and dennis blair will talk about his recent trip to pakistan, afghanistan, and singapore. when he speaks in front of the intelligence and national security alliance, at 8:45 p.m. on c-span2. the house coming in in just a moment. its suspension bill scheduled, one dealing with science and technology, one dealing with education -- a couple, actually. one is on boy scouts of america day and a bill on celebrating asian-pacific american heritage, a bill on market oversight and a bill about the u.s. flag. also a bill on a wounded veteran job security. we take you now live to the floor of the u.s. house. it looks like they are just about to come in. live coverage here on c-span.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father coughlin. chaplain coughlin: lord god,

you are eternal knowing all our days. teach us how to discover the best use of our time. being here in congress is a great opportunity to make a difference in the complexity of today's world, help members of the house of representatives to make the very best decisions,  to strengthen our country and to foster lasting stability at the fault lines among nations. may all who serve this noble institution by assisting this body of lawmakers, seize the tasks at hand and accomplish their work with dedication and your blessing. this nation relies on your wisdom and love to guide us now and forever. amen.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from texas, congressman olson. mr. olson: i ask members in the fwalry to join me in pledging allegiance to the united states of america. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, plumb. -- plumb -- plug -- indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise?

mr. wilson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, the democratic leadership continues to push forward with their national energy tax. despite the financial pain this would place on american families, despite the fact that this cap and trade scheme would have little or no impact on the global environment, despite the fact that we can achieve a cleaner energy future without taking more money from hardworking american families. our democrat colleagues are intent on raising gas prices and home utility costs of more than $3,000 on each family each year. there is a better way to a clean energy future and it begins with supporting an all-of-the-above strategy. i'm grateful to be part of a bipartisan group to promote conservation. the american conservation and clean energy independence act is a plan for a stronger future

energy and it would not raise energy prices, taxes or cost jobs. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? mr. kirk: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kirk: thank you, madam speaker. on friday the international atomic energy agency submitted a report on the iranian nuclear program. after producing low enriched uranium at a rate of 40 kilogram per month over a 21-month period, iran has now increased its stockpile by 60% in just the last six months, doubling its rate to over 80 kilograms per month. with 5,000 centrifuges, they are producing enough enriched uranium to produce two nuclear weapons per year, one for them and one for hezbollah. the iaea now reports that iran denied inspectors access to the

iraq heavy water reactor since august of 2008 where we suspect they will try to produce plutonium. mr. musabby, the leading candidate for president in iran told them, i will not suspend uranium enrichment. he said to "the financial times," no one will stop suspension. no matter who wins the iranian elections on friday, we know that the production of fissile material, useful in this oil-producing country only for nuclear weapons is accelerating. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas rise? mr. boozman: i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, madam speaker. special libraries association members are celebrating the organization's centennial celebration. for 100 years s.l.a. has made

it its mission to collect information for professionals and their strategic partners. today i take great pride in recognizing the university of arkansas' libraries and the resources that they have provided students, professors and researchers year after year. behind these libraries are the very knowledgeable information professionals. particularly, i'd like to recognize tony stankis, the science librarian at the mullins library on the university of arkansas' campus. they named tony and five others a special dedication. tony and his team were also chosen for the task of naming the top 100 biology and medical journals established in the 100 years of the s.l.a.'s existence. please join me in congratulating tony and his colleagues for this great honor. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from utah rise?

mr. chaffetz: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. chaffetz: america lost one of its quiet, humble heroes on friday. major george e. whalen, utah's sole surviving world war ii medal of honor recipient. he was at the battle of iwo jima. he refused to leave the battlefield. he saved countless lives through his heroic efforts despite his own injuries. the selfless act typifies the men and women of the greatest generation. unfortunately, we are losing these heroes. he received the medal of honor from president harry truman in 1945 in recognition of his heroism during the tide turning battle. he served in korea, vietnam and was a 14-year employee of the v.a. in 2004 congress named the v.a. facility in utah. the v.a. said this in his

