselves to revisiting the issue again next year so that this important program can be continued.

I urge Members to join me in full support of this important legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of Florida (Mr. Stearns), the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

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

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from the great State of Michigan (Mr. Upton), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, welfare reform passed by this Congress, signed so reluctantly by Bill Clinton, has been an unmitigated success. It was built on one premise. You do not love people by condemning them to a lifetime of poverty and dependence. You love them by giving them a chance for independence and self-dignity.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) who will close for this side.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the previous order of the House, I call up the bill (H.R. 395) to authorize the Federal Trade Commission to collect fees for the implementation and enforcement of a ``do-not-call'' registry, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 395.

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

Madam Speaker, whatever happened to the quiet evening at home? Most people have experienced it, that annoying ring on the phone just as dinner goes to the table. When one answers, it is not a call from a friend or family member or even from work, it is someone calling to sell something, a telemarketer.

Today we have before us of a bill that will allow hundreds of thousands of American citizens to enjoy the peace and quiet of their own home. H.R. 395, the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act, authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to establish a national do-not-call registry that will allow consumers to opt out of unwanted and harassing telemarketing calls. This landmark do-not-call list will provide consumers with one central contact to stop unwanted telemarketing calls. The new do-not-call list will be a free service to all American consumers, and those telemarketers who choose to ignore the do-not-call registry will face stiff penalties of up to $11,000 for each violation.

In order to coordinate the do-not-call programs among all of the agencies with jurisdiction over telemarketing, H.R. 395 directs the Federal Communications Commission to complete its pending do-not-call rulemaking within 180 days. The bill further directs the FCC to consult and coordinate with the Federal Trade Commission to ensure that both regulations are as similar as possible. This coordination will not only prevent consumer confusion, but it will provide the telemarketing industry with coordinated rules upon which to function.

Lastly, H.R. 395 sets out reporting requirements for both the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. Without the passage of H.R. 395, the FTC will be forced to wait until the year 2004 to implement its national do-not-call list.

I am hopeful the other body will act swiftly to pass H.R. 395 so all Americans can enjoy the benefits of the national do-not-call list sooner rather than later. In fact, if anyone holds this legislation up, we are prepared to give out their home phone number to all who want to give them a call.

Today Congress is answering the call from consumers for help in combating annoying and harassing telemarketing calls. Therefore, to empower the American consumer, I ask that Members support H.R. 395, the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, and ask unanimous consent that he may control that time.