another area that shows great mom president obama miss is my home state of pennsylvania. 80% of pennsylvania rests upon the shale which is likely the third largest natural gas -- plate of natural gas in the world, it's literally hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of clean burning natural gas that could power our country for decades while bringing jobs and all the economic benefits with it. . just today in the "wall street journal," there was an article titled k.k.r. invests in gas exploration. within cap and trade we talk a lot about renewables that only exist because of the subsidy we're putting into them. and this is a great article. this is what america is all about in terms of real science. it talks about the company k.k.r., it has invested in gas exploration. didn't take stimulus money,

didn't take subsidy money from the federal government or any other level of government. it was free market enterprise money investing in natural gas because they recognize the value of it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. tonko: does the gentleman from pennsylvania have further speakers? >> i do not. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. mr. tonko: does the gentleman yield? >> i urge a yes vote and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. routinely, this chamber is visited by many young peoplemark groups of young people. reminding us that we are in need of promoting and advancing sound and principled ideas and policies that will be inherited by them, by their generation.

they will inherit the good and the bad works that we do. and they will count on us on doing the sound and reasonable solutions. with that being said, i believe it's very important for us to advance the opportunity for them to have a sounder environment. they have the right to breathe cleaner air. we have within our grasp the opportunity to reduce that carbon footprint. we have the opportunity to go forward and quit advancing $475 billion annually to foreign countries for fossil-based fuels. we can advance house resolution 503, which allows us to promote physical education in sports that will advance the health, general health and well being of our students and that will give them stronger academic performance. with that being said, i

strongly urge our colleagues to support house resolution 503. i encourage them to vote yes on the represent -- on representative altmire's resolution and i yield back 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 agree to house resolution 503? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. tonko: i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 453. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 453, resolution recognizing the

significant accomplishments of americorps and urging americans to join in supporting americorps and its alumni and raising awareness of the importance of national and community service. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. tonko, and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. platts, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. tonko: thank you, i request five legislative days in which member mace revise and extend and insert extraneous materials on house resolution 453 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. tonko: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. tonko: i rise today to recognize the contributions americorps has made to national and community service. americorps began in 1994 as an effort to stress the importance

of community volvet. it was started under the national community trust act. the initial class of 20,000 volunteers established a tradition of assisting communities across the country this involves improving the live nofse most vulnerable citizens prork tecting the environment, contributing to public safety, responding to disaster and strengthening our educational system. we recognize the real impact that americorps has and continues to have on our nation's communities. since 1994, more than 570,000 individuals have served with the organization. these individuals have tackled some of the nation's toughest issues, including illiteracy, gang violence, homelessness, and drug abuse. they have worked with thousands of organizations, ranging from habitat for humanity to the red cross. after their terms of service, these members remain engaged in

their communities as volunteers, as teachers, and nonprofit professionals at disproportionately high levels. in my district in the capital region of new york state, we have a large americorps program with the self-advocacy station of new york. the members travel around the state giving presentations, promoting the importance of self-advocacy for people with disabilities, general awareness of disability related illness and the importance of full community inclusion of people with disabilities. this is important work and i'm so pleased we have these volunteers back home in my congressional district. mr. speaker, we realize that as this current economic downturn puts millions of americans at risk, the need for volunteers and national service will be more important than ever. the recently signed edward m. kennedy serb america act expands the americorps programs

to incorporate some 250,000 volunteers each year. it is important to recognize the commitment of these volunteers so that future generations will continue to support the ideal of national service. the strength of our nation depends upon individuals who take action toward building better communities. we observed americorps week may 9 through may 16. americorps week provides current volunteers, alums, grantees, program partners, and friends with the opportunity highlight the important work done by this great organization. it is a chance for us to thank those individuals who -- whose service to society cannot be fully measured. it is also a wonderful opportunity for us to motivate future individuals to pursue the ethic of service, whether in organizations such as americorps or the various other service opportunities that exist in our nation. the ethic of service is a manifestation of the greater ideal of democracy.

