mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, i yield mr. royce who is the chairman, ranking member of the subcommittee on terrorism and nonproliferation and trade, member from california. as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. royce: i thank the gentleman. i rise in support of congressman peter king of new york's legislation. i think it's very important at this point in time to recognize as we have discussed today the importance of that relationship that we have with south korea and recognize also just how much of a test north koreans' provocative actions have been for our allies in south korea. if we think back to the after effect of the korean war and how south korea lay in ruins and think today about the fact that south korea has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, and yet we look at north korea it has the lowest. it is truly dramatic. i have been in north korea and it is phenomenal to me to see the kind of devastation that that misrule has led in terms of

thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure, mr. speaker, i'm sure, mr. speaker, you'd agree it's no good saying wait for the statement when he's briefed all the details after the fact. and i have to say in asking questions about personalities, what is there left to ask when so many members of the cabinet walked out because they can't work with him? hear, hear. >> i want to ask the prime minister questions about the issue of electoral reform and also about the process he intends to follow. on the issue, does he agree with me that a truly proportional system has massive drawbacks? didn't we see this on sunday night when the b.n.p., a bunch of fashes thugs got two members elected to the parliament. doesn't he agree that's a strong argument against proportional systems. >> mr. speaker, let before the house send the message the politics of discrimination and prejudice and bigotry have no part to play in the democratic life of our country. and let us all take action, let us all take action together to expose the racist and bigotist parties. and on this side of

mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. decades ago a global space race inspired all sorts of ingenuity and innovation. it enabled this country to stretch its thinking, provide for lofty opportunities and emerge with a higher level of status in the global community because it had won that space race providing many, many opportunities. it is indeed the inspiration for today's house resolution 411 as witnessed by the the space challenge in mojave, california. we can provide that loftyness, to be able to emerge with an innovation economy driven by another sort of global race, one called an energy race which will find the winner to be exporter of energy innovation, energy thinking, energy ideas and energy intellect. and so i think the moves forward by this house can perhaps inspire another saga of intermediate space challenge. but today we recognize and support the goals and ideals of that great intermediate space challenge through house resolution 411. i would encourage our colleagues to support this resolution. it is most mer

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on energy and commerce may have until 11:59 on friday, june 5, to file its report to accompany h.r. 2454. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the chair will now entertain one-minute requests. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. dingell: we all know the terrible situation in the auto industry and in the nation in general. on monday, general motors filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. i know the g.m. will emerge from the court again, poised to again lead the world in the automotive sector. but the process will be painful. the company will cut 21,000 employees, 34% of its workforce and this does not include elimination of 2,600 more dealers. furthermore, it comes on the heals of

mr. nadler: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. nadler: thank you. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i rise in support of house resolution 505 which condemns the murder of dr. george tiller who was shot to death at his church on may 31. the resolution also offers condolences of the house of representatives to dr. tiller's family. i know that dr. tiller and his family are in the thoughts and prayers of every member of the house today. i want to commend our colleague, the distinguished chairperson of the rules committee, my fellow new yorker, ms. slaughter, for introducing this resolution. it is imperative that the house of representatives speak with the united voice in condemning this crime. it is a sad reminder that med

mr. billie khakis: thank -- mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise today in support of this resolution which expresses our condolences and sympathy for the people of italy following the terrible loss of life which occurred in the central abruzzo region last april which was struck by powerful earthquake. tragedy the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck in the early morning of april 6 killed over 250 people. tens of thousands more were left homeless. as their family properties were destroyed. over 15,000 buildings, rich in culture and history, were obliterated in just moments by the powerful shocks. i note that despite the danger from the strong aftershocks after the earthquake, heroic italian rescue workers nevertheless entered the unstable buildings at risk to themselves and pulled over hundreds of survivors to safety. mr. speaker, when we think of italy, our first thoughts are of the beauty, the history, the culture, and especially the warmth and kindness of its people. as a nation, america also has

speaker, mr. speaker, does the prime minister agree with the comments from his chancellor this morning when he blamed the bank's board rooms for the recession but refused to fundamentally change the way we regulate them? >> mr. speaker, we are changing fundamentally the way we regulate our banks. we are -- we are banning them from bonuses at the moment in areas where we've taken over these banks. we are changing the structures of the boards by the way by dealing with the problems by this recession and we are creating new financial regulation to change the structure. in every area where an abuse has been found we are taking action to deal with that and i hope when the legislation comes before the house of commons he will support it because it's the right thing to do. when people make mistakes we have got to deal with it and we're deal with the mistakes that were made in the city. >> i think he's still trying to have it both ways. he can't just blame the bankers. he can't just blame the bankers and

thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 10 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from massachusetts rise? ms. tsongas: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. tsongas: no one was more worried about the national debt than my late husband, paul tsongas. during the years of the clinton administration, fiscal responsibility prevailed and the debt clock started to roll back. but we have seen a stark reversal of that success with spending on two wars, tax cuts for the wealthy and a massive new entitlement program none of it paid for. as a member of the budget committee i was proud to co-sponsor legislation this week that would reinstate statutory pay-as-you-go rules. pay-go is not an untested theory but a commonsense tool with a proven track record that requires we in washington to make tough choices. throughout the 1990's it paved the way for balanced budgets and

>> thank you, mr. speaker. can i welcome you to your new role as well. many of us will welcome the prime minister's road back from inquiring in private it would be a misjudgment to do so. the two points of difference before is in the motions is whether the terms of reference are discussed and published and secondly, whether there's a wide composition of the committee. what can the committee say to the house to address these two points of difference. >> i could say the chairman of the inquiry has written to me to make it absolutely clear that the inquiry will need expert assessors at the highest level including military, legal and international development and reconstruction matters. and he's already begun to identify people who may be willing to serve in that capacity. as far as the terms of reference are concerned, i cannot think of an inquiry that's got wider terms of reference. it covers nearly 8 years from 2001 to 2009. it covers all issues that refer to both the -- both the conflict itself, the causes of t

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, isn't it again remarkable what mps are being told by their constituents is to concentrate of getting this politics of this country sorted out. what they're being told is concentrating on getting us through the recession. what they have been told is build us is better future and not one question from the leader of the opposition can be about the central issues facing our country. >> the prime minister has chosen today to make a statement about constitutional reform. he can't complain. he can't complain that i'm asking questions about it. and when the prime minister talks about the economy, let's be clear what his legacy will be. not the most useless government we had in history, though, it is. his legacy will be the biggest budget deficit in europe and the biggest we had in history. so let's be clear about this no plans or no proposals today as he puts it. a man with no democratic legitimacy who's never been elected as our prime minister. who's been defeated every time the pub

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. and i want to thank mr. scott for the time. i would like to congratulate cincinnati on their good fortuner to the -- to be the host of this game. memphis was the host of the first two games. the final exhibition game of spring training, the only game tell advised on espn and a great event in our city where the national museum -- national civil rights museum exists. we really enjoyed the opportunity to have players honored there, willie mays, my hero and others over the years who have brought great pride to the city of memphis where we have the finest minor league baseball park ever constructed, auto zope park. and we felt that -- autozone park. and we felt that the game should permanently stay in memphis but it's moved on and i want to congratulate cincinnati for having such a game. jackie robinson has been immortalized as a here. his number was retired. there were many great players in the kneeingow baseball team such as satchel page who was written up in today's "the new york times"

speaker, mr. speaker, why does not the prime minister understand that character and policy come together in this vital question of answering and telling the truth that public spending will be, according to his own plan? is not what everyone would have seen today is that the prime minister has drawn and one of his precious dividing lines between himself and reality? that is what we are seeing. people know they have got a prime minister that never elected. at the prime minister and cannot be straight with people, and they have the prime minister and cannot even give 10% of the truth. >> mr. speaker, the leader of the conservative party, and we have made it clear that we would spend less than labour. conservatives would be spending less at every time and cutting spending at vital services and people should not forget it and, of course, every time he wants to read out quotes from this person and that person why doesn't he face up to the policy issue. we're spending 5.5 more on the health service and 4

mr. cantor: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, i say to the gentleman that the belief on our side is that the purpose of the war funding bill should be to provide our troops with the support they need not this controversial global bailout money. mr. speaker, i'd say more than that what we believe is currently from the reports is that the bill would eliminate $5 billion from the defense spending directly for our troops and provide that $5 billion credit towards the guarantee that the united states would have to provide to the i.m.f. mr. speaker, even further we understand that in this provision in the bill, in essence we would be providing for more money for foreign countries in terms of a global bailout than we would be for our own troops. even more troubling part to many of us, mr. speaker, is the fact that the i.m.f. program allows eligibility for countries like iran, venezuela, zimbabwe, burma, and others. and that these countries, mr. speaker, are not necessarily in pursuit of policies that help the national security

