today, mr. speaker, we rise to support non violence. >> thank you, mr. speaker. we have one additional speaker, and i would like to call upon the author of the resolution, a great member -- mr. pence for the remainder of the time. >> digital and is recognized for 4 and 1/4 minutes.

mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, he is right to say that the country needs action, and the action is coming from this government, and yet he will listen to what we are doing, i think you will find its that this would help the car industry, to up the banks, to about the unemployed, to one of those people who are homeowners. we are departing with the ideas about how to dig this country out of recession. neither of the main opposition parties have anything to offer us. >> mr. speaker, will my right honorable friend reaffirm the government's commitment to decent, affordable homes for all? in the past month in west london, a decent homes program has been described as upgrading the deck chairs on the titanic, and social housing as an incentive not to improve one's lot for one's efforts. with the condemned the politicians and made those comments? >> he is absolutely right. when a conservative council has cut the decent tom's program and cut back on the investment in it, you do not need to look and a crystal ball to

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: mr. speaker, the turmoil continues in iran with the little man from the desert, president ahmadinejad, claiming victory in the apparent fraudulent presidential elections. believe it to the students of iran to continue to protest in spite of the government shootings of students and others who risk their lives for the human right to peaceably assemble and freedom of speech. backed by the government controlled press and the religious leaders, ahmadinejad is trying to quell the hundreds of thousands who say his claim to the imperial thrown of the presidency is a fraud. the sons of liberty and the daughters of democracy of iran who wish to exercise the right of free speech and freedom to assemble should resolve this drama peaceably in order to ensure their human rights. i hope our american policy would be morally and verbally supportive as stated by president kennedy years ago when he said, let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any

not really, mr. speaker. . here's what i remember. i remember speaker pelosi taking the gavel and she led 45 votes here on the house of representatives that were were to underfund or undermine our troops. that is a matter of record and on a spreadsheet in my office and i could put it all in the congressional record. but fighting the war in iraq, she was fighting against the war in iraq and the goal was to get our troops out of there, declare defeat and bring disgrace upon the bush administration. but it was clear in the rhetoric that came that it wasn't in support of victory in iraq, but every move, all 45 votes as a matter of congressional record undermine our troops. and yet, president bush issued the surge order and the surge strategy has clearly been a success. traveled to iraq with the gentleman from texas. and i recall some real hot days over there. and i can remember that there was a time when we couldn't go to places like ramadi or fallujah, because they were too dangerous. and i remember coming back six months later and shopp

mr. berman: yes, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the principal co-sponsor of the legislation, the gentleman from illinois, mr. kirk. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mr. kirk: thank you, mr. chairman. and i want to praise the chairman and his team for putting together a bipartisan bill regarding our assistance to pakistan. this is a very critical region for the united states, and assistance is authorized under this legislation and necessary. but as was stated before, when colin powell called the president of pakistan right after september 11 he offered a choice, you're either with us or against us, and president musharraf picked well. under that arrangement we did provide $12 billion to pakistan, but largely without strings attached. and the pakistani effort against the militants, especially in the frontier autonomous region was initially aggressive but then petered out. the united states was providing $16 million a month to the pakistani military

mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 403. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. green: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'd like to thank representative capito. she is an active member of the financial services committee and i thank her for managing today. mr. speaker, i'd also like to thank representative michaud, for his outstanding work in helping wi this bill. he is a co-sponsor. i thank the ranking member, spencer bachus. of course i thank mr. barney frank. i also would like it to thank the housing subcommittee chair who has worked closely with me on this project, representative maxine waters. mr. speaker, the question may be posed in the mind of someone as to why we should pass the homes for heroes act. i'd like to answ

thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: may i inquire of how much time i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 1 1/4 minutes remaining. mr. berman: i yield myself the entire time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. berman: just a few points. there was reference here to the f-16's. there is nothing in this bill that prohibits the pakistanis from deciding to buy more f-16's. two years ago they signed a contract indicating that that's what they were going to do. what this legislation does is say other than some specific adjustments, particularly that deals with utilizing the f-16's they already have and the counterinsurgency we are not going to give our taxpayer dollars for a weapons system, an airplane whose counterinsurgency interests are far less important than other equipment or training we could be providing. secondly, admiral mullen came to see me about the problems of utilizing the traditional security assistance program for providing the kind of equipment that is need

