mr. skelton: we'll have to check just a moment. mr. franks: well, mr. chairman, maybe i could ask for your assurances that people dedicated to single issues in this country such as opposition to abortion or immigration would not be considered extremists and not be disallowed into the military under this -- at least that would not be your intent under this amendment. mr. skelton: that is correct. mr. franks: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from missouri. the gentleman from missouri has 3/4 minutes remaining. mr. skelton: i yield the balance of the time to the chairman of the transportation and infrastructure subcommittee on highways and transportation, the gentleman from oregon, mr. defazio. i yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, mr. connelly. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for 45 remaining seconds. mr. connelly: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i'm pleased to introduce this amendment with mr. nye and mr. pierriello. during the 110th congress the service members civil relief act did acess cell pho

mr. turner: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. franks. i rise to speak in favor of the franks amendment. i was disappointed with the administration's decision to cut $1.2 billion out of missile defense funding. make no mistake. this is a cut. we'll spend $1.9 billion less than we spend in 2009. we're going to do this while we have increasing threats, not decreasing threats to the united states. make no mistake, the department of defense has not provided one data point, they have not provided one study, they have not provided any information, no intelligence that indicates we have a reduced threat, all the while we know with this reduced threat there should not be a justification for a reduction. i'm concerned with the top line missile defense cut, i'm depp lie --ed about the cuts that include a 35% cut to the ground-based missile defense in alaska and california and terminate construction of a missile field in alaska that is partially complete and curtail additional g.m.b. development. i support the franks amendment. while we have an incr

mr. franks: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. franks: mr. chairman, on june 1, 2009, only about a week ago, private william long, only 23 years eeled, -- old, was shot and killed as he worked at the army navy career center in little rock, arkansas. private quinton ezeagwula, age 18, was also shot in the attack that day. thankfully private quinton ezeagwula survived although our latest information is that he remains still in critical condition. mr. chairman, most americans who are listening today are hearing about private long's death for the very first time. its likely most americans haven't heard of this killing because private long's murder forces the issue that the mainstream media does not want to confront or report on. and that is islamic terrorism within and coming from within the united states. the men accused of shooting private long and private quinton ezeagwula was formerly known as carlos bledsoe, he converted

now, in my own defense, as mr. frank's spokesman sawed on -- said on monday, when mr. tkpwrafrpbg was caught calling g.m. about the warehouse in his congressional district, mr. frank was -- quote -- "just doing what any other congressman would do" in looking out for the interest of his constituency. that's what i was doing today. but that is precisely the problem and precisely the reason for these car czar awards. as "the wall street journal" put it -- quote -- "that's the problem with industrial policy and government control of american business. in washington, every member of congress now thinks he's a czar who can call old fritz and tell him how to make cars. unquote. but consider for a moment the implications of all 535 of us in congress regularly participating in such incest whitehouse behavior. it is one thing -- incestuous behavior. it is one thing to argue to general motors to put the state your name plant in tennessee right next to the nissan plant. that was an arm's length transaction. it's quite another thing for me as united states senator and a member of t

frank. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. frank: mr. speaker, i cannot remember the last time i was as deeply disappointed in the actions of people with whom i generally agree and continue to admire as i am by this rule. president obama to his credit has become the first president to try to put on to military spending the same kind of notion that resources are limited, that people apply elsewhere. military spending in which old threats are continued to be dealt with while new threats are dealt with make it impossible for us to talk about curtailing a deficit without doing savage damage elsewhere. to his credit president obama and secretary gates said we do not need to build more f-22's. was conceived to defeat the soviet union in war. it's over. it's a wonderful weapon. it just has a terrible defect for a weapon. no enemy. no military mission. it will never be fired in anger. it is bad enough that the committee by only a 31-30 vote undercut this president's effort to begin to apply fiscal discipline everywhere. sure military is importan

the clerk: amendment number 9 printed in house report 111-182 offered by mr. franks arizona. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is 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 chair: on this vote the yeas are -- the chair: on this vote the yeas are 171, nays 244. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 15 printed in -- printed in part b of house report 111-182 by the gentleman from missouri, mr. akin, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendm

mr. frank: i take back my time. you know have the answer listening the gentleman address myself, mr. markey, mr. waxman and mr. peterson. how many chairmen does it take to answer colloquy. could i have another minute to answer the colloquy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from from massachusetts controls the time. the gentleman from massachusetts has another minute. . mr. frank: he's been an articulate advocate of the functions of the financial community in new york in which many of his people in new york live. we agree with him, myself and members of the financial services committee and agriculture committee. chairman peterson and i have worked with the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. markey and the gentleman from california, mr. waxman. and we are hard at work on a comprehensive and i believe responsible proposal for regulation of financial derivatives in their entirety. and it will under the terms of this bill become the operative war. so what we have here is a placeholder, to tell members about it. earl

a dealer side and we are going to hear from mr. frank that is from a water taxi, texas. he is a fourth generation gm dealer and i think a second generation the jeep dealer. his grandfather started selling chevrolet in texas in 1926. he made it to the great depression, he made it his family -- his family minute through world war ii when you have quotas, they made it to the boom years of the '50s, they made it through the gas rationing of the '70s. boom or bust and there has been blank and tackler selling cars in texas for over 80 years and then bang he got letters on i think back. >> terminating his contract immediately or within three weeks ended gm say they weren't going to renew him. now, when the gm and chrysler people and the managers were in my office yesterday there were very sincere. they have their flip charts and they have their notebooks and they could look up and show me if i wanted to see the performance or nonperformance of all the dealers in my district. but that doesn't touch on the human story. and again, carlyle chevrolet in texas has 40 employees. they

breheney. >> good morning mr. frank, mr. bachus and other members. i am pleased to testify on behalf of the securities exchange commission so i may share our thoughts on the topic of executive compensation. as an initial matter it's important to note as the landscape of compensation practices continues to change the commission is committed to keeping disclosure rules we administer up-to-date so investors have the information they need to make informed investment in voting decisions. as we all know in recent years to issue a fixed compensation has started sicced at the cannes public attention as revelations about executive compensation come to light claims have been made bonuses and severance packages at companies have been exorbitant. indeed expected of compensation has been a lightning rod amplied by the recent financial crisis with concerns about accountability and responsiveness of some boards of directors to the interest of the shareholders. we believe in order for the public markets to function properly it is crucial shareholders, the owners of

., outside mr. frank and's on -- mr. franken's home. >> we're so thrilled that we can finally celebrate this victory. i am so excited to finally be able to get to work for the people of minnesota. i received a very gracious call from senator coleman a little while ago. he wished me well. i wished him well. we agreed it was time to bring this stayed together. over the last eight months, as the nation has watched this all unfold in this state, minnesota and have earned the right to take pride in the transparency and the integrity of our election officials. but during the same period, minnesota families continue to face challenges. even though we're thrilled and honored by the faith that minnesota has placed in me, i am also humbled. not just by the closeness of the selection, but by the enormity of irresponsibility that comes with this office. we have a lot of work to do in washington. that is why i signed up for the job in the first place. when we started this campaign way back in february of 2007, i said that americans h

mr. wolf, mr. frank wolf of virginia was chairman of this committee for a number of years. served on it for a great number of years. we served on it together. he brings to this bill an awful lot of experience and knowledge about it. and that is really helpful as you work up an appropriation bill. and frank, i appreciate your help and assistance on the bill and the credibility and knowledge you bring to it. i also want to thank publicly and personally the chairman of the full committee, mr. obey, for his assistance in developing this bill. mr. obey's courtesy and assistance in the front office has been appreciated and we also appreciate, mr. chairman, the allocation that you have given us for this bill that has allowed us to do what we have to do, however short the allocation may be. i also would like to recognize the staff, the excellent work of the clerk, john and leadership he has provided to the rest of the staff and all of them have done excellent work, which i appreciate. adrian, dixon, diana, derek, tracy, scott, all with the subcommittee. mike and john on the minorit

amendment number nine by mr. franks of arizona. amendment number 15 bhi bimr. akin of missouri. amendment number 34 by mr. holt of new jersey. amendment number 20 by mr. connolly of virginia. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for any electronic vote after the first vote in this series. plan for the beginning, middle, and end of u.s. military operations in afghanistan. for over eight long years, our uniformed men and women have done all that we have asked them to do in afghanistan. we are now asking them to do more. of and we are giving them more resources and more boots on the ground to accomplish their mission. what we have not told them is how to tell when their contribution to the political solution is done. and they can begin to transition outs of afghanistan. mr. chairman, i want president obama to succeed in afghanistan. i stand by our commitment to provide the necessary resources to help the afghan people take charge of their own future. as congress authorizes and appropriates billions and billions of dollars for a new strategy in afghanistan, is it too much t

