U.S. House of Representatives, Pennsylvania District 17
George W. Gekas
News Release
January 7, 2000
COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW SUBCOMMITTEE MOST ACTIVE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Enacts Four Public Laws and Conducts 21 Hearings
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law (CAL) had a very busy First Session in the 106th Congress. CAL was the most active subcommittee on the Judiciary Committee. The subcommittee conducted 21 hearings and 8 markups, resulting in the enactment of four public laws.
Congressman George W. Gekas, Chairman of the CAL Subcommittee, congratulated the Members of the subcommittee on a job well done: "All of the Members on the Commercial and Administrative Law subcommittee worked diligently this session, and our agenda for the next session is full as well. I thank them for their tireless efforts and for the bipartisan spirit and cooperation that has allowed us to be so prolific."
Following are the many accomplishments of the CAL subcommittee in the past session, and the work that will continue into the next session.
Enacted into public law were:
H.R. 915, introduced by Gekas, provides a cost of living adjustment for federal administrative law judges and separates future pay increases from Congressional pay increases. CAL held a hearing and reported the bill on May 27, 1999. It was subsequently referred to the Government Reform Committee which reported CAL’s version to the House which passed it on October 25, 1999. The President signed this legislation on November 11, 1999 as P.L. 106-97.
H.R. 1219, the "Construction Industry Payment Protection Act of 1999", amending the Miller Act to protect government contractors and subcontractors. CAL held a joint hearing with the Committee on Government Reform during the Second Session of the 105th Congress. The subcommittee agreed to the waiver of jurisdiction to facilitate House passage during the 106th Congress which occurred on August 2, 1999. The President signed the legislation into law as P.L. 106-99 on August 17, 1999.
H.J. Res. 54, granting the consent of Congress to the Missouri-Nebraska Boundary Compact. CAL held a hearing and marked up the resolution on July 29, 1999. It passed the House on September 21, 1999 and was signed by the President on November 12, 1999 as P.L. 106-101.H.J. Res. 62, granting the consent of Congress to a compact concerning a change in the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina. The compact amicably resolved a centuries-old dispute concerning the border shared by the two states in the Savannah River. CAL held a hearing and marked up the resolution on July 29, 1999. It passed the House on September 21, 1999 and was signed into law by the President on November 8, 1999.
The most significant activity of CAL was passage by the House of H.R. 833, the Bankruptcy Reform Act. CAL held five days of hearings on the legislation (including a historic joint House-Senate hearing) and two days of markup. Thereafter, the Judiciary Committee held four days of markup and reported the bill favorably on April 29, 1999 (Rept. No. 106-123).
The House subsequently passed H.R. 833 on May 5, 1999 with an overwhelming veto-proof vote of 313 to 108. The Senate recessed before it completed consideration of S. 625, its bankruptcy legislation. It is, however, expected that the Senate will complete action early in the second session (as evidenced by a cloture motion returnable on January 25, 2000), and thereby paving the way for a House-Senate conference.
Another significant effort of CAL was considering the reauthorization of the Independent Counsel Law. The subcommittee held four oversight hearings on the question and a legislative hearing on H.R. 2083, the "Special Counsel Act of 1999". That bill, based upon language recommended by a project chaired by former Senators Dole and Mitchell, drew from the oversight hearings and will form the basis for action by the subcommittee on the issue during the Second Session.
In addition to H.R. 833, CAL reported several bills which were passed by the House and were pending in the Senate at the end of the First Session: H.R. 462 clarified that governmental pension plans of the possessions of the United States shall be treated in the same manner as State pension plans for purposes of the limitation on the State income taxation of pension income. The subcommittee reported the bill on March 24, 1999 (Rept. No. 106-302) and the House passed it on October 18, 1999.
H.R. 916, making technical changes to Section 10 of title 9, United States Code, was reported by CAL on March 24, 1999. As reported by the Judiciary Committee (Rept. 106-181), the bill made purely technical revisions to correct some typographical flaws that have long evaded detection. As amended on the House floor, H.R. 916 also revised compliance dates and related provisions in the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act of 1994 ("CALEA"), which was enacted to preserve the government’s ability, pursuant to court order or other lawful authorization, to intercept communications involving advanced technologies (such as digital or wireless transmissions) and services (such as call forwarding, speed dialing, and conference calling). H.R. 916 passed the House by voice vote as amended on July 13, 1999.
Two bills extending the expiration date of Chapter 12 (family farmer bankruptcy relief) were considered this past session. H.R.808, extending Chapter 12 for six months, was reported by the Judiciary Committee on March 9, 1999 (Rept. No. 106-45) and signed into law on March 30, 1999 as Public Law 106-5. H.R. 2922, which would have extended Chapter 12 for an additional six months. That bill was subsequently subsumed by H.R. 2942, which Congressman Nick Smith (R-MI) introduced. The House passed the bill on September 27, 1999. Chapter 12 extension was ultimately passed into law with a Senate bill, S. 1606.
CAL held hearings on several pieces of legislation which it expects to consider further during the Second Session. These include: H.R. 881, the "Regulatory Fair Warning Act of 1999". The CAL held a hearing on this bill on June 29, 1999 and reported it the full committee on September 29, 1999. CAL also held a hearing on H.R. 2636, the "Taxpayers Defense Act," on the issue of controlling administrative taxation, the result of which was the introduction of H.R. 2636, which the subcommittee expects to consider early in the year 2000.
CAL held a hearing on H.R. 1924, the "Federal Agency Compliance Act" on October 27, 1999. The bill would require federal agencies to follow the precedents established by Circuit Courts of Appeal and is similar to legislation which passed the House during the 105th Congress but was pending in the Senate at adjournment. CAL expects to consider this legislation early in the next session.
H. Con. Res. 30; H.R. 2655, the "Separation of Powers Restoration Act"; and H.R. 3131, the "Presidential Order Limitation Act", which would limit the President’s ability to issue executive orders, were the subject of a hearing on October 28, 1999 and CAL expects to consider the issue further during the second session.
CAL also held several oversight hearings. They included hearings on the need for additional bankruptcy judgeships, the franchising relationship, the Legal Services Corporation, telecommunications license transfers, and the proposed "Know Your Customer" regulations. In addition, H.R. 2636, the "Taxpayer’s Defense Act" and H.R. 2533, the "Fairness in Telecommunications License Transfers Act of 1999," which grew out of CAL’s oversight hearing, were featured in a Judiciary Committee hearing on FCC issues.
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