one-minute requests. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the house will be in order. mr. engel: thank you, madam speaker. i want to take this opportunity to commend the young people and the brave people of iran who are marching in the streets --

streets, clamminger for freedom and democracy -- clamoring for freedom and democracy. >> the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. members, please take your conversations off the floor. the gentleman may proceed. mr. engel: thank you, madam speaker. i want to commend the brave people of iran who have been demonstrating in the streets of tehran for freedom and democracy and demanding that they have a free and fair election. the election that was held was obviously neither free nor fair, it was fraudulent. and the declared winner, president ahmadinejad, obviously lost the election. and the people of iran deserve better and i think that i want to commend those brave people. they remind me of the people in tiananmen square, they remind me

of the people in prague during the prague spring of 1968. they remind me of people everywhere who stand up against oppression and stand for freedom and i want the brave people of iran to know that we in the united states are with them, we support them, we are against fraudulent elections, we are against dictatorships, we are against mullahs ruling the country without any real democracy and i would say to these people, the united states is with you and we are watching. thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> permission to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, tomorrow abc news will devote an entire day of news programming to president obama's health care plan. the network will shell for the administration on every program

from "good morning america" to "world news tonight" to a primetime town hall meeting broadcast from the white house. abc will not devote time to an opposing view point and refused to air ads critical of the administration's health care plan. i join with dozens of other members of congress to send a letter to abc news protesting this one-sided coverage. it is contrary to the journalistic code of ethics which states that a journalist's duty is to seek truth and provide a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. abc should adhere to this code of ethics and abandon its plans to broadcast unfair and biased coverage of the health care debate. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? the gentleman from new york. >> revise and extend.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise to pay tribute to bill banks, a person that really made a difference in the lives of so many. bill banks passed four days ago and of course he's going to be really, really missed. so at this time i would like to say to his wife, denies, and to his daughter and -- denise, and to his daughter and all those family members that in spite of the fact that we've lost bill, we can think in terms of the contribution that he's made and all the lives that he's touched. i would say that i'm just so happy that i knew him, had an opportunity to work with him and to live during his lifetime. he was really a person that reached out to the people of brooklyn and, of course, a lot of people where they are today

plit -- are where they are today politically because of his involvement. he was truly a great political strategist and, bill, we will miss you, but your work is something that will live on and on and on. on that note, madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. burton: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. burton: madam speaker, the fourth of july is a holiday that we hold very near and dear because it deals with our independence and our desire for freedom and liberty. and we celebrate that with a great deal of awe and what bothers me right now is that this administration in my opinion, is violating the sanctity of that day by inviting iranian diplomats to our embassies around the world to help us celebrate the fourth of july. let's just look at what iran's doing. iran is still pursuing nuclear weapons, ahmadinejad is still calling for the destruction of israel, iran is still pursuing

long range missiles, iran is working to destabilize iraq and killing american soldiers, iran is still a state-sponsor of terror, iran continues to supply hezbollah and hamas, terrorist organizations. now the iranian regime has turned on its own citizens and killed many of them in the streets. it is unthinkable at a time when we're celebrating freedom and independence in this country, the fourth of july, that we're going to invite into our embassies people that support this kind of terrorism. it makes no sense. and if i were talking to the president i'd say, mr. president rescind that invitation. rescind that invitation. the speaker pro tempore: are there further one-minute requests? for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: thank you, madam speaker. it is evident by my colleagues' remarks that iran and the dilemma and complexity of its

situation has grabbed hold of the hearts and minds of americans and free-loving people around the world. what struck me was the expression and the tragic ins department that caused -- incident that caused nata as a symbol of the iranian movement to claim democrat think? a free election. a 16-year-old who was shot through the heart who lay bleeding in the street as her father tried to save her life. no, americans are not trying to tell the iran an people who they should vote for or whether the election was in fact a true election, a fair election. but we as freedom-loving people who love democracy, who believe in our own country that we should have fair elections, we are standing with them as they petition their government to stand for the right side of the issue which is to ask for a new election or a recount. we also ask that lives of preserved and violence ends. we ask that the opposition be allowed to be heard and we certainly ask for the ending of