. >> mr. frank, 2 people raise the question of and constitutionality more than anybody i can think of in this committee. what do you think about the unconstitutional charge on this measure, mr. wizner? >> i share the views expressed by judge wald that the constitutional authority to legislate this area, i would only add that my understanding of the argument, that this bill would be unconstitutional, would apply equal force to the freedom of information act, the florida surveillance act and the classified information act. these are all bills that give courts tools to handle classified information and create procedures for the court to do that. none of those intrude on the president's constitutional authority or this legislation. >> any further comment? >> i agree with what mr. wizner said. all privileges, not all privileges but many privileges have constitutionality about the executive privilege. you could all go back and say we need -- the executive has got to have this, has got to have more p

frank was sane -- saying. the current economic crisis should be the opportunity to rein in the power that finance capital has over our government. as you were saying, the personnel in the administration seems to indicate that will not happen. you were saying that one of your big three was campaign finance reform as a way of breaking that. my question is, is there really no opportunity in your mind to shrink the size of the financial sector, and introduce stronger forms of regulation to curb their forms of power now? if you have any comments in lacking in that greater opportunity, is there a path for getting campaign finance reform on the agenda? >> i think things will have to break a lot more than they are broken now, before people are ready to make that change. you don't get that kind of change until people are pushed to it. >> you should all read the wall street journal, every wednesday i comment on this subject of the role of wall street and the american economy, how these people have been the vanguard of t

mr. duncan for today. mr. franks for today. mr. garrett for today. and mr. mccotter for june 23. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. . ms. kaptur: i ask that any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes revise and extend their remarks and include ex train material. ms. woolsey, mr. schiff, ms. kaptur all for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009 and under a previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each, ms. woolsey from california. ms. kaptur: i ask to use ms. woolsey time. last sunday, treasury secretary geithner and the president's economic adviser, larry summers, both wall street men, wrote an editorial, laying out their case for financial regulatory reform or at least that's what they called it. it fell far short of the mark. they stated the basis of their proposal is the theory, and i quote, the financial system failed to perform its function as a reducer and distributor of ri

. >> next is mr. duane paddic of new york thanks for being here. last but not least, is mr. frank blankenbeckler iii of waxahachie, texas. frank is here with his son, austin and thank you for coming. joe, do you want to say anything about your witness? >> is it time to introduce them? >> it is. i just did a half-hearted i have. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i've been down in the electricity hearing. it is my honor to introduce frank blankenbeckler. he is a native of waxahachie, texas, graduated from waxahachie high school. went to the university of texas where he lettered in basketball. he came back home to waxahachie and entered the business that his grandfather started in 1926. he is one of the civic leaders in waxahachie. they have -- he and his family have been major donors to every civic improvement in the last 50 years in that community. and as i said in my opening statement last year, his business and the 40 employees generate revenues in interrupted $1.3 million in taxes to various state, local and federal entities. he is considered one of the leading entrepreneurs, bu

mr. frank: i yield to the the gentleman from from new york. mr. mcmahon: i rise chairman -- to thank chairman waxman for this piece of legislation, which makes clear that the section of this bill that relate to energy commidity derivatives should be superseeded by congressional financial regulatory reform if it comes forward. the manager's amendment would add section 358 that renders null and void the section of the clean energy and securities act dealing with commidity derivatives and energy regulations that the congress adopts. i and many of my colleagues and the new democrat coalition have expressed concern about many of the provisions included in subtitle bae in this bill. this bill is not to set regulations. in coordination with the financial services task force, i will take the best ideas of the president, the congress to forge