passing, he truly exemple flies the commitment to service and love of his country. the people of utah, this hospital and the veterans he tirelessly served have lost a remarkable man, end quote. indeed they have, we all have. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. culberson: thank you, madam speaker. you know, congress is operating under some of the lowest approval ratings in history, and clearly the public has lost confidence in its federal government. perhaps that's because the federal government is rapidly moving down a past that shows that the government is losing confidence in the american people. when it comes to health care, should the government help americans or should the government actually control everything when it comes to health care? our constituents, my constituents certainly are not asking for more government

control, particularly in the arena of health care. perhaps congress should listen and have confidence in the american people. the government should continue to play a role for performance standards and insuring everyone is treated fairly, but then it should get out of the way and let the american hard work and ingenuity does what it does best. now i have spoken to several health care experts, current administration officials to private citizens with innovative ideas that have worked. in a short interview with former secretary of health and human service he hits the nail on the head when he says, quote, we don't have to turn the health care system over to the federal government. we can empower consumers and use the -- not to own it. i encourage -- madam speaker, i encourage everyone to visit this site and learn more about health care reform as it stands before us today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina rise? ms. foxx: i ask permission to address the house for one minute, madam speaker, and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

ms. foxx: thank you, madam speaker. before leaving for the memorial day recess, democrats in congress continued to advance national energy tax legislation that will devastate american families and small businesses. for weeks, nervous democrats pleaded with energy and commerce chairman henry waxman and ed markey, two lead sponsors of this national energy tax for changes to their climate act bill. it would soften the blow to families in their states that they would suffer with this new energy tax. unfortunately, the bill passed the energy and commerce committee, is moving its way through congress and still is just a great big energy tax. the american people deserve better. republicans have held energy summits across the country to talk directly to the american people to talk about the democrats' costly energy plan and to develop real energy solutions that ensure american energy independence. congress must reject the democrats' national energy tax and deliver energy solutions that create a stronger economy and a cleaner environment. thank you, madam speaker.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 918 an act to designate the facility of the united states postal service locate the at 300 east third street in jamestown, new york, as the stun lun dean post office building. -- st stan lundine post office building. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will postpone votes under clause 6 of rule 20. recorded votes on postponed questions will be taken after 6:30 p.m. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1736, the international science and technology cooperation act of 2009 as amended.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 64, h.r. 1736, a bill to provide for the establishment of a committee to identify and coordinate international science and technology cooperation that can strengthen the domestic science and technology enterprise and support united states foreign policy goals. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, . baird, and the gentleman from texas, mr. olson, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. baird: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 1736, the bill now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. baird: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. it is fitting that h.r. 1736 is coming to the floor of the house in the same week as the foreign relations authorization act because science and technology can play a truly unique role in improving our foreign relations. science is a universal language built on a foundation of prior

discoveries and advancements that have originated from all corners of the globe. science diplomacy presents a unique and essential opportunity to develop and sustain friendships and collaborations into the future. international surveys consistently show that the people in other nations admire our scientific and technological achievements and opportunities more than almost any other feature of the united states. many of the political, economic and social leaders have at one time or another studies in our nation or worked for an american business. from a diplomatic perspectives, the connections is valuable beyond measure. the science and students all benefit from this scholarly exchange. but so do our national security and economic prosperity. the intellectual input of the foreign scientists help builds that foundation of discovery that leads to new intellectual property in the united states. in the exchange of scientists and their students help to build mutual trust and understanding between people who may otherwise be inclined to avoid or even fear each

other. the science side of scientific diplomacy receives comparable benefits from international collaboration. while the u.s. continues to lead the world overall in scientific and technological achievements by no means do we have a monopoly on talent. our scientists, students, industry and academic institutions are all dramatically enhanced by interactions with international peers. science diplomacy is also central to meeting shared global challenges and opportunities. climate change, ocean acidification, drug resistant diseases and economic crises, poverty, food and nutrition, internet and telecommunications, space exploration and conflict resolution are albeing addressed in advanced thanks to international scientific collaboration. in an interconnected world everyone similar pacted by these challenges. everyone has a stake in the solutions and we can only succeed if the brightest minds from around the world work together effectively. ideally, science diplomacy is not just about u.s. scientists

