dingell, mr. waxman, mr. pallone on the committee and on the senate side, this legislation passing is a real tribute also to the leadership of senator ted kennedy. it's really a great day. it's moment us, it's historic. we can't say that all the time about the legislation that we pass here. we certainly -- it would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of what is happening here today. today we have an opportunity to protect public health and prevent disease, and today we have an opportunity to honor our responsibility to our children to protect them from the harm that can come to them from the use of tobacco. madam speaker, tobacco was the number one cause of preventable deaths in the united states. according to the centers for disease control, it is responsible for about one in five or 443 deaths annually. again, i want to acknowledge the great work of chairman waxman and chairman dingell and chairman pallone. we passed this bill before easter. hopefully it will pass the senate so we can now pass the bi

what an honor this for me to present to you john dingell, because i told him this afternoon. his dad has to be looking down on him saying, john is just about time. because, for all of the years that the spent in this congress, he can tell you the numbers of precedence that it said we are going to do it, but this time, on his watch, the dingell bill will be coming out and it is my pleasure to present my mentor to you, john dingell. >> i love you charlie. i love you charlie and thank you. data think is looking down unsmiling not only on the fact that we are on to do this but that i'm associated with six wonderful people and i am proud to be here with my colleagues and to tell you about how exciting this day is. i have for 50 years of healthcare reform, and the release of this discussion draft is the first up towards getting a bill passed this year. what we have come up with is an american solution, much planning is gone into the discussion draft so that you and the rest of the nation will see today. but, now the real work begins. the work of explaining to our colleagues in the

dingell: i rise in strong support of this fine bipartisan bill. the consumer steens recycle and save act, authored by my friend and colleague ms. sutson of ohio. i commend her and her bipartisan co-sponsors for their work on behalf of this. the bill has the support of the obama administration, the u.a.w., domestic and foreign automobile manufacturers, suppliers, and dealers. it also will result in meaningful reductions in vehicle fleet and carbon emissions and fuel consumption while providing much-needed stimulus to our ailing automakers and economy. i express my deep gratitude to chairman waxman, mr. markey, mr. stupak, as well as representative sutson, israel, and inslee for their clab rat, collegial approach during the negotiations on the legislation. i want to commend my friend mr. upton and others of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle as well as the entire michigan delegation for their work on behalf of this. this legislation cannot wait. the longer it's put off, the more auto sales will be depressed ancon sumers who are excited tha

chairman dingell, and in peanut butter have worked on this issue. i am hopeful the riss hearing and discussion draft will bring us one step closer and passing food safety legislation out of the house. i have a brief chance to review this and briefly discuss a couple of issues that concern me -- it allows for food imports and to be inspected by labs to conduct sample analysis and i support the provision go live to see an investment in construction of fda labs and the port of houston is the largest in terms of foreign and improves our energy industry by the import of 606,000 tons of imported food in 2007, the port of houston does not have a fda lab and surprising no fda laugh-in taxes even though we share the longest border with mexico. i have yet to understand texas with its level of trade it does not have a fda lab and, in fact, there are over 300 ports of entry in the u.s. and only 13 parts and chile have fda labs. i hope my colleagues will forgive me but the close the fda in lab empire state of texas located in arkansas. in houston isn't the only

dingell dingell >> >> this of committee will reconvene representative degette. >> i went to echo mr. dingell thanks for working with us on this legislation. all inputs has been very, very important and and and if you will be surprised to know i want to talk about the mandatory recall provisions of the bill and i want to start with ms. dewaal. first of all, do you think their current provisions of the buyer of terrorism act are sufficient to give us the mandatory recall that we need and a robust food safety system? >> know i do not. the bio terrorism act did not really give the mandatory recall but it does give them the authority to take certain actions like administrative detention and other actions when they meat. >> really has the one step back because is that as of this it -- sufficient i said mandatory recall i mentor feasibility. >> that is what happens when you break my train of thought. >> thank you for the clarification. the one step up and one step back trees ability was a good first up into this area. the provision into this bill is much improved what we have seen over the

