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

mr. bilirakis: yes, i do. the chair: the gentleman from north carolina. mr. price: madam chairman, i rise to thank the gentleman for this amendment which would increase the budget for the i.c.e. visa security program by $1.7 million. this addition would be offset by corresponding reductions to the office of the secretary and stpwhreck tif -- executive management but not deaf stating cut. the committee has funded the 32.4 millionisa request which is 3.4 million over the appropriations level already. this program places i.c.e. agents and investigators overseas and consulates to investigate the criminal and terrorist backgrounds of those who applied for visas to come to the united states. the committee also expanded the program by more than 45% in the 2009 appropriations act. and i recognize its ongoing importance for the security of our country. the additional funds proposed in this amendment will allow i.c.e. to continue to accelerate its visa security program deployments in 2010. in other words, it would build in a very positive way on the progress we're maki

mr. bilirakis: thank you. i rise in strong -- first of all, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bilirakis: i rise in strong support of this legislation. the united states has committed over $30 billion in assistance to afghanistan since 2001, and with the president's stated intention to increase the size and scope of our efforts there, it is necessary that we provide all of our inspector generals operating in afghanistan the authorities and resources necessary to mitigate fraud, waste and abuse in these programs. however, the office of the special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction, or sigar, currently lacks such authorities and resources. despite its establishment nearly one year ago, sigar officials have poorly had difficulty hiring qualified individuals for this unique and challenging assignment, and that the staffing shortfall has contributed to the lack of independent audits or investigations by the office thus far. this legisl

bill lack is -- mr. bilirakis of florida. serving in combat operations, they would be provided with a monthly postal benefit that they can transfer to their families or to a charitable organization so they can afford to send care packages and other communications while they are serving bravely overseas. just think of the benefit to our brave men and women serving in combat operations, a benefit to their morale, a boost in their morale when they receive that letter from home, when they receive that all-important care package. now th effort, mr. speaker, has been ongoing for many years. it has been included in past defense authorization bills, passed the house last year only to be taken out in conference. it is time to get this provision enacted as a standalone bill, h.r. 707, the home front to heroes act. we have more than half of the house of representatives as co-sponsors. it's time to get this done finally, and i yield back my time. the chair: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: mr

mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bilirakis: i rise in support of this resolution which gives long overdue recognition to the accomplishments of sumo champion takamiyama daigoro, who won japan's top division championship in 1972. this native son of hawaii, also known as jesse kuhaulua, was the first foreigner to achieve this distinction since competitive sumo tournaments first appeared in the 16th century. athletes have long been recognized as good will ambassadors who can often promote international understanding more effectively than professional diplomats. two years ago, for example, former secretary of state couldn't pleasea rice named baseball legend cal ripken jr. as good will ambassador to spread the will of diplomacy. mr. daigoro, who retires at the age of 65, spent 3 1/2 decades using his athletic skills promoting understanding and friendship between the people of the united states and the people of japan. i, therefore, join ms. hirono and my congressi

the clerk: amendment number 1 print in house report 111-183 offered by mr. bilirakis of florida. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise anbe counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their vote by electronic device. this will be a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 423rk the nays are six. the amendment is adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 3 printed in part b of house report 111-183 offered by the gentleman from iowa, mr. king, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: part b amendme

amendment number 1 printed in part b by mr. bilirakis of florida. amendment number 3 printed in part b by mr. king of iowa. amendment number 2 printed in part b by mr. duncan of tennessee. amendment number 7 printed in part b by mr. poe of texas. amendment number 4 printed in part b by mr. king of iowa. amendment number 6 printed in part b by mr. neugebauer of texas. amendment number 7 printed in part c by mr. flake of arizona. amendment number 5 plinted in part c by mr. flake of arizona. amendment number 2 printed in part c by mr. flake of arizona. amendment number 1 printed in part c by mr. flake of arizona. amendment number 1 print the in part d by mr. flake of arizona. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for any electronic vote after the first