the americorps pledge, i will get things done for america to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier. it is important that we recognize that service is a civic duty. not only do we express gratitude for service, but we express gratitude through service. when we acknowledge the significant accomplishment of americorps as an organization, we affirm the importance of service as a necessary component of any democracy. mr. speaker, i encourage everyone take a moment and appreciate the contributions made by americore. these volunteers are the muscle of america and deserve recognition. i want to thank representative matsui for bringing this resolution to the floor and urge my colleagues to pass the resolution. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. platts: i yield myself such

time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. platts: i rise in support of this resolution, recognizing americorps week, which was last month. in 1990, president george herbert walker bush signed the national service act a network of national service programs that engage americans in intensive service to meet the nation's vital needs in education, public safety, health and the environment. in 1993, president bill clinton signed the national community service trust act which established the corporation for national community service and brought the full range of domestic community service programs under the umbrella of one central organization. finally, just a few months ago, president obama signed the latest re-authorization of the corporation for national community service a bill that was developed and passed in a strong bipartisan fashion in both chambers. this legislation builds on the

reforms to the corporation started by the previous administration to ensure additional accountability and national service programs this most recent legislation will also help smaller organizations participate in national service and ensure that the unique skills of america's veterans are well utilized. americorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to address a myriad of needs in communities all across my such as tutoring and mentoring disadvantaged youth, building affordable housing and assisting communities in times of natural disaster. for example, in the last three years, more than four million service hours have been spent helping gulf coast communities recover and rebuild after hurricanes katrina and rita. that's a four million -- that's four million hours of service made possible by the organizations and the individuals who choose to participate in the americorps

programs. this resolution recognizes one week where we salute current and former americorps members for their important work. it also allows us to thank all community partners who make it possible for americorps members to serve. i want to take this opportunity to thank my fellow co-chairs of the national service caucus, representatives matsui, ehlers, and price. i ask my colleagues to support this and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. tonko: does the gentleman have further speakers? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. platts: i yield the distinguished gentleman from georgia mr. broun as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves the balance of his time and the gentleman is recognized for as much time as me he may consume.

mr. broun: i thank my colleague from pennsylvania for yielding me some time this bill encourages americans to support americorps. there are some around the country that would agree with that. there are others that would not. because there are problems with americorps, such as moneys have been expended on acorn. other funds and efforts by americorps volunteers have been utilized in campaigns which i don't think is quite appropriate, particularly when we're trying to promote volunteerism. whether people would support americorps or not, i think, though, there's another issue. that if the american people were to fully comprehend and understand that the vast majority in this country would not support. that's what the liberals in this congress are calling cap and trade legislation. i call it tax and cap

legislation. because that's what it's all ability. it's about taxes. in fact, the president recently said if this bill was not passed, that he would not have the money to fund his socialized medicine program that he's actually pushing very hard and wants passed by the end of this year. socialized medicine is going to take people's choices away. it's going to take their choice of doctors away, choice of hospitals. choice of what med cases they can utilize. -- medications they can utilize. whether they can have a procedure or surgery that is so desperately needed. it's going to be a program that's going to literally kill people because it's going to deny them care. that's desperately needed system of this tax and cap legislation, cap and trade as it's called, is about money. it's not about the environment. it's about money.

it's about more funds being brought into the federal government to foster what i call a steam roller of socialism being shoved down the throats of the american people. it's going to slay the american commism it's going to cost jobs. the president's talked about using spain as the -- as the icon for what we should look at. well -- spain and the icon the president looks to we already see for every single green job that it produced another 2.2 jobs that were real jobs, permanent jobs, were destroyed. in my congressional district in northeast georgia, right now today, in many counties, we have an unemployment rate of nearly 14%. in multiple counties. the national average is over 9%. in northeast georgia it's

higher, much higher. i have manufacturing entities within my district that tell me if this cap and trade, tax and cap legislation is passed, that they're going to lock the doors. the unemployment rate in northeast georgia is going to go up. markedly from what it is today. roughly 14%, i think we're going to see 18%, 20%, maybe 25% unemployment in northeast georgia because of one bill. one bill. that's being pushed down the throats of the american people, this cap and tax, tax and cap as i call it, cap and trade legislation, the waxman-markey bill. it's going to be disastrous for the american economy. it's going to be disastrous for american workers, and it's going to be disastrous for the poor and those who are limited incomes. why do i say that? well, i say that because every single person in this country utilizes energy.

