a person. i have been a builder, an urban planner, a developer and a salon owner. i have watched the crooked politicians flying over to mexico, china, japan, and investing money. there is so much going on in this country that people do not understand. host: north carolina on our republican line. caller: i am a first-time caller. i think we need health care for everybody of some sort. host: single-payer system? caller: maybe, i am not sure. i am a disabled nurse. i was diagnosed with a large aneurism. things do happen. host: who covers do now? caller: i have the blue cross, blue shield and have had to keep interest. host: you support single-payer? caller: my entrance iinsurance h

my husband. i cannot afford my daughter on the plan. host: we will have to leave it there. we will be back tomorrow. now to the floor of the house of representatives. . [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father coughlin. chaplain coughlin: we confess, lord god almighty, that we often accept countless blessings in life and forget to give you thanks.

faithfully surrounded with the support of family and friends, we do not always remember to be grateful. we enjoy food on our tables and cherish freedom. yet we can easily neglect those around this land and other parts of the world who have neither. fulfilling our daily duties and responsibilities here on capitol hill can make such a difference in the world and provide a sense of personal satisfaction because each day grants us great opportunities. remind us ever present god to be grateful and gracious. help us to find ways to show our appreciation by sharing our many blessings with others and never forgetting to offer thanks givegiving to you each day for every -- thanksgiving

to you each day for every day. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the chamber her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the speaker pro tempore: the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from massachusetts, congresswoman tsongas. ms. tsongas: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? the speaker: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one minute. the speaker: thank you, madam

speaker. madam speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to leader for working men and women, a distinguished diplomat and a great american, john henning, known to us as jack, who passed away on june 4, 2009. jack henning will be long remembered for his distinguished career on the front lines of the labor movement fighting passionately for justice, equality, human rights and jobs in california and across america and throughout the world. a native san franciscan, he began working for the union of catholics. he worked for the soy after graduation from college. jack served for decades for a leader of working people rising to be president of the california labor federation. in that role jack represented millions of california workers with great distinction. not only union members but millions of americans who never belonged to a union, enjoying better wages, safer workplace and more secure retirement

because of the battles waged by union leaders such as jack henning. jack was a close ally of the legendary farm organizers cesar chavez. he said in his proudest accomplishments in 1975 of the landmark agriculture labor relations act and provided tough labor protections who had been abused and mistreated for decades in california's pastures of the plenty. jack henning ended his farewell speech at the california labor federation in 1996 with and by suspension of the laws of nature if i were young again i would follow no other -- no other course, except the flag of america and the flag of labor. the labor movement was blessed to have him as a leader. as distinguished as he was on behalf of workers, jack made other contributions to his state and his nation in which we are all grateful. before taking the presidency of the california federation of

labor, jack served president kennedy and johnson as undersecretary of labor and was appointed by president johnson as the ambassador to new zealand in 1967. jack was also a distinguished regent at the university of california for a dozen years during which he helped lead the fight for expanded opportunities for minority students and demanded that the university divest its investments in apartheid south africa. that investment initiative helped bring about the peaceful ending of apartheid and the new day of majority rule in south africa. we will all miss jack greatly but none more than his sons, patrick, daniel, john jr., patrick and thomas. his daughters, mary and assistancey. his 12 grandchildren and his great grandchildren. we also remember his beloved wife, betty, who preceded him in death. i hope it's a comfort to his family that so many people mourn their loss and are praying for them at this sad time. jack henning was a proud

american, a devout catholic, passionate about his irish roots and a great friend and mentor to many of us. mr. speaker, i join jack henning's family, friends and colleagues to celebrate his life and remember his illustrious contributions to the state of california and to our great nation. and later today thousands of people will gather in california to do just that, celebrate his life and pay tribute to him. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair will entertain a total of 10 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. johnson: you know, many americans don't have access to affordable health care, and we can and need to do better for all americans. i support a system that gives

