the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 245, the nays are 176, the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the amendment. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. mr. dreier: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. the amendment is adopted. the question is on adoption of the resolution as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. dreier: on that i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman request the yeas

and nays? mr. dreier: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes for this five-minute vote by electronic device. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 241. the nays are 185. the resolution is adopted. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. for what purpose does the minority leader rise? mr. boehner: i have a privileged resolution at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the

resolution. the clerk: house resolution 690, whereas page 5 of the regulations on the use of the congressional frank by members of the house of representatives states it is the policy of the congress that the privilege of sending mail as franked mail shall be established under this section in order to assist and expedite the conduct of official business, activities, and duties of the congress of the united states. it is the intent of the congress that such official business, activities, and duties cover all matters which directly or indirectly pertain to the legislative process or to any congressional -- mr. boehner: mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the clrk will read. the clerk: -- the clerk will read. the clerk: functions generally or to the functioning working or operating of congress and the performance of official duties in connection therewith. and shall include but not be limited to the conveying of information to the public the

requesting of the views of the public or the views and information of other authority of government as a guide or a means of assistance in the performance of those functions. whereas clause 5 of rule 24 of the rules of the house of representatives provides, before making a mass mailing, a member, delegate, or resident commissioner shall submit a sample or description of the mail matter involved to the house commission on congressional standard -- congressional mailing standardser for an advisory opinion as to whether the proposed mailing is in compliance with applicable provision of law, rule, or regulation. whereas the house commission on congressional mailing standards authorized in public law 91-191 is commonly referred to as the franking commission. whereas the democratic staff director and republican staff director of the franking commission have served in their respective positions for more than a decade and report to the democratic and republican

members of the franking commission respectively, whereas during the 111th congress the members of the franking commission -- the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will suspend. the clerk will read. the clerk: whereas during the 111th congress the members of the franking commission are representatives susan davis, democrat, california. chairwoman, representative dan lungren, republican california. ranking republican member representative. donna edwards, democrat, maryland. representative kevin mccarthy, republican, california. representative brad sherman, democrat, california. and representative tom price, republican, georgia. whereas the aforementioned franking commission advisory opinions required for members seeking approval to send mass mailings or their electronic quifflents are routinely -- signed by the republican staff

directors or designees. where as no member may receive franking commission approval without signatures from both majority and minority staff. whereas the commission's democratic staff director has been permitted by the commission's democratic staff members to abuse her position during the current congress by willfully and knowingly applying different standards to materials submitted for franking commission approval by republican members than she applies to materials submitted by democratic members. whereas on july 27, 2009, the commission's democratic staff director refused to approve a mailing proposed by representative joe barton of texas which included the words democrat majority, but indicated she would approve the mailing of representative barton instead substituted the words, congressional majority. yet on august 3, 2006, the same democratic staff director signed a franking commission approval document for a mailing issued by

then -- the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will spunt. -- suspend. will members, especially to the chair's right, please take their conversations to the cloakroom. the clerk will read. the clerk: issued by then minority leader nancy pelosi that included the following sentence. but too many here and across our nation are paying the price for the republican congressional majority's special interest agenda. whereas the democratic staff director has refused to grant permission to republican members wishing to provide their constituents with copies of a chart intended to illustrate in graphic form many of the provisions of the democrat's proposed health care legislation. whereas charts similar in form and general purpose have for many years been approved routinely by the commission's democratic staff director in mailings produced by members on

both sides of the aisle. whereas on december 12, 1993, the franking commission granted approval to representative david levy of new york to disseminate a similar chart intended to illustrate graphically the provisions of comprehensive health care legislation proposed by the clinton administration. whereas the commission's democratic staff director has refused to approve requests by republican members to informally characterize certain features of the democrat's pending health care proposal as government-run health care, but has approved requests by democratic members to informally characterize the same aspects of the bill as, the public opinionp. whereas the commission's democratic staff director has refused to approve more than 20 requests by republican members to use the phrase, cap and tax, to describe a democratic proposal to reduce carbon emissions by imposing new fees, taxes, and higher costs on

american consumers and businesses. whereas a search for the term cap and tax on the google internet search engine yielded at least 4,478,000 appearances of this commonly used phrase. whereas an article in the april 27, 2009, addition of "political could he" newspaper quoted the most senior member of the house, democratic representative, jong dingell of michigan, the former chairman of the house committee on energy and commerce as saying -- the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the clerk will read. the clerk: as saying, nobody in this country realizes thatp cap and trade is a tax and it's a great big one. whereas the commission's democratic staff director has dismissed the proposed scripive term, cap and tax -- descripive term, cap and tax, as an informal and inappropriate characterization of the legislation while at the same time granting approval to democratic members seeking to use the phrase, cap and trade,

to informally and inappropriately characterize the same bill. whereas the commission's democratic staff director has refused to approve materials submitted by republican members seeking to convey to the public those members concerned about substantial job losses expected to result in the democrats' proposed national energy tax is enacted while at the same time approving mailings submitted by democratic members informing the public about large numbers of new jobs the democrats claim will be created by the same legislation. whereas the democratic staff director's actions have prompted a steady stream of media reports describing a climate of partisan censorship imposed on the house by the democratic majority. whereas an article in the july 23, 2009 edition of "roll call" newspaper stated a dispute over the right of house republicans to use the chamber's official franking service to send a miller critical of democratic

health care plans has escalated beyond the franking commission to high levels on the democratic side. franking commission member representative, dan lungren, republican, california, said at a thursday press conference. asked whether he believed the matter had been referred to, representative pelosi, democrat. crarks, office, lungren the ranking member of the house administration committee said, all i have been told is that it's above the franking commission and that it appears to be above our committee. so i do not know where you go after that. whereas by permitting the commission's democratic staff director to carry out her duties in a partisan and unfair manner in, the democratic members of the franking commission have brought discredit on the house. and whereas clause 1 of rule 23 of the rules of the house of representatives also known as the code of official conduct, provides a member, delegate,

resident commissioner, officer, or employee of the house shall behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect credibly on the house. now therefore be it resolved that the house views with disapproval the failure of the democratic members of the franking commission to ensure that the commission's democratic staff carries out its important responsibilities in a professional, fair, and impartial manner. the speaker pro tempore: the resolution presents a question of privilege. for what purpose does the majority leader rise? mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i move that the resolution lay on the table. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to table. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the gentleman from ohio. mr. boehner: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and naysand na

ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. for this 15-minute vote. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, this vote on the motion to table will be followed by a five-minute vote on the motion to suspend the rules on s. 1513. 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas, 244. nays, 173. present, 11. the motion is adopted. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing s. 1513 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: senate 1513, an act to provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the small business act and the small business investment act of 1958, and for other purposes. thspeaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. recorded votes will postponed questions will be taken later.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. green: i move the house suspend the rules and pass house res. 631, congratulating continental airlines on their 75th anniversary. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 631, resolution congratulating continental airlines on its 75th anniversary. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. gene green, and the gentleman from texas, mr. barton, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. green. will the gentleman suspend for a minute.

the gentleman from texas. mr. green: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. green: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of resolution -- house resolution 631, which congratulates continental airlines for their 75th anniversary. once known as the proud bird with the golden tail, continental airlines was founded 75 years ago this july when walter d. varney and his partner -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. will members please take their conversations off the floor. the gentleman from texas. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. once known as a proud bird with a gold-and-tail continental airlines was founded 75 years ago this july by walter t.

varney and his partner in west texas. while barney's feedlines was a mail service, on july 15, 1934, was a 530-mile route from pueblo, colorado, to el paso, texas, with stops in las vegas, santa fe, and albuquerque. they moved their headquarters to denver, colorado, where just a few years later during world war ii they built the denver modification center where they modified b-17 flying for tresses and b-29 superfor tresses for the u.s. war effort. they also assisted our military during the vietnam war by transporting american troops across the pacific ocean. the company's dedication to our country was again illustrated when following the terrorist attacks on september 11 continental offered special compassion fairs to and from the new york area to assist family members in the 9/11 victims relief organizations and volunteers. throughout this continental airlines experienced tremendous success and emerge interested

extreme difficulties during its 75-year history to become the fifth largest carrier in the united states and 11th largest in the world. continental has hubs in new york, houston, cleveland, and guam and together with its regional partners carries approximately 67 million passengers each year. flying the newest and most fuel efficient jet fleet, continental airlines received an award in april, 2008, from the u.s. environmental protection agency's designed for environmental program in recognition of the airline's pyre nearing and environmentally friendly aircraft equipment. this is just one of several accolades bestowed upon continental during its 75 years. other awards include being rated the top airline for the sixth consecutive years. outranking for 10 consecutive years all of the u.s. competitors and international business class and domestic first class service according to the results of the survey in

conde-nast traveler readers. ranked the highest in customer satisfaction among traditional network carriers in north america. these are just a few awards. the resolution recognizes the 75th anniversary of contint nental airlines and congratulate its employees for the numerous awards and accolades they learned over the years. i'm honored to represent many continental employees in houston, their home office, and encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. barton: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 631, which congratulates continental airlines on its 75th anniversary. i want to commend congressman green for introducing the resolution. proud to be a republican supportor -- supporter of that.