. >> croswell mr. frank and i are the two people that have raised the question of constitutionality could i can think of in this committee. what do you think about the unconstitutional charge on this measure, mr. wizner? >> i share the views expressed by judge wald x preston her remarks on the constitutional authority to legislate in this area. i would only add that my understanding of the arguments that this bill would be unconstitutional would apply to equal force to the freedom of information act, to the foreign intelligence surveillance act and the classified information procedures act. these are all bills that give courts tools to handle sensitive and classified information and create procedures for courts to do that. none of those interest on the president's constitutional authority and neither does this legislation. >> judge wald, would you further comment? >> i certainly agree with what mr. wizner said. all privileges, not all but many privileges have sort of tangents of constitutionality about

franks. this amendment will rightfully restore funding for the missile defense agency by $1.2 billion. north korea continues to test its missile capabilities while iran pursuing a nuclear weapon program. therefore it is imperative that we provide full funding to you are nation's most crucial missile defense programs. keeping americans safe from terrorists at home is equally important. the american people have spoken and made it very clear that they do not want to -- detainees from guantanamo brought to the united states. i believe this issue should be openly debated and given a vote within the full house. again, i strongly support this bill and look forward to improving some of the provisions on the floor tomorrow and i'd like to thank the ranking member, mckeon, chairman skelton and also mr. mchugh for his service and thank you, mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from missouri. . mr. skelton: iryield one minute to ms. jackson lee. the chair: the gentl

i appreciate mr. franks' introduction of this resolution. i urge everyone to support it. as with the resolution i spoke of earlier today, i cannot believe anyone will not support it. i urge its adoption and yield back the balance -- i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves the balance of his time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker. i withdraw the motion and i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 515 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the motion is withdrawn. mr. nadler: i move to suspend the rules and pass resolution 515 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will designate think title. the clerk: house resolution 515, resolution condemning the murder of army private william long and the wounding of army private ezeagwula who were shot outside the army navy career center in little rock, arkansas, on june 1, 2009. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for 20 minutes. the gentleman from arizona is recognized for 20 minutes.

mr. franks: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: and continues to reserve. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield 1 1/2 minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas. ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker. i thank the distinguished chairman and the author of this legislation, the distinguished gentlelady from new york, ms. slaughter, chairman of the rules committee. i rise to simply say to this house and to america, enough is enough. i'm delighted that we have heard the majority of pro-life organizations who are americans as well to denounce this horrific act. my deepest sympathy to doctor tiller's wife and children and grandchildren, but i think it is not enough to offer our sympathy. it is a requirement that we denounce this with every fiber of our body. in addition, i think it's important as we go forward that right to life organizations learn to respect the first amendment and certainly the sanctity of a house of worepship. it is important to note that dr. tiller is not an

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 answer this question. we need to pass this bill because, while many of us are sleeping in the suits of life, too many of our veterans are sleeping in the streets of life. we node to pass it because while many of -- we need to pass it because while many of us have homes and jobs, too many of our veterans are homeless with no jobs at all. we must pass this piece of legislation because america can't continue to be the home of the free and the land of the brave if too many of our brave veterans continue to be homeless. mr. speaker, the statistics are shocking. they literally shock the conscience. veterans are % of the population and more than 25 -- 9% of the population and more than 25% of the homeless. on any given night, 131,00

last call, go ahead, frank. caller: i would like to ask mr. gingrich -- host: frank, we can hear you. go ahead. caller: everything they asked for, they pushed it through. and when we get a democrat that takes over, we have a whole bunch of stuff up and everything else. he kept on for 80 years now, they push things through the way they want. they kept on for eight years now, they pushed things through that they want. every time some millionaire comes up there and once to push something through, they do it with flying colors. guest: thank you for your call. you are getting right down to the root of politics now, and certainly we only have two major parties in this country. every two years, every member of the house of representatives, all 435 of us, are up for reelection. and 1/3 of the senate, every two years. so literally, that you have this political bloodbath every two years for control. certainly, the democrats are strongly in control at this time, and we as the loyal minority, work hard to get back that control. when we are in control, the

mr. alvarez. >> thank you, chairman frank. other members of the committee for the opportunity to offer the federal reserve's perspective in the financial services industry. compensation practices of financial firms and other business organizations can have a significant effect on the safety and soundness of banking organizations and on financial stability. compensation arrangements which include salary, bonuses, retention payments and other forms of compensation, at any type of organization, serves several important and worthy objectives. for example, they are important for attracting skilled staff, promoting better firm and employee performance, promoting employee retention, providing retirement security to employees, and allowing the firm's cost base to move along with its revenues. it is clear, however, that compensation arrangements can also provide executives and employees with incentives to take executive of excessive risks that are not consistent with a long term health of the organization. business alignment of incenti

