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Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1606) to extend for 9 additional months the period for which chapter 2 of title 11, United States Code, is reenacted.
The Clerk read as follows:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS.
Section 149 of title I of division C of Public Law 105-277, as amended by Public Law 106-5, is amended--
(1) by striking ``October 1, 1999'' each place it appears and inserting ``July 1, 2000''; and
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``March 31, 1999'' and inserting ``September 30, 1999''; and
(B) by striking ``April 1, 1999'' and inserting ``October 1, 1999''.
SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by section 1 shall take effect on October 1, 1999.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. MILLER of Florida). Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. GEKAS) and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. BALDWIN) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. GEKAS).
GENERAL LEAVE
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the Senate bill, S. 1606.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the record is complete on the necessity for the passage of this bill because only last week we gave the rationale for the need for quick action on this piece of legislation.
On October 1, the authority for family farmers to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 12, a separate and unique set of provisions to accommodate the special and unique needs of farmers in distress, ran out of authority.
It had been extended over a period of time in temporary chunks of time because, in reality, the bankruptcy reform movement has encompassed Chapter 12, the special provisions, and included in them a comprehensive bankruptcy reform in which this special set of provisions, as I have stated, will become permanent. We would not have to ever return to the well of the House to seek an extension of these benefits.
Now, we are in a position where the Senate acted in a little different way from the way we had on the number of months of extension. The current form, the one that is before us now, the Senate version extends that period from October 1 for 9 months. That is why we are here.
The bill that we passed was less than 9 months. The Senate made it 9 months. We will concur in the Senate amendment and, thus, ask for passage of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, it feels like deja vu all over again. Just 1 week ago, I was on the floor reluctantly supporting a 3-month extension of the Chapter 12 bankruptcy title for family farmers. I did not particularly like last week's bill because it would have allowed Chapter 12 to expire so soon, on January 1, the year 2000.
I knew that Congress would have to come back again this session before we adjourned for the year to ensure that the bankruptcy protection in the form of Chapter 12 was continued. But I supported it because, otherwise, Chapter 12 would have expired on October 1, last Friday.
Well, guess what? Chapter 12 did expire last Friday. That means that, if a family farmer in my State of Wisconsin or, for that matter, anywhere in the United States needs the protection of Chapter 12 today, they do not have it. The law has expired.
The other body realized that a 3-month extension that this House approved was not prudent and passed a 9-month extension that we have before us today.
So once again, I come to the floor wishing we were doing a little more to provide a safety net for our family farmers. While this bill provides a 9-month extension of Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection for family farmers, it still does not give our family farmers a permanent law on which they can rely to protect their farm in the most dire economic circumstances.
I ask the Republican leadership to stop holding family farmers hostage to negotiations with the other body on other matters. The family farmers I represent need the help of this Congress more than the bankers and the credit card corporations on whose behalf we delay making Chapter 12 a permanent part of our Federal code.
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. GEKAS) that the House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1606.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
END