as one of three texas based airlines, continental in houston, texas, southwest in dallas, texas, and american airlines in fort worth texas, we are proud of the airline industry and our state. we are very proud continental is celebrating its 75th anniversary. it is the embodiment of the american dream. as congressman green pointed out it was established back in 1934 in west texas in el paso. over the last 75 years it has evolved into one of the largest commercial airlines in the world. serves 260 destinations with more than 2,700 flights on five continents. it's been named the best airline in north america. they employ over 43,000 men and women. some of whom work and live in my congressional district. i'd like to recognize them for their accomplishment. i look forward to them celebrating 100th and 125th and maybe even 150th anniversary in the years ahead.

again i want to thank mr. green for bringing this resolution forward and would ask all of the republicans on this side of the aisle to join me in supporting the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. million barton: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. green: i reserve my time. mr. barton: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from houston, texas, mr. culberson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my friend mr. barton, mr. green from houston, we, all of us in texas, take great pride in representing continent airlines. it's an extraordinary group of people, dynamic individuals who have created the best airlines in the nation. even though they have been through bankruptcy twice, mr. chairman, they have shown what is one of the greatest attributes what, it means to be an american. that is how you conduct yourself when you pick yourself up and get back on your feet and back to work. the people at continental have

emerged from bankruptcy as one of the best airlines in the nation. their consumer satisfaction ratings has always been among the very best in the nation. their on time status, they have, i think, set a gold standard for the nation. it's a source of great pride for me to represent the headquarters of continental. and all those fine people deserve the thanks of the nation. air travel is such an essential part of our nation's economic vitality. and continental airlines has time and again shown that they are among the world's best airlines. again as i say they set the gold standard for the united states. i join with my colleagues. this is another example of how the whole texas delegation works together arm in arm. what's good for texas, of course, we understand is good for america. we are immensely proud to be here to congratulate continental because they represent all that's great about texas, which means they represent all that's great about america.

thank you very much, mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. green: mr. speaker, i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: could i inquire how much time i still have remaining? how much time do i have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 17 minutes. mr. barton: a lot of time. ok, i want to yield three minutes to the gentleman from the woodlands, texas, mr. braidy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. -- mr. brady. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. brady: thank you, ranking member barton. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of house resolution 631, which i sponsored with my good friend, congressman gene green, of texas to congratulate continental airlines in its exceptional employees on the company's 75th anniversary this year. continental got its start in 1934 in el paso, texas, going on to aid in the war effort while working to expand its service domestically. now headquartered in houston,

texas, with hubs in cleveland, ohio, and newark, new jersey, continental has grown to become the fifth largest carrier in the world, in my mind the best. this followed one of the most successful business turn around in american history after it restructured in the 1990's. continental's impressive climb is a tribute to its outstanding cleared had, dedicated employees, and excellent service to travelers. today continental remains a major employer in the houston area and a valued airline. i hear often from satisfied travelers about the quality of the company's service and commonsense approach to operations. as a million mile traveler, i can personally attest to the quality and professionalism the crew and staff of continental airlinesi may add a number of my neighbors are proud employees, pilots, attendants, managers within the continental system. i ask my colleagues to join me today in congratulating continental for its remarkable achievement and contributions to america.

i yield back. . mr. barton: i yield three minutes to another gentleman from houston, texas, mr. poe. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i, too, rise in support of this resolution. i, along with my friends who have already spoken we fly continental every week. sometimes there's up to 10 members of congress on the same flight, either going back to texas or coming from houston to reagan national. i represent probably most of the continental employees in the houston area, since my district circles the airport, though it doesn't include the airport, something about redistricting, i believe, mr. green. but be that as it may, great people, great airlines, as my friend mr. brady has mentioned, the employees are top-notch from the flight attendants to

the pilots, and the way they treat not only people who fly, but the way they treat other people. i commend continental airlines for their success over the years. it is the best airline. many years ago, they merged with a little bitity airline called transtexas airways. i was one of those that wanted them to adopt the name transtexas airways, after they merged, but they eliminated transtexas and adopted the phrase continental, which has served them much better because it is an international flying community and they do a super job. i, too, commend the good work they've done and the tenacious employee this is a work not only in the planes but on the ground, the mechanics and the ramp crews. so i congratulate them. i appreciate my friend from texas offering this resolution. i yield back the rest of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. green: i'll continue to reserve. i'm prepared to close if my colleague is. mr. barton: i guess i close before you close? yes. mr. speaker, let me simply say that i fly american more than i fly continental, but i wish -- having heard the glowing accolades, i do fly continental some, i wish they would serve the d.f.w. area more so i could fly them. i'm proud of my american airlines employees and my southwest employees, but i'm also proud of the continental employees we have. we do commend continental and their workers and management for being the great company they are. we congratulate them on 75 years of success. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. green: i want to thank my colleagues on the republican side for coming to speak for the resolution. continental is, like all our airlines, it's had problems. but they've survived and they're going to grow. we want to make sure they continue to do that. that's why we recognize the 75th anniversary, 75 years of success and like my colleague said, the ranking member of energy and commerce, another 75, 150 years, it will be someone else here recognizing them. i want to thank the employees of continental who make it a great airline and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 631. 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 on the table.

>> mr. speakering the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? mr. dingell: i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2749, the food safet enhancement act of 2009, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2749, a bill to amend the federal food, drug, and cosmetic safety act toim prove the safety of food and other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from michigan, mr. dingell, and the gentleman from texas, mr. barton, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. dingell. mr. dingell: -- mr. barton: before you recognize chairman dingell, i ask unanimous consent that mr. lucas, the ranking member of the agricultural committee control 10 minutes of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous mat into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, i yield myself two two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, this is a remarkable piece of bipartisan work. i want to pay tribute to my dear friend, mr. war barton,

the ranking minority member of the committee. my good friend, the chairman of the committee for his outstanding leadership on this mr. waxman, and also mr. pallone, chairman of the subcommittee, for their leadership. i want to tell the house how important the labors of my dear friend, mr. stupak, have been in the oversight and investigations committee in creating the basis under which this legislation can move forward. this has been a piece of legislation which moved unanimously out of the committee. it is something which we would hope this house would always be able to emulate. i want to congratulate representative sutton, nathan deal, and john shimkus for their labors and the outstanding staff on both sides of the commerce committee. i want to express my appreciation to collin peterson, jim costa, and mr. cardoza of california for their

labors. and representative delauro and president obama and the white house food safety group. the legislation is supported by the consumers union, the centers for science and the public interest, the national consumers league, and a large number of other organizations, including the grocery manufacturers gmplt m.a. and united press produce. jeannie ireland and my good friend virgil miller have worked hard at the staff level and deserve thanks. this is a piece of legislation that will stop americans being killed by bad foods. it is a piece of legislation that will see to it that food and drug has both the authorities and the funds to address not only american foods, but foods being imported from places like china. it will stop harmful seafood, tainted papers from mexico, and

a large number of other things. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: i want to yield two minutes to the ranking member of the subcommittee, mr. deal of georgia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. deal: i, too, want to thank the sponsor of this legislation and our committee for working in a bipartisan fashion. as many of you will recall, earlier this year, our nation was rocked with a peanut butter contamination that involved salmonella. it became very apparent very shortly after the investigation started that a rogue operator, the peanut corporation of america, had risked the well being of thousands of americans. in addition, it resulted in millions of dollars of loss to an industry that is very important to my state of georgia. peanut sales plummeted. it was in an effort to shore up the company's individual bottom line that p.c.a. had recklessly

jeopardized both peanut farmers and processors and the public in this country. this is a piece of legislation designed to try to correct some of those problems. they are not unique just to the peanut industry. we've seen them in the tomatoes, hall peenyow pepper, the contamination of spinach and many others. this requires the development and implementation of hazard analysis and food safety plan with regular updating, a requirement that's already in place for usda regulated facilities such as poultry processing which is in my district. these are effective in reducing the hazard of food-borne contamination. this also implemented a risk-based inspection schedule which targets our most vulnerable facilities for greater oversight. i know there's concern about

the overlap into usda activities. there is language in the bill to exclude the inclusion of farms within the bill. they are excluded, they are not required to register, they are not required to pay a registration fee. livestock and poultry are also exempt. it does not allow the f.d.a. to regulate what are now usda regulated facilities and products. i commend this legislation and urge my colleagues to adopt it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: i yield to the distinguished chairman of the committee on energy and commerce, mr. waxman, whose leadership in this matter has been of the greatest importance. i thank him. the speaker pro tempore: how much time? mr. dingell: two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, my colleagues a series of food-borne disease outbreaks in spinach, peanuts, and peppers,

to name a few have not just sickened and killed american consumers, they've laid bare the sun acceptable gaps in our food safety laws. today we will work to close those gaps, give the f.d.a. new authority, new tools and funding to carry out this vital mission. this legislation contains policy solution this is a come from many members on both sides of the aisle. it's largely based on legislation introduced by chairman emeritus john din dell -- dingell, subcommittee chairmen pallone and stupak. they have played a major role in this legislation. in addition, i want to single out chairwoman rosa delauro, who introduced landmark legislation which contributed in a substantial way to this bill. i want to thank our full committee ranking member barton and subcommittee ranking member shimkus and deal for their contributions to the

legislation as well and chairman peterson and chairman rangel who gave us suggestions to make the bill a better bill. the coalition of food safety groups work with the members to develop and maintain the strong public health protections in this bill. i think they deserve an enormous amount of recognition. i want to thank rachel shearer of my staff for her hard work and countless hours on this bill. other key staff include eric, virgil, veronica, erica, and other individuals including clay, blake, and chris. finally i want to thank president obama and his administrationfish their contributions to this legislation. the food safety -- the safety of the food supply is a critical issue and this legislation will give the administration the tools they need to keep this food supply safe.