mr. filner: mr. speaker, mr. hare of illinois came to us as the successor of a legendary member of our committee, mr. lane evans, who worked so hard for veterans during his whole career. our thoughts are with him as he faces his disease. mr. hare was on our committee. he had to go off this year, but we miss him greatly. he's one of the strongest leaders for veterans in our nation. i yield to him as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. hare -- excuse me, from illinois, is recognized. mr. hare: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 1016, the veterans health care budget reform and transparency act of 2009. let me thank chairman bob filner for introducing this important legislation. in the 110th congress we gave the v.a. its largest funding increase in 77 years and we did it on time. but sadly punctual v.a. funding has not always been the case. the v.a. received its annual funding for health care programs late in the las

mr. larsen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure the parents of the three young men who died in the explosion would be very interesting to hear the thoughts of the gentleman from florida on energy and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: mr. speaker, i believe this resolution highlights the need to properly maintain pipelines and encourages the development of pipeline security programs. i support the passage of this resolution, urge my colleagues to do the same and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. larsen: mr. chairman, thank you very much. i want to thank mr. petri and mr. mica, as well as mr. young and mr. oberstar and ms. brown, for all their help in putting this resolution together, getting it to the floor today and urge my colleagues to support house resoluti

mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. nothing can be more important than the liberties that we enjoy under our constitution. and this bill that we are considering could not be any more important. so, therefore, in that regard, i wish to yield to my good friend, congressman pascrell, five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for five minutes. mr. pascrell: mr. speaker, this is truly bizarre. we're talking about life and death issues, and i know technically you can speak about everything, but we are talking about life and death issues. we have seen witnesses disappear, go underground so that law enforcement can now protect us. and if the gentleman, my good friend from georgia, gets up and talks about something which has nothing to do, absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about, but i guess that's par for the course. so i thank the ranking member, i thank the chairman, i thank mr. conyers for getting this legislation. and mr. cummings has done us all a great favor. nothing

mr. speaker we will set out proposals for taking this debate forward. fifth, we will set out proposals for increasing public engagement in politics to improve electoral registration we will consider how we increase the number of people on the register and help to combat fraud on receipt of the youth commission report and having heard from young people themselves, we will set out the steps we will take to increase the engagement of young people including whether to give further consideration to the voting age. mr. speaker, as we come forward with proposals, in each case the government will look to consult widely. all proposed reforms will be underpin by cross-party discussions. our proposals will also be informed by leading external figures including academics and others who command public respect and have a recognized interest in or expertise in the different elements of democratic reform. i expect to conclude in time to shape the -- i expect this to conclude in time to shape the governments forward legislative period and the queen's speech. mr. speaker

mr. issa: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. issa: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1741, the witness security and protection grant program act of 2009. witness testimony is a critical component of our criminal justice system. even with sophisticated d.n.a. and other forensic evidence, there is no substitute for an eyewitness testimony. however, engaging the cooperation of witnesses is frequently a daunting obstacle in many criminal prosecutions. many witnesses fail to come forward or refuse to testify out of fear of retribution by the defendants or pressure by the community. it's no surprise that violent criminals will unleash their brutality on witnesses whose testimony could result in years or decades in prison. it is also no surprise that violent gangs and drug organizations are the source of much of this brutality. the justice department's national gang center reports that gang members so frequently engage in witness intimidatio

thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. do we really want to nationalize health care and let it be run by the government? here's what's going on in england with their nationalized system. recently a british medical ethics expert proclaimed that people who suffer from dementia have a patriotic duty to die. the government medical advisor says that the care of dementia requires is very expensive and drains the government resources for health care. this government decisionmaker says that people will, quote, soon be licensed to put others down if they are unable to look after themselves. she goes on, if you're demented, you are wasting people's lives, you are wasting family lives, and you're wasting government resources. mr. speaker, when the government controls health care , it's expensive, inefficient, and ulti