i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: mr. spratt of south carolina. mr. doggett of texas. pursuant to the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate the time. this is a trying time and i appreciate my friend from texas belief and hope in the future. i just have read enough of of this bill and know enough to understand about the consequences. this isn't the whole bill. this is 2/3 of it. the other 300 pages they allowed me to borrow a copy briefly earlier today during debate, right before the debate closed, but this is about 2/3 of it. we are having a job fair in longview, texas monday. that arose when i met with a bunch of my constituents, most all were african-americans, a month or so ago who had lost jobs because jobs were being moved overseas. energy was too costly here. the corporate tax is twice as much here as -- over twice as much as what it is in china. and i have been hearing from other

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pence: thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank the distinguished ranking member of the appropriations committee for yielding. i rise in reluctant opposition to the military supplemental bill that's before the congress today. i was pleased to join many of my democratic colleagues in supporting the bipartisan military supplemental bill that passed this house earlier in this congress. it seems to me when it comes to providing our soldiers with the resources they need to get the job done and come home safe, it's the right time to set aside politics as usual, the partisan divide and go forward to the best of our abilities on a united front, and we did that. but i cannot support this military supplemental bill today. i see it as a disservice to the taxpayers of this country and disservice to the brave men and women who defend us every day. you know, in the midst of difficult times, it's easy to forget we are a nation at war and go to politics and spending as usual. with american soldiers in harm's way, we must never falter t

>> mr. speaker, i disagree with him. the inquiry has got to take into account the interests of our national security. it is that to look at the issues that reflect on the capability and deployment of our troops in a way that it may not be best if made public and is also got to get people to talk frankly about what they believe are the lessons to be learned, surrounded by lawyers and everybody else in the public arena is more difficult i think he would have to acknowledge libelee this inquiry will also be pharoah and it will be independent and i believe the results of this inquiry will be reported to this house. i think it is quite extraordinary that for weeks and four months people have been calling for a franks style inquiry and now they have a franks style thinkfree and they are trying to oppose it. >> franks was 25 years ago and the whole climate of opinion has changed since the secret franks in krate and i want the prime minister to understand that. i have hope for a new politics of openness that after last week. i a

sanchez: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes. to revise and extend their remarks and include therein extraneous material. ms. woolsey of california for five minutes, ms. richardson of california for five minutes, ms. kaptur of ohio for five minutes and ms. lofgren of california for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair lays before the house the following message. the clerk: to the congress of the united states, today i am pleased to submit to the congress the enclosed legislative proposal, the statutory pay as you go d act of 2009, or pay-go, together with a sectional analysis. the deficits that my administration inherited reflect not only severe economic downturn, but also years of failing to pay for new policies, including large tax cuts that disproportionately benefited the affluent. this failure

mr. speaker, issues in the region still confront us. iran as an independent nation that deserves our respect and the ivory and people are proud of the deserve democracy. and that is why there she must address the questions being asked about the conduct of the iranian elections. the way the regime responds to legitimate protests will have implications for i ran's relationships with the rest of the world in future. i think the house will also want to know of the future prime minister were for the first time we he endorsed a two-stage solution. his speech was an important step toward but the remains a long road ahead of us i'm speaking to him later today to president importance of freezing settlements. so mr. speaker, with the last british troops about to return home from iraq now as a write-in to ensure we have a proper process in place to land a lessons of this conflict and controversial advent of the last six years. i am today announcing the establishment of an independent pretty counselor committee of inquiry that will consider the tim

mr. sablan: mr. speaker, does the gentlewoman from washington have any further speakers? mrs. mcmorris rodgers: mr. speaker, i have no additional requests for time. i urge my colleagues to support the legislation and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time -- the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i'd like to say that the gentlewoman from washington, i recognize her very fine statements about the student internet safety act of 2009. i urge my colleagues to support the passage of this resolution, of this act, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 780 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection --

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker,last evening i was patiently waiting here on the house floor to offer an amendment to the commerce and justice bill when they cut off our ability to represent our constituents with ideas to improve this legislation. at 8:00 p.m. last night the rules of the house allowed me to offer my amendment. but this morning under the rewriting of the rules, i am blocked from doing so. i deeply regret this unfairness. and this hostility to letting representatives, members of congress, come to the house floor for just five minutes and offer an amendment -- to a bill that spends rds 64 million. the amendment that i am blocked from offering is frankly very simple. it would restore the pacific coastal salmon recovery fund that has received strong bipartisan support for years and is an existing program, but which this bill explicitly eliminated. the pacific coastle salmon recovery fund is a successful grant to states program to help recover and reserve, endangered and at-risk tribal runs on the

mr. berman: thank you very much, mr. speaker. and, again, to my friend from florida for yielding me some additional time. i'd like to use this time to deal with one of the points made by friend from florida, mr. diaz-balart, and more substantially to the issue raised by the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith. mr. diaz-balart cited a letter signed by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the secretary of defense that was sent a number of weeks ago long before a series of changes were made in this bill. at the time that letter was sent we had a very elaborate resolution of disapproval process for the presidential determinations. that has been struck. we had a very high waiver standard vital to national security interests. that has been struck. we had a great dispute that was existing over how the pakistan counterinsurgency cooperation fund should work. those issues have all been worked out with the house armed services committee. the house armed services committee has worked through all of these issues with us. they are r

mr. sablan: yes, mr. speaker. i'd like to thank the gentlewoman from washington for her fine statement and support of h. resolution 493. i have no further speakers, so i encourage our members to support h.r. 493, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 493. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from the northern marianas rise? mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i ask that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 428. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 428, resolution recognizing the immeasurable contributions of fathers in the healthy development of child

thank you, mr. speaker. [applause] >> mr. speaker, there is another abandon canadian citizen and this by the federal courts severe abuse, this government continues to violate his rights by refusing to bring him home. the government has had two weeks to read a judgment that is unequivocal in the findings of fact and conclusions of law. every day it wastes is the continued violation of this man's right. does the derrin plan on appealing the court's decision well delay justice at his expense or will it he the court's order and immediately return him home to canada? [applause] >> the honorable minister of justice. in. >> mr. speaker, the government will comply with a court order. >> and the honorable member. [applause] >> the honorable member, mr. speaker, the first meeting of this on a liberal conservative group, the prime minister has decided rather the liberal leader will not insist on an and the 360 hours a day eligibility. if the liberal leader is conceding on everything. , the very beginning there were various essential mea

mr. speaker and mr. speaker-elect, you know on this side of the house, all colleagues share a view of the importance of the house of commons, the importance of the role of speakers and the importance of the practices and procedures in this house. you should know that in discharging your responsibilities, it goes without saying that you have the support of these benches but not just in your work as speaker but in the vital work of reforming and renewing this house that so badly needs to happen. mr. speaker-elect, i read a lot about our own relationship, the theme that has never come out is the fact that of course briefly for a time we were both together the first pair of the lords and commons tennis team [laughter] and i would also like to put on record a historical first that you have achieved which is to be the first person of the jewish faith to occupy the office of speaker of the house of commons and another milestone we should mark. i also noticed, noted as all colleagues did what you said about cast

speaker. mr. jackson expressed much of what i've thought about the events of the last -- of yesterday. elie wiesel expressed that people who hate and this assailant hated jews and blacks in particular, but that people who hate hate all people and minorities. with that in mind i think it's important that people reflect and do something positive with their children and themselves in the future as an antidote to the hate we saw and that's to bring your children to the holocaust museum and let them learn about the horrors of the nazis and the camps and come to memphis and the civil rights museum and learn about civil rights and go to atlanta where dr. king is buried and learn about dr. king and nonviolence and take steps to learn about ways to make the world better. it's unfortunate what happened yesterday, it's so awful at that site. but that it's awful that it happened anywhere and that mr. johns did lose his life and we must appreciate all the guards that protect american order and liberty. thank y

