the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 466, a bill to amend title 38, united states code, to prohibit discrimination and acts of reprisal for people who receive treatment for injuries or illnesses incurred in or aggravated by service in the armed forces. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. filner and the gentleman from arkansas, mr. boozman, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from the great state of california. mr. filner: i yield myself such time as may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. filner: i have been honored to bring bill after bill that will increase the privileges, the benefits and say thank you to an even better degree to our nation's veterans. and this is another bill that will in fact do that, to say thank you to those who have served our nation.

my distinguished colleague from texas, mr. doggett, has introduced 466, the wounded veteran job security act. his steadfast commitment to our men and women in uniform and to our nation's veterans is to be commended. and i would yield as much time as he may consume to mr. doggett to explain the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. doggett: thank you very much, chairman filner, and thank you, ranking member boozman, for the leadership that each of you provided for those who have served our country. the return of a soldier or sailor to civilian life is a tradition as old as the republic itself. just outside this house chamber in the great rotunda of the capital is a portrait of general george washington residing his command in the continental army at the close of the revolution. in his farewell orders to his troops in november of 1783 he praised the brave men retiring

victorious from the field of war to the field of agriculture. he urged his soldiers to participate in all the blessings which have been obtained and asked rhetorically in such a republic who will exclude them from the rights of citizens and the fruits of their labor. washington reminded this country of its duty to support these new veterans. he said so that the officers and soldiers may expect considerable assistance in recommencing the civil occupations. well, today more than 34,000 of america's troops have been wounded as a result of the brave service in iraq and in afghanistan, of these men and women about 8,000 have suffered traumatic brain injuries and another 1,200 have undergone amputation of a limb.

as general washington long ago affirmed, neither should our commitment to these wounded warriors. when it comes to recovery, the road back to civilian life could be long and it can be difficult. complications arise from amputations. they can force a veteran to return repeatedly to the veterans' administration for medical care. or what begins as a migraine may turn out to be a traumatic brain injury requiring a battering of time consumer tests. even those veterans that live near a veteran's facility find it difficult balancing their medical requirements with other demands on their time and, of course, many veterans live far away and must travel a long distance like a veteran in texas who must drive back and forth to the v.a. office in temple in what may take four or five hours. but this is not the only long road that some veterans confront. this legislation is the result of problems texas veterans brought to my attention. they said wounded veterans should not be fired after they exhaust their sick and vacation

leave to receive care for injuries that a v.a. doctor says they need, that they incurred while defending our country. i agree, and they said there ought to be a law supporting our veterans, and i felt confidence when the veterans' affairs committee and this congress heard their plea they would answer as they have today. you see, madam speaker, as some employers have policies limiting the amount of time that an employee can be out on sick leave, an employee exceeds that limit may be terminated. and as the law is written today, this means an employee -- an employer can legally terminate a veteran with service-related disability for receiving the care that he or she so desperately needs. i stand here today to say that's not good enough. our veterans should not have to choose between their lives and their livelihoods. no veteran should have to stand in front of their employer after suffering an injury while

serving the red, white and blue be and be told, you've got a pink slip. i'm sorry. you can't have a job. but the fact is this has happened and it has happened to some central texas veterans. in 1994 when the congress passed and president clinton signed the uniform services employment and reemployment rights act to clarify and strengthen the veteran rights statute. its first purpose was to encourage noncareer service in the uniform services by eliminating our minimizing the disadvantages to civilian careers and employment which can result from such service. well, now that we're 15 years down the road, it's time to take decisive action to develop policies that evolve with the changing needs of our troops. that's what the wounded veteran job security act that we consider today that i authored seeks to accomplish. it amends existing law to establish a right of veterans who receive treatment for

illness, injuries and disabilities incurred or aggravated by uniformed service to the united states to be retained by their employers. i appreciate the support of the american legion, the veterans of foreign wars, the fleet reserve association and the disabled american veterans, important organizations representing our veterans who have endorsed this legislation. this legislation requires employers to retain a person whobes absent from work -- who's absent from work. it grants the service members the same seniority and other rights and benefits that they have prior to receiving treatment. and it seeks to ensure that these service members receive the same rights and benefits as other employers who are on furlough or on leave of absence. our service men and women selflessly put aside their civilian lives to step into uniform and serve the cause of freedom and stand up for all of us.