the interception of cell phones and internets where free--- freedom-loving people would like to be able to speak to each other. no, we're not advocating violence, we're not advocating intrusion, we're only advocating freedom for iran. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> madam speaker, word has it that the infamous cap and trade or cap and tax bill will be up for a vote this week. cap and trade or what has been more appropriately named cap and tax would create $640 billion in new taxes on american businesses and raise electrical bills by $3,100 per household per year on average. the revenue from the new tax will be used to pay for various social programs this administration plans to enact such as government takeover of our health care.

simply put, cap and tax will cap our growth and trade our jobs. companies looking to invest in our economy will simply move overseas to escape this enormous tax increase. if you need a tangible example of why this doesn't work, look at spain which has been on this plan for 10 years. the result, utility prices have skyrocketed and the unemployment rate today is 17.5%. this is our view of the future. experts tell us that cap and tax will do nothing to cap greenhouse gases, but it will put the united states at a global economic disadvantage because china and india have no reason to enact or follow this policy. we'll put americans out of work but create jobs for developing countries. we need a smart energy policy that will put americans to work, not further squeeze the pocketbooks of this country's families. and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise?

without objection. mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker. tonight the house passed five bills, four of which dealt with important veterans issues, veterans' compensation, cost of living adjustment act, the health care budget reform and transparency act and another that directs the secretary of veterans affairs to include on website certain information, one on education. i was a sponsor of the fifth bill that was on the calendar, womens veterans health care improvement act, with the proud sponsor being representative sandlin. i was inadvertently out of the room at the time that have vote. i would have voted yes on that bill. i'm a proud sponsor and regret the act this if a i missed that vote but think what we did tonight for veterans is important. thank you, madam speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, madam speaker.

the upstate of south dakota is -- south carolina is home to many champions and many successes. yesterday we crowned a new one. that new one is a 29-year-old greenville, south carolina, native, lucas glover who conquered the field yesterday in new york to win the 109th u.s. open golf championship. with people from around the upstate youed to the action, the high school -- grewed -- glued to the action, the high school graduate rallied from one shot down to break into the big time in the world of golf. winning his first major championship since joining the pga tour in 2004. we've come along to celebrate the culmination of lucas' years of preparation. his family, wife, jennifer, and close friends have been there all along. in the good times and the bad, in the disappointments and the small triumphs. yesterday they added a huge triumph and we join them in the celebration. congratulations to our own u.s. open golf champion, lucas glover. and i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> madam speaker, i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kucinich: thank you. we all want to protect our planet. but will the american clean energy and security act of 2009 do that? i don't think so. the pollution targets are inadequate. regulatory authority is stripped from the e.p.a. the bill relies on huge numbers of carbon offsets. for example, it says you can have two billion tons a year of carbon offsets which is roughly equivalent to 30% of all u.s. greenhouse gas emissions. recent analysis suggests it might be 2026 until we see the emissions decline below 2005 levels. the renewable targets are not strong enough. a recent analysis by the union are concerned -- of concerned scientists indicate this target

provides no new renewable energy over business as usual projections. dirty energy options qualify as renewable, including biomass burners and trash incineraters. it gives a significant number of pollution permits away free. it opens up a carbon derivatives market in the u.s. and this bill would help establish one of the largest derivative markets in the world, without adequate oversight or regulation. it taxes households to pay for an unproven carbon cap storage technology and allocations for funding for international obligations are underfunded. we can do better. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. paulsen: madam speaker, capitol hill and the nation are abuzz over health care reform. while there's much speculation to what a reform plan will look like, one thing is for sure. we must avoid any plan that would lead to a government takeover of health care.