mr. arcuri: thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank my friend from california for sharing with us his thoughts, clearly his institutional knowledge of this grand institution is second to none. but one point i think is important to clear up, and that is the fact that this bill has a preprinting requirement in no way, shape, fashion or form means that anyone is precluded or prevented from filing an amendment. what it does, however, mean is that any amendment that an individual representative files has to be filed by a certain period of time. and that was yesterday. that does one thing. i would submit that enables our constituents to have the very, very best legislation they can because it does one thing. it gives the -- it gives the legislature and the representatives an opportunity to read the amendment -- to see what that amendment means and to have an opportunity to interpret it and determine whether or not it is the best thing for the bill or in fact whether it should be posed. -- should be pulled. it is a good thing to h

mr. bilbray: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield as much time he may consume to my distinguished colleague from the great state of texas, mr. carter. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. carter: i thank the gentleman for yielding and i thank both of my colleagues for going forward on this resolution today for first lieutenant kyle g. west. as has been said, kyle g. west died with four other soldiers on may 28, 2007, in iraq. this happened when an improvised explosive device struck the vehicle. kyle graduated from huddle high school in williamson county, texas, and he went on to achieve the rank of sergeant in the texas national guard while serving as a cadet in the rotc program at steven f. austin university and serving as secretary of the delta. he graduated and took his oath in the united states army as the second lieutenant on december -- in december of 2005. in january of 2006, lieutenant west went to oklahoma for officers training and then in june, 2006, was assigned to forthood,

mr. arcuri: thank you, mr. speaker. i would just like to point out that this bill does provide for the troops and it provides very well for our troops because that is the most important thing that we as members of congress can do. it provides $1.9 billion more than requested for mraps and 2.5 billion above the president's request for u.s. troops. that's the rind of things that we need to do as a congress to make sure our troops are provided for. mr. speaker, with that i would like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. mr. kucinich: i have a question to my friends and that is how do we support the troops by keeping them in a war that's based on lies? how do we support the troops by keeping them in another war which keeps expanding and they are getting shot at on all sides? how do we support the troops by festering a war on the afghan border with pakistan and put them in even more peril because they don't have the supp

mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of the resolution, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. etheridge. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. etheridge: i thank the gentleman for yielding and, mr. speaker, i want to thank my good friend, chairman conyers, the majority leader hoyer for expediting this to the floor today. last tuesday, june 9, the town of garner in my district changed forever. a natural gas leak, as you've heard, ignited a massive explosion at the conagra food plant claws caugs the collapse of the significant portion of the structure. three employees died in the explosion and close to 40 others were injured. four with critical burns. this resolution remembers the lives of barbara mclean spears of dunn, north carolina, louis junior watson and rachel mae poston pulley both of clayton. they were all hardworking americans who did just what we do every day. they got up, they went to work on that faithful day tu

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. mccarthy: mr. speaker -- mrs. maloney: i rise to join with president obama and vice president biden and all those around the world who have been expressing their most profound concern about the events in iran. and in particular about the violence being used against those people who have been peacefully dissenting in the streets of iran. er there are news reports that at least seven have been killed. others have been beaten and badly injured. both the protest and violent suppression have been spreading. it has been reported that there are instances of live fire being used by police in the cities. the iranian authorities have now indicated that they will do a limited recount of the election results. i hope they are sincere and earnest in this offer. as president obama has said to those who have used their right to dissent, the world is watching and the world is inspired. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new mexico rise? >> unanimous

speaker. mr. speaker, today i rise to offer my gratitude on behalf of the people of the 21st congressional district for the lifetime service of dr. terry bradley. he's retiring from his position as superintendent of the clobus unified school district. i have known him for many years as his representative in congress. his hard work and commitment to the students and faculty has always impressed me. indeed his legacy is one that should be celebrated. during his tenure he provided -- presided over faculty investments. these improvements as well as his commitment to excellence have made a real difference in the quality of education for the students. while the parents and students of clowviss will miss him, he can leave his position with full confidence that clovis unified school district, a school district that has helped lead the valley into the 21st century, will continue to thrive for future generations. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlem

mr. arcuri: thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank my friend and colleague from the rules committee for his management of this rule and also for talking about what i think is ultimately the very -- the most important thing with respect to this bill and that is, of course, our troops. you know, there are many of us who opposed the war in iraq. i was one of them. i continue to oppose it. there are many of us who believe that the funding that this bill contains should be greater. i think on both sides of the aisle there is agreement that we should do as much as we possibly can. and there are things about this bill that clearly are not perfect. but you know we can't allow the perfect to get in the way of the good. this bill is a good bill. let's not deprive our brave sons and our daughters, our husbands and our wives of what they need to return to their families safely. this is not about what's right or what's wrong. this is about what we as a country, what we as a congress need to do. and that is to make sure that our troops,