today it's our responsibility to stand up for them. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation to ensure that no american veteran ever has to choose between getting well and getting paid. i thank the leadership on the committee and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arkansas. mr. boozman: thank you, madam chair. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. boozman: madam speaker, i rise in support of the manager's amendment to h.r. 466. this bill would add protections against employment discrimination due to continued treatment for a service-connected disability to the uniformed service employment and re-employment act. and that is the right thing to do. those who are seriously injured serving in the nation's military should not be disadvantaged in the workplace beyond their injuries have put upon them and allowing a reasonable amount of time off

from their jobs for continuing service-connected medical treatment is the least thing rather that we can do. i believe that including them in userra is appropriate because it leaves no doubt as to an employer's obligation to service-disand employees. i appreciate the distinguished chairwoman, ms. herseth sandlin, has worked with us to improve the bill. together we have clarified issues relating to service-connected disability leave as well as other issues such as pension benefits and protections for businesses whose circumstances have changed so significantly that the application of these provisions would impose a serious burden on the employer. this is a very worthy bill and we appreciate mr. doggett bringing it forward. and i would urge my colleagues certainly to support it. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields -- the

gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. filner: madam speaker, i have no further speakers. mr. boozman: madam speaker, then i would yield mr. broun, the gentleman from georgia, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. broun: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, i rise today in support of veterans and military personnel in america. as one who believes in the constitution and the original intent of the writers of that document and one who believes that what we do in this house and in this congress is unconstitution ath according to that original intent. supporting our military personnel is critical for the security of america. we are not doing what we are supposed to do for our veterans. we have broken promises over and over again. the veterans are not getting the benefits that they've been promised. and i think that is immoral and verges on criminal because we have bloken as a federal government the -- broken as a federal government the promises that we have made to the

veterans and military personnel in america. we need to fulfill those promises. we need to do what we have said we would do for them and that's to take care of them, to take care of their spouses. we need to do so for their lifetime. on the other hand what we are doing here is we are going further and further down the road away from the constitution , the original intent. we are stealing our grandchildren's future by spending more and more money that we don't have. it's right and good and proper for us to spend money on national defense and supporting our veterans. it's right and good and proper to spend money on military personnel, on the national defense, on homeland security. it's not right and proper for us to continue spending our grandchildren's future. in america people don't have to stand up and say no to this robbing their future. they're going to have to contact their members of congress and say no to cap and trade, no to bailing out big

business, no to doing all the things we are doing over and over again here in this congress. it's up to the american people to stand up and say no. i say yes to veterans, yes to the military, yes to the strong national defense, yes to good policies for the veterans and no to this steam roll of socialism. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. filner: i'm not sure whether the previous speaker supported or opposed the bill. i guess he opposes any help for health care for his citizens, any help for job security for our citizens, any environmental protection for our citizens, any help for job security for our citizens, any help for housing help for our citizens. i still don't know where he stands on this bill and i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arkansas. mr. boozman: thank you, madam speaker.

having no more speakers on the bill, i would like to extend my appreciation once again to mr. doggett for bringing the bill forward, to ms. herseth sandlin, chairman filner and ranking member buyer for their support and everyone working together to improve the uniformed services employment and re-employment act. and, again, you know where i'm at on this bill. i urge all of my employees -- all of my colleagues, rather, to support h.r. 466 as amended. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. filner: madam 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. 466 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. filner: and i urge all my colleagues to care for veterans, their dependents by unanimously supporting h.r. 466

as amended and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 466 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, and the bill is passed and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately

. >> 95% of americans are now receiving a tax break. we have increased food assistance to people and the need -- in need. we also have expanded and increased funding. yet implemented a tax credit program with incentives to drive a new consumer spending and that

is creating new products. there is a factory in missouri that is making transformers now and paying people a good, decent wage because of the tax credits. they're now building 100 new windmills. you and your hometown and the chicago. -- you went to your home town in chicago. they are hiring laid off workers because of the increased demand for energy efficient windows. we have provided aid to state governments which has been a real consequence protecting critical safety net programs and saving thousands of teaching jobs and thousands of law enforcement jobs. the department transportation has provided 4000 infrastructure improvement programs, highways,

airports, mass transit systems. many of these have already begun construction in the last 100 days and more are in line to put people to work for a decent wage. you have made record investments in new technologies, energy technologies, wind, solar, biomass. mr. president, the process of doing this -- in the process of doing this, you have created so many jobs. a couple of weeks ago you authorized me, and i think the cabinet for doing this, to call the cabinet meeting once again. -- and i think the cabinet for doing this. i ask for projects the cabinet was certain of that we get up and running during the second 100 days to accelerate the job growth within the next 100 days. they each came back with new

projects. the 10 most significant of those projects, mr. president, we put into this book we're going to give you which is called "the road map to recovery." this document explains our plans for the next 100 days throughout the summer. it lays out exactly where these jobs are geographically, how to distribute them, and each of the projects we are talking about. and so, mr. president, nothing we have begun in the first 100 days is going to come to an end. the tax cuts, whetherization -- weatheaization, none of this will stop. what we're talking about here is putting some pace on the ball. we want to emphasize the 10 new major initiatives that are going to kick in in these next 100

days. during these next 100 days, recovery is not meant to to beat neatly divided into 100 days. it is about a cumulative impact over what congress has passed and what you have asked for. as what i have said, if you do not mind me using a sports metaphor, it is about pacing at the ball. every 100 days should produce more than the last 100 days. so in the next 100 days, mr. president, we intended to grow by another 600,000. by this summer, i think we're going to achieve a number of things. i want to quickly go through the 10 major initiatives we're going to talk about. justice department, you're going to hear from each of the cabinet members. they want to put 5500 law- enforcement officers on the street. health and human services are going to enable the states to create to build on 1,129

centers in eight states and eight territories provided -- to provide service to 3000 additional people. 107 new park projects are under way. a lot of these have to do with energy-saving, mr. president, using high-tech energy standards. veterans, 90 veteran medical centers across the country are going to see improvements in their facilities cannot access in terms of the treatment. the department of agriculture is going to start 200 new waste projects in america. as you know, mr. president, representing illinois these are big ticket items. most of these little towns cannot afford this, but the impact -- but it impacts on their quality of life. transportation is going to begin rehabilitation on 98 airports,

1500 allocations for the country. -- 1500 highways around the country. people are going to be out there in their hard hats making a good, decent wage. we're going to accelerate the cleanup of the 20 super fund sites that exist on the national priority list. 135,000 education related jobs including teachers, principals, staff support, and we will talk about that more in a minute. 125,000 summer jobs in the labor department. these are not make were jobs in the country. we're putting them in a position to learn a skill that they will hopefully be able to turn around. lastly, mr. president, the defense department is going to initiate2,300 the structure and rehabilitation programs and several military facilities across the country. mr. president, whether it is more energy efficient facilities in our park system or more

teachers or more cops on the street, construction cannes -- construction cranes, going to seem more by selling our records across the federal government. we're going to spend the next 100 days feeling confident we're going to be able to demonstrate it agreed another 600,000 jobs. it is fairly ambitious, mr. president, but i ask the cabinet if these are realistic, and what we can get done. as a consequence, mr. president, we're also starting up a new web site today. is www.whitehouse.gov/ recovery. it is going have a an attractive aspects. we won average americans as they're watching this happen over the summer, as they watch it happen in their neighborhoods, the parts they are visiting, we want them