i urge an aye vote for the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. the gentleman from oklahoma. >> i yield myself five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> i truly regret i must rise in opposition to this legislation, the food safety enhancement act of 2009. let me begin by saying, i believe the nation has the safest food supply in the world. i believe we must continually examine our food production and regulatory system and look for ways to improve food safety. however, the bill before us today does little to accomplish the goal of enhancing food safety. one glare glaring example is the fact that the authors of the bill did not require the u.s. food and drug administration, require being the operative phrase to spend one additional penny on the inspection of food. the bill before us today is the

product of a flawed process. this is just another example of federal power without the benefit of careful consideration. it is what we have come to expect from the majority leadership of the 111th congress. we can point to the stimulus package, cap and trade, and soon the health care bill as examples of the blatant disregard for the legislative process and for the american people, for whom we work. as of last night, no one had seen a copy of this bill. it's tragic that despite a clear jurisdictional claim, the chairman of the house agriculture committee did not demand the bill be deferred and work on at the committee's will to make improvements. this is not just a matter of jurisdiction between two committees. the real losers today are farmers, ranchers and yes, consumers.

. just a recent hearing on the general topic of food safety, not a single witness would support this bill in its current form. this is a stunning failure to fulfill our legislative responsibility. one provision in particular concern would mandate that the food and drug administration set on-farm production performance standards. er for the first time we would have the federal government prescribing how our farmers grow crops. farming, the growing of crops, the raising of livestock is one of the first organized activities pursued by man. we have been doing it for a very long time. and we have been doing it without the f.d.a. new language to the bill would exclude row crop producers from f.d.a. regulatory authority over growing and harvesting crops. language would also improve that would relieve livestock producers from some of the burdens. law.

although these are needed changes they do not go far enough to make the bill acceptable. this bill still leaves our nation's fruit and vegetable producers subject to objectionable regulatory burdens. there are other problems in the bill as well. new registration authorities for food processing facilities create what amounts to a federal license to be in the food business. hundreds of millions of dollars in associated fees represented by a new tax on food production along with other regulatory burdens will increase the cost of food for consumers, increasingly -- force food production out of this country, unfortunately. new quarantine authorities for f.d.a. will undermine animal and plant inspection control programs that have been in place at usda for decades. the vast majority of these provisions along with new penalties, record keeping requirements, traceability, country of origin labeling will do absolutely nothing to prevent food borne disease outbreaks but

plenty to keep the federal bureaucracy busy. these issues can be worked out through the normal legislative process. but only if there is a process. mr. speaker, let me return to where i started. we have the safest food supply in the world. anyone following current events knows that our food production system faces ongoing food safety challenges. and i stand ready to work with my colleagues to address these challenges, but this is not the way to create law. we should not suspend the rules to pass this bill. our nation's farmers, ranchers, and consumers deserve better, mr. speaker. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: i'll have a full rebuttal for the remarks for the gentleman who has just spoken. i yield at this time to my dear friend, the chairman of the

subcommittee, mr. pallone, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pa clone: thank you, mr. chairman -- mr. pallone: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 2749 the food safety enhancement act of 2009. it's time we put in place a stronger and more thorough system to prevent food-borne illness rather than continuing to simply react to outbreak after outbreak of contaminated products. this bill will require that food manufacturers put in place preventive controls to monitor the production lines and identify, prevent, or eliminate hazards should they arise. it requires them to have food safety plans detailing all the food safety activities the company is undertaking to ensure the safety of their products. under the bill, the f.d.a. will have the authority to set performance standards that companies must incorporate into their food safety plans. it requires the f.d.a. to put in place a traceability system for food products. it requires the f.d.a. to

inspect facilities according to a minimum inspection frequency. and it provides the f.d.a. with enhanced enforcement authorities. mr. speaker, this is the strongest bill it can be. it will catapult the f.d.a. into the 21st century and it will arm the agency with the necessary authorities and enforcement power to protect our nation's food supply. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. shimkus, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. shimkus: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. shimkus: i want to thank chairman emeritus dingell for his work on this bill. i also want to thank chairman waxman. i would yield. mr. dingell: how important the labor the gentleman has been and also that of mr. barton and mr. deal. we owe a great debt to the gentleman. mr. shimkus: thank you very much. i also want to thank chairman waxman for mentioning chris who did yeoman's work with the majority staff.

i appreciate their kindness and work effort. this is a model for what we can do on energy and what we can do on health if we would move in that direction. we can't defend the current system. as a former ranking on oversight and investigation, there are fixes that have to be made. this bill provides a risk-based inspection regime and givers the f.d.a. flexibility to change the frequency of inspections to lower risk facilities, allows f.d.a. access to records. it gives companies the flexibility to use different preventive control systems, and where things are working we let existing authority remain with respect to usda. i'm an ag republican, i understand the concerns of my colleagues who are on the ag committee. this bill does not require farms to register with f.d.a. as a result farms do not have to pay a registration fee. access to farm records is significantly restricted. livestock and pollry -- poultry are excement from the bill.

usda regulated farms facilities and products are not subject to this bill. it allows farmers -- farms to be exempt from any traceability requirements. but i will pledge to continue to work with my ag republican colleagues as this process moves forward to try to address some of the remaining concerns. i do appreciate the majority and their work on this. and again i think it's a good method for which we can move on energy and health care when we get to a point where we want to do that. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, i'm very delighted at this time to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from michigan who has done so much to make the investigations which have brought us to the point where people understand the need for this legislation. one minute to the distinguished gentleman from michigan, mr. stupak, chairman of the subcommittee on investigations. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. stupak: thank you, mr.

speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 2749 , the food safety enhancement act. as chairman of the subcommittee on oversight and investigations, i along with ranking members whitfield, shimkus, and walden have held 10 years over the past two years to examine the safety and security of our nation's food supply. this legislation takes important steps towards addressing the gaping holes in our nation's food supply by recognizing the food industry and f.d.a. must share responsibility for securing our nation's food supply. provisions grading the f.d.a. additional authorities such as quarantine, rrls recalls -- recalls, and subpoena power are all addressed. i want to thank my colleagues and friends, chairman dingell, chairman pallone, chairman waxman for all their hard work on this issue. i also wish to thank their staffs who worked diligently to see this bill come before us today. plus i want to thank the obama administration for working with us. all the dedication of all the individuals have paid off with

the piece of legislation that will help protect and ensure all americans have access to safe food. i'm proud to be part of such great legislation. i urge all my colleagues to support its passage. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lucas: i wish to yield one minute and 15 seconds to the gentleman from kansas, mr. moran. the speaker pro tempore: one minute and 15 seconds. the gentleman is recognized. mr. moran: mr. speaker, thank you. i thank the gentleman for yielding. do not vote in favor of h.r. 2749 thinking that today's vote is a throw away one to demonstrate one's support for food safety. we are all interested in food safety. it matters. those of us involved in agriculture care about food safety. it's a matter of life and health for our consumers and for the farmers and ranchers it's a matter of their livelihood. even the rumor of unsafe food causes commodity prices to fall and farm incomes to decline. while i'm unable to tell my colleagues the exact details of this bill, can i say with

certainty there are significant adverse consequences to farmers, especially our smallest ones, and those consequences include on-farm performance standards, record keeping requirements, arbitrary record access requirements, registration fees none of which may actually improve food safety. the reason i'm unable to describe the details of this bill is that those details became available only this morning. the bill before us was amended striking everything after the enacting clause and inserting a new text. the entire bill has it existed yesterday was deleted and new language put in its place. there have been few hearings on this bill, constant redrafting by a few people outside the committees, and no referral to committee on agriculture. do not let the suspension calendar fool you. this bill is substantialive -- substantive legislation with uncertain consequences. vote no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: i yield at this time to the distinguished

gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. delauro, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. delauro: i rise in support of this bill and thank chairman waxman and chairman emeritus dingell for their hard work. the bill begins a long task of rectifying decades of neglect by updating f.d.a.'s ancient tar heels and outdated mandate. it gives the f.d.a. the means to deal with dangers imposed by a global food system and enhances their ability to prevent food contamination. it incorporates key provisions from legislation i introduced this year. it moves the f.d.a. to a risk-based inspection system. it requires the agency to inspect the highest risk facilities once every six months to a year rather than once a decade. it enhances reporting requirements for companies and establishes performance standards for fighting food-based pathogens. performance standards form the backbone for monitoring the effectiveness of process control systems and identifying the foods at greatest risk. i continue to strongly believe that the best way to protect our food supply is to streamline the