dingell and others, mr. stupak, for including the provisions of my two bills in this draft mark because they are critically important in the future to assuring safe food for everybody. the first one is traceability. as you know, mr. chairman, i have been working on these traceability issues for many, many years. and when i first started, people said it couldn't be done, but then as we realized with time, not only can it be done, and in slightly different ways within industry, but if we want to ensure this integrity of the food system, it has to be done. what i fondly call the salsa scare of last year is the perfect sample of why. we found people being second by salsa, and we couldn't figure out why. is destroyed or the much the entire profit of the tomato crop for that whole year to get as everybody thought it was tomatoes that had to salmonella. as it turned out, after months and months and months of increased sickness amah of increased scrutiny, we found out that no, it wasn't the tomatoes at all. it was j

chairman waxman, dingell, mr. stupak and i have worked closely with key stakeholders on this discussion draft and as we move forward with the legislation, we hope to continue those conversations as well as conversations with our counterparts on this committee. the bill we're discussing today will modernize the food safety laws currently in place. it places a strong emphasis on prevention and shifts the responsibility for food safety onto those who actually make the food. it also provides the fda with the necessary resources and enforcement authorities to ensure that all companies are in compliance with the new requirements. this draft bill would require all food manufacturing companies to register annually with the fda so that the agency has an up-to-date list of all facilities who sell products in the united states. it focuses on prevention by requiring companies to conduct thorough, hazard and risk analysis of the products that they're making. it mandates the companies put in place preventive controls to mitigat

dingell: i rise to revise and extend my remarks. i want to join in a colloquy about the electric transmission provisions. i support renewable power, as does he. however, there is a state balance in this. i yield to my friend. mr. waxman: i agree we must be sensitive to the federal state and roles but we must move forward on transmission policy. my goal is to take the first step. mr. dingell: i have concerns about the wisdom of splitting the country in two parts. into eastern and western interconnections for the purposes of regulating transmission. does my colleague agree that we should have a unified national transmission policy, i yield to the gentleman? mr. waxman: yes, that is my preference. there is more consensus how to move forward in the western interconnect than there is in the eastern interconnect, and we should make the progress we can in the west. i'll continue to work toward a policy that is comprehensive and effective. mr. dingell: i thank my good friend and i have this further question. i'm also concerned that wilderne

dingell, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. mr. dingell: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dingell: madam speaker, i thank my good friend from california for his kind remarks , and i express my appreciation to him. madam speaker, i rise in support of the clean energy security act. but before i address my remarks, i want to congratulate you on your distinguished service here and wish you well in the future. and express my personal distress that you are leaving us. now, my colleagues on the republican side, they are very anxious to criticize the bill and there are criticisms that can be had. there are not one of the 435 of us that could not come forward with statements in saying that the bill could be improved and that there are faults in the bill. both of those statements are true. but the harsh fact of the matter is it is urgent that we commence act

chairman and kudos as well to rosa delauro and chairman stupak and john dingell who have worked for many years to improve food safety in america and welcome to dr. hamburg, based upon your background obviously you enjoy a challenge. the food safety is an important challenge for our country. of all the issues we deal with in this subcommittee food is the most ubiquitous and relevant to all americans. i want to remind my colleagues that the government accountability office remember keeps him that a very short list of major tenant problems that require brawn transformation before they can ever hope to be effective. the list all of a high risk series includes notorious government failures such as the financial regulatory system which failed to prevent the largest financial collapse in generations, it includes the implementation of a home and security department which has been played from the beginning by cost overruns, and no surprise and also includes the federal oversight of food safety. and here's an example from last year that really hurt in my home state of florida. tomatoes last year f

dingell for opening statement please. >> mr. chairman, thank you, and i commend you for holding this hearing. this is a time of unprecedented hardship for the domestic auto industry. but i feel it is prudent that we objectively examine all aspects of general motors and chrysler restructuring plan. including how they affect dealers. although restructure of these companies is inevitable, and necessary, it means that we are going to have to achieve their long-term viability. but at the same time, are going to have to look to see how it is being done and how it is going to impact on other parts of our economy. measures must be taken to mitigate excessive hardship on working americans especially in a time of grave national recession. in june i will be asking a frank questions of farc witnesses today. in particular i seek to determine for the record how gm and chrysler arrived at the decisions they did related to its dealer closures. a public furor over the disclosures demands truthful answers from these companies regarding these matt