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. heller: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my friend for yielding. i rise in opposition to this rule and the underlying bill which proposes a $300 million increase over last year for the operations of this house. that's a $-- that's a 6.3% increase at a time most americans' budgets are shrinking. 53% of this goes to allowances which we use for operating our offices and keeping in touch with constituents. i'll be the first to tell you my office could use an m.r.a. increase. my district is several hundred thousand miles. i fly thousands of mile and drive thousands of miles. keeping in touch with thousands of nevadans takes a significant amount of funds, but i am always mindful of the fact that m.r.a. funds are taxpayer dollars by another name and i have a responsibility to use them responsibly. many of my constituents and yours are making do with less. we have a responsibility to maim

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i rise strongly to oppose the republican substitute. i'm pleased to see that the substitute does support the president's request for $1.5 billion a year in nonmilitary assistance for pakistan. the same amount is in the underlying bill. but that's where the similarity ends. with all due respect to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, this substitute amounts to nothing more than a blank check. it requires no real oversight, no serious accountability, no congressional role beyond getting briefings on what we could ask for without any new law. since 9/11, i repeat again, we have point of order more than $12 -- we have poured more than $12 billion into pakistan without little to show for it. this is a continuation of the same failed policy. h.r. 1886, on the other hand, expresses or sense of priorities for a democratic, economic and social development assistance without tying the president's hands. unlike the substitute, our bill provides robust monitoring and evaluation

larslars mr. speaker, i ask -- mr. larsen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extends their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. larsen: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. i rise today recognizing the numerous contributions of the recreational boating community and the boating industry to the continuing prosperity and affluence of the united states. this bipartisan resolution was introduced by representatives ron klein of florida and henry brown of south carolina, along with the could he chairs of the boating caucus,. house resolution 410 honors the 59 million boaters in the united states. as evidenced by the bipartisan co-sponsors to this resolution, american boaters span all across american boaters span all across the country, including my

mr. arcuri: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield four minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from ohio, former colleague from the rules committee, ms. sutton. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized for four minutes. ms. sutton: thank you, mr. speaker much and i thank the gentleman, my good friend from new york, for the time and for his leadership. i also want to thank chairman obey for all of the hard work he has put into developing this bill that will fund some of our nation's most critical needs, including funding for prisons and law enforcement initiatives related to the southwest border, along with promoting important scientific research and development. this bill provides $30.6 billion for investments in science, technology and innovation, including $6.9 billion for the national science foundation. whose grants in the past have allowed researchers in our colleges and universities to discover fundamental particles of matter to develop carbon 14 dating of ancient of artifacts and to decode gene

speaker. mr. speaker, i read this evening with interest the president of the united states has threatened to veto the defense bill if the additional funding exists for f-22 fighter planes. mr. speaker, the president is absolutely right. the real problem today is that opportunity to vote against those unnecessary planes are not allowed in this rule. in the end, we have to stop spending more and start spending smarter. i was extremely disappointed to learn that the administration's recommendation to halt the f-22 program was overridden. 187 f-22 raptor fighter jets is not enough? the raptor has not even been deployed to iraq or afghanistan , our two largest military fronts. while i'm not an expert on defense procurement, our defense secretary, robert gates, is. so i tend to believe him when he said that the notion of not buying 60 more f-22's imperils the national security of the united states is, quote, completely nonsense. we are far and away the most superior air force in the world. why would we

foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. we need to fund adequately our offices, the capitol police for whom i have the greatest respect, the library of congress, a real jewel for our country, but as my colleague from nevada said, american families are hurting and we're increasing spending 16% in this area over the past two years. and here are the problems that we're facing in this country right now which the american people are beginning to truly understand. we will have a $2 trillion deficit for f.y. 2009. the second traunch of the tarp was allowed to be spent, $350 billion. the stimulus package, which was h.r. 1, $787 billion, which was really over $1 trillion with the debt cost. the omnibus bill, which was $409 billion. that was the bill that funded appropriations for this year, which the democrats said they couldn't pass last year in individual appropriations bills even though they were in charge of the congress. but -- and the budget increased total spending to $4 trillion in 2009 or 28% of g.d.p., the highest federal