i will begin with mr. sperling. >> chairman frank, i suppose if one were to put a hard and arbitrary cap on the top talent at a firm, that could lead to flight in the kind of deterioration that you mention, but as far as i know, i can say for certain, with certainty that there is nobody in the obama administration who is proposing such things. what we are proposing in the legislation, we did put forward yesterday, is greater transparency and accountability to the owners of the company. we find, and i think practice has shown that sunshine and transparency does have a powerful deterrent effect on improper or ill-advised behavior and i think even more important, it starts an important dialogue. >> i want to talk specifically about the competitive peace. >> i do not believe anything we are proposing today or you have proposed would have a deterrent-- >> mr. chairman one good piece of information here is that the world is looking at this problem as well so the british have already begun to consider it, the swi

mr. president, there should be plenty of material for these car czar awards. for example, last week auto executives spent four hours testifying before congressional committees about dealerships. i assumed the executives drove to washington, d.c., from detroit in their congressionally approved modes of transportation. probably hybrid cars, leaving them very little time on that day to design, build, or sell cars and trucks. i've counted at least 60 congressional committees an subcommittees with the authority to hold hearings on auto companies and, no doubt, most will. car executives trying to manage complex companies will be reduced to the status of some assistant secretary hauling briefing books between committees answering questions under oath, of course, about models, about sizes, about paint colors, about plant closings, about fuel efficiency, and about why the g.m. volt's battery is being made in south korea. and should congressmen run out of reasons to meddle, the president and his ai

>> mr. speaker, the franks inquiry was a report that was done without having an interim report. the opposition asked or a franks style agree. the franks inquiry will, the frank style will the run-up to the conflict itself and the reconstruction and issues about reconstruction afterwards what think that is a pretty comprehensive remit that will take time but is thought to be done in the best possible way and i think he looks at the the committee needs time to be able to do that they should have the time. this is a full report on which we want to learn lessons for the future and they think that is the issue, what lessons we can learn for military, our diplomacy, our security and of course for country's reputation abroad for the future. that is that the essence of what we are doing. >> thank you mr. speaker. this increase part of a process. this house is mechanisms of holding committees and any member of the foreign affairs committee will experience the limitations of select committees holding. and i find it extremely difficult to accept as a member of parliament why we are giving

craig fugate, and frank grass from missouri will be testifying today as well. let me say that this hearing is focused on her cane response because we snap started hurricane season this week, but we will be a salmon issues that affect not just the hurricane region but all regions of the country in this hearing today and we will be focusing on plans and processes that actually have applicability across the board from many different types of threats the its hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.. the ranking member and i both represent stains that have seen a large portions of our states, major cities and very important role in areas devastated by recent hurricanes. 2004, 2005, in 2008 were particularly hard years for cities and communities throughout the gulf coast from with florida to texas but the last century has been difficult for many states now like to put the first chart up there in a news of a number of hurricanes that is the hurricane belt from 1955 to 2005. and the blue line is very keen katrina -- hurricane katrina which was the greatest among all who the storm

during that hearing mr. henderson committed to meet with nada to discuss our concerns. gm followed through on that commitment. in our leadership met with senior gm officials last friday and we had a very frank discussion. as a result, gm has agreed to make significant improvements in the participation agreement. additionally, gm is committed to clarify some of the terms of the wind out agreements. and nada will continue to work with jim to improve the agreements. we appreciate gm efforts to end iraq's with nada on these matters. in conclusion it mr. chairman i want to thank you again for giving me this hearing because we still have fundamental concerns. this government negotiated bankruptcy's continue to threaten to their rights under state motor vehicle franchise laws. these laws inject balance of the inherently on balance economic relationship between a dealer in the manufacture and they also provide consumers a reliable convenience and competitive on a retail network. therefore congress should insure that the franchise laws of 50 states apply with full force and effe

first of all, as far as what he says is the restrictive nature of the franks inquiry i cannot mr. speaker think of an inquiry that has got a more comprehensive, wider and brodeur revisions in the inquiry i have announced so far from being restricted it covers eight years from 2001 to 2009. far from it be restricted it has access to any documents available and that will include foreign documents that are available in british archives and an interview any witnesses, british witnesses but witnesses said was to divide it necessary from abroad and so i don't think there is any fundamental disagreement between us on the nature of inquiry in scope and the fact is very comprehensive, indeed,. i have to remind him about the timing of this that the franks inquiry looked at events that were and only add to the run-up to the falklands war and incidentally mr. speaker it was announced in a written answer to the house of commons not an oral statement, so let me say as far as the franks inquiry is concerned, it dealt with the run-up to the falklands war. what this inquiry does is the with the ru