f.d.a. into two separate agencies within the health and human services so that food and drug safety both get the full and comprehensive attention they deserve. this bill is a strong solid first step in creating a comprehensive food safety system that can protect american families from the many dangers of contaminated food. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: i'd like to yield two minutes to the ranking member of the oversight subcommittee, energy and commerce, mr. walden of oregon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. walden: thank you, mr. chairman. this ought to be called jake's law after 3-year-old jake of oregon. in february before the oversight and investigation subcommittee, jake's father, peter, testified about how jake contracted salmonella from eating peanut butter products from peanut corporation of america in georgia. in january, jake became sick. his doctors tried to convince his parents, what does he like to eat? they recommended some food

products. as it turned out those very food products in their home were contaminated with salmonella that came about because of p.c.a. when stuart purnell the president testified before our committee, i asked him, would you like to sample some of the products that you sent out to little kids like jake and other americans to eat? his response, he took the fifth amendment. thankfully jake recovered, but nine people died from the outbreak and at least 691 people, half of them children, were sickened. if p.c.a. had to follow a law like this that would require a fully functioning food safety plan at food production facilities, traceability of the food chain, increased inspection, and recall authority from fad, there's a good chance the outbreak could have been avoided and jake and hundreds of others never would have been poisoned. because of jake's story and others like it, we uncovered food safety hearings since 2007. we now have a bipartisan piece of legislation here to pass the

house of representatives. i urge your support for it. for the food safety of our country and the citizens who live here. thank you. i would be happy to yield. mr. dingell: i want to compliment the gentleman on his comments and praise him for his valuable and important contribution to the legislation. as he has said this is how legislation should be done. bipartisan and we have gone across the aisle, but we have also gone between committees working with the distinguished chairman of the agriculture committee. i commend the gentleman. mr. walden: i thank the gentleman for his comments. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: i yield to the -- to a member who has worked very hard on this legislation for a long time and who was one of the original sponsors and has been a valuable contributor to the process of bringing it forward. my distinguished friend from california, ms. degette. ms. degette: i ask unanimous

consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: how much time? mr. dingell: one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. without objection. ms. degette: thank you, mr. speaker. many of us have been talking about comprehensive food safety for years. our nation's business community is calling for it. our constituents are begging for it. i'm so pleased that today at long last we are considering this bill on the house floor on a bipartisan basis. . the bill before us will strengthen our food supply in a number of areas and transform our food system into one that focuses on prevention rather than reaction. it will provide the f.d.a. with the reseriouses it has lacked and by giving it mandatory recall authority and subpoena authority, it will give the f.d.a. the tools it needs to deal with an emergency. this bill will give the f.d.a. the ability to track our food products along the supply chain, enabling targeted and

speedier recall this is a will benefit businesses and consumers alike this provision of the legislation, we know we can't do it overnight. but it will require the f.d.a. to write regulations undertaking a pilot project, cost benefit analysis, feasibility studies, and public meetings to make sure that we can track food from field to fork. this will improve consumer safety and we exempt the family farm. i urge adoption of this important bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma. >> mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from ohio, mr. latta. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is yielded one minute. mr. latta: section 101 of the bill requires annual registration for a facility, meaning any factory, warehouse

or establishment that manufacturers, processes, packs or holds foods. the edge user fees require registration to be $500 the first year and adjust them for inflation. this will cost small businesses. for those who operate multiple facilities, the maximum fee per year is $175,000. they will have to raise the cost of food to cover the costs in the bill. i urge congress to debate food safety in order to maintain the united states as having the world's safest, most economically viable food source. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair will note that the gentleman from texas has four minutes remaining, the gentleman from oklahoma, 3 1/4, and the gentleman from michigan

12 minutes remaining. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, just for administration -- administrative purposes, does my friend on the republican side have a sufficiency of time? i'm speaking about mr. barton? mr. barton: mr. chairman, we could use another two or three minutes if you had it? mr. dingell: i'll try to see if we can share if it's necessary. at this time i yield to one of the original sponsors of the legislation, the distinguished lady who has done much work to get this legislation to the floor, the distinguished gentlewoman from ohio, ms. sutton, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. sutton: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today as a proud co-spon or of the food safety enhancement act of 2009 and i thank the distinguished chair

emeritus mr. dingell for formulating and passing this bill which is sorely needed to protect the safety of our food supply this year alone, we've experienced a series of illnesses. these are take an disproportionate toll on our state of ohio. the peanut-related salmonella outbreak affected 92 people in ohio, and resulted in three deaths. nellie napier contracted salmonella in a nursing facility and died. these measures are an important step to protecting the food supply it will improve traceability and provide needed funding to the f.d.a. for food safety activities. with the increased globalization of our food supply, close to 14% of the food we eat comes from abroad. this will will help protect

consumers from unsafe imported foods. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from florida, the republican conference chairman and probably future governor of florida, mr. putnam. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. putnam: i thank you. i rise to support this bill that is built on a bipartisan foundation. i want to thank my friend from california, mr. costa, who worked with a number of us to put together a strong food safety bill and many of the key prinze pls embedded in that bill have been built into the bill we're debating here today. this is an issue that brings together america's farmers and ranchers and the consumers there is no difference or distinction between the interests of those two parties. as the f.d.a.'s false information about the tomatoes implicated in the food borne illness outbreak illustrates, when there is false information

out there, the industry suffers. when there is food-borne illness out there, consumer confidence is eroded. both of those outcomes are unacceptable. there's a need for both sides to come together on this. i'm proud this is a bipartisan effort. i would highlight some issues, though that need additional work as this move into the senate. most importantly, the quarantine and traceability issues need further work. as well, the work that is done by our state and local departments of health and departments of agriculture. they are delegated 80% of f.d.a.'s authority to implement most of this bill and the other responsibilities of f.d.a. they must have better coordination and cooperation from the f.d.a. in implementing this legislation as well as the rest of the food safety mandates already in the law. but overall, it is important that this nation move forward with a modernization of the

food safety system. some of which have not been built upon since the teddy roosevelt administration. it is important to our farmers and ranchers and is -- it is important to our consumers system of for that reason, i am proud to stand in support of this bill and urge its passage, recognizing that there are issues we need to continue to work with our friends and colleagues in the senate on. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: i yield at this time to the distinguished chairman of the agriculture committee subcommittee on food safety, one minute with thanks and appreciation for his good work. >> thank you so much, chairman dingell. i appreciate that so much. i quite honestly can't understand how anybody could vote against this bill. we've already had three outbreaks that have definitely taken lives of the american people. but i want to thank chairman peterson on agriculture committee, as well as chairman

dingell. i want to congratulate and thank our staff, my own subcommittee, chandler gould and gary woodard for the job they've dobe. we've had hearings on this. the greatest hearing we've had on this has been the threats to the safety of the american people. if we enact these measures in this bill we will save mesh american lives. let me just tell you how one example, better access to records in order to prevent the outbreaks. this bill will give the f.d.a. access to the records of food producers and manufacturers during the time that they are inspecting think plants. under current law, the f.d.a. must wait for the food-borne illtons occur before they can access the records. now ladies and gentlemen if this had been in place, eight people would be alive today from the peanut outbreak in my district of georgia. this is an important bill. it's timely. i urge its passage.

thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lucas: i would like to yield one minute to the gentleman from iowa, mr. king. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. king: i rise in opposition to this food safety bill and it's labeled. it will provide some more food safety, i won't dispute that. but the point is that it grows government regulation. and it broadens the f.d.a.'s regulations over what i think, if it's going to be regulated, should be usda. we are looking at two or three or four individual food safety problems and instead of looking at that and trying to solve the proob, first we should find a way to solve it without legislation. second, it should be specific to the food, rather than the broad stroke that this bill is. i know there are exemptions for feed grains, but in the end this is a growth of regulation, it's a burden on our farmers

and our food producers, it's a tax on our food producers, it's going to come out they have pocket thoasts american consumers and it will diminish the smaller operations among us. we have here a solution in search of a problem. we can solve this problem without a new extra regulatory authority for the f.d.a. and i rise and oppose this bill and i believe it should be ag committee jurisdiction. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, at this time i yield to one of the great leaders in food safety, a distinguished member of the committee on agriculture, a man who has worked very closely with me and with the others who have worked on this, including the distinguished chairman of the agriculture committee, i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from california, mr. costa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. costa: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i want to start by thanking

chairman emeritus dingell for his hard work on this. chairman waxman and chairman peterson for your support and efforts to ensure we come together in a collective effort. ranking member barton and my colleague and friend congressman adam putnam from florida. we introduced this legislation in the last session in congress, working to try to put together a bipartisan effort, understanding that food safety is job number one for all american farmers, ranchers, and dairy men because they are consumers, their family consumes their product, and they must ensure as we all must ensure that america's food on our dinner table is the safest it can possibly be. our farmers are to be commended for their tireless efforts to produce the world's safest and most wholesome food. but we can always do better. this legislation intends to address that. our food safety laws have not