speaker. mr. speaker, republicans are eager for this discussion, this debate on health care to move forward. we are eager to talk about health care in committee, on the floor, at hearings, at news conferences, wherever people want to talk about a health care system that ensures more quality, widespread coverage and accessibility. in fact, we have a plan that will be based on five principles, and today i want to talk about one of those principles which is just to simply make quality health care coverage affordable and accessible for every american regardless of pre existing health conditions. that's a statement that i think every member of this house would agree with. our debate is how we get there. we need to be committed how we get there. we need to ensure that everybody has access to health care because of everyone can get into a health care environment if there's a crisis. but we want to be sure that they have coverage that gets them into health care throughout their entire life and throughout

mr. franks: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, jugs a personal thought on my -- just a personal thought on my part. sometimes a country oftentimes asks itself the question what really is the source and fundamental essence of our security? and oftentimes we think that that is the length and breadth of our military might and i would only remind us all that thousands of years ago china built a great wall to protect china. this was a wall that would have challenged some of modern day tanks. they thought they were completely secure. but in that time china was invaded three different times. because the enemy simply bribed the guard who opened the gate and let them in. i would submit today that the greatest and most important factor for the freedom of a people is the commitment in the heart of its people and especially those who put on the uniform to be committed enough to stand in the way of the aggressor and their homeland. and that is exbe actly what private long and private quinton ezeagwula tried to do. there is a verse tha

mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor reverend richard fowler, a dedicated community servant and spiritual leader from the fourth district. he was born and raised in covington, kentucky. earned bachelor's degree in science. he served our great country during the vietnam war as a member of the army. upon completing his military duty, reverend fowler began an impressive 28-year career with procter & gamble. he was ordained in 1979. reverend fowler has served as pastor in covington since 1983. and in addition to his duties at ninth street, reverend fowler is a member of numerous boards including the ue natedway, -- united way, our local community and technical college. he's also the founder and organizers of oasis, incorporated for community action and substance abuse recovery. on the 25th of june, reverend fowler marked the beginning of legislative business by offering the opening prayer on the house floor. madam speaker, please join me -- mr. speaker, please join me in commending reverend fowler in of

mr. cleaver: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous materials thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. cleer: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cleaver: mr. speaker, i rise this evening recognize and celebrate the life of mr. millard fuller, the founder and strength behind one of our nation's most well known and beloved nonprofit institutions. mr. fuller led habitat for humanity from its founding in 1976 to 2005. he was an amazing man who was able to turn a simple idea into a global housing juggernaut, serving over 100 countries. through his leadership, habitat for humanity has created affordable homes for more than 300,000 families and one million people. families that otherwise would have remained in substandard housing. so mr. speaker, i think that it is

mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. what i knew and what i believe the leadership knew on both sides of the aisle that for a protracted period of time the distinguished chairman of the appropriations committee and the majority leader had been meeting with their counterparts in the minority with reference to time agreements. now our side here when that bill began its debate and the first question out of mr. obey's mouth to mr. lewis, the distinguished ranking member of the committee, the first question out of his mouth was whether or not they were going to be able to get a time agreement. and mr. lewis' reply was that he could not give that assurance. so for somebody to come down here and talk about whether or not the democrats tried to get a time agreement and then to spend time yesterday agreeing on nothing and accepting no more than foolishness on the house of representatives, whether it was history making or not, is just plain absurdity. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, will the gentleman yield? the speaker pro tempore: the

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. 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

