mr. schiff: mr. president, the managers on the part of the house of representatives are here present and ready to present the articles of impeachment which have been preferred by the house of representatives against samuel b. kent, judge of the united states district court for the southern district of texas. the house adopted the following resolution, which with the permission of the president of the senate i will read: h. res. 565 of the house of representatives, june 19, 2009. resolved that mr. schiff, mr. lofgren of california, mr. johnson of georgia, mr. goodlatte and mr. sensenbrenner are appointed managers on the part of the house to conduct the trial of impeachment of samuel b. kent, a judge of the united states district court for the southern district of texas, that a message be sent to the senate to inform the senate of these appointments and that the managers on the part of the house may exhibit the articles of impeachment to the senate and take all other actions necessary in connection wit

mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i am pleased now to recognize one of our most distinguished members of the judiciary committee who headed the task force for impeachment in our committee, adam schiff, he has perform -- adam schiff -- he's performed remarkably well in a bipartisan committee and his former experience as an assistant u.s. attorney held him in very good stead. i recognize the distinguished gentleman from california for 10 minutes. . mr. schiff: i thank the gentleman and appreciate the great leadership of the chairman of the judiciary committee. today we find ourselves in a regrettable circumstance where we must act to remove a federal judge from the bench. the task before us is not one we welcome, but it is an important responsibility that has been entrusted to us by the founders and one which we must not shrink from. we have been fortunate to have a distinguished judiciary that served as an essential and co-equal branch of our government. we owe a great deal to the positive, thoughtful and vita

schiff. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. schiff: i thank the gentleman for yielding. at the outset, i want to congratulate the chairman for the extraordinary job he's done in putting this bill together. in particular, i wanted to highlight a couple of key investments in the bill in the areas of law ens for -- enforcement and science. in particular we invest over $800 million in the cops program that's been successful in putting additional cops on the beat and deterring criminal activity and keeping our communities safe that is a vital investment. the legislation also makes a very important investigation optometrist those who live in the border states in a program called scaap which provides assistance to states that have to incarcerate illegal immigrants and bear the costs of flaws in our federal immigration policy. furthermore, the bill makes a very key investment, very substantial investment in d.n.a. technology and back log reduction to the degree we can eliminate back logs of d.n.a. evidence we can take murderers and rap

mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. and i also want to thank the leadership and the very responsible conduct of the chairman of the task force, adam schiff, doing an exemplary job and bringing it to head as quickly as humanly can be done. and to chairman conyers and to ranking member smith. we have worked together on this because it is a very serious matter when our federal courts are held in less than high esteem. we have a federal judge, as already been mentioned, pled guilty to obstruction of! he admitted to nonconsensual sexual acts. we have the transcript from the federal court hearings in which there are actual specificity of misrepresentations. we also could take judicial notice of his orders and opinions that he wrote himself. it's very clear that as some of the witnesses testified he was arrogant, he was a bully, but that's not enough to impeach someone or remove them from office. but it's certainly on construction -- but certainly obstruction of justice would be under the circumstances here. what i found parti

mr. connolly: i yield 30 seconds to my colleague from california, mr. schiff. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. schiff: i thank the chairman and i want to talk about the program to have nasa participate in d.o.d. programs. it represents a valuable source of expertise to d.o.d. they have performed research for d.o.d. for decades. this closely parallels an amendment to assure the same function for the department of energy. we have made sure that this does not interfere with nasa's most important job to build spacecraft for nasa. the chair: the gentleman from california. the gentleman from virginia. mr. connolly: i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the yes on the amendment offered by the gentleman from virginia, those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the chair: i ask -- mr. connolly: i ask for a recorded vote on this matter. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from virginia will be postponed. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18

the speaker pro tempore: mr. schiff from california. mr. jones from north carolina. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> address the house for five minutes, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. without objection. mr. olson: i rise to discuss the differences between the democrat and republican energy plans. energy prices are creeping up as they do each year placing higher costs on those in our country who can least afford them. we need an energy plan that ensures reliable, affordable energy supply. democratic leaders in washington have proposed a plan that would replace our present energy supply with an unreliable and costly energy alternatives. the cornerstone of this plan would reduce carbon emissions through an aggressive cap and trade program. this program would set nationwide limits on gene house gas emissions and create a market-based training program for companies to meet the cap. the goal of this plan is to force reductions in carbon emissions through government rashonning. the