every single person when they flip on their light switch, their electric bill's going up. every single person in this country is dependent upon gasoline and diesel fuel. why? even if they use public transportation, it's gasoline and diesel fuel that motivates america. but it's more than that. groceries don't grow in the grocery store. grocery prices are going to go up marketedly because of this tax and cap legislation. every single good and service in this country is going to go up because of this tax and cap legislation. now, i'm a conservationist. i followed in the conservation movement for a long time. we have to be good stewards of our environment and there's no question. i want clean air and clean water just as much as the most

environmentalist in this country. i'm a physician and i know what dirty air does to my patients who have chronic constructive pulmonary disease or chronic asthma and long diseases. we must have -- or lung diseases. we can do that without costing american jobs. and all we're going to do is run jobs all overseas instead of having them here in america. we ought to have public policy that grows our economic base, not kills it. tax and cap legislation will kill it. we have -- we ought to have public policy that stimulates the economy instead of kills it. cap and tax will kill it. we had a bad economic situation today. people are hurting all over this country. we are borrowing too much,

we're spending too much, we're taxing too much and we see policy from this administration and the liberals in both the house and senate that's going to not only extend this current recession but i believe is going to deepen it. i believe it will even take us into a severe recession to the point of a frank outright depression. and tax and cap legislation is going to be the loke motive that takes us -- loke owe motive that's going to -- locomotive that's going to take us towards economic ruin. that high speed train is going to run off a cliff and it's going to take the american economy and the american people with it. it's going to kill small business. it's going to kill big business. it's going to kill jobs. it's going to hurt the poor people. it's going to hurt the elderly, those on limited income. it's going to raise the cost of medicine and raise the cost of health care. why are we doing this? so as the president himself has

said, so he can have the funds to create a bigger socialized medicine program and other socialized programs, bigger government, bigger spending, more economic doom and gloom that's going to be on the american people. we have to stop it. if the american people knew what was happening they would stand up and say no to cap and tax. as well as the socialized medicine program. the two big things that this administration and the liberal leadership in this congress is pushing. both of them are going to be disastrous. both of them are going to kill jobs. both of them are going to take away choices. both of them are going to destroy our economy. both of them are going to put our children and grandchildren in severe economic peril. and believe me, i believe it's immoral.

i think it's totally immoral because we are robbing our children and our grandchildren of their economic future. they will live at a standard that's much below ours today. we have a clear picture where the leadership in this congress is taking us. and the way the administration is taking us. all we have to do is look in venezuela. this administration, the liberal leadership in this congress is going down the same road that hugo chavez is taking the venezuelans. venezuela nationalized their energy system. that's exactly what we're trying to do here with cap and -- cap and trade. venezuela, hugo chavez nationalized the financial institutions. we already have done that. we nationalized the chrysler and g.m. and they're trying to force ford into the same trap. we've nationalized the

insurance industry. we're nationalizing everything of major consequence in this country economically. and now the leadership wants to nationalize, federalize, socialize the health care system in america. now, where's that train going to take us? we have a clear picture of that too. all we have to do is look in cuba. look in soviet controlled soviet union prior to them making their forms and turning towards more capitalistic system. but we can look at cuba. cuba prior to fidel castro taking over that government was very prosperous. certainly they had problems but not the problems that they have today. in cuba we have a very rich elite headed by a marxist, fidel castro. and we have a vast majority of the people in that country are

struggling, very poor with no choices. that's exactly where we're headed in america today if we continue down this road, the steam roll of socialism, this high-speed train that's going to drive us off the economic cliff. and we've got to stop it. republicans have offered alternative after alternative. we had alternatives to the housing crisis. the liberals on the other side were obstructionists. they wouldn't let our alternatives be heard. we had alternatives to the stimulus bill. i call it a nonstimulus bill because it has not and will not stimulate the economy. we had alternatives. the other side were obstructionists. they would not allow those things to be -- our ideas to be heard, brought to this floor for debate. we've offered alternatives to the banking crisis. but what have we done? we've bailed out wall street.