. >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker will receive a message. the secretary: mr. speaker, i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed with an amendment h.r. 1256, an act cited as the smoking prevention act and conclusion of the house is requested. >> i ask unanimous consent that i be removed as a co-sponsor of h.r. 2254. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does do you rise? ms. norton: i ask unanimous consent that i be removed as co- sponsor of h.r. 848, the rights performance act. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution29. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 529, resolution condemning the violent attack on the united states holocaust memorial museum on june 10, 2009 and honoring the bravery and dedication of the united states holocaust museum employees and security personnel. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from west virginia, mr. rah

mr. smith: i thank the speaker for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of this amendment. i thank my friend and colleague for offering it. today, david goldman is once again back in brazil. he is back at the brazilian supreme court which he and i visited together last february. trying to get justice that the brazilian courts keep delaying and denying. today, david goldman is tenaciously trying to reclaim his son from a child abductor. mr. speaker, as many members know, almost five years ago david goldman's 9-year-old son, sean, was abducted by his mother to brazil. for five long years, david has sought relief in the brazilian courts. and with the aid of an extraordinarily talented legal team and a local gas roots organizations called -- grassroots organization called bring sean home, and i would encourage everyone to google it, go check it out, look at the information that is contained on that website because it is truly remarkable what this grassroots organization has done to power support for david, to lift his often d

mr. pltsspak thank you, mr. speaker, i yield -- mr. splats: thank you, mr. speaker. i -- mr. platts: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the health and wellness of america's children is undoubtedly a subject of great concern at this time in history. over 33% of america's elementary schoolchildren are overweight or obese and over 13% of america's high school children are obese. overweight and obese children are developing diseases and vascular conditions once thought of as conditions affecting only the middle-aged. these children are shown to be at increased risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, respiratory problems and numerous other diseases. in addition, think often suffer low self-esteem and a sense of isolation and other psychological side effects. physical education is important in defeating obesity in children and adults. regular physical activity reduces the risk for many problems, including stroke, coe colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. it helps control weight, reduces falls for older adults and is associated with fewer

mr. speaker, issues in the region still confront us. iran is an independent nation that deserves our respect and the aryan people are proud people who deserve democracy and that is why the regime must address the serious questions which are being asked about the conduct of the iranian elections. the way the regime responds to legitimate process will have implications for i ran's relationships with the rest of the world in the future. i think the house will also want to know the future prime minister netanyahu or for the first time he endorsed a to a state solution, and a born step toward but there remains a long road ahead of us. i am speaking to him later today to president importance of freezing settlements. so mr. speaker, with the last british troops about to return home now is the right time to ensure we have a proper process in place to learn the lessons of this complex and often controversial events of the last six years. i am announcing the establishment of an independent peer counselor committee of inquiry that will consider th

mr. duncan: mr. speaker, thank you very much. and, mr. speaker, three or four years ago, as i had told people that we would be facing this year a budget of $3 trillion and facing a deficit of $1.8 billion, people would have thought that i was crazy. but that is what we're facing and because of the terrible financial condition of the federal government, all of our expenditures are related, even though they may sound at first like they're unrelated. but -- and so i want to speak tonight briefly on two issues of national significance, even though they may sound unrelated at first. president reagan used to say frequently in speeches that government was not the solution, government was the problem. and certainly there also is an expression called the tyranny of good intentions and that cannot be seen more clearly in anything than in the federal student loan program. when i go to speak at the university of tennessee or other colleges and i tell them that my first year at the university of tennessee cost $90 a quarter and then $105 and then $120

mr. nunes: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today it's been 628 days since me and many of my colleagues requested for this congress to take action to avoid collapse of civil society in the san joaquin valley. only three months ago i again warned congress that an economic catastrophe was looming. the leadership of this congress did absolutely nothing. the result, 40,000 workers laid off, unemployment nearing 20%, with some valley communities nearing 50%. this is the direct result of this government's action to protect a three-inch mineau. the situation has now been compounded by a recent obama administration action that now blames cities and farms in california for the plight of the killer whale. this is absolutely absurd. what is wrong with this government? we are starving people to save the killer whale now. this highly controversial opinion was rushed into print by the obama administration without public comment or debate. this is a clear violation of the endangered species act and has since been challenged in court.

mr. berman: yes, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield to my dear friend and member of the foreign affairs committee, the gentlelady from nevada, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. berkley: i thank the gentleman from california for yielding and for his steady leadership on this and so many other issues, the ranking member, ileana ros-lehtinen, and i thank the gentleman from indiana, mr. pence, for his leadership on this and so many other middle eastern related issues as well. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution and in support of the people of iran whose voices deserve to be heard in a free and open and democratic way. we are not here today to discuss the outcome of this election or involve the united states in the internal politics of iran. the american people, through their elected representatives, are here today to stand with the people of iran and people all over the world who yes or no to express their -- who yearn to express their opinions.