americans more affordable health care choices so they can pick the coverage that best fits their need. the core part of the democrat proposal is a new government-run program that will not only put bureaucrats between you and your doctor but would force more than 100 million people, americans, out of health coverage they currently receive through their jobs. we need a plan that really does let americans who like their health care coverage keep it. a plan that doesn't add new taxes or new mandates or drive up costs or drive people out of health care. we must give all americans the freedom to choose their health plan, not force them into a government-run, one-size plan fits all. private plans are great. let's protect them. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new hampshire rise? ms. shea-porter: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. shea-porter: madam speaker, d.o.d. today i'm introducing the safety and defense contracting act of -- today i'm introducing the safety and defense contracting act of 2009. while putting their lives at risk overseas, they shouldn't worry about their working quarters. unfortunately, due to shoddy contract work they do. the same deficient work have resulted in hundreds of fires, one of which destroyed the largest dining hall in iraq. i am introducing the safety in defense contracting act to protect our military and civilian personnel to people who have found death due to contractor personnel. they don't deserve millions of dollars in contracts. defense contractors who are guilty of dangerously deficient work have been receiving award and incentive fees. my bill will not longer give

these fees. it will take time to rebuild our contractor oversight capabilities, but i ask my colleagues to join me in this bill. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: madam speaker, many countries, including china and european nations, are continuing to move to clean energy such as nuclear power. the united states, the nuclear power pioneer, lags far behind in new generating plants. the united states could and move to the licensing and development of more nuclear power plants. nuclear power is efficient and a cheaper way of providing clean energy to america's manufacturing sector. we should streamline the long come bersome process of power plant applications that use safe reactor designs, designs that have already been approved by the nuclear regulatory commission. costs have advanced to a state that america can safely store

spent nuclear fuel rods and also recycle fuel. one of america's most impressive plants is in the north anna nuclear station here in nearby virginia. nuclear power is responsible for 20% of our energy, but in france 80% of their energy comes from nuclear energy. nuclear power will keep jobs in america and help free us from the shackles of foreign control of our energy, and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from massachusetts rise? ms. tsongas: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. tsongas: madam speaker, global warming is no longer an academic question for scientists to ponder. it's a very real crisis that requires our leadership. this is not a political issue. this is a critical generational responsibility that will take a commitment from congress and from every person in our society. we have a real opportunity this year to prove our commitment by voting for h.r. 2454, the

american energy and security act. the renewable technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions exist. the societal will and desire to go clean have been demonstrated, and the political climate to finally create sound public policy is now present. the cost of inaction on this critical challenge is unacceptable and the price too high. a recent study concluded that unchecked defects of climate change could result in a cost of $271 billion per year by 2025. failure to act is intolerable. when considering the economic and job creation opportunities, a clean energy economy presents. the american energy and security acts provides a path that leads us to a clean, sustainable energy future. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. pence: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

mr. pence: the american economy is hurting. gasoline prices are on the rise, utility rates threaten to go higher and pose an even greater hardship on working families. the american people are looking for answers to these times and the challenges we face in energy. the democrat answer you just heard is a national energy tax that will lead to higher energy prices and massive job losses for the american people. the president said it best a year ago when he said if the cap and trade plan were to pass, utility rates, his words now, would, quote, necessarily skyrocket. some estimates suggest job losses between 1.8 million and 7 million. while republicans -- well, republicans have a better plan. the american energy act. it provides more energy independence, more jobs and a cleaner environment without imposing a national energy act. it focuses more on domestic exploration for oil and natural gas, a commitment to build 100 nuclear power plants in the next 20 years, investments in renewables, alternative energy technologies and creating

incentives. you can read it on the editorial page of "the wall street journal" today. the american people want energy independence without a national energy tax. the american energy act offered by house republicans is the answer the american people are looking for. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: madam speaker, as an advisory board member of the holocaust museum of houston , i rise with a deep sense of sympathy and outrage of the terrible tragic incident that happened as "the washington post" reported, at a monument of sorrow. and also a standing edifice for peace. i offer my deepest sympathy of the family of steven t. johns. and as a believer and advocate of the constitution and our first amendment rights, i stand here in outrage to express my

opposition to the idea that protected speech equals protected violence. this was a dastardly act, and we don't know how many other targets as hateful minded person might have been engaged in. we must continue to stand against hate. we must continue to promote the passage of the hate crimes legislation. but frankly, we must say to those who we are mourn by putting forward a holocaust museum, many across the nation and in my town of houston that we stand with them in solidarity. to my good friend, peter and fred who chairs the holocaust museum in washington, you have my deepest sympathy, my respect and i stand in solidarity with you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? -- texas rise. >> i rise to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