dingell, mr. boucher, mr. doyle, mr. inslee, mr. green mr. butterfield, mr. stupak mr. rush. i mean so many members, including members off the committee, like henry cuellar from the state of texas who worked with us on natural gas-related issues. we will not be here unless we had the cooperation of so many members across the full spectrum of the house. during this process we have received valuable input and expertise from other leaders in the house like chairman rangel on trade issues, chairman peterson on agriculture issues, amongst, again, many others. the legislation we have before us today is the most important energy and environment legislation to ever have been considered in the history of the united states. the consequences for our country are great unless we act to deal with these issues. this legislation sets a new course for our country creating millions of new clean energy jobs while reducing our dependence upon imported oil. and when it becomes law and it will, for the first time in the history of the united states congress, for the first time in the history of ou

dingell, mr. inds lee, mr. gordon and their staff for the collaborative effort that went into the final provisions establishing a clean energy deployment administration. as a result of this effort, america is beginning to have an inget, well capitalized bank charged with the exclusive admission of deploying clean energy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. 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

. >> thank you chairman dingell. >> next is the gentlemen from indiana. >> given your statement, you support the fda's ability to trace foods a more quickly so you import a system with regard to food? >> i would. is very important for our ability to respond quickly to outbreaks of concern the. >> you appear to be endorsing the bill, this draft discussion of the bill in front of us who also support the fda ability to increase inspections of food processing facilities. correct? >> we need to do more inspections as i said we also need to recognize this it is not simply increasing the number of inspections that will get us to the food safety system we need but also as a two big the preventive controls and shifting the way we think about food safety and stronger partnerships with the locals, foreign governments. >> when you discover contaminated food, you believe it is your responsibility to prevent the distribution of the contaminated food into the marketplace? >> yes. >> you are asking for the ability to do recall? correct? >> yes. >> ones that contaminated food has been discovered do y

dingell's? >> first, thank you for holding this important hearing. thank you for your remarkable leadership on moving forward toward resolution of the health care problems we have. i am grateful and proud. i am appreciative of the words he said about my dad. on behalf of my dad, i want to thank you for your kind words and for your friendship. i also want to do something on a personal factor. that is to welcome secretary sibelius. your father was a bible member of this committee. he said in his room for a number of years. we are always proud to have you here. your father and all was a bible member of the house, as you will recall. -- a valuable member of the house, as you will recall. this week marks the beginning of a historic process. it is an opportunity to fill our economic obligations, to provide quality and affordable health care coverage for all americans. the current system is not working. my dad started on this years ago and it was a matter of humanitarian concern. americans were dying for lack of health care. healthcare was not available to

. >> chairman dingell? >> thank you. like to commend the panel for their very helpful testimony. i would protect the like to address my questions to ms. bailey with gm may. welcome. by to follow-up and thank you for the way in which gm may have then working with the staff to resolve the difficulties which we can find out like to express my particular thanks and the most helpful way in which you have behaved and a remarkable change that has occurred under your leadership so i think you. first of all, am i fare is stating fda has been so underfunded they cannot provide the necessary services to protect the industry or the consumers for a number of years? >> that is right. >> as a result they have been an adequate week to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply? >> yes. you are correct. >> unfortunately our report 88 -- reported a -- reporter. >> i said yes fda has not been able to update good manufacturing practices since 1986 that is just one example of something they have not been able to do. >> that sounds like a serious matter. >> good manufacturing practices serve the ba

dingell. gentleman from georgia. >> thank you. madam secretary, the chairman metacomet during the markup of the american recovery in reinvestment act which said at the is unlikely you'll find millionaires like to medicaid. when the the concerns of this bill arises in the minds of many of us is whether or not we are treating low income citizens as second-class citizens by automatically enrolling them in medicaid. my question would be this, why do you believe that a family making $29,000 a year is not as able to make choices as a family making $30,000 a year and why would it be better to simply automatically enroll them with no choice and medicaid as opposed to giving them a subsidy to allow them to go into the private insurance market? >> congressmen, some of those families, a limited number, are in jobs right now where they have employer provided coverage. they certainly would not ship that coverage. a large number, particularly single adults who are at the 100% or below the poverty line, who are making off in a very small amount