been updated for nearly 50 years, they are in need of modernization both to protect the consumers and also to protect our farmers from the loss. they are the first to be impacted and food safety is job number one for all consumers in america. i think it's important to note that not one size fits all approach to food safety. therefore working together with the united states department of agriculture and the food and drug administration is a critical part to make this legislation work. what does it establish? it establishes science-based, risk-based standards for both producers and processors here and abroad. let me underline abroad. any food product this is a come into this country ought to meet the same standards we require of our farmers and food processors here in america this legislation attempts to do that it means ensuring our foreign partner, whether growing leafy greens or pepper or anything else, that may meet the same

standards anyone must meet. is this a perfect bill? no. it's a work in progress, butic it's a -- it's a good, bipartisan bill and i urge my colleagues to support this measure. i thank the chairman for his work. mr. barton: i'm the last speaker on my side, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: at this time, i yield with a great deal of pleasure and pride to my good friend, the distinguished chairman of the committee on agriculture who has worked so hard not only on food safety but also with us too make this bill something which is acceptable to the house and to him and the american agriculture. with pleasure, two minutes to my distinguished friend mr. peterson of minnesota. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. peterson: i thank the gentleman for recognizing me and i want to thank mr. dingell

for his hard work and practical way of approaching legislation which the right way to do things. i rise today in support of this legislation. our committee has had hearings regarding food safety and we had some concerns about the bill as it came out of the energy and commerce committee. mr. dingell was kind enough to sit down and work with us on those concerns and out of that, we were able to, especially address the concerns of the livestock industry and the grain industry that were concerned that there were going to be unintended consequences, so we were able to get exemptions in those areas and also make other changes to make sure that the bill didn't, you know, interfere with production and harvesting part of agriculture. we have -- at the beginning of

this, a number of groups that were concerned or even opposed to this legislation and now because of the changes that we've been able to work through with mr. dingell and others, i'm happy to report that these organizations are either now neutral or dropped their opposition or supporting the bill. the united fresh food and vegetable folks, western growers, the american farm bureau federation, national wheat growers, national cattle and beef association, national turkey federation, national chicken council, national pork producers council, the american soybean association, u.s. rice federation, american feed industry, the united egg producers and the american cheese industry. i think this demonstrates we have been able to move this legislation in the direction where we in agriculture are comfortable. i'll agree with mr. putnam that there's some additional work

that can be done on this and we intend to do that, so i en courage -- >> would the gentleman yield? mr. peterson: i'd be happy to. mr. dingell: i yield the gentleman 30 seconds, would he yield to me? mr. peterson: i yield. mr. dingell: i would observe, we've talked about this before and i assure the gentleman we will continue to work together to address the concerns he and the very able gentleman from florida, mr. putnam have expressed their concerns about. and it has been a privilege to work with the gentleman, i thank him. mr. peterson: i thank think gentleman. i know he will work with us as he has through this part of the process. mr. dingell: i thank the gentleman. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lucas: i yield one minute to the gentleman from ohio, the minority leader, mr. boehner. the speaker pro tempore: the minority leader is recognized for one minute. mr. boehner: mr. speaker, my colleagues, here we go again.

this is a major piece of legislation that was introduced last night at the rules committee about 12:15. then about 9:36 this morning we saw another version of this bill introduced to replace the first version. and then at 10:50 this morning we see a third version of the same bill. this may be a great bill. i have no idea. but the fact is that introducing three different versions of the bill yet this day and then bringing it to the floor some four hours later begins to ask the question, did anybody read the bill? now, i think the chairman and ranking member and the chairman of the subcommittee probably did read the bill and understand what's in it. but how about the 431 of us who serve in this house and are expected to vote on this? my second complaint about this bill is the fact that we are

considering it here in the house under a procedure where there's a whopping 40 minutes of debate. 20 minutes on each side. 40 minutes. in amendments allowed to be offered. we've got this major food safety bill here on the floor and nobody gets to offer an amendment. nobody gets to have a debate about it. and nobody clearly has much of an idea of what's in the bill. now, as a long-time member of the house ag committee, i understand that we've got the safest food supply in the world. it's probably not perfect. but it is the safest food supply in the world and we can do better. but to legislate in this manner under these conditions without members having a clue about what's in the bill is not, in my view, in the best interest of the house. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, at this time i'm happyp to yield to the distinguished gentlewoman

from illinois, ms. schakowsky, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. schakowsky: i thank the chairman emeritus for yielding and i thank him for his leadership in creating this bipartisan bill where -- that passed unanimously out of our committee. and is so important. this is very personal to me. my dear friend, nancy donnelly, lost her son alex in 1993, her only child, after he ate ground beef contaminated with e. coli. we heard testimony from people whose children have died and whose family members and loved ones have become sick and died. finally we are ready to pass in a bipartisan way an overhaul of our food safety system. and so i am so pleased to be able to join in this bipartisan agreement to support this legislation. i'm also glad that it includes language directing the f.d.a. to examine antibiotic resistance as it relates to the food supply. i hope it will continue to move forward.

i urge all of my colleagues to take this great opportunity so never again do we have to look at a victim, someone -- family member of a victim of someone who has died because food, that they believed was safe, actually killed them. let's vote for this. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will note that the gentleman from michigan has 4 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from texas has two minutes remaining. and the gentleman from oklahoma has 1 1/4 minutes remaining. the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lucas: mr. chairman, i rise to yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, as a member of the agriculture committee i rise in strong opposition to this resolution. we all agree that food safety is an extremely important issue and improvements can be clearly made to our system, but this legislation concerns me for a number of reasons. first of all, it would do actual

-- little to actually increase safety and add burdens to many small businesses and farms across this contry. one provision is expanded registration requirement creates a license to be in the food industry. license is expensive and the provision would make it unlawful to sell food without it. this bill would have significant impacts on the agricultural sectors, particularly with food and vegetables. i take issue with this legislation because it opens our farms to the food and drug administration. farms and agriculture activities are already regulated by the usda. the f.d.a. does not and should not have dirsjicks over farms or agriculture practices. good policy makes for good politics and that can only occur with a real full debate in this issue which is what would occur if this bill had stayed within the jurisdiction of the agriculture committee. i urge my colleagues to vote no on this misguided legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, i am the last speaker on this side.

so i'm going to reserve my time. but i want to yield, again torques my dear friend, mr. barton, two minutes. and i'm going to commend him for his courage, his decency, and extraordinary way in which he has worked with the distinguished agriculture committee. and it's great chairman. and also with me and the democrats. we are handling this bill the way it should be handled. proper bipartisan fashion. i want to commend him. mr. barton: i want to inquire of the chair with his yielding i have four minutes s. that correct? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman now has four minutes, yes. mr. barton: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: without objection to the unanimous consent. mr. barton: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman dingell. first i want to acknowledge the strong staff work on both sides on this legislation. it's been a debate whether we would get the bill to the floor or whether rachele would have

her baby first. i'm proud to report we have gotten the bill to the floor. we are birthing the food safety bill before she gives birth to another lovely human being. what our minority leader said just a minute ago is absolutely true in the technical sense. about different versions of the bill being introduced at different times. but that's not all of the story, as paul harvey used to say on his radio commentary. those different version vs. been introduced in the last -- versions have been introduced in the last day because of changes that i have asked for and other republican members have asked for to improve the bill at the request of congressman lucas and his staff on the agriculture committee. we have been improving the bill to make it more supportive of agriculture.

i want to read part of a letter that we just got today from the sheep industry, the cattleman's association, and the pork council. it says that america's livestock and poultry producers support the tightening of language recognizing the usda's authority regarding products, facilities, and farms raising animals from which meat and eggs are regulated and under the federal meat inspection act, the poultry products inspection act, and the ag product inspection act, have made great improvements to the traceability language, record keeping provisions, as well as the approach for the new authority granted to the f.d.a. to prohibit the movement of food. enand the strengthening of language that requires the secretary of health and human services to consult with the secretary ofing a afplgt all of these changes were made at the suggestion of congressman lucas and his staff working through myself and my staff through mr. waxman and mr. dingell's staff.

