those who have it, frankly, can't use it. the deductibles are too high. the co-payments are too high. it's just a card. it doesn't help them. under our approach by returning innovation to the states and actually giving americans a broad choice of plans that can actually use, i believe we're increasing access to affordable care for those who want it. and i think that's an important distinction here. and as i see the tax credit, i have a small business background as the chamber of commerce executive. so for decades i watched small businesspeople, entrepreneurs, mom and pop companies, struggle to get health care. they get no help. workers and big businesses got all the help. so under the republican plan -- >> just a few minutes left in this briefing. you can read the republican's plan in its entirety at c-span.org. going live now to the floor of

the u.s. house. e spero tpo: the hous wile oer. the gu chaplin, revere gary studnisky peterurg cathourch, washinon, d.c. the chaplain: o god, with such favor from its beginning and who have preserved it by your providence, graciously hear our prayers for our nation that it may be a bastion of liberty, of justice, of true freedom.

bless this governing assembly with the spirit of your wisdom that its members may decide everything for the well-being and peace of all. may these servants never turn aside from just and noble purposes as you give them the light to discern these purposes. . tear lord, grant each house member their families and their staff strength, comfort, and always the peace of the kingdom where you reign today and forever. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings' and announces to the house his pproval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance led --

will be led by the gentleman from california, mr. soto. mr. soto: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i rise today to honor a bright young constituent from my district in southern illinois on winning a scholarship n v.f.w.'s patriots pens essay competition. enacted in 1995, the program is designed to foster patriotism by allowing students the opportunity to express their

opinion on patriotic themes. this year's theme was, the american i believe in. adeline turner of jonesboro, elementary school illinois. was sponsored by the v.f.w. post in anna, illinois, and we would like to congratulate her and i know she will have a very bright future. also, madam speaker, i'd like to take just a second in i may to wish my wife a happy anniversary for the 37 years that we have been together. mr. bost: with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam chair. last night our republican colleagues finally revealed the secret health care bill and

it's clear that trump care doesn't care. here are the top five reasons why. number one, trump care cuts medicaid. it creates block grants to states that will lead to less care, including forcing seniors out of nursing homes and reducing health care for the poor. number two, trump care eliminates health care subsidies. mr. soto: in its place it creates substandard tax cuts that will ensure millions of americans can't afford health insurance. trump care favors the rich t provide tax cuts for the rich. number four, trump care hurts our hospitals. it kicks people off of insurance guaranteeing hospitals, employment plans, and tax fairs will foot the built. number five, trump care defunds planned parenthood. this will leave millions of women without health care. in summary, trump care doesn't care and won't work. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina

seek recognition? mr. wilson: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from south carolina is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: madam speaker, sunday afternoon the university of south carolina's women's basketball team clinched their third consecutive southeastern conference championship. gamecocks beat mississippi state in the s.e.c.'s women's basket tournament title game in greenville, something sfpblgt juniors kay la davis and aja, an extraordinary constituent, led the team with an impressive 38 combined points. this all-star team will likely hold the number one seed in the ncaa tournament that will begin on march 17. head coach don joined the university of south carolina in 2008. building a team based on teamwork and determination. in the eight scenes that the -- seasons that the coach has been with the program, the south

carolina's women's basketball team has seen three s.e.c. regular season championships, three sweet 16 seasons, and the program's first number one national ranking. with an average home attendance of over 14,000 gamecock fans. as march marks women's history month, it's especially fitting to congratulate the coach and historic gamecock women's basketball team. best wishes for continued success in the ncaa playoffs. go gamecocks. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we'll never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. last night the house republicans released their plan to repeal the affordable care

act. house republicans and the trump administration say that they want a health care plan that cuts costs and cover more americans, yet they interdues plan that takes away from millions of americans and puts the poorest americans, our seniors, people with pre-existing conditions, and working class families at greater risk of getting sick. according to the philadelphia department of public health, approximately 220,000 philadelphians would lose their health insurance if the affordable health care is repealed without adequate replacement. mr. evans: we cannot take this risk the new plan is an insult to the mlts of americans who have fought hard to try to get ahead. now is the time to resist. thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without, the gentleman from texas is recognized. >> mr. speaker, the senvuss

