Bordallo presides over House floor debate

[B]WASHINGTON, D.C.[/B]— House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Guam Delegate Madeleine Z. Bordallo to preside over the House of Representatives yesterday when it resolved into a procedural setting under the Rules of the House of Representatives known as the “Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union” for debate on H.R. 3021, the 21st Century High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act.

Bordallo is the first Guam Delegate to have been appointed to chair the Committee of the Whole and to preside over debate on the floor of the House of Representatives. She presided earlier yesterday over one hour of general debate on the school construction bill before also presiding over debate on eight separate amendments that were offered to the bill and the recorded votes that were taken on such amendments.

In January 2007, during the opening days of the 110th Congress, the House of Representatives voted to amend its rules to afford the Delegates representing the territories the same rights and privileges possessed by the Representatives from the States when the House meets in the form of the Committee of the Whole. This includes symbolic voting rights on amendments and the ability to preside over debate in the Committee of the Whole.

The Committee of the Whole is a procedure utilized by the House under its rules to expedite debate on and consideration of certain legislation. It is a procedure and practice that dates back to the First Congress in 1789, and facilitates the amendment process for bills called up on the floor of the House.

“I thank Speaker Pelosi for extending the privilege to preside over debate on the House floor to me and to my colleagues from the territories. This is another symbol of inclusion in the legislative process,” said Bordallo. “Presiding in the Committee of the Whole reminds our colleagues and those observing debate in the House of Representatives that our American family includes the territories. It increases our involvement in the legislative process. Our participation in the process was enhanced last year when Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sponsored the amendments to the Rules of the House last year that gave us voting rights on amendments and that also afforded us the opportunity to preside over the Committee of the Whole.”

H.R. 3021 authorizes $6.4 billion for school construction projects across the United States in fiscal year 2009 for local educational agencies to modernize, renovate, and repair schools to improve teaching and learning climate, health and safety for students, faculty and staff, and energy efficiency. Projects are to be meet “green” building standards, and funds will be administered and awarded by the U.S. Department of Education based on defined eligibility criteria. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]