speaker. i too well, the removal of the brutal fascist regime of saddam hussein and i think the iraqis are much better country today than ever could have been with that regime continuing. i believe in would be import however, that this inquiry should also look at the origins of the conflict which to concern in 2001. we were bombing iraq in 1998, saddam hussein was gassing kurds in 1998 and there is a context in the history and i hope the inquiry will look at the context in the history and not just art events in 9/11. >> i do agree there is a series of events leading up to what happens when the conflict broke out in 2003. and no doubt the inquiry will be free to take some into consideration but must focus itself on a time which is an immediate run into the conflict, the conflict itself and reconstruction after words. i have to remind that we've had four separate inquiries already into some of the events surrounding iraq, the foreign affairs committee and intelligence security inquiry, the gitmo

i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york. mr. rangel: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman, chairman levin from michigan. mr. levin. i'll be glad to. mr. barton: i have two nonmembers of the ways and means committee that i'd like to go out of order to get us in balance so mr. camp and you could balance each other. mr. rangel: i yield to the gentleman. mr. barton: i'd like to yield to the gentleman from new york one minute, mr. lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. barton: and i'd like to thank mr. rangel for his courtesy. mr. lee: i like to thank the gentleman for yielding. my community knows too well that washington typically overregulates and hides the costs to taxpayer. this bill is being over 1,100 pages in length and 50 pages dedicating to regulating light bulbs. in order to garner enough votes, the majority has tried to shift the most punitive costs of th

mr. speaker, issues and the region still confront us. iran is an independent nation that deserves our respect and the iranian people are proud people who deserve democracy. that is why the regime must address the serious questions that have been asked about the conduct of the iranian elections. the way the regime responds to legitimate protest will have implications for iran possible relationships with the rest of the world in the future. i think the house will also want to know the speech of prime minister netanyahu where for the first time he endorsed a two- state solution. his speech was an important step forward, but there remains a long road ahead. i am speaking to him later today to press the importance of freezing settlements. so, mr. speaker, with the last british combat troops about to return from iraq, not the right time to ensure with the proper process in place to learn the lessons of this conflict and often controversial events of the last six years. i today announcing the establishment of an independent counselor committee

mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. currently a head of lettuce receives more regulation than tobacco products. i would simply ask, which is more dangerous to the american people? i'd quote from "the new york times" today which endorsed this bill and has been supportive of it in the past. it is now proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that tobacco companies have suppressed harm and manipulating the design of cigarettes to increase their addictiveness. federal regulators will help stop the abuses and help prevent americans from losing their lives to smoking. and this, mr. speaker, is the first step. mr. speaker, i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. green. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. and members and i thank my colleague from the rules committee for allowing me to speak for three minutes. i respectfully disagree with my colleague and member of the energy and commerce committee from indiana. and i rise in stron

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. skelton: mr. speaker, this is one of the most interesting motions to recommit i have ever seen. in truth and fact and looking it over, which is a multi-paged motion, it's an effort to rewrite the work of two subcommittees within the armed services committee, the strategic forces subcommittee and the air, land subcommittee. and we have already a few moments ago discussed at length on this floor a good part of this, which is the missile defense area, which we gave $9.3 billion toward. but what i really find interesting in this is that the budget will cut the cleanup for radioactive wastes and special nuclear materials. at this time, i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from california, ms. tauscher, subcommittee chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may not yield blocks of time, but the gentleman may yield. mrs. tauscher: thank you, mr. chairman. california, texas, colorado, new mexico, washington, south carolina, tennessee, idaho, georgia, anybody live there? those are the states that a

mr. lucas: madam speaker, i'd like to recognize the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. goodlatte: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. goodlatte: i rise in strong opposition to this bill. i agree with one thing the gentleman from massachusetts had to say and that is this bill has very important consequences, but those consequences are devastating for the future of the economy of this country. it's in pursuit of the fantsoif thinking this legislation will be able to cause us to turn down the thermostat of the world by reducing co-2 gas emissions when china and india and other nations are pumping more and more co-2 gas into the atmosphere all the time. we would be far better served with legislation that devotes itself to developing new technologies before we slam the door on our traditional sources of energy like coal and oil and natural gas and nuclear