this is a strong food safety bill. this is a necessary improvement to food safety. we have had outbreaks in the last several years in the peanuts industry, the pepper industry, and in seafood products that have been imported. we need to bring the f.d.a. authority into the 21st century. i want to specifically go through some of the things that we have done with regard to agriculture. this bill does not require farms to register with the f.d.a. under section 415 of the food drug and cosmetic act. farms are not considered facilities therefore they do not have to registered with the f.d.a. this bill does not require farms to pay a registration fee. this bill does not apply to livestock and poultry. this bill does not apply to usda regulated pharmaceuticals, facilities, and products. this bill allows farms to be

exempted from traceability requirements and greatly limits access to records. this bill exempts specifically grains and related commodities from produce standards. this bill does not apply to farmer's markets. i understand this my friends on the ag committee do not have a legislative markup of this bill. they should have. i understand that. i have been in situations in the energy and commerce committee this year on the climate change bill and the health care bill where we have not -- we on the republican side have not been allowed to negotiate in the room, but on this bill in this case, chairman waxman, chairman dingell, chairman stupak, chairman pallone have worked with myself and mr. deal and mr. shimkus and mr. walden and others. we have had an open bipartisan process. we have had hearingsoing back to the prior congress. the process is fair on this

bill. the product is fair on this bill. we do need an improved food safety bill. i strongly recommend a yes vote on this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: i believe the distinguished gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lucas, is next. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma has 15 seconds remaining. mr. lucas: yield the entire sum to myself, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15 seconds. mr. lucas: i want to thank the chairman emeritus of the energy and commerce committee and the ranking member, mr. barton. you were kind to help us. were you kind to work with us. the bottom line is the minority party of the ag committee should not have to go to the energy and commerce committee to work on an ag related section of a bill. thank you, gentlemen. i appreciate you. but you shouldn't have had to have done it. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, i yield -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 2 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. dingell: i yield myself the balance of the time to close.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dingell: mr. speaker, this is a bipartisan bill. it has been worked on long and hard by three committees including the ways and means committee with the chairman, mr. rangel, and subcommittee chairman, mr. leaven, have been extremely -- levin, have been extremely cooperative in resolving questions between the two committees. i would note that staff at all levels of our committee, in the minority and on the majority, rachel and eric have have been of enormous value. the come paint made by my colleague -- complaint made by my colleague about the exclusion of members i can't comment on. i can only say we have tried to include everybody in this process as much as we could. and we have brought in industry which supports the bill. more importantly, i say this to my friend with affection and respect, the reason for a lot of the changes that they are talking about have been that right up to the time that we

have brought this bill to the floor, we have sought to see to it that we included everyone and had took advantage of the wisdom of all the members that we could possibly take advantage of. the legislation will address from the point of origin to the consumer's table. it will enable us to get at unsafe foods not just in this country, but in china and india and other places where these foods are coming in. it will provide food and drug with the resources they need to address these problems in terms of personnel and money. it will also keep their laboratories opened. more importantly, it will see to it that the public can first -- for the first time in years know that the foods that we are bringing in to this country and they are being made available to the american people are in fact safe. no major reviews of the food

provisions, of the food and drug act have been done since 1938. and as was wisely pointed out by my colleagues, some not back to 1912. this is an important step which will protect american people who are today being killed, sickened, and hurt by unsafe foods brought in by unscrupulous people. . it will do something more than this. it will protect the american food industry, the processor the manufacturers, and the growers. against unfair competitions in places like china, where they are adding mel mean to food and deliver -- melamine to food and delivering us patently unsafe food. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time has expired. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2749 as amended.

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 bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. barton: on that, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present and i would ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas objects to the vote on the grounds that a

with the united states house of representatives.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. let's clear the aisles and take conversations outside the

chamber please. members take conversations outside the chambers. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. please take all conversations outside the chambers.

clear the aisles on both sides. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill house bill 3357 as amended , a bill to restore the highway trust fund and for all other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will remort the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3357 a bill to restore sums to the highway trust fund and for other

purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from georgia, mr. lewis, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: may i ask unanimous consent for members to have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks an the bill, house bill 3357, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: objection, so ordered. we will get some order in the house. please take your conversations outside the chambers and clear the aisles. all conversations. members and staff. the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, transportation is one of the most important issues in our country, so i'm proud to have served on both the ways and means committee and what was then the public works and transportation committee, and i would like to thank chairman rangel and chairman oberstar for their leadership on this important issue. the bipartisan bill before the house today will provide the necessary funds to keep important transportation projects operating in states around the country. as we all know, the highway trust fund will run out of funding by september and we must act and we must act now. in 1998, congress passed a highway bill that took more than $8 billion ou of the trust fund and put it in the treasury. in addition, congress stopped the highway trust fund from earning interest on its investment. if these steps had not been

taken, the highway trust fund would be $20 billion more than it is now. last year we transferred $8 billion back and the legislation we're considering today would transfer $7 billion more. i want to be clear, mr. speaker, no new money is spent under this bill. this bill should keep the highway trust fund fully funded through 2009. if we fail to act today, our people, our states andur economy will be harmed. in georgia where unemployment is already above 10%, we cannot afford to lose another 8,500 jobs because of failure to act. last year all sides understood how critical highway funding is to our economy. i hope the legislation we are considering today will enjoy similar bipartisan support.

i urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important legislation, and, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: last year we generated an unlimited amount of funds for the highway trust fund. and today we're doing the same thing for the last two months of this year ensuring these funds don't run out while congress is on district work period. both actions are needed because the democrats' economic policy has resulted in record job loss, record deficits and none of the job creation they promised. democrats predicted unemployment would top out at 8% if stimulus passed. instead, it's 9.5% and rising. in michigan it's about 15%. there are now a record 9.2

million collecting unemployment checks instead of paychecks. that's 1.1 million more than when stimulus was passed. so if stimulus is stimulating anything, it's record unemployment, not jobs. where are the jobs? americans can surely see the record unemployment, but they cannot see where the jobs are. that's because millions of jobs are disappearing, not being created. what's more since president obama was sworn in, the nation's public debt and unemployment combined have risen by a shocking 40%. and that's before literally trillions of dollars in additional spending under the democrats' stimulus, energy and health plans and whatever higher unemployment lies ahead. this bill reflects the continued failure of democratic economic policy to save or create millions of jobs they promised that would flow quickly from their stimulus bill. more unemployment benefits instead of paychecks have led directly to more state

insolvency and more federal loans to those insolvent states, and that has drained the federal bailout funds so much it now needs its own bailout. that's what this bill does. we had a choice when it came to stimulus last february. we could have chosen the better policy of stimulating private sector growth, creating twice the jobs at half the price, that was the republican plan. instead, democrats insisted on their government-focused plan which has produced no jobs and a mountain of debt. today in my view we don't really have a choice but to support this bill. otherwise, in the next two months, laid off workers will not get the unemployment benefits they've been promised. american workers should not be forced to pay for the mistakes and failures of the democrats' so-called stimulus bill. so this bill is necessary, but in the longer run, we need to work together to create jobs so americans can receive more paychecks, not more unemployment checks. i would also note, mr. speaker, that this bill provides an emergency transfer of $7 billion in general fund revenue

to prop up the highway trust fund for the remainder of this fiscal year. this is not the first time that congress has ensured that state highway projects can go forward. and unless we get serious about long-term structure reforms with the next re-authorization bill, it certainly won't be the last time either. i don't think anyone in this chamber thinks yet another short-term general fund transfer is the solution to these chronic shortfalls. i hope the majority deals with long-term structure forms and not just higher and higher of debt. and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from georgia. louis coleman mr. speaker, i'm -- mr. lewis: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield to the chair of the transportation committee, mr. oberstar. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. oberstar: i thank the gentleman for the time and his leadership on this neal and mr. neal, the chair of the

subcommittee, who spent a great time of -- in hearings this month and last month on the current status and future of the highway trust fund. i would just like to underscore in response to the gentleman from michigan we share the pain of dropping v.m.t. on the miles traveled throughout the nation and the consequent loss of revenue into the highway trust fund. it started in 2007, and by 2008 we had a register for the first time in the history of the highway trust fund and the interstate highway program a drop of 60 billion vehicle miles traveled. it had never happened before in the history of the highway trust fund. because of the condition of the national economy. we are beginning to recover. we're beginning to see the statistics going in the right direction. v.m.t. reported by the

department of transportation on a monthly basis shows increases in january, february, march, april and may. and all the indicators, the rural interstate, the rural arterial, rural n.h.s., national highway system roads, urban interstate, all are percentage -- small percentage but percentage increases over the months, a year ago. there are two indicators that are down, urban arterial and various urban roads are down about half a percent and 1.3% respectively. the trend is in the right direction. i regret, too, that we have to take this step. we should have spent this week passing the committee's bill for the future of surface transportation. we do have a bipartisan product, and i welcome the support of the gentleman from michigan -- may i have one

minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. lewis: i yield the gentleman another minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. oberstar: for that initiative. it will address the long-term future, the six-year future of transportation. it will totally transform the department of transportation, the federal highway administration, federal transit administration, make it easier to move projects into operation and much more than is in our 775-page bill. we will do that in september. this is an infusion, not an extension. we are not standing for the wish of the other body or of the administration for an extension of time. we are not going to let that happen. this committee has done and will continue to do its work in a partnership within our committee, and i hope when the bill comes to the floor within the entire body. meanwhile, this $7 billion infusion will carry the trust

fund through the end of the fiscal year and into october against any unfor seen drop in v.m.t. -- unforeseen drop in v.m.t. i hope we will not lose revenue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield two minutes to the sdished gentleman from florida -- the distinguished gentleman from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. mica: i want to thank the chairman of the transportation and infrastructure committee, mr. oberstar, in suggesting this transfer. if we do not transfer these funds to keep the highway trust fund secure through september 30, the consequences for the nation at this time of economic difficulty would be an absolute