loyalty in light of these deals are pleasures in my state and representative stupak and congressman dingell and congressman sutton. i see the evaporation because of this practice and i wonder whether it is part of your you have given consideration to that. mr. henderson? >> first of all, i'm able for the unborn in the state of michigan. second of all, when we are done general motors will still have what we believe will be the largest distribution system for the small towns in the u.s.. approximately 1500 of the 3600 will be located, sir. >> actually, through the new dealer network with increased the share of dealers in the rural markets and reduced the share of dealers in the metro markets. we do realize the importance. the difficulty is from the volume guinn from 2 million to 50,000 we don't produce enough vehicles for every business to stay in business. it's unfortunate but it's a fact and we are trying to make sure the dealers have highly enough volume they can stay in business and have a good operation going forward to compete with the transplants. >> into the two of you that have accom

next, former energy and commerce committee chairman, john dingell, stated in a hearing on cap and trade, and i quote, nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax, and it's a big one. as recently as this week, congressman gene green of texas stated in an op-ed instituting a cap on a nationwide greenhouse gas emissions will raise the price of energy for consumers and businesses alike. madam speaker, i'm confused. why on this earth would my friends on your side of the aisle create such a big tax on all american families and businesses during a time that a recession is so serious? why are we rushing to do this with $1 trillion spending plan that will such have a large impact on the american people on killing jobs and making it more difficult for us to come out of this recession? on june 15 i received a letter from the texas comptroller of public accounts stating that the current plan to implement mandatory mission caps would weigh far more heavily on texas than any other region in the country. it goes on to note that, and i quote, based on rising fuel prices as a result of t

dingell: mr. speaker, yesterday was a sorry day in the history of the house. repetitious, unnecessary, unwise votes set about to obviscate the business of this body was the order of the day. we set a record for the number of votes cast in a single day. but we also set a record for irresponsible mischief yuss and infescatory behavior. the time of this institution is a public resource during which we are supposed to do the nation's business. we are supposed to conduct that business on the floor, in the committees and in our offices. no opportunity was made available for the members of this body to do that. the institution has not been helped by that behavior, nor has this reputation been helped. i say that if this kind of behavior persists we will fall lower in the respect of the american people as very well we should. yesterday was a sorry event. the business of the nation was obviscated. the necessary actions that needed to be taken on important concerns of the nation like health care, like the economy, like the budget, like some 12 or 13 appropriations bills

dingell, from the state of michigan and chairman emeritus of our committee so that he and

on the energy and commerce committee, john dingell helped force compromises with the auto industry. rick boucher developed ideas that will provide a future for coal. mike doyle addressed the concerns of the steel industry and other trade vulnerable industries. the chairman of the ways and means committee worked with us to make sure that the interests of low-income families are fully protected. and the chairman of the agriculture committee made sure the legislation addresses the concerns of farmers and makes them part of our energy future. the need to act is clear and urgent. there is a national security imperative to act. this legislation at long last begins to break our addiction to imported foreign oil and put us on a path to true energy security. there is a scientific imperative to act. the evidence on global warming, on the consequences of carbon emission is overwhelming, and we have based our bill on the science. and there is a moral imperative to act. we have obligations to protect and preserve the environment for our children and the generations that follow. and there is an e

dingell? >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> what is your opinion of gm and chrysler prospective dealer closure plans with regard to substance and procedure? will you please submit your response for the record? >> both cases they were too deep in terms of numbers. >> would like specific criticism and submit it for the record because they have five minutes and also submit as part of that how can that be improved to result in fairness in your view to the dealers? in the case of both gm and chrysler it was not a transparent process. gm had an appeal but none in the case of chrysler which i think is problematic. with the liberation we have received today the chrysler dealers will be provided that criteria and makes sense there is an appeal process so those dealers that have been canceled can evaluate that in the case mgm the wind down as much more favorable to have the them to sell off parts and inventory and reasonably close the business in a rational format. in the case of chrysler the wind down was abrupt, 26 days be

congressman john dingell said it best when he said that no one in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax and it is a great bi one. >-- and dave -- it is a great big one. >> i would like to yield one minute to an advocate of prevention of global warming. it is my honor to yield one minute to him. >> i appreciate the general and courtesy. >> i have had the privilege of working with the speaker select committee of global warming. today, we have a major opportunity to rebuild and renew america while protecting the planet. i want to thank the ways and means committee for working with me to harness billions of dollars over the life of this bill, to reduce carbon footprint, and things that will make a difference for a country that emit more carbon with its transportation than china, india and europe combined. we have an opportunity to protect the planet, but unless you're prepared to lead, china and india will continue to pollute more and more. this is the first step in this leadership and i urge the courage to vote yes on this legislation today. i yield back. >> mr. speaker, i y

