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“NOTIFICATION OF INTENTION TO OFFER RESOLUTION RAISING QUESTION OF PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6779-H6780 on Sept. 30, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NOTIFICATION OF INTENTION TO OFFER RESOLUTION RAISING QUESTION OF
PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of House rule IX, I rise to give notice of my intent to present a question of privilege of the House.
The form of the resolution is as follows:
A resolution, in accordance with House Rule IX, expressing a sense of the House that its integrity has been impugned and Constitutional duty hampered by the inability of the House to bring to the floor the Fiscal Year 2003 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, due to the severe under funding of Education within the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Budget.
Whereas under Article I, Section IX, of the Constitution states no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by law.
Whereas it is the fiscal duty of the Congress to appropriate annually the funds needed to support the execution of programs and operations of the Federal government.
Whereas to date the House has only considered five Appropriations bills.
Whereas as President, George W. Bush has been persistent in resonating public concern for better schools. He dedicated significant amounts of time and public dialogue during his first year in office to the passage of H.R. 1, the ``Leave No Child Behind'' Act, not only implying he favored more help to schools from the federal treasury but specifically authorizing large increases in a number of key program areas.
Whereas within weeks of signing H.R. 1, Public Law No: 107-110, the ``No Child Left Behind'' Act, the President submitted a budget that stopped six years of steady progress in federal support to local schools dead in its tracks.
Whereas instead of the strong and consistent growth in support to local schools that the federal government has provided for more than a decade, the President's FY 2003 Budget holds aid to local schools virtually flat. Furthermore, his Budget Director now insists that if Congress exceeds the budget request by even the smallest amount, the President will veto entire appropriation bills.
Whereas the future of our labor force and our economy is heavily dependent on elevating the education and skills of all future workers.
Whereas about one third of the 53.6 million children now in elementary and secondary schools in America are at serious risk of being left behind. The achievement gap between these students and the rest of the student population remains large and has failed to close.
Whereas of the 53.6 million children currently enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in this country, 9.8 million, or nearly 20 percent, are from households defined by the Commerce Department as being in poverty.
Whereas the House is faced with the choice of supporting schools or supporting the President and his effort to reverse the trend of expanding federal support for local schools.
Whereas the Congress has provided states with an unfunded mandate by approving the ``No Child Left Behind'' Act without the necessary financial resources to fund it. Now, therefore, be it
Resolved that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress should provide states with the resources they need to fully implement the ``No Child Left Behind'' Act as it promised less than a year ago, by completing action on the Fiscal Year 2003 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under rule IX, a resolution that is offered from the floor by a Member other than the majority leader or the minority leader as a question of the privileges of the House has immediate precedence only at a time designated by the Chair within 2 legislative days after the resolution is properly noticed.
Pending that designation, the form of the resolution noticed by the gentleman from Indiana will appear in the Record at this point.
The Chair does not at this point determine whether or not the resolution constitutes a question of privilege. That determination will be made at the time designated for consideration of the resolution.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I ask to be heard at the appropriate time on the question of whether this resolution constitutes a question of privilege.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. That time will be designated.
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