the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has agreed to h.j.res. 40, to honor the achievements and contributions of native americans to the united states, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. diaz-balart: i'd like to thank my good friend, the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, for the time. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. diaz-balart: first i would like to say a word about the session of the general assembly of the organization of american states, o.a.s., held last week. it was an embarrassment. fidel castro and cuba wants the u.s. to apologize to him for having kept the u.s. market and its millions of tourists and billions of dollars in financing from him and from having denied him full diplomatic recognition for decades. he also wants the international community to kneel before him and apolog

mr. speaker, i think that's most unfortunate. i'm concerned that the majority failed to support a repeal of the so-called widow's tax. this provision penalizes surviving spouses of service members who die on active duty or from service-related conditions, by forcing them to accept a dollar-for-dollar reduction in order to receive tax-free indemnity ti and compensation from the agency of veterans affairs. i have co-sponsored two pieces of legislation with mr. buyer to remedy this injustice and i hope congress will soon address it. now as supportive as i am of the underlying legislation, i must oppose the rule brought forth by the majority. prior to the consideration of the rule, members from both sides of the aisle submitted 129 amendments to the rules committee. the vast majority of amendments, 79, were introduced by members of the majority party. last night, the majority on the rules committee decided to make in order for discussion on this floor 2/3 of the majority amendments and 1/3 of the minority amendments. last week, when

mr. lewis: i thank the speaker. i must say this is such an important message, piece of legislation, i think it's important that our constituents as well as our colleagues pay careful attention to this debate. in essence, in this package, the i.m.f. is funded at a level almost $30 billion more than what is provided for our troops, which supposedly was what this bill was all about. what began as a troop funding bill has become a means of fulfilling the president's promise to provide more i.m.f. funding or foreign aid for international bailouts. if that isn't bad enough, the conference agreement also includes $1 billion in emergency spending for the cash for clunkers program that was not a part of either the house or the senate package, nor was it requested by the president. i understand the conferees have dropped the graham-leiberman-mccain language regarding the release of detainee photos. the conferees have what occurred down language relating to the release or transfer of detainees at guantanamo bay. this is an iss

. >> question number one, mr. speaker. >> mr. speaker, before listing my engagements this is your last prime ministers question. and the whole house will have a chance to knowledge your great contribution to public life in a few minutes time. this morning i have meetings with mine tearial colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house i shall have further such meetings today. >> thank you, mr. speaker. may i add my appreciation of your kindness and generosity and everyone else and many other honorable members in your time as mer, mr. speaker. in view of recent speculation, could the prime minister assure me that budgets relating to the support of groan energy development and combating climate change will be maintained and enhanced over the next three years and might he reflect on what would be the ability of the united kingdom to meet its carbon budget commitments if such funding were cut by, say, 10%? >> mr. speaker, we committed in the budget an additional $1.4 billion of support for the low carbon economy. that w

the last speaker was the first woman speaker. you, mr. speaker, were the first catholic since the reformation. it is easy to overlook the change that the election of you and your immediate predecessor signify. i was struck by one, that you made. when asked about the procedures of this place, he recalled some wise words. "always remember that things that are traditional should not be thrown out just because they are traditional, and things that are traditionally not necessarily be kept for the sake of being traditional." this is not only a good principle for the reform of the commons but every other or -- every other institution in our country as well. i would note in another interview, this time on the politics show. in that inferred via -- in that interview, he said the secret of prime minister's questions was to relax and calmed down and not get set up. that is a piece of advice i may one take. he said give them just enough rope before pulling them and, and you like to smile at members just before you told them off. as i see your smilin

mr. costa: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise this evening to discuss what continues to be a pernicious drought conditions that affect the people of the san joaquin valley. those in my district and my colleagues' district. i hope most of the members and -- if not all of you recognize we are in extreme drought conditions in san joaquin valley that is affected not only the richest agricultural region in california but the united states as well. a drought caused by mother nature, expanded by numerous judicial issues and legislative changes has very, very much deaf stated the economy of the valley i represent. water is the life blood of the agricultural communities in my district. supplying over $20 billion industry in the san joaquin valley that provides half the nation's fruits and vedgetebles. number two in citrus production, number one in production of wines. the list goes on and on. 300 commodities grown and produced. number one dairy producing state in the nation. sadly if this drought continues, we'll find not only the