mr. olson: madam speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to the needville blue jays who defeated the salinea bobcats in austin to win the texas class 3-a girls high school softball championship last week. the blue jays played their hearts out and have made all texans proud. only three years ago six members of the needville team played in the 2006 junior softball world series where they finished third overall. this state championship victory was the result of years of practice and dedication and teamwork. the blue jays' defense was superb at the finals. needville made no errors and kept the bop cats base runners in check. i'd like to compliment the coach of the blue jays. the best teams are always the result of exceptional coaching, and the coach has clearly inspired and motivated his players. i'd like to say a big congratulations to the

graduating seniors, and i would also like to recognize all of the team members who made this tremendous victory possible. great job to each of you. the blue jays' final record for this season was an impressive 34-8. all residents of needville and for the bend county, texas, are extremely proud of our blue jays. i extend my congratulations to these talented young athletes. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon rise? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. blumenauer: 49 years ago the 1960 october harper's magazine cover story was the crisis in american medicine. well, we are still in crisis but change is in the air. the facts are clear. high costs, more procedures, tests, hospitalization is not better care, it's a symptom of poor care. every major nation spends less and most have better outcomes than the united states.

every major nation spends less, most have better outcomes. getting 50 million americans health insurance and giving the rest americans with insurance stability will cost more, but about half of this cost can be achieved by reforming the system, and having the government pay the balance will cost far less than business and people with insurance over the next 10 years of business as usual. with a president who gets it, a congress listening to what the people want, a public plan to keep the system honest means that there won't be a cover story 50 years from now about american medicine still in crisis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida rise? ms. brown-waite: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. brown-waite: thank you, madam speaker. an overall of our nation's health care system is underway and i'm glad that people from my district are engaged on this

critical issue. unfortunately the democrats he shared very few details of the plan except that there will be a public plan, which i have to tell you that most people are frightened of. while i realize we are in the minority problem, i still have almost a million constituents to represent, including more medicare beneficiaries than any other member of congress. my republican colleagues and i have made numerous attempts to reach across the aisle to share our ideas on how to improve the health care system and make it more affordable. so we are drafting our own bill. when president obama invites members of congress to the white house to craft health care bills, he invites only democrats. he's met with industry representatives, but never with republicans. recently the president sent a letter saying he expects a bureaucratic-run health system to be included in the final option, but again he sent the letter only to democrats.

hardly a gesture of bipartisanship. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker. like representative lee before me i was shocked at hearing of the shooting at the holocaust museum yesterday. it's a place of special reverence and a place you wouldn't think violence would occur. deranged minds do deranged things and the man who did the shooting has a history of hate toward african-americans and toward jews and toward our government it appears even though he served in our armed forces. it reminds me of the need for passing hate crimes legislation because hate today still exists in people's hearts. when people hate any group, they generally hate all different minorities. they don't understand the america of tolerence and inclusion that we celebrate

which -- on which we were founded. it also reminds me of the need to have a cops bill passed torques have more protection in the cops that were approved in the arra to protect our society from these type of attacks. yesterday there was to be a play debuted at the holocaust museum, wife the former secretary of defense, billon, about an imaginary conversation between emmitt till and anne frank, it will debut on friday at george washington university and talk about the tolerence of peace. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. brown: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. brown: thank you, madam speaker. for years my republican colleagues and i have focused on implementing an all-of-the-above energy plan to cut the ties of foreign oil and create affordable american energy. however the democrat tax and cap plan will serve as a national

energy tax, resulting in fewer jobs. more than $3,100 will be added to the annual energy cost of american families if financial hardship that will greatly impact the poor who spend a large part of their income on energy. these taxes would directly im pact farmers of south carolina as every day costs of fuel and fertilizer may become too expensive for them afford. additionally our state's clean energy production would be excessively taxed. forcing companies to move to countries with less stringent standards resulting in little progress towards protecting our environment. the relocation of these businesses could result in the loss of up to seven million jobs, increasing unemployment and placing further economic strains on the american families. all for a policy that won't even achieve its initial goal of reducing carbon emissions. americans are sick of this energy roller coaster and i enshaorch my colleagues to support an all-of-the-above