working together with others, it's about all scientists working together with all scientists regardless of physical locations or national boundaries. . this bill would reconstitute a committee on scicit oun the national science technology council, the council managed by the office 6 science and technology polcy. a renewed and reinvigorated council would strengthen integrate between the technical agencies and the department of state. its purpose would be to ensure that the richness of resources within our technical agencies are brought to bear on our foreign policy wherever appropriate and that our domestic agencies are working closely with the state department to leverage scientific and technical expertise and resources around the world in pursuit of solutions to global challenges and opportunities. i would urge its passage and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time.

the gentleman from texas. mr. oleson: madam speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1736, the international science and technology cooperation act of 2009 and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman virginia tech. mr. olson: i join my colleague today in supporting h.r. 1736, the international science and technology cooperation act of 2009. our nation has a long history of engaging with international partners on a variety of scientific issues and this is an area of great importance to our nation. h.r. 1736 incorporates many recommendations made by the national science board in its report, international science and engineering partnerships a. priority for u.s. foreign policy and our nation's innovation agenda. the primary purpose of this legislation is simply to build a stronger coordination link between the scientific activities of our federal agencies and the department of state in order to strengthen

u.s. science and technology enterprise, improve u.s. economic and national security, and support u.s. foreign policy goals as appropriate. this will be achieved through the creation of the committee under the national science and technology council, the office of science and technology policy, and the department of state will co-chair the committee. international s and t cooperation takes several forms, it provides our researchers access to other researchers and research sites around the globe. it enables partnerships to share the burden of the cost of expensive world class facilities. in the u.s. and abroad. and it provides the ability to address global issues of importance to the united states. such as nonproliferation and infectious diseases. and it helps foster positive relationships with other nations. h.r. 1736 will promote these important scientific activities by making sure that the department of state is working in tangent with ostp and other

federal agencies. we will help ensure that our foreign policy goals are not compromised. in fact, more often than not they may be enhanced by s and t cooperation. for these reasons i encourage my colleagues to support h.r. 1736, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. baird: i thank the gentleman for his support and for his comments. this is a bill that's had a number of hearings and on which we focused a great deal of attention on our committee. having had the privilege recently to travel internationally and meet with science leaders around the world, i know personally of the importance. i also wanted to acknowledge that president obama mentioned the importance of scientific exchanges in collaboration in rice hiss recent speech in cairo as has his head of ostp. finally i want to thank chairman berman, chairman gordon, mr. ehlers from michigan, and mr. carnahan for their work and want to at this point ask unanimous consent to insert an exchange of

letters between chairman berman and chairman gordon into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. baird: i would also be remiss if i did not acknowledge the hardworking staff who contributed to this legislation namely dolly on the majority staff. malay williams on the majority staff, and also my personal staff as well. they have done an outstanding job on this piece of legislation. h.r. 1736 is a good bill. it doesn't cost anything. it just makes sure we apply our existing activities and resources as wisely as possible to the benefit of our security and prosperity. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 1736. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. ole son: thank you -- mr. olson: thank you, madam speaker. looking around i have no further requests for time on my side of the aisle. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. baird: having no further requests, again i thank the gentleman and i yield back the

balance of my time. urging passage. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1736 as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. without objection -- mr. broun: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. baird: madam speaker, morph to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1709, the stem education coordination act of 2009, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1709, a bill to

establish a committee under the national science and technology council with the responsibility to coordinate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education activities and programs of all federal agencies, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. baird, and the gentleman from texas, mr. olson, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. baird: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 1709, as amended, the bill now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. baird: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. over the past decade report after report has come out highlighting the importance of science and technology engineering and math, so-called stem education, to our nation's competitiveness in the rapidly changing 21st century economy. the national academy's report rising above the gathering storm, sent up a red flag that our nation's stand something the