republicans have offered many alternatives to bail out main street, but they are not heard on this floor. over and over again the other side have been obstructionists, they've blocked every effort that we have brought on our side, on the republican side to bring forth commonsense, market-based, free enterprise solutions that would have not put our children and grandchildren's future at peril. but the other side are obstructionists. they have not allowed those things to be heard. they've been buried in committee. we introduced the bills. we have press conferences. and the mainstream media around this country are very compliant with the leadership on the liberal side because they bury it, don't even report the alternatives. we hear on the other side that the republicans are the party of no. well, actually we are the party

of no but it's k-n-o-w. we know how to solve these problems in america. we k-n-o-w the banking problems. we k-n-o-w how to solve the energy problems, the health care problems that america faces. but are our ideas heard? the other side is the side of no, n-o, because they say no to every proposal that we've made on our side. the press also is the party of no, n-o, because they've not reported on any of the proposals that we've offered and it's not right. it's actually going to be disastrous to the american people, and the american people need to stand up and say no to this steam roll of socialism. stop this high-speed train

running off the cliff of economic doom, that's going to take our children and grandchildren down into the chasm of a poor economy and struggling to try to pay off the debt for this totally inappropriate, outright steam roll of socialism that's being forced down the throats of the american people. we've got to stop it. and we can stop it if the american people will rise up and say no to the steam roll. put a stop to this high-speed train that nancy pelosi is driving and harry reid's driving, that's going to hurt our children, it's going to hurt our grandchildren, it's going to hurt america, and i'm not sure that we can recover in the next 10 decades, century. it may take that long to put us back on the right track if we can ever get back on the right

track. we've seen over and over throughout history societies destroyed because of people doing things in a self-centered manner, and that's exactly what's happening in this country today. we are self-centered as a people. we need to look at serving other people, particularly our children and grandchildren. put this country back on the right track, and we can do that. former u.s. senator eric durkson once said, when he feels the heat he sees the light. the american people need to put the heat on members of congress, in the house and senate, and say no to cap and tax, cap and trade legislation, to the waxman-markey bill. they need to say no to the socialized medicine program that the liberal leadership on the democratic side is trying to force upon us to take our choices away. they need to say no to this

steam roll of socialism, no to big government and yes to free enterprise, yes to personal responsibility and accountability, yes to small business. we cannot borrow and spend our way to prosperity. we have to stimulate the economy by stimulating small business. we have to have money in the hands of small business, men and women around this country, to create jobs. we have to have money in the hands of the taxpayers so that they can have money for a college education for their children, buy clothes, buy food. the bill just before this one was about encouraging physical education for our children. i'm a medical doctor and i've seen over and over again how fat and out of shape the kids in this country are. but our economy is going to be skinny and poor because of a

fat, bloated federal government that the liberal leadership in this house and this senate is trying to force upon the american people. so the american people need to stand up and say no to all these steam roll of socialism programs, to the cap and trade, to socialized medicine and say yes to the republican alternatives that will look to the free marketplace and will stimulate the economy, get us back on the right track and help us have a strong economic future. not only for us today but for our children and our grandchildren for the next decades to come. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york. mr. tonko: yes, mr. speaker. does the gentleman from pennsylvania have any further speakers? mr. platts: mr. speaker, how much time do i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: you

have 30 seconds. mr. platts: mr. speaker, i do not have any additional speakers and i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. tonko: yes, mr. speaker. if there is a common threat woven through the fabric of volunteers across this great country of ours, it's a sense of positive, positive spirit, positive attitude, positive energy in going forward in building stronger communities, enhancing the quality of life of american citizens. their deeds speak to our needs. and so to focus effectively and most positively on the subject at hand, bringing us to the house resolution 453, i will close with my comments focused in great respect for the volunteers of this country, the spirit of this house resolution. i would suggest that they are that muscle of america, they make the total difference, they