we have asked that chairman dingell be the author of this bill. he has been the author of universal health care every year. before that, his father was. when he was a young member in congress in the 60's, he gaveled down medicare. we have heard the same concerns before. this is a

dingell suggest you submit that for the record and we would appreciate that. a secondly, i heard both gentlemen, mr. henderson and mr. presser testimony about what could make a dealer profitable, using cars or parts or service saying or other things. i will start with mr. henderson, if a dealer is profitable, and buying cars from the manufacturer what it is selling, what does it matter if the profit center is derived from new cars or sales center or parts? >> good question the. >> thank you. >> in the case of the dealers who were impacted in the wind down situation 60% were not profitable. >> my question is if a dealership is profitable then it why should you care what center? very quickly. >> we look at overall profitability not individual centers. >> right. but if a dealer is profitable from whatever source and buying cars from gm, why would you care? if it is profitable then why not let it stay in business? >> we don't care if it is from parts. >> so why would you close a dealership like that? >> not all cases were profitable. >> customer satisfaction. >> n

act we passed this week represent braley, and our original cosponsor and chairman stupak and chairman dingell were involved in the process of getting that bill done and it is intended to have a concrete impact because we do believe that mr. keikenapp said, we want for chrysler and gm to be a success because it is linked to our work communities and jobs and the food it puts on the tables of the people we are honored to represent and so it's painful for us to be here and in this position but the payment that we feel listening to this is nothing compared to what we have heard displayed here on the folks losing their dealerships and i want to thank all of you that came here today to put a human face and perspective about cost of what is going on on this major problem so thank you for coming and mr. chairman, thank you for holding this hearing. we do want you to be successful. >> thanks, and that concludes all the questions from the members. i keep the hearings have been helpful since the senate hearing we have a process with general motors to help some of the steelers and there is gm and the auto

our three chairmen have asked that chairman dingell be the author of this bill. every year since he's been here he's been the author of universal health care. before that his father was. when he was a young member of congress in the 1960's he gaveled medicare. he gaveled down the medicare bill. very few republican votes, by the way, on medicare. very few republican votes. so we've heard the same concerns before. but it is -- is it pretty -- as i say, this is a life work for many members of congress, and it certainly is the responsibility for all of us. this will happen. we told the president we'd have a bill by the end of july, that it would be paid for and that's the course of action we are in. i commend our three chairmen, chairman rangel, chairman waxman and chairman george miller for working together, eliminate any turf challenges that occurred in the early 1990's, 1993, 1994, and to facilitate this improvement in the lives of the american people. >> madam speaker, the senate passed tobacco bill barring any expected amendment -- >> when we see the bill, i can

i have been to john dingell's office. i have been to debbie stabenow. i have been to gary peters office, who works for the financial committee, and nothing has been done. host: i'm going to jump in because it is hard for us to do with individual problem the program. for comments on policy and what is in the news, let's go to louisville, ky. bob is calling on our independent line. caller: thank you very much. my name is bob and i have been involved in three businesses. the first one was heavily regulated by the federal government if you think the federal government is there to help you in any business that you involved in, you are not because they are sold -- you are nuts. there are so heavy handed, they will micromanage our business until there is no business. the second one is the auto industry. i have been in finance sales management, the whole 9 yards, closing, everything to the third is the housing industry. i will tell you, when they talk about community reinvestment act, fannie and freddie and all this good stuff, i went to the real estate and saw

chairman waxman and chairman markey and before them, chairman belcher and chairman dingell have already held a lot of hearings on the transition. i would think that sometime this fall, there will be commissioners coming forward. there is not going to be this huge problem. half the country has already gone digital and you have not heard any great outcries in those markets. admittedly, they were smaller markets, but things work fine. people who wait until the last minute, like me, i have not gotten my converter box. i know i have two weeks to do it. we will wake up and go get it done in the country will move forward. >> what did you hear in that interview that he would like to respond to? i agree with the congressman. some people will not be ready and regardless of when the date is. some people do not get their taxes filed on time. another thing is that i think it was very good for congress to set a hard date so that they will know when this will happen. also, the transition itself is a good thing. digital television will be good for television viewers and the spectrum that is released fo