. >> thank you, sp -- mr. thomas. >> my name is frank blanklenbeckler, the dealer principal of carlisle chevrolet cadillac in waxahachie, texas and to my knowledge the only chevrolet dealership in the senate texas. the cadillac line was added in 1990 and the jeep line was added around 1978. this dealership has operated continuously in the same community and the same family ownership since 1926 the dealership was founded in 1926 by my maternal grandfather. my father frank blanklenbeckler jr. who was awarded a bronze star for his service to his country during world war ii and you received a master's in tax law from harvard it married my mother in 1947 and moved to waxahach to beat the dealer for the next 55 years. i read with of the university of texas in 1974 with an mba. since that time i've had one job. i have been a gm chief dealer for nearly 35 years. approximately three years ago my son graduated from old mess and join me at the dealership to fulfill his childhood dream of being an automobile dealer. like

mr. obey: i thank the gentleman for his frankness. and i regret the content of his response, but i do appreciate the fact that he is forthright and honest in laying out what the prospects would be. and mr. speaker, i think that presents a dilemma to the house, because we want to finish our business. and i would point out that the schedule that we have set out can be adhered to only if we can work out reasonable time limits with each of these bills. and i would point out that what we are trying to do with that schedule is allow ample time for discussion on these appropriation bills and also leave time on the calendar to deal with the crucial issues of health care, climate change and the military authorization bill, among others. so i think at this point, the house has a problem. and i hope that we will face up to it forthrightly because we have an obligation to get the people's business done on time. and i thank the gentleman for his time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from flori

incidently, mr. speaker, it was announced in a written answer to the house of commons and not in a statement. -- oral statement. let me say, as far as the of franks inquiry is concerned, it dealt with the run-up to of what once were. what this deals with is the run- up, the conflict itself and all issues of reconstruction after the conflict. i cannot think of any set of events that can be excluded that art of and portraits to iraq and the nation -- nature of the relationships. it is hardly surprising that when we are dealing with the eight-year period, and not just what the run-up but the conflict itself and the aftermath, that the inquiry will take time to interview witnesses, take time to take evidence, and its report, of course, will be detailed. now, i have said -- i repeat this -- i said the report should be as comprehensive as is possible given the issues of national security that are involved. in other words, all but the most sensitive of information should be something that is reported to the

thank you mr. chairman. >> nefcom month professor murphy from the university of southern california. >> thank you chairman frank. we are here today in large part because we are angry that merrill lynch and aig paid huge bonuses after the bailout funds. our anger coupled with their suspicions that the culture is the root cause of the ongoing financial crisis has led to an effective prohibition on cash bonuses for tire percipience and is leading us today towards more sweeping regulation of compensation in financial services firms. i agree there are problems with compensation structures in the financial firms and most other sectors but is my opinion the constraints already currently on tire percipience will likely destroy those organizations unless they can quickly paid the government and avoid the constraints. margaret is my opinion that regulating compensation and financial-services more broadly will cripple one of our nation's most important historically most productive industries. the heavy relian

mr. burton: mr. speaker, in the past couple of weeks, two of our colleagues, frank wolf of virginia, a republican and jim cooper of tennessee, a democrat, sent this booklet around to all of the members. and we get a lot of correspondence and books and leaflets, but i would like to say, i hope you read this. it doesn't take long, but it's extremely important, because it deals with not only with today but with our future and kids' future and our posterity. what it talks about is the debt that we have in this country and where we're going. in the last 10 years, we have gone from 5.5 trillion in debt to over $11 trillion in debt and the debt is escalating at a rapid rate. in fact right now, the projected deficit in the future is up to $56 trillion. and the reason these are expected expenditures is for what programs that have been proposed and have been passed into law by this body and the other body. right now, explicit liabilities include publicly held debt, military and civilian pensions and retiree he

