H 4680 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE May 10, 1995

pursuant to clause 6(b) of rule X, effective

today.

Sincerely,

fNEWT GINGRICH.

ELECTION OF MEMBER TO THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I

offer a privileged resolution (H. Res.

143) and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

Resolved, That the following named Member be, and is hereby, elected to the Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives: Representative Nathan Deal of Georgia.

The resolution was agreed to.

A motion to reconsider was laid on

the table.

PERMISSION FOR CERTAIN COMMITTEES TO SIT TODAY DURING

f5-MINUTE RULE

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask

unanimous consent that the following

committees and their subcommittees

be permitted to sit today while the

House is meeting in the Committee of

the Whole House under the 5-minute

rule:

The Committee on Agriculture; the

Committee on Banking and Financial

Services; the Committee on Commerce;

the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities; the Committee

on House Oversight; the Committee on

International Relations; and the Committee on Resources.

It is my understanding that the minority has been consulted and that

there is no objection to this request.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there

objection to the request of the gentleman from Ohio?

THE GUN-FREE SCHOOL ZONES

There was no objection.

AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1995—MESfSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF

THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC.

NO. 104–72)

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message

from the President of the United

States; which was read and, together

with the accompanying papers, without

objection referred to the Committee on

the Judiciary and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:

Today I am transmitting for your immediate consideration and passage the

‘‘Gun-Free School Zones Amendments

Act of 1995.’’ This Act will provide the

jurisdictional element for the GunFree School Zones Act of 1990 required

by the Supreme Court’s recent decision

in United States v. Lopez.

In a 5–4 decision, the Court in Lopez

held that the Congress had exceeded its

authority under the Commerce Clause

by enacting the Gun-Free School Zones

Act of 1990, codified at 18 U.S.C. 922(q).

The Court found that this Act did not

contain the jurisdictional element that

would ensure that the firearms possession in question has the requisite nexus

with interstate commerce.

In the wake of that decision, I directed Attorney General Reno to

present to me an analysis of Lopez and

to recommend a legislative solution to

the problem identified by that decision. Her legislative recommendation

is presented in this proposal.

The legislative proposal would amend

the Gun-Free School Zones Act by adding the requirement that the Government prove that the firearm has

‘‘moved in or the possession of such

firearm otherwise affects interstate or

foreign commerce.’’

The addition of this jurisdictional

element would limit the Act’s ‘‘reach

to a discrete set of firearm possessions

that additionally have an explicit connection with or effect on interstate

commerce,’’ as the Court stated in

Lopez, and thereby bring it within the

Congress’ Commerce Clause authority.

The Attorney General reported to me

that this proposal would have little, if

any, impact on the ability of prosecutors to charge this offense, for the vast

majority of firearms have ‘‘moved in

. . . commerce’’ before reaching their

eventual possessor.

Furthermore, by also including the

possibility of proving the offense by

showing that the possession of the firearm ‘‘otherwise affects interstate or

foreign commerce,’’ this proposal

would leave open the possibility of

showing, under the facts of a particular

case, that although the firearm itself

may not have ‘‘moved in . . . interstate

or foreign commerce,’’ its possession

nonetheless has a sufficient nexus to

commerce.

The Attorney General has advised

that this proposal does not require the

Government to prove that a defendant

had knowledge that the firearm ‘‘has

moved in or the possession of such firearm otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce.’’ The defendant must

know only that he or she possesses the

firearm.

I am committed to doing everything

in my power to make schools places

where young people can be secure,

where they can learn, and where parents can be confident that discipline is

enforced.

I pledge that the Administration will

do our part to help make our schools

safe and the neighborhoods around

them safe. We are prepared to work immediately with the Congress to enact

this legislation. I urge the prompt and

favorable consideration of this legislative proposal by the Congress.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON.

THE WHITE HOUSE, May 10, 1995.

NOTICE OF CONTINUATION OF

EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF

YUGOSLAVIA BEYOND MAY 30,

1995—MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

(H. DOC. NO. 104–73)

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message

from the President of the United

States; which was read and, together

with the accompanying papers, without

objection, referred to the Committee

on International Relations and ordered

to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:

Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides

for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, prior to the

anniversary date of its declaration, the

President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a

notice stating that the emergency is to

continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the enclosed notice

to the Federal Register for publication,

stating that the emergency declared

with respect to the Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro),

as expanded to address the actions and

policies of the Bosnian Serb forces and

the authorities in the territory that

they control within the Republic of

Bosnia and Herzegovina, is to continue

in effect beyond May 30, 1995.

The circumstances that led to the

declaration on May 30, 1992, of a national emergency have not been resolved. The Government of the Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and

Montenegro) continues to support

groups seizing and attempting to seize

territory in the Republics of Croatia

and Bosnia and Herzegovina by force

and violence. In addition, on October

25, 1994, I expanded the scope of the national emergency to address the actions and policies of the Bosnian Serb

forces and the authorities in the territory that they control, including their

refusal to accept the proposed territorial settlement of the conflict in the

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The actions and policies of the Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and

Montenegro) and the Bosnian Serb

forces and the authorities in the territory that they control pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat

to the national security, foreign policy

interests, and the economy of the United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to maintain in force the broad authorities necessary to apply economic pressure to

the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and

Montenegro) and to the Bosnian Serb

forces and the authorities in the territory that they control to reduce their

ability to support the continuing civil

strife in the former Yugoslavia.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON.

THE WHITE HOUSE, May 10, 1995.