mr. sessions: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise in support of the gentlewoman's amendment and i want to thank tammie baldwin from wisconsin for not only working with me but also other members of my conference, republican conference, on important issues related to eye and retinal health and i appreciate her recognizing today the 40th anniversary of the national eye institute, h.res. 366. and also i appreciate her dedication to people that are suffering with retinal and eye diseases and these vision issues that we speak about today as a result of our support and the support of the national eye institute make a difference to thousands of people who have these eye diseases and their families and i'm very proud of this resolution. last congress we, meaning mrs. bald with win and i, joined together in support of national glaucoma day and today we're here to recognize the 40th anniversary of the national eye institute and express support for the designation of 2010 through 2020 as the decade of vision. the national eye ins

mr. barton: then where is it, madam speaker? the speaker pro tempore: at the desk. mr. barton: is it now at the desk? is it now -- i appreciate the congressman who brought it in. oh, that's not it. that is not at the desk. well, while we research whether the official copy is at the desk, i want to yield one minute to the gentlelady from oklahoma, congresswoman fallin, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from oklahoma is recognized for one minute. ms. fallin: i am outraged, here we are getting ready to vote on a piece of legislation and we have not even seen 300 pages of legislation. nobody can find the bill or know where it's at. and we are talking about major policy that will change america and will be a large increase to america's taxpayers and here we don't know where the bill is. i am shocked how we are leading this house as we go on intsdz day holiday. our -- independence day holiday. our first priority should be addressing jobs. and economists can tell you one of the surest ways to prolong a precession and to damage an economy is to raise taxes. m

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. berman: mr. speaker, at this time, i would like for purposes of opening general debate, yield to the chairman of the house armed services committee, of whom we have -- whom we have work very closely with in putting together a bill we can bring to the floor a very good bill, his help and he help of his staff working with our staff has really been just indy spenceable to the progress of this effort, three minutes to the gentleman from missouri, the chairman of the house armed services committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. skelton: i thank the gentleman for yielding. this measure before the house today is very well one of the most important pieces of legislation we will consider regarding national security. i first must compliment the chairman, compliment his staff as well as the staff of the armed services committee who worked diligently to craft this piece of legislation. it's very important because pakistan is very important. pakistan is important

speaker, we rise in support of non violence in that movement. >> mr. speaker, we just have one additional speaker, and i would like to call on behalf of the resolution, and member of the foreign affairs committee and our conference chair on the republican chair for the remainder of the time. >> he is recognized for 4.25 minutes. >> mr. speaker, thank you, and i think her for her expeditious work in bringing this to the floor in an expeditious manner. -- i shanker -- i think her -- i thank her. today, in the wake of a week of violence and tumbleult in ir, the american people through this congress will condemn the violence, and the suppression of a free and independent press in iran, and as the american people have done throughout our history, we will proclaim liberty. by supporting all iranian citizens, will increase the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties -- who embrace the values. i urge my colleagues to support this measure and join us, and if reports are correct, our colleagues in the senate, who may all come together to give a voice on

bilbray: madam speaker, this is a de-- mr. braley: madam speaker, looking at the chairman holding his grandchild in his hands is what every member in this body is going to have to face when they look in the eyes of their children and grandchildren. where were you on this pivotal vole in our nation's -- vote in our nation's history? where were you when we were trying to free ourselves from foreign oil? why were you when we were debating this bill? this bill won't cost jobs in iowa. it will create thousands of jobs in clean energy. that's what the message is i am sending to my children. that's the message i am sending to my grandchildren. this is the time to break away from mideast oil people. set a new policy for our energy future and send a message to the world that we will be leaders, not followers, when it comes to climate change. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: madam speaker, i want to yield myself 30 seconds just briefly. the speaker pro tempore: the g