a government takeover of health care will stifle medicare breakthroughs and take away the peace of mind that families and around america have knowing that they can get the timely treatment for their children, their parents, and themselves. we need real comprehensive reform that protects what works and fixes what doesn't. we need patient centered reform where the patient is in control of of their own car not politicians, not bureaucrats, not special interests. we need sken measures like allowing small businesses to purchase more affordable coverage for their employees by ban -- banding together. i know we can pass real comprehensive health care reform. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: are there further one-minute requests? if not, for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas rise? mr. moran: madam speaker, i ask

unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into the following members may be permitted to address the house, revise and extend their remarks, and include therein extraneous material. mr. fleming today for five minutes. mr. inglis today for five minutes. mr. gingrey today for five minutes. and mr. souder today and also for june 24, 25, and 26 for five minutes each. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? mr. connolly: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into that the following members may be permitsed to address the house for five minutes, revise and extend their remarks, and include therein extraneous material. ms. woolsey of california. mr. george miller of california. ms. kaptur of ohio. and mr. brady of pennsylvania. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and

under previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. poe of texas. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. poe: thank you, madam speaker. as dangerous to the public's health and well-being as government-run health care is in europe and canada, we have our own american example that hags serious problems. last month there was a surprise inspection at veterans' affairs clinics in the united states. the surprise inspections exposed that fewer than half of those clinics followed proper standards for colonoscopies. some mistakes could have exposed veterans to h.i.v. and other diseases. let me repeat less than half followed proper medical standards for colonoscopies. since february the v.a. has informed 10,000 veterans in three states to get retested. more than 50 patients tested positive for infections including some with h.i.v. but that's just the beginning of the medical malpractice by

the v.a. v.a. patients with prostate cancer were put through their own particular set of horrors. in philadelphia a patient received a common surgical procedure where a doctor implants dozens of radioactive seeds to attack the cancer. but the doctor's name was more than a little off. most of the radioactive seeds, 40 to be exact, ended up in the patient's healthy bladder instead of the prostate. the mistake was a serious one and under federal rules it was investigated by the bureaucrat regulators. the regulators allowed the doctor to rewrite his surgical plan to make his mistake just disappear. in the private sector somebody would have been held accountable for this negligence. not with government-run health care v.a. style. they cover up their errors. the patient had to undergo a second radiation implant. this time tended up in his rectum. once again more negligence. two years later in 2005, the

same doctor made the same mistake putting more than half of the radioactive seeds in the wrong organ. and again the brewer contract regulators did not object when he once again rewrote his surgical plan to cover up his mistake. had the bureaucrat regulators actually done their jobs, they would have uncovered what the media calls a rogue cancer unit. this one, philadelphia v.a. hospital, botched 92 of 116 treatments over six years. then covered it up. let me repeat, madam speaker. the v.a. government health care hospital in philadelphia medically errored in 92 of 116 cancer treatments. the medical team continued performing these radiation implants even though for over a year the equipment that measured whether or not the patient had received proper radiation dosage was broken. records prove that the radiation safety committee at the veterans hospital knew of

this problem but took no action. in philadelphia, 57 of the implants delivered too little radiation to the prostate, either because the seeds were planted in the wrong organ or were not distributed properly inside the prostate. 35 other cases involved overdoses to other parts of the body. an unspecified number of patients were both underdosed in the prostate and overdosed somewhere else in their body. this is a horrible way to treat america's veterans. another patient a. 21-year-old veteran of the -- 21-year veteran of the air force had to remain in bed six months with pain so severe he couldn't stand. he lost his job as a pastor at a local church and his income thanks again to the incompetence of the veterans administration. adding insult to injury, this 21-year veteran of the air force didn't learn of the radiation injury from the philadelphia v.a. hospital. he found out when he sought treatment in ohio at a hospital

where he underwent major surgery to retreat the damage because the bureaucratic regulators were covering up for the v.a., it took a private hospital to not only diagnose but treat his injury. that is right, madam speaker. the good old private sector saved the veteran where the v.a. just took a pass. "the new york times" concluded -- conducted its own examinations. they found that none of the safeguards that were supposed to protect veterans were poor medical care had worked. they also found none of the botched implants in philadelphia were reported properly. so the errors weren't investigated for weeks, months, and sometimes years. during that time, many patients did not know their cancer treatments were flawed by our government-run health care. the regulators are now looking into the flawed implants in other government-run v.a. hospitals in mississippi and ohio. who knows what they'll find out there about the way government treats our veterans. madam speaker, the veterans