knowing that what we're doing is fully accountable and we want them to watch us closely. we want their input and we want them to tell us that everything is working or not working and how they are affected. mr. president, by the fall i think we're going to be much further down the road to a recovery. i can say, mr. president, we have made a lot of trips pretty understand we got a lot of major, major things we're dealing with here in washington that we're all dealing with. i am telling you, when we go out, and at least every cabinet member has been with me at least once, when we go out the feeling of something getting done is powerful. people are coming up to us in these meetings and saying they're not working, look at what we're doing down the street, this school is open. the coverage in the communities,

big cities like st. louis, small towns in eastern california -- eastern north carolina, it is uniform. hopefully we're born to be able to sit with you and tell you we have another 600,000 jobs. >> and thank you, joe, and thinking to all of you cabinet, and seven cabinet agencies that were involved in this process. -- cabinet and sub-cabinet disease. i'm grateful to you and your team to coordinate " all the agencies -- to coordinate for routes all the agencies. on friday we announced there is a loss of an additional 3 halloran 45,000 jobs in the month of may. -- 345,000 jobs in the month of may. it was still too many, but less

than expected. there are families that are not only losing their jobs, but their homes and finding themselves under extraordinary financial strains. it is a reminder we're still in the middle of a very deep recession that was years in the making. it is going to take a considerable amount of time to call out of. having said that, this is the fewest number of jobs that we have lost in about eight months. it was about half of the number lost from just a few months ago. it is a sign that we're moving in the right direction. the key is for us to build on to the modest progress that has been made in the months to come. when we arrived here, we were confronting the most significant recession since the great depression. it was bad and it was getting hoarse. had we done nothing, i bank is fair to say that most

economists -- i think it is fair to say that most economists think we would have gone into a tailspin. we decided to swiftly and boldly signed recovery act into law just over 100 days ago. we have done more than ever, faster than ever, more responsibly than ever to get the gears of the economy moving again. we've created and saved, as you have said, joe, at least 150,000 jobs of teachers, police officers, firefighters, people who have been laid off are not being laid off. these are folks who might have seen, as you pointed out in my home town, they're seeing orders coming back and that meant they were retained. we offer immediate relief to 95% of working families for our tax cuts.

will help the struggling state governments safeguard critical and safety programs and, in some cases, make them work even better. kathleen, as you know if people lose their jobs they lose their health care. because of the recovery act, even when they lost their jobs many of them are actually able to use the cobra program that was cost prohibitive previously. we have some good news to report. i have been receiving weekly reports from all of you and i think you and your teams for your dedication moving forward. having said that, i am not satisfied. we have more work to do. the biggest concern that i have moving forward is the toll that job losses take on individual families and communities can be self reenforcing. people lose jobs, they pull back on spending, that means businesses do not have customers, and suddenly you start seeing more job layoffs.

our whole task here with the recovery act is to reverse that- cycle into a positive cycle, and that is going to take some work. i am pleased to know that having put the infrastructure in place, having gotten your teams up and running, many of the criteria about the money going out to protect taxpayers has been created. now, we are in a position to get really started. the goal is we're going to create or save 600,000 jobs over the next 100 days. joe highlighted some of the specific commitments that we are using to create -- using this to keep this moving forward. providing summer jobs, keeping cops on the street, keeping teachers and the classrooms, breaking ground on hundreds of new projects all across the country and clean energy, transportation, and so on.

we're continuing to operate in a transparent fashion so that taxpayers know this money is not being wasted on a bunch of boondocks. i think sometimes can't -- i think the news comes and sometimes what you do not hear about. you have not heard about a bunch of scandals, knock on wood, so far. the does not mean that this thing is going to be filed -- flawless, but i think given the speed in which we have acted, many of you can be proud that the transparency measures that have taken place so far seem to have work. -- seem to have worked. we need to keep that up. at a time when everyone is tightening their belts, the last thing people want to see is that any of this money is being wasted. now, i know there are some who, despite evidence to the contrary, they still do not be