H42 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 7, 2009 

Democrats and Republicans must 

come together to pass a robust economic recovery package that includes 

tax relief to middle class families so we 

can begin to relieve the pressure that 

they feel every time they pay a bill. 

Madam Speaker, the American people are looking to us for help and for 

help to jump start this economy. Let’s 

go to work. 

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THE NEED FOR BIPARTISANSHIP 

IN THIS ECONOMIC CRISIS 

(Mr. ADLER of New Jersey asked and 

was given permission to address the 

House for 1 minute.) 

Mr. ADLER of New Jersey. Madam 

Speaker, last year, our economy experienced the weakest employment 

growth since the Great Depression, 

causing more and more families across 

the country to feel financially 

strapped. The U.S. economy lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the first 

eleven months of 2008, and we heard 

bad news this morning about December’s reports. The employment rate 

last year reached the highest level 

since 1993, and it could get worse, and 

those who managed to keep their jobs 

are experiencing stagnant and falling 

wages. 

Americans are concerned about their 

futures as debts continue to mount, as 

bills pile up and as parents worry that 

their children won’t have the same opportunities they had. Small businesses 

are an integral part of getting this 

economy moving again. We must ensure that we take appropriate action to 

assist small businesses and to restore 

our economic engine of growth. Small 

businesses represent the backbone of 

this country and of America’s unwavering entrepreneurial spirit. 

Madam Speaker, we must address our 

economic challenges quickly, and we 

must work in a strong bipartisan fashion to relieve the financial strain 

Americans feel every day. We must 

work immediately to pass an economic 

recovery package. 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE 

CLERK OF THE HOUSE 

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following communication from the Clerk of the House of 

Representatives: 

OFFICE OF THE CLERK, 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

Washington, DC, January 7, 2009. 

Hon. NANCY PELOSI, 

The Speaker, House of Representatives, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR MADAM SPEAKER: Pursuant to the 

permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II 

of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on 

January 6, 2009, at 5:13 p.m.: 

That the Senate agreed to S. Res. 2. 

That the Senate agreed to S. Con. Res. 1. 

That the Senate agreed to S. Con. Res. 2. 

With best wishes, I am 

Sincerely, 

LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk of the House. 

PROVIDING FOR A JOINT SESSION 

TO COUNT ELECTORAL VOTES 

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following privileged 

Senate concurrent resolution: 

S. CON. RES. 1 

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That the two Houses 

of Congress shall meet in the Hall of the 

House of Representatives on Thursday, the 

8th day of January 2009, at 1 o’clock post meridian, pursuant to the requirements of the 

Constitution and laws relating to the election of President and Vice President of the 

United States, and the President of the Senate shall be their Presiding Officer; that two 

tellers shall be previously appointed by the 

President of the Senate on the part of the 

Senate and two by the Speaker on the part of 

the House of Representatives, to whom shall 

be handed, as they are opened by the President of the Senate, all the certificates and 

papers purporting to be certificates of the 

electoral votes, which certificates and papers 

shall be opened, presented, and acted upon in 

the alphabetical order of the States, beginning with the letter ‘A’; and said tellers, 

having then read the same in the presence 

and hearing of the two Houses, shall make a 

list of the votes as they shall appear from 

the said certificates; and the votes having 

been ascertained and counted in the manner 

and according to the rules by law provided, 

the result of the same shall be delivered to 

the President of the Senate, who shall thereupon announce the state of the vote, which 

announcement shall be deemed a sufficient 

declaration of the persons, if any, elected 

President and Vice President of the United 

States, and, together with a list of the votes, 

be entered on the Journals of the two 

Houses. 

The Senate concurrent resolution 

was concurred in. 

A motion to reconsider was laid on 

the table. 

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PROVIDING FOR CONTINUATION OF 

JOINT COMMITTEE TO MAKE INAUGURATION ARRANGEMENTS 

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following privileged 

Senate concurrent resolution: 

S. CON. RES. 2 

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That effective from 

January 6, 2009, the joint committee created 

by Senate Concurrent Resolution 67 (110th 

Congress), to make the necessary arrangements for the inauguration, is hereby continued with the same power and authority provided for in that resolution. 

SEC. 2. Effective from January 6, 2009, the 

provisions of Senate Concurrent Resolution 

68 (110th Congress), to authorize the rotunda 

of the United States Capitol to be used in 

connection with the proceedings and ceremonies for the inauguration of the President-elect and the Vice President-elect of 

the United States, are continued with the 

same power and authority provided for in 

that resolution. 

The Senate concurrent resolution 

was concurred in. 

A motion to reconsider was laid on 

the table. 

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REAPPOINTMENT AS MEMBERS OF 

JOINT COMMITTEE ON INAUGURAL CEREMONIES 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 2, 

111th Congress, and the order of the 

House of January 6, 2009, the Chair announces the Speaker’s reappointment 

of the following Members of the House 

to the Joint Congressional Committee 

on Inaugural Ceremonies: 

Ms. PELOSI, California 

Mr. HOYER, Maryland 

Mr. BOEHNER

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, Ohio 

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER 

PRO TEMPORE 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the Chair 

will postpone further proceedings 

today on motions to suspend the rules 

on which a recorded vote or the yeas 

and nays are ordered or on which the 

vote is objected to under clause 6 of 

rule XX. 

Record votes on postponed questions 

will be taken later today. 

f 

PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT 

AMENDMENTS OF 2009 

Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I move 

to suspend the rules and pass the bill 

(H.R. 35) to amend chapter 22 of title 

44, United States Code, popularly 

known as the Presidential Records Act, 

to establish procedures for the consideration of claims of constitutionally 

based privilege against disclosure of 

Presidential records. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The text of the bill is as follows: 

H.R. 35 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential 

Records Act Amendments of 2009’’. 

SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF 

CLAIMS OF CONSTITUTIONALLY 

BASED PRIVILEGE AGAINST DISCLOSURE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 22 of title 44, 

United States Code, is amended by adding at 

the end the following: 

‘‘§ 2208. Claims of constitutionally based 

privilege against disclosure 

‘‘(a)(1) When the Archivist determines 

under this chapter to make available to the 

public any Presidential record that has not 

previously been made available to the public, 

the Archivist shall— 

‘‘(A) promptly provide notice of such determination to— 

‘‘(i) the former President during whose 

term of office the record was created; and 

‘‘(ii) the incumbent President; and 

‘‘(B) make the notice available to the public. 

‘‘(2) The notice under paragraph (1)— 

‘‘(A) shall be in writing; and 

‘‘(B) shall include such information as may 

be prescribed in regulations issued by the Archivist. 

‘‘(3)(A) Upon the expiration of the 20-day 

period (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and 

legal public holidays) beginning on the date 

the Archivist provides notice under paragraph (1)(A), the Archivist shall make available to the public the record covered by the 

notice, except any record (or reasonably segregable part of a record) with respect to 

which the Archivist receives from a former 

President or the incumbent President notification of a claim of constitutionally based 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with HOUSE