administration is a government-run health care program that treats our veterans cavalierly in these examples. veterans should be able to go to any doctor or hospital to be treated and notound and tied to v.a. hospitals. and also this is a prime example of how things will be when the government takes over the health care of all americans. do we really want the government to control our health care? not a healthy idea for americans or for veterans. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. the chair recognizes the ms. woolsey from california for five minutes. ms. kaptur: and to include extraneous material in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlelady from ohio is recognized. ms. kaptur: thank you. madam speaker, the first goal of our banking system as opposed to a securities system should be to create a safe and sound credit system. one that promotes responsible

savings and lending practices. in this system the availability of credit is crucial and that's what's missing today across our country. earlier today vice president joe biden held a town hall meeting in the toledo, ohio, area. he heard from governor ted strickland and others that one of the biggest economic challenges facing ohio remains an inability of businesses to obtain the credit they need. the reason is because our banking system suffered a heart attack last year and still hasn't fully recovered. safe and sound credit and prudent financial behavior by individuals and institutions should be our nation's financial system's primary purpose. the administration's priorities tell me it plans a much larger role for higher risk securities in whatever system they are envisioning which to me threatens more higher risk behavior. banks traditionally have served

as intermediaries between people who have money, depositors, and those who need money, borrowers. the bank's value added was their ability to loan money sensibly. within parameters of $10 of loans for every $1 on deposit. and thus sensibly and responsibly managing their deposits and collecting on the loans that they were to oversee. wall street's high-risk securitization destroyed that system. the banks didn't much care about making sensible loans as long as they could sell them off somewhere. the regulators were not on top of this because the loans were off the bank's books so why would the regulators care? these loans were now somebody else's problem not theirs. where has the epidemic of securitization taken us? well, if you look at the government backed freddie mac and fannie mae secondary markets, they became the largest purchaser of secure advertised mortgages. in case you forgot it's we the

taxpayers who own both fannie mae and freddie mac. these secure advertised mortgage bodies bought too many bad loans which contributed to those i.n.s. -- institutions' downfall. who is profiting from this? because yes there are certain organizations that are profiting royally from the downfall of freddie mac and fannie mae. it is not our constituents, it's not our treasury, which collects our tax dollars. there are four entities at least that are profiting and i'd like to target on one tonight. black rock, that's a company that isn't a bank. why on that one in particular? because its current c.e.o., lawrence fink, coincidently, some might say, sold freddie mac it's $1 billion national park clalerlyized organizations. he's one of the pioneers of the mortgage backed securities market as trader at then first boston a quarter century ago, he pitched the first

collateralized mortgage obligation that freddie mac ever did, unquote. so, larry fink had a land in making financial instruments that have brought freddie mac and our financial system to its knees, yet his company now leads and gets profits from a no-bid contract that black rock has just received from the federal reserve of new york. to manage the toxic assets of freddie mac and fannie mae. in their collateralized mortgage obligations. it's a mess that he helped to create but now we have hired the same man to clean it up? one question i have to ask is, how can we be sure he isn't self-dealing or covering up what he did in the last quarter century? some might say that relationship is a bit incestuous. the administration's financial regulatory reform proposal includes some consideration for dealing with too big to fail institutions, but rather create an architecture that keeps risk

in hand what they are doing is they are allowing institutions like black rock to become too big to fail. in fact black rock's assets on our larger with the purchase of lashingly's than the federal reserve system itself. black rock although not bank is getting too big to fail perhaps? is black rock favoritism an example of how we should be rebuilding our financial system? paul krugman thinks not. i wish to place his editorial in the record tonight in which he states in short, mr. obama has a clear vision of what went wrong. but aside from regulating shadow banking, no small thing to be sure, his plan basically punts on the question of how to keep it from happening all over again, pushing the hard decisions off to future regulators. now is not the time to punt. it's the time for reform. the time has been not as ripe since roosevelt. we really need a president who will lead and