counts the population every 10 years. mr. poe: but the census bureau also sends out a mandatory infrusive personal, and more time consuming 28-page document called the american community survey. the survey asks intrusive questions like how many toilets does a person have in their house? what time does a person leave and come home from work? does any person in the house have a poor -- have poor eyesight, difficulty dressing, or mental issues? if this orrwellian survey is ignored, the government may come after the citizen. first a telephone call starts. weekly then daily. then uncle sam sends his peeping tomcrats to lurk around homes, forcing citizens to comply. if a person still refuses to hand over the private information to the intrusive eyes of the government, the government may assess fines up to $5,000. my bill, h.r. 1305, makes the american community survey

voluntary and also removes the associated criminal penalties. the a.c.s. is a violation of privacy and a costly abuse of government power. that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. mr. bilirakis: thank you. thank you, madam speaker. in recent weeks i held three town hall meetings and a round table discussion about the health care -- about health care in my district. hundreds of constituents attended and all together i spent more than 10 hours listening to our folks. the best ideas come from the people, madam speaker. i know you know that. and i feel it is my duty as a representative to hear my constituents' input. the american health care act

reflects what i have heard from my patients, families, doctors, and many others over the past eight years. our bill will lower costs, increase choices, and give patients great control of their health care. we're helping middle income americans gain access to affordable coverage. it also protects those with pre-existing conditions and allows young adults to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26. most importantly, this legislation is moving through the congress and-n an open and transparent manner. i invite the people of florida's 12th congressional district and everyone to read and share the american health care act at readthebill.gop. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. props the gentlelady from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: i ask unanimous

consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. foxx: mr. speaker, march is national reading month and students across the country often kick off this observe advance by celebrating the birthday of treasured children's author, dr. seuss. last week i visited an academy in winston-salem, north carolina, where i read, "there is a woket in my pocket" to first grade students. the academy is a charter school serving students from kindergarten to eighth grade. it was founded on the principles of academic excellence, moral focus, parental partnership, and student responsibility. its leadership believes in setting high standards making expectations clear, providing meanlingful -- meaningful instruction, and watching children surpass expectations as a result. it's always a pleasure to visit local schools and witness the great things happening in classrooms across the fifth district. every student in every school

deserves an excellent education, but unfortunately we're falling far short of that goal. thankfully innovative charter schools like forsyth academy are providing thousands of families new hope and opportunity. squool choice is a powerful tool -- school choice is a powerful tool to help children succeed and i'm encouraged by the momentum it's building. i look forward to the work ahead in exploring additional opportunities to provide parents more choices for their children's education. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, sir. pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on march 7, 2017, at 9:29 a.m. that the senate agreed to without amendment house joint resolution 37.

appointment, members of the commission on security and cooperation in europe. with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately 5:00 p.m. today.

>> it doesn't matter. we should never challenge the basic truth that an independent and free press is a fundamental element in functioning of our democracy. >> from the house floor, majority leader, kevin mc cargetty. mr. mccarthy: so, yes, for the last six years, we have been holding hearings. we have been listening to the public and we have been working on this bill. >> olympic gold medalist michael phelps on how to improve the international anti-doping system. >> i never stood up at an international competition and the rest of the field is clean. and i know when i do stand up in the u.s., i know we are all clean because we are going through the same thing and going through the tests and doing all

that sfuff. i think for me in terms of internationally, i think there has to be something done and has to be done now. >> representative chaffetz chairing a hearing on transparency issues. mr. chaffetz: you are relying on guidance and withhold that information to congress? >> the guidance is not in writing. mr. chaffetz: you just made this up? it's not in writing? >> it is a standard practice. mr. chaffetz: no, it's not. >> is this the standard practice? >> no, it's not. there is no attorney client privilege when one government agency is investigating another government agency. >> senator bernie sanders on the trump administration. > we have struggled from the inception of this country.

the fight against racism, the right against sexism, the fight against zeno phobia and homo phobia and we are telling mr. trump and his friends loudly and clearly. we are not going backwards but are going forward. >> senator marco rubio on a hearing at financial fraud targeting senior citizens. >> if you look at the lists, they are almost entirely from south florida and recent arrivals from cuba and they leave to cuba with millions of dollars. it has been covered by the press in south florida and people may not think that seniors are not victims. >> all programs are available at c-span.org on our home page and searching the video library.