schiff, one minute. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. schiff: i request unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. i'd like to commend the foreign affairs committee for all their hard work on the foreign affairs authorization act and thank mr. berman and his staff for working to include the daniel parole act to this legislation. it brings much-needed atonings a critical human rights issue this calls upon the secretary of state to greatly expand its examination of the status of the freedom of the press

june 19, 2009 that mrs. schiff, mr. johnson of georgia mr. goodlatte and mr. sensenbrenner are appointed managers on the point of the house to conduct the impeachment of samuel b. kent, a judge of the united states district court for the southern district of texas that a message be sent to the senate to inform theÑw sena of these appointments and that the managers on the x!p of the house may exhibit the articles of impeachment to the senate and take all other actions necessary in connection to preparation 4 and conduct of the trial, which may include the following. one, employing legal, clerical and other necessary assistance and encouraging such other expenses as may be necessary to be paid from amounts available to the committee on the judiciary under house resolution 279, 111 congress agreed to march 31, 2009, or any other applicable expense resolution on vouchers approved bit chairman of the committee on the judiciary. number two, sending for persons and papers and filing with the secretary of the senate, on the part of the house of representatives any su

mr. george miller from california, mr. peters from michigan, mr. schiff from california, mr. spratt from south carolina, mr. doggett from texas and ms. jackson lee from texas. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. 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 of california. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for five minutes. without objection. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> i rise today to celebrate the albanyan organization of southeast michigan and raise a concern they expressed to me. respect for people of diverse cultures has made our nation great. our national heritage reflects the cultural contributions of a wide range of ethnic groups. i'm fortunate to represent the 9th district of michigan, a district rich in religious and ethnic diversity and includes families from the ball can region. as a congressman of the 9th district, i have developed a

mr. schiff. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> claim my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: madam speaker, yesterday as ranking member of the africa subcommittee, i joined several colleagues at an important foreign affairs committee meeting with prime minister morgueian of zimbabwe. it was an extraordinary opportunity to discuss zimbabwe's progress towards democracy and a way from dictatorship. its problems with hyper inflation and multiple health crises, including cholera, and to obtain a fuller understanding what additional steps the united states can take right now to help. that meeting, however, occurred at precisely the same time that the house considered h.res. 529, a resolution condemning the june 10 violent attack on the holocaust memorial museum, a despicable anti-is he met eck act that killed officer stephen tyrone johns, and so eloquently articulated by so many of my colleagues yesterday during that debate, we a lule officer johns for his bravery and his courage and extend our deepest condolences to

holt of new jersey, mr. schiff of california, ms. schwartz of pennsylvania, mr. payne of new jersey, mr. pomeroy of north dakota, mr. farr of california, mr. ellison of minnesota, ms. hirono of hawaii, and ms. roibled of -- and ms. roybal-allard of california. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. madam, pursuant to section 4-b of house resolution 5, 111th congress, i am pleased to appoint the following members to the house democracy assistance commission. the honorable david dreier of california. the honorable john boozman of arkansas. the honorable jeff fortenberry of nebraska. the honorable judy biggert of illinois. the honorable bill shuster of pennsylvania. the honorable kay granger of texas. the honorable charles w. boustany jr. of louisiana. the honorable k. michael conaway of texas. the honorable vern cannon of nebraska. i am pleased to fulfill their requests. signed sincerely, john a. boehner, republican leader. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come