energy plan that will not tax us to death. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from maine rise? ms. pingree: madam speaker, to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. pingree: thank you very much. madam speaker, i want to talk to you this morning about hodgkin's yachts of maine. hodgkin brothers opened for business in 1816 and is the oldest continually operated shipyard in the united states. tim is a fifth generation boat builder continuing a long and proud tradition. it has taken maine's tradition of world class craftsmanship and combined it with new technology in advances in composites to build their business and create good paying sustainable jobs in our state. for example, in the small town of richmond, maine, they have created a facility to build boat interiors. between 60 and 70 new jobs have been created there in the last six months alone and they believe they can double the size of that operation in the next year. and just this week, they were given a maine technology

institute grant for nearly $4 million to take the first steps towards building a 30,000 square foot facility that would create hundreds of more jobs building high speed patrol boats of the future. they are just one example of the innovative companies doing business in maine aggressively using new technology to create good quality jobs that can't be exported. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yield back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. pitts: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pitts: in a couple weeks the house is going to consider the cap and trade legislation that has enormous implications for our economy. this 926-page bill as introduced and considered by committee has 50 pages on light bulbs and two sentences on nuclear power. recently i saw a rasmussen poll of likely voters that indicates 30% of likely voters have no idea what cap and trade means. 29% thought it was some sort of wall street regulation. 17% thought it had something to

do with health care. only 24% had any idea what it was. cap and trade puts a cap or limit on greenhouse gas emissions, including co-2, carbon dioxide. when you breathe in, that's oxygen. when you breathe out, that's carbon dioxide. co-2. according to this legislation co-2 is pollution. according to the bill, foreign countries don't cap emissions, their goods can be hit with tariffs which they call, quote, border adjustments. the loss of jobs that will go overseas as a result of this bill is being called, "leakage." breathing as pollution, border adjustments, leakage. this is a taxation scheme on energy. ling wingist obfuscation to cover up the harmful impacts it will have on our economy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from nevada rise? ms. titus: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is

recognized for one minute. ms. titus: thank you very much, madam speaker. i rise today to recognize henderson mayor jim gibson who after 12 years of excellent service to our community led his final city council meeting on tuesday night. i also want to thank jack clark who has served not only as a henderson councilmember for the past 16 years, but also as a member of the las vegas metropolitan police department. jim gibson guided henderson during a critical time in its history when an experienced unprecedented growth. under his leadership the city met the challenges and the opportunities that growth brings. mayor gibson provided a vision and plan for the city that promoted development while also preserving valuable open space and recreation areas. in addition he was instrumental in bringing nevada state college to henderson. as a city of henderson turns a page after more than a decade of leadership from these two outstanding public servants, i want to congratulate our new

mayor and new city councilwoman. i look forward to working closely with them and wish them all the best in their new positions. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. coffman: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i rise today to share my concerns about house resolution 2346, the war supplemental bill. our troops deserve nothing less than a clean war supplemental bill free from unrelated spending. we must give our troops the resources necessary to ensure victory in iraq and afghanistan. i visited iraq over the memorial recess. my first trip back since having served there with the united states marine corps in al anbar province. i cannot with that trip still fresh in my memory allow the

needed support for our troops to be be used as the hook to carry a needed and distaste -- unneeded and distasteful spending. the bill will now allow the u.s. -- now requires the united states to borrow money that we don't have to loan it to the international monetary fund. the international monetary fund can then loan this money to nations like iran and afghanistan -- i'm sorry iran and venezuela. madam speaker, it is inappropriate to use our troops to cram through overseas bailouts. i will vote against this and ask my colleagues to join me. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. altmire: madam speaker, this week both houses of congress put forward the initial draft of a long overdue effort to cut health care costs in this country.

while we still have to come to agreement on all the details, there can be no doubt the american people expect us to act to bring down health care costs. the cost of health care affects every business and every family in this country. it's one of the leading drivers of our long-term deficit. it makes our businesses less globally competitive. and it adds uncertainty to millions of american families who are one accident, illness, or job loss away from losing everything. while we debate how best to fix what doesn't work in our health care system, we must preserve what works and build upon the best aspects of of our uniquely american system. we'll spend the summer debating the details of the plan, but one thing is certain, the american people will not accept the status quo as health care costs continue to skyrocket. no is not an answer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: witho