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, the democratic leadership continues to push forward with their national energy tax. despite the financial pain this would place on american families, despite the fact that this cap and trade scheme would have little or no impact on the global environment, despite the fact that we can achieve a cleaner energy future without taking more money from hardworking american families. our democrat colleagues are intent on raising gas prices and home utility costs of more than $3,000 on each family each year. there is a better way to a clean energy future and it begins with supporting an all-of-the-above strategy. i'm grateful to be part of a bipartisan group to promote conservation. the american conservation and clean energy independence act is a plan for a stronger future energy and it would not raise energy prices, taxes or cost jobs. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois

mr. akin: thank you, mr. speaker. we have been talking about missile defense here and an amendment that relates to missile defense. i think one of the things that's important and maybe a little confusing is the fact that there are different kinds of missiles that an enemy might send against us, so we have different kinds of missile defense depending on the nature of what is sent against us. the debate here centers on the very long-range missiles known as intercontinental ballistic missiles. we have only one way top stop those missiles and that is what's called ground based defense. we have started, we have dug the holes and built the sigh lows -- silos for ground based missiles and this budget is cutting the funding for something we started. the amendment would restore those and finish something that we agreed to so we are not wasting money starting something and stopping it part way. so that's part of the amendment. and this is a missile defense ich is important along with the other kinds of missile defenses which ar

mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. routinely, this chamber is visited by many young peoplemark groups of young people. reminding us that we are in need of promoting and advancing sound and principled ideas and policies that will be inherited by them, by their generation. they will inherit the good and the bad works that we do. and they will count on us on doing the sound and reasonable solutions. with that being said, i believe it's very important for us to advance the opportunity for them to have a sounder environment. they have the right to breathe cleaner air. we have within our grasp the opportunity to reduce that carbon footprint. we have the opportunity to go forward and quit advancing $475 billion annually to foreign countries for fossil-based fuels. we can advance house resolution 503, which allows us to promote physical education in sports that will advance the health, general health and well being of our students and that will give them stronger academic performance. with that being said, i strongly urge our

mr. lynch: thank you, madam speaker. we yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 435 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? mr. lynch: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 420. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 420, resolution celebrating the symbol of the united states flag and supporting the goals and ideals of flag day. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. lynch, and the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes t

mr. berman: mr. speaker, thank you. what we see -- the speaker pro tempore: is the gentleman opposed to the motion? mr. berman: jim strongly opposed to the motion. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. berman: what we see in the offering of this motion to recommit is a political party or the leadership of a political party that, number one, is not serious about pursuing an effective strategy to stop iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability. and two, is using the pretext of iran to strike every single provision of the bill that we have been -- we have presented and debated on. the very first provision of this bill is to strike all that follows after the enacting clause. then my friend from indiana takes a bill that i'm the sponsor of, along with congresswoman ros-lehtinen and a number of people on both sides that now has something like 155 co-sponsors to focus on the issue of refined oil products going to iran and eviscerates that bill by taking every single trade sanction, all the financial institutions s

the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of this legislation and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: the house easily passed this bill under suspension at the end of march and as often happens with the legislative process when it went to the senate a few changes were made. therefore we are here again today simply to give final approval to a bill we already supported and rightfully so. the primary purpose of this legislation is to make technical changes to ensure smooth implementation of the bipartisan higher education reforms enacted last year. second, it address as pressing issue facing the federal student loan programs. third, the legislation includes the provision to assist students who have lost a parent to the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the technical corrections are just that. clarifications needed to ensure that the first comprehensive renewal of higher education programs in a decade can be put into place as congress intende

mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i yield three minutes to the gentleman from the republican caucus, mr. pence. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for three minutes. mr. pence: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pence: madam speaker, this is a difficult time in the life of our nation. in the life of our nation's economy and that of families and small businesses and family farms. remarkably today with an embarrassingly brief amount of debate and discussion and amendment, the democratic majority is poised to bring to the floor of the congress what amounts to the largest tax increase in american history. under the guise of climate change legislation. now, there's a lot of debate about what this bill will cost the average american household, from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars, but there actually is no debate over the fact that this legislation will cost millions of american jobs. on t