disaster. in fact, we could close down probably every major highway transportation project in the nation. that's how serious it is. unfortunately, as the republican member of the ways and means committee, mr. camp, said we had to do this before. this is a second bailout of the fund. mr. oberstar has been working nonstop for months, even before this session of congress, to bring forth a responsible bill. we've tried to act in a bipartisan administration. the day that we were about to announce our policy and plans for re-authorization, the administration came in and undermined the whole effort with an 18-month extension. we need a transportation bill now. unfortunately, we need this gap

of money through september 30 orwell really see economic difficulties -- or we will really see economic difficulties. i know there are some members that are concerned about this. we do need a long-term solution. we will work together to get that done. the minute this passes, we'll continue our efforts. but if we do not act, we will have devastating consequences in every one of the states across this nation as far as closing down transportation projects and closing down jobs at the most difficult time in the country's recent economic history. so i want to have a long-term solution. i join mr. oberstar in requesting that we pass this interim measure. unfortunately, we are put in this position of being between

a rock and a hard place. and i'd be glad to yield. mr. oberstar: mr. speaker, i want to compliment my colleague on the committee, mr. mica, for the splendid partnership we've had personally and staff to staff in crafting this bill and the gentleman has stated this case right on. were it not for the intrusion of the administration we'd be on the floor this week with that six-year authorization. and i thank the gentleman for that splendid partnership that we've had. the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired. mr. mica: i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from washington, the chair of the income subcommittee of the ways and means committee, congressman mcdermott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. mcdermott: this legislation will allow the federal highway

trust fund to receive funds from the treasury. these loans will be repaid when the unemployment trust funds once again have adequate reserves. currently, the single biggest draw on federal trust funds are loans to states' unemployment programs. some have loan balances exceeding $12 billion and more are expected to request assistance in the weeks and coming months. this recession, which started in december of 2007, has placed enormous strains on state unemployment programs. but truth be told, too many state programs had inadequate reserves to provide benefits, even in a mild downturn. in the future, more should be done to promote long-term solvency for the unemployment system. however, right now our mandate is to ensure that the states continue to pay their unemployment benefits to those entitled to them. when economists and historians look back at this moment in

history, i believe one of the things they will agree we did right was to reach out and help those americans who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. last june, we enacted the quickest ever extension of unemployment benefits relative to the start of the recession. in november, we further extended benefits to dislocated workers. and earlier this year, we enacted a historic package of unemployment insurance reforms as part of the recovery act, including maintaining the availability of extended benefits, increasing the weekly u.i. benefit amount, and providing grants to states that modernize their unemployment programs. under these reforms, over half the states have enacted improvements to their unemployment programs, such as improving coverage for low-wage and part-time workers. in addition, over nine million u.i. recipients are receiving $100 more a month as we speak

in order to help buy groceries and other necessary its and three million unemployed workers e now receiving extending ben -- extended benefits. many economists, as well as the stock market, believe the economy is turning the corner. mr. lewis: i yield one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mcdermott: many economists as well as the stock market believe our economy is turning the corner to more prosperous days. helping the unemployed has been a crucial part of the path to that recovery. but millions of jobs will not be restored overnight. we will continue to ensure a real safety net for the jobless americans. and i expect congress will continue this work in the fall. and i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. mr. camp: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the ranking member. look, it's too bad we have to be here now.

this is another band-aid. it's another band-aid to fix the transportation trust fund. but it's imperative we fix this trust fund once and for all. now, let me tell you, chairman oberstar has been working on a bill, on a bipartisan bill. he's been working on it for a long, long time. because of his leadership, his committee, along with ranking member micah, are ready to go. they're ready to go. we are ready to go. i'm privileged to be on that committee to go right now. and, again, it's unfortunate that we are not doing that because we also can't afford to lose any more jobs. and there's one thing we all agree on, that one way to create jobs is through transportation infrastructure. unfortunately, we're not doing that. you know, it's pretty evident that the stimulus, the so-called stimulus bill has proven to be a dismal failure. that's why i introduced legislation to rescind the unspent stimulus money, so-called stimulus money, the nontransportation unspent stimulus money and put it into the d.o.t. trust fund. to not continue to borrow more money and put more borrowing on

our kids and our grandkids' credit card. but unfortunately, we're not discussing that here today. instead we continue to waste billions of dollars and more on frankly on the so-called stimulus which is nothing more than a sham. we need to invest it in real job creation, focus on real job creation, focus among the things that creates jobs is transportation and infrastructure. so, again, i hope we finally get down to business. this is a band-aid, but we're ready to continue to work to fix this, to really fix this. one way to do it while not indebting this country further is to use those unspent stimulus moneys to take away that sham, put it in transportation funding that will create jobs, that will help the country. with that i yield back. .jui the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: i yield to congressman neal. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized. mr. neal: i want to thank mr. lewis for bringing this legislation to the floor. i'm in full support of this proposal and i want to speak additionally in support of the transfer of the highway trust fund as it appears before us. none of us would like to see pink slips issued around the country at vital road and bridge projects, including 4,000 jobs in massachusetts. we are doing our best to create more of these jobs, not to end the current ones. last week my subcommittee held a four-hour, four-panel hearing on long-term financing options for the highway trust fund. the consistent message we heard is that states are desperate for funding. we heard that roads and bridges are deteriorating that funding will not cover the maintainance, let alone the improvements that are needed. mr. observeer star has pushed for a short -- oberstar has

pushed for a short-term fix. i'm in support of the position. i understand the hesitance of our colleagues to talk about fund increasing in this economy. i want to assure you, they will be at every groundbreaking and ribbon cutting even though they question the financing that we propose down the road. but the reality of the situation is simple. we need to pay for these repairs. there were a variety of proposals discussed at our hearing this week, good ones by republicans and democrats. good options were offered, tolls, miles traveled, excise taxes, among other ideas. i want to say of interest, the united states chamber of commerce last week proposed a 10-cent increase in the gasoline tax for many of these long-term needs. now i think that is speaking to the bipartisan nature of what we're trying to do now and i hope in another month, a long-term proposal as well.

now whether these proposals through triggers, indexing or commissions, we need to start working on the long-term plan in whatever politically feasible way we can find a way forward. kicking the can down the road on infrastructure needs will not work. our high ways, airports, bridges and railroads are all in need of infusion of public support. we all ought to be able to agree on that basic responsibility as members of this house. as one witness told us last week, the cost of delaying the longer term bill are higher than the costs to pass it. a reminder as well, there was an opportunity in this atmosphere with the downturn to get some great pricing and we should take advantage of that as well. i want to your knowledge support of this proposal today and i hope that it takes us on to a longer term solution. i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield two minutes to the the gentleman from arizona. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. flake: here we are again, the second bought of highway robbery, taking money from -- back into the trust fund from the general treasury and told that sometime back in 1998, the money was taken from the trust fund into the general fund so this is just payback. how many times can we keep saying that. it won't make sense the third or fourth time we do this. we are be deleen moaning the fact that we don't have the re-authorization on the floor this week. thank goodness we don't. we are going to do it next time? a bill has been proposed that has twice the spending that we currently have in the highway trust fund without revenue to pay for it. we don't have the revenue to pay for the one we've got. how can we double it with no revenue source? let's get serious about things

here. if we really need a place for the money, take it from the stimulus. but part of the problem is that we are spending things in this bill or in the highway program that are probably worse spending than some of the things we have seen in the stimulus. in the current highway program that we're taking money from the general fund to now fund, $3 million for a parking garage in chicago, $1.6 million for a bike path in wisconsin, $1.2 million in improvements in the blue ridge parkway museum. why don't we rescind some of these programs in the highway bill and we won't have to take so much money from the general fund. we can't continue to do this, mr. speaker. we are spending money on a suspension bill, we are suspending the rules and passing a bill that's going to cost us $7 billion. i think the limit on suspension

bills used to be like $50 million. if it does more than that, you come under a general rule. $7 billion, we are spending here. and it will go almost without dissent, and that's a shame, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. neal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. neal: mr. speaker, i understand the desire of an individual or individuals to be professional scolds on any and every issue that comes to this floor, but the obligation that we have today is far greater than the examples that he cited. to argue that we ought to hold up a federal highway bill that benefits this entire nation because of a handful of initiatives that he doesn't like, when the truth is, he won't vote for the final bill anyway. and time and again we have rejected the proposals he has come forward with, largely because there was a process and

procedure for vetting these differences. when we buy into the end-game solution, that's part of our responsibility as members of congress. to close quickly on this note, one of the reasons that our highway system is the envy of the world is because we have not given in to the temptation to fall easy prey to demagogry. scolding is one thing. offering positive suggestions is quite another. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from arizona. mr. flake: some of us did stand up and voted against the initial authorization back in 2005 because we were told by our appropriations committee chairman, we don't have the money to pay for this. we knew it. but the reason that passed is because there were 6,300 earmarks in it. you spread that around, enough people will vote for it.