dingell with regard to drug safety because right now we have 11 international mail facilities. by the united states government. you count the three private carriers that also have international mail facilities and they are taking up around 30,000 drug packages that are coming in to our country by people who are going on to the internet. every time we do an inspection of those mail packages we find that 80% of them are either counterfeit, knockoffs or adulterated drugs. when in fact you do the math and you say, ok, wow, take that 14 times 30,000 times 365 then times 80, we are looking at -- give me the real math? 80% -- what? 96 million. think about that. 96 million drug packages coming in. so what we're doing now is we're lumping this on to f.d.a. , and f.d.a. is a challenged -- a very challenged agency. i urge individuals to vote no on this legislation. there is a better way to regulate tobacco. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: so, madam speaker, it's come down to this. amusing that perhaps f.d.a. is not the

dingell, for questions, please. >> we have a very difficult business here. we have to decide how we are going to protect the rights of the dealers and at the same time see to it that we restructure our american automobile industry so that we save the rest of the dealers, as many other workers as we can, the jobs and the communities that are affected. first of all, to mr. peres and mr. hendrick. do you have written roles for the closure of dealers and for the termination of the dealers? >> yes. >> yes or. >> would you please submit each of them to the committee with such accompanying remarks as you would like to make. now, there is no appeal right for a dealer in the case of chrysler, is that correct? >> that's correct. >> are their appeal rights for general motors? >> yes, there are sir. >> would you submit to the committee the precise character of those appeal rights. now, would you tell us, please, mr. hendrix and mr. press, just give us a number, how many of the dealer terminations have been changed by the company under the companies under your appellate

dingell of michigan. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. costa: five minutes, mr. speaker to address the house, i ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for five minutes. 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. num

energy and commerce committee, henry waxman, his colleagues on that committee, including congressman dingell, ed markey and rich boucher. i also want to thank charlie rangel, the chair of the ways and means committee and collin peterson, the chair of the agricultural committee, for their many and ongoing contributions to this process. and i want to express my appreciation to nancy pelosi and steny hoyer for their leadership. we all know why this is so important. the nation that leads in the creation of a clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the 21st century's global economy. that's what this legislation seeks to achieve. it's a bill that will open the door -- door door to a better future for this nation and that's why i urge members of congress to come together and pass it. the last issue i'd like to address is health care. right now congress is debating various health care reform proposals. this is obviously a complicated issue but i am very optimistic about the progress that they're making. like energy, this is legislation that must and will be paid for. it will not add to ou

dingell. mr. ging r, yerks? >> mr. chairman, thank you. generally insurance is a form of risk management that allows individuals to pay a monthly premium in exchange for a company taking on their financial risk in the event of a health care or catastrophic loss. health insurance, on the other hand, is not typical insurance for a monthly premium individuals purchase health insurance to financially support them in the event of a catastrophic incident, such as a broken lig, as the lady from chicago just recently experienced. or surgery. patients also use their insurance for such things as doctor visits or monthly prescriptions. in some respects, health insurance has become the means by which patients see their providers and they receive treatment. primary responsibility for regulating the individual health insurance market rests with the state regulators. however, in the health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996, hipaa, congress made very clear that an individual insurance policyholder has a right to guaranteed renewability.

dingell was down here this morning for a one minute and spoke of the disgrace that took place yesterday and someone would come in here and talk about shenanigans? what was that yesterday? how could we possibly have gotten about the business of dealing with the nation's business when we repeatedly what we saw was a people come -- was people coming in here, delaying the process. i've been here 17 years. we cast 54 votes yesterday. we spent more time casting votes on nonsense than we did on any substance that was being sought. now enough already. people have a right to their views. they have a right to their political shots, but the rules committee operates this body and if they want the business of the american people done, they wouldn't conduct the kind of shenanigans they conducted yesterday. i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from florida, the chairwoman of the legislative branch, subcommittee, which i shouth was what we were here to talk about. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. wasserman schultz: thank youing mr.