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. and i want to thank the chairman and the chairman of the task force and the ranking member of the committee and mr. sensenbrenner. this unquestionably has the facts that are obvious for this house to vote on to vote for impeachment. this judge has abused his office and justice by pleading guilty to obstruction of justice, committing obstruction of justice and lying to an official panel. and has taken an action upon his employees in his position, women that is an affront to all women in this country, and these are actions that are worthy of the vote of impeachment. that's unquestioned. but what is particularly impressive to me is the procedure that this house has acted in and the speed to make sure that the public treasury and the public trust are protected. this man does not deserve his pay. he does not deserve his position. he does not deserve his pension for he has shamed the country, the judiciary and been offensive toward people and good conduct, and for those reasons it's importa

mr. lynch: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. lynch: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lynch: thank you. madam speaker, on behalf of the house committee on oversight and government reform, i'm pleased to present house resolution 356 for consideration. this legislation expressing our support -- expresses our support for the designation of february 8, 2010, as boy scouts america day. in recognition of the youth organization'sup coming 100th anniversary. house resolution 356 was introduced by my colleague, representative ralph hall, of texas on april 23, 2009, and favorably reported out of the oversight committee on may 6, 2009. additionally house resolution 356 enjoys the support of over 70 members of the congress. madam speaker, the boy scouts of america was incorporated by chicago publisher william dickson boys

camp: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time, i yield one minute to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee, the gentlewoman from florida, ms. brown-waite. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. brown-waite: this bill started out as the tax and cap bill, then the clean energy bill because my colleagues on the other side of the bill real arized this wasn't selling at home. it should be called the let's send more jobs to china act. this bill is going to cost people in the state of florida an additional $500 on their utility bills. let's look at the jobs that are going to be lost. in my district alone, we'll lose 2,100 manufacturing job, 3,200 construction jobs and 1,900 retail and wholesale jobs. . america cannot afford this at a time when our economy is so fragile. gasoline prices under this will rise substantially. electricity prices will rise up to 90%. this is a bad bill. this is a bill that is going to cost americans not only more in their wallets, but certainly j

thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? i apologize. >> i ask to speak out of order the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mccotter: i thank the speak speaker. from the streets voices rise to pray for deliver rans of liberty. others argue for apiecement and neutrality. we must choose wisely between these voices and visions, less we betray our allegiance to liberty. support of iran and democracy harms their cause and strengthens the regime, increases the repression and once the freedom seekers are slaughtered precludes quote good relations. their song is wrong. despite pronouncements america has not intervened. the illegitimate puppet ahmadinejad demands our pros tration at the regime's feet and all the while the regime butchers innocents. cnn recorded a call from a terrified girl who said dem administrators were being shot or thrown from bridges. she pleaded, quote, you should stop this. he should help the people of iran who dem

mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 2647. this bill canges significant policy and fundings nishttives that address important issues for our military personnel and quality of life. i was honored to serve with military personnel subcommittee chairwoman susan davis, who i have seen firsthand promote our service members, their families and veterans. mr. speaker, i would also like to thank chairman skelton and the professional staff of the armed services committee for their efforts, particularly john and jeanette. to that end, the bill contains many important initiatives, including military pay raise of 3.4%. the raise is .5% above the president's request. large numbers of nondeployable personnel, we have recommended army end strength. the army would increase by

the speaker pro tempore: mr. ryan? mr. ryan: address the house for five minutes and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. ryan: i would like to rise today to speak about an issue that is important to our community in northeast ohio, specifically the city of warren, city of youngstown dealing with the auto task force and the bankruptcy that have been going on in the auto industry. and the community that i come from has been adversely affected, not just over the past few months or few years, but really over the past 30 years. we have seen the loss of a tremendous amount of jobs. the home of delphi started many years ago by the packard brothers, steel mills, have been adversely affected over the past 30 years, but specifically eefer the past few months and new years given the problems in the auto industry. every day we wake up and read the newspapers, we have been getting bad news about layoffs. a steel company goes idle, a thousand jobs. general motors takes over the third shift, secon

mr. price: i thank the speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: we reserve our time, madam speaker. we only have three speakers. we're ready as soon as they're ready to close we're ready to close. mr. waxman: you might not have heard my comments but we are -- we have the right to close and i'm going to close. so go ahead and use up your time and then i will close the debate. mr. barton: then i would yield the three minutes to the distinguished republican conference chairman, mr. pence of indiana. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for three minutes. mr. pence: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pence: congratulations. i thank the gentleman for yielding. it's hard to know where to start. i got to think, madam speaker, a lot of people looking in on this debate, hearing about copies filed andess taric process really -- and esoteric really don't care about this because this economy is hurting. american families are struggling under