global leader is at risk if we do not improve stem education in the country. the first and highest priority recommendation was, and i quote, increase america's talent pool by vastly improving k-12 science mathematics education. my colleagues and i on the science and technology committee are passionate about this issue. over the course of the last two years under the leadership of chairman gordon the committee held several hearings with stem educators and agency representatives to see what role the federal government can play. a we recommendation that came up time and again was the need for interagency coordination of federal stem education activities and improve dissemination of these activities to practitioners. it will undoubtedly require strong commitment and leadership of the local and state levels to address the shortcomings of our nation's science and math education system, but the federal government also has a role to play because of the richness of the federal -- s and

t resources and our federal agencies. there are already many valuable programs being funded through the federal agencies that could play an important role in sharing knowledge and passion for stem with students, teachers and the general public. unfortunately many agencies have had difficult evaluating their programs and building awareness of those programs among teachers. in order to make the most effective use of our federal investment in stem education, it is crucial the agencies have a forum where they can come together to discuss tools for improved dissemination, share research findings and create common met tricks for evaluation. this would establish a committee under stem education on the council at the office of science and technology 308cy. this committee would be charged with coordinating the stem education programs and activities being funded through the federal r&d mission agencies. this bill also requires the committee to establish and maintain a comprehensive inventory of federally sponsored stem education activities. this will be a valuable data base that will help stem educators across the country learn of resources the federal

government has. this is a strong bipartisan bill. i want to commend chairman gordon, mr. hall, dr. lipinski, and dr. ehlers for introducing it. i also thank chairman milltory bring this bill to the floor and i'd like to insert an exchange of letters between chairman gordon and chairman miller into the record at this time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. baird: it's also important to acknowledge the hard work of staff on this bill. i'd also like to thank the former staff director of the research and science education subcommittee, jim wilson, for his important work on this topic before he retired last year. h.r. 1709 has the support of many scientific societies, businesses, and education organizations including the national science teachers association, the business higher education forum, american chemical society, and the triangle coalition. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from texas. mr. olson: madam speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1709, the stem education coordination act of 2009, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. olson: madam speaker, i'm pleased to join my colleague in supporting h.r. 1709, the federal stem education coordination act of 2009. with this bill congress is basically elevating a subcommittee within the national science and technology council to a full committee to ensure that stem education activities within the federal government are getting the attention they need. in addition to coordinating all federal stem education programs, this committee will be responsible for developing a strategy plan -- strategic plan and maintaining an inventory of all federal stem education programs. i believe this is appropriate and important. it is just as imperative we will be able to identify those stem programs in the federal

government that are effective and can serve as models for other agencies as it is for to us eliminate those programs that are duplicative and wasteful. ranking member hall and dr. ehlers, the ranking member of the research and science education subcommittee, are original sponsors of this measure and have worked closely with chairman gordon and mr. lipinski on this legislation. i join them in support of h.r. 1709 and urge my colleagues to do the same. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. baird: madam speaker, i yield three minutes to mr. polis, the gentleman from colorado, a valuable member of the committee who has been stickley concerned about stem education. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, madam speaker. today i rise in support of h.r. 1709, the stem education coordination of 2009. i would like to chiang -- thank chairman gordon for bringing this legislation to the floor and i urge my colleagues to join me for its passage. there is no doubt being a leader

in science technology, engineering, and mathematics or stem education, is essential for our nation to be an economic leader in the 21st crentry. our nation already has the world's premiere institutions of higher education. in my district in colorado is home to some of the most prestigious leaders in research. the climate change research done at encar and noaa, the renewable energy research done has been a great source of pride for our community as well as an economic driver for our state and our nation. in order to build upon these achievements, we must ensure that young americans choose to an are given the tools to build careers in science. its -- its vial our young people are exposed to stem education early on. early expo shoe for underrepresented groups will help spark a lifelong interest in education in these fields. stem education just like the arts and athletics is critical