>> caller: [inaudible] >> host: go ahead, frank. >> caller: i would like to ask mr. gingrey -- >> host: we can hear you, go ahead. >> caller: i would like to ask mr. gingrey [inaudible] they pushed it through and how we get a democrat

this is a model of the franks inquiry and that is what we are following command thank you mr. speaker, can i add my control since -- condolences about those in afghanistan. there iraqi conflict has led to the death of 179 personnel, and 150,000 iraqi civilians. their loved ones want to know the cause of this war and why their loved ones failed. if every evidence session is held in private that may not be possible so will this be to think again about holding a secret inquiry, it's the wrong thing to do. >> mr. speaker, i disagree. the inquiry has got to take into account the interest of our national security, is got to look at the issues and reflect on the capability and appointed deborah troops in a way that it may not be best that has been made public and also got to get people to talk frankly about what they believe are the lessons learned from this inquiry surrounded by lawyers and everybody else in the public arena is more difficult and he would have to a knowledge. i believe this will also be thorough and independent and i believe the results will be reported to this hous

. >> i wanted to ask mr. hensarling or if anybody wants to comment about barney frank's executive compensation plan, the say on paper, the accountability and the compensation rules don't go far enough to punish bad behavior. anyones reaction. ..

. >> thank you very much mr. spence, next we have mr. franklin nutter, president of the re insurance association of america. mr. nutter? >> mr. chairman, members of the committee. thank you very much. i am frank nutter, president of the re insurance association of america representing re insurance companies doing business in the united states. re insurance is a risk management tool for insurance companies to improve their capacity and financial performance, enhanced financial security and reduce financial volatility. it is the most efficient capital management tool available to insurers. re insurance is a global business and encouraging the participation of reinsurers worldwide in the u.s. market is essential because re insurance provides that much needed capacity in the u.s. for property, casualty and life risks. including their u.s. subsidiaries, foreign-owned insurance companies accounted for nearly 84% of property casualty premiums seated on u.s. risks by u.s. insurers. because the re insurance transactions between sophisticated busi

. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. bloom, reference was made in a previous question about barney frank. you can see why that leads to some much suspicion back home and even amongst members of this panel. i do not have that kind of power, and yet, dealerships were closed in the state of nebraska. were you aware of that? did the ceo or somebody call you and say, wow, what do i do with this?(%Ñbarney frank has ce this facility left open? >> no, sir, i have not. >> did you learn about it after the fact? >> i have learned about it pretty much the same way you have learned about it. not. >> do you know of any other deals that have been made? >> i only know what we've been admonished to do and what i believe we've done. i assure you we're going to do what he continued to ask us to do. >> so when you say you haven't participated does that mean you don't know of any other special deals that were struck. >> i don't know what i don't know, sir. what i can tell you is the auto task force has been explicitly and very clearly discu

run-up to the balkans war in incidentally mr. speaker it was announced in a written answer to the house of commons not in an oral statement. let me say as far as the franc inquiry is concerned it dealt with the run-up to the falklands war, what this inquiry does is deal with the run-up to the complex, the conflict itself and all issues of reconstruction after the conflict. i can't think of any set of events that can be excluded that are of importance. >> in the future of our relationship with the iraq and is highly surprising that we're dealing with in the your time and dealing not just with the run-up to the war but that conflict itself and the aftermath of the conflict that the inquiry will take time to interview witnesses, take time to take evidence in this report will be detailed. i have said and i repeat this, i have said that the report should be as comprehensive as is possible given the issues of national security involved. in other words, all but the most sensitive of information should be something that is reported to th

mr. diaz-balart: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from illinois, mrs. biggert. mrs. biggert: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this rule. i offered an amendment on monday to address an injustice against the members of our armed services that were shut out from consideration by this rule. briefly, my amendment would have given an across the board pay raise of 5% to our military personnel. according to estimates made by the congressional research service, the pay gap between military personnel and civilians is 3%. given that the cost of living increase for 2010 is 2.9%, my amendment is an important first step to addressing this problem, particularly due to the recession, but really at any time it is unacceptable our men and women in uniform receive less than civilian counterparts. i was in afghanistan and had the opportunity to see firsthand the professionalism and the commitment of our troops, what service they render to us. why are they being treated this way? and i