only eight votes against it in the house and three in the senate and we'll likely do it again. let's pay for it. for a state like arizona, we give $1 for this highway bill and get 92 cents back, that's not a good deal. we could get a lot more infrastructure for that and that's our complaint. more than anything, money is spent here and comes back 92 cents on the dollar and when it does come back, it's restricted in ways that diminish the value of the dollar and then it's ear marked completely. and it's not a good deal for people around the country. we need a new model. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: i yield two minutes to the the gentleman from oregon, a member of the ways and means committee who has been active in highway, waterways, many environmental efforts, congressman blumenauer. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized. mr. blumenauer: i appreciate my good friend on letting me speak on behalf of this. the last bill was paid for, but because of the republican refusal to rightsize the trust fund, it was scaled down. but it was paid for. it wasn't rightsized for america. mr. oberstar and the committee are working to try and do this. i hope this is the last time we come to the floor to deal with the short-term deficit in the highway trust fund, but unfortunately, we're going to come back again. mr. oberstar and his chair, my good friend, mr. defazio working on a new vision for transportation and i hope that we have that on the floor sooner rather than later. along with this is the notion of how we squeeze more value out of each federal dollar invested. that is part of the work in the department -- of the new department of transportation. it's part of what the committee is working on and we as congress

need to be involved with that. new vision, more value, but frankly, we're going to need more money. we haven't raised the gas tax since 1993. there isn't the resources available to meet what we are seeing in every community across the country. that's why there is a consensus that is building, as mr. neal said, from the chamber of commerce to the garden club, sierra club, unions and local government officials, republican and democrat alike say come forward with a long-term funding proposal. what we're going to have to do some time this decade is increase the gas tax for inflation. what we're going to have to do some time this decade is have a new mechanism in place that is a true user fee that will enable us to match the people who use the roads and the people who

benefit with the financing. this is within our capacity. and this is one area where i hope that we can get past some of the partisan bickering. i hope every member will mr. lewis: i yield the gentleman an additional minute. mr. blumenauer: i hope every member will take the time to go back to their districts this next month and talk to the local chamber of commerce, talk to local government, talk to local business people that are attempting to solve these problems and find out the support there is for congress to be able to move forward with a broader vision for finance. it's there if we will do it. and if we do, it's going to have more long-term impact on the financial health of this country than anything else that we will do. i urge people to do their homework at home so they can come back and support the financing that's necessary for the long-term vision that mr.

oberstar and mr. defazio will give us in the months ahead. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield three minutes to the the gentleman from iowa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. latham: i thank the gentleman from michigan for the time. and mr. speaker, i rise in reluctant support of this bill. i also rise to point out that what we're doing today in considering the increase for the highway trust fund is exactly what i sought to do last week in an amendment presented to the rules committee. my amendment was aimed at employing a little common sense and transferring excessive resources in the rapid rail appropriation to the much needed resource category in the highway trust fund. i was seeking to transfer to the trust fund $3 billion of the $4 billion as currently in the rapid rail appropriation in the house version of the fy 2010 transportation appropriations bill.

this amendment would have let $1 billion for rail that the president had requested. as things now stand, the $4 billion on top of the $8 billion in the stimulus package remains in the rail account. and at least $2 billion of that is part of a future infrastructure bank, which is only just an idea, no authorization, nothing. it may be at least a year and probably much longer before any of these funds can be spent and the highway trust fund needs money now, which is what i said last week. had my amendment been made in order it would have been passed and offset and had it passed, we would be dealing with a much smaller amount today. the rules committee didn't see fit to make the amendment in order and in the process make use of funding authority that would not be needed for some time. once again, politics govern the process. it's very unfortunate. i think it's worth pointing out today to all the members here that at a june 4 hearing this

year, secretary lahood regarding offsets for the highway trust fund bailout said and i quote. we have to pay for this. the administration is committed to paying for the $5 billion to $7 billion that is needed to plus-up the trust fund and about $8 billion for 2010. we are committed to paying for it. i hope sooner or later, we will be coming back with all of you and saying here's how we should do it, end quote. to my knowledge, in this bill, there are no offsets. technically, this is an intergovernmental transfer and there is no pay-go and technically no scoring on this, but the money will soon be spent by the treasury. just so folks understand what is going on here with this shell game, i'm the government, i havee got $1 in my pocket and in this case, we are talking about $7 billion which would go to the

moon and we are transferring this $1 from the left pocket to the right pocket. even though it was spent in the left pocket, but doesn't cost anything. why don't we transfer? it's all free. the problem is, folks, we know this is being spnt spent and nothing in this pocket. we are borrowing from our children and grandchildren because there is nothing here. we are $2 trillion in the deficit in this one year and we are talking about we don't have to pay for anything. it's all free money. . i hope we bring some sanity to this process. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, i am pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, the chair of the highway and transfer subcommittee, congressman defazio. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. defazio: i thank the gentleman and my friend for

time. you know, five years ago a penny-wise bush administration stone walled a bipartisan proposal in congress to increase trust fund revenues. they set us on this path to insolvency. and at the same time they condemned us to a transportation system in america that is heade toward third world status. 150,000 bridges on the national highway system are either functionally obsolete or structurally deficient. that means they could fall down. then we have 40% of the pavement on the national highway system in fair or poor conditions. billions of gallons of fuel wasted in congestion in traffic and people waiting frustrated. businesses loses billions of dollars because of delayed deliveries and we need a six-year investment in our

transportation system with new policies and a new vision to move us toward a competitive 21st century transportation system, not living off the dregs of one that we built in the 1950's. but on the way to that new future, we need this infusion of cash. the states are out there in good faith putting millions of people to work rebuilding as much as they can with inadequate resources. they're bringing in bills for over $1 billion a week. that's a lot of jobs, folks, people out there rebuilding our infrastructure. we need to make good on those obligations with this infusion of money. and i'm willing to pay for the enhanced investment in the coming legislation. and i'd urge my republican colleagues to keep an open mind. they are either going to deny us the investment we need and condemn us to a transportati system that can't meet america's needs or they're going to join us in a six-year

bill with adequate investment and funding and fully paid for in the investment of the future of america. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i would just say that the obama administration famously predicted that its so-called stimulus plan would save or create 3.5 million jobs. the gentleman referred to millions of jobs being put to work repairing our infrastructure. however, the unemployment rate is now at 9.5%, well above the 8% the administration projected if stimulus passed. that means 2.5 million more americans are unemployed than the president promised. so not only have no jobs been created in the private sector, in just four months two million private sector jobs have been destroyed. meanwhile, jobs in government have grown slightly, according to the bureau of labor statistics. at this time i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, may i inquire about how much time i have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia has 3 1/2 minutes remaining. and the gentleman from michigan has five minutes remaining. mr. camp: i would say we have no further speakers, so if the gentleman, i believe, has the right to close. mr. lewis: thank you very much, mr. camp. mr. speaker, i have one remaining speaker, so i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, congressman olver. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. olver: i thank the gentleman for yielding, mr. speaker. as i think we all know, with the collapse of the subprime market and the steep drop in private mortgages available, 25% of mortgages written today are backed by f.h.a. that's up from just 3% two years ago, and because ginnie

mae securitizes it their volume has increased three-fold. they'll reach the loan cereals in the next few weeks and be forced -- ceilings in the next few weeks and will be forced to stop. home sales have risen for three straight months, a first since the year 2004, cutting out 25% of available mortgages would be a disaster, decimating the market and hurting millions of perspective homeowners out shopping today. this bill ensures that f.h.a. and beginie mae can continue to -- and ginnie mae can continue to help in the mortgage market. and it will be solvent through the end of the fiscal year. without that transfer, the department of transportation would be able to continue -- will not be able to continue reimbursing states for their highway projects and states

would likely have to scale back on the work they are now doing and would be doing in august and september. there's no question that we will have to eventually do something to guarantee the long-term solvency of the highway trust fund. but we made infrastructure development an important part of the economic recovery act. and it would be foolish and unwise for us to leave town without ensuring that states can continue with their highway projects as we are on recess in these -- in this next month. this needs to be done as quickly as possible, so i would urge my colleagues to support and vote yes on this bill. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: if there are no further speakers, i'm prepared to yield back. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, since the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, don't have any more

additional speakers -- mr. camp: no, we have no further speakers. mr. lewis: we are prepared to yield back. mr. camp: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from georgia. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, i fully support house bill 3357. in the future, the ways and means committee will need to look at different funding proposals and administrative changes to keep the highway trust fund running for the long term. today, we need to make sure it doesn't run out of money. this very simple bill does not cost a single dollar, and i urge all of my colleagues to support this commonsense bipartisan piece of legislation. on that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3357, 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, the bill is passed, and without objection -- mr. camp: mr. speaker, i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having suspending the rules and passing h.r. 3357 as amended. this vote will be followed by five-minute votes in suspend the rules with regard to h.r. 496 by the yeas and nays, h.r. 3072 de novo and h.r. 384 de novo. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 363, the

nays is 68. 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the the bill is passed and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from american samoa, mr. faleomavaega, to suspend the rules and agree to h.res. 496, as amended, and on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: house resolution 496, resolution recognizing the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 432, the nays are zero. 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the resolution is agreed to and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the

question on suspending the rules and passing h.r. 3072 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 3072, a bill to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 9810 halls ferry road in st. louis, missouri, as the coach jodie bailey post office building. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the the bill is passed and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the bill and agree to h.res. 483 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution 483, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of veterans of foreign wars day. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair,

2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table.