the speaker pro tempore: mr. schiff of california. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. conaway: i ask to speak out of order for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. conaway: today is a bad day for america. we just witnessed the passing of a bill that will have dramatic impact on our lives for years to come should it ever see the president's signature. 33:09, the dem cat majority landed on the internet a amendment to the already bloated bill. the bragging of the thousands and thousands of work and hearings and processes that had gone into the development of the bill that was filed on monday left it a little short of the mark. in support of those thousands of hours, they were unable to get it right, so they used fine tuning for the 300-pager that was dropped this morning. that issue aside, a bad bill. science is never settled. take the example of galileo. the science of his time was that the earth was the center of the universe. the roman catholic church believed it. galileo buck

woolsey of california, mr. schiff of california, ms. richardson, california. 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. mr. paul of texas. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i wish to claim mr. paul's time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: thank you, madam speaker. the out of control violence along our border is made up of more complex elements than most people realize. the criminal cartels controling our southern border are a lot more powerful than we are led to believe. they are international organized crime cartels that make money off the weaknesses of others. they traffic drugs, money, weapons, and human beings across our southern border. they leave death, doom, and destruction in their wake. make no mistake about it, there is corruption on both sides of the border that facilitates the lawlessness taking place there. just last month, former sheriff of st

mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i yield three minutes to the gentleman from the republican caucus, mr. pence. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for three minutes. mr. pence: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pence: madam speaker, this is a difficult time in the life of our nation. in the life of our nation's economy and that of families and small businesses and family farms. remarkably today with an embarrassingly brief amount of debate and discussion and amendment, the democratic majority is poised to bring to the floor of the congress what amounts to the largest tax increase in american history. under the guise of climate change legislation. now, there's a lot of debate about what this bill will cost the average american household, from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars, but there actually is no debate over the fact that this legislation will

mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i'm pleased now to recognize -- does the gentlelady from texas seek to speak next? all right. i'm pleased now to recognize the distinguished member of the judiciary committee, who served on the task force with great skill. and i also want to commend bob goodlatte for his services during that period of time. but sheila jackson lee, from houston, texas has been an anchor in the proceedings that have brought us to this stage. and i yield to her five minutes. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker. i think it is important for all of us to recognize the solemnnyity of this day. i thank the -- sol tim -- so lemonyity of this day. -- solemnnyity of this day. i come from texas, houston, i think it's important to note that the judge, as all people in america may have, has his defenders. he will have an opportunity for those defenders to continue to raise their voice and to continue to emphasize their

mr. goodlatte, who is a rim of the impeachment task force. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for five minutes. mr. goodlatte: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, it's a rare occasion when the house of representatives must vote on articles of impeachment against a federal judge. indeed, the last time this occurred was 20 years ago. however, when evidence emerges that an individual is abusing his judicial office for his own advantage, the integrity of the judicial system becomes compromised and the house of representatives has the duty to investigate the matter and take the appropriate actions to end the abuse and restore confidence in the judicial system. it is also rare for the members of the house judiciary committee to agree on anything. however, the committee voted unanimously last week to report out house resolution 520, which contains the four articles of impeachment against judge kent. this vote came after a thorough investigation and mu

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

i'm very well aware, mr. speaker, that this is a rare and extraordinary step this congress is taking. and that this is a serious moment. when i read through this report that's been produced by the task force, pulled together the data in a compressed fashion, it's appalling to me this went on as long as it did i will say, when the conviction came down and the sentence was made, the 33 months in the federal penitentiary to judge kent this congress acted immediately and quickly and in a bipartisan fashion to do our constitutional duty and brought this through the hearing and the committee action to this floor and with urgency and ready to send it to the united states senate who i believe will act immediately with dispatch. as i look at this, i see this as an abuse, as arbitrary power. the high crime and misdemeanor we're talking about is sexual abuse of subordinates and the arbitrary power of using the official oppression of the power of his office and the threat of removing them from their jobs if they raised a

mr. schiff: mr. speaker by the direction of the committee on the judiciary, i submit a privilege resolution for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the rule. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 520, resolution impeaching samuel b. kent, judge of the united states district court for the southern district of texas for high crimes and misdemeanors. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. for what purpose does the gentleman from west virginia rise? >> 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 h.r. 2847. and that i may include tabular material in the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. pursuant to house resolution 552 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the further consideration of the bill h.r. 2847. wi