listening to this guy talk, -- good morning, guys. listening to this guy talk -- i watched many of the launches, and looking at the way things going now, and when they finally came down with apollo 13, how they came into the ocean, could you explain how that was done and how did they navigate and to bring them back to earth? thank you. guest: the caller is absolutely right. thank you for your culprit was an amazing feat of technology -- thank you for your call. it was an amazing feat of technology and navigation skills wit. many others are trying to go to the moon and emulate what nasa has achieved. but it was an amazing feat. nasa was the best at doing those kinds of things. host: kevin stirling -- the

movie is "moon beat" -- thank you for being on the program this morning. thank you to everyone who has turned in to "washington journal." we have live coverage of the senate armed services committee, c-span3 today, talking with the secretary of state, secretary of defense, and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. we will go live to the house of representatives. see you tomorrow morning. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] cycle, the ordinary manufacturing routine, the busy swirl of business, economic freefall or the data of any computer is the unimaginable picture of global security. so impossible to communicate. no wonder we are not sure what steps to take if we do not have a picture in mind. how do we pray?

except to lay the words themselves before you, o lord, as if it were your problem or of your making or so now in need of your healing power. to which part of the world's prayer for global security is any of us willing to say amen, lord? yet, deep down we know, you know we need global security. help us, lord, in word, in deed, in heart, at least in prayer, be united as we pray for global security and today say amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the chamber her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved.

the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. mr. poe: please join me in the pledge. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? mr. kucinich: good morning, madam speaker. i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker: without objection. mr. kucinich: why are we still in afghanistan? al qaeda is not there. the more troops we send the more resistance we meet. we need to redefine national security to include financial security because america has record debt, skyrocketing unemployment, huge trade deficits, record business failures and foreclosureses. the people of afghanistan don't want to be saved by us.

they want to be saved from us. our presence and our predator drones kill countless innocents, destabilize pakistan. the karzai government is hopelessly corrupt. our solution, provide them with making them less legit mant. give them cash and guns. when the money runs out they shoot at u.s. soldiers. we played all sides in afghanistan and all sides that want us out. they don't want our presence, our control, our troops, our drones, our way of life. we're fighting the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time. what part of get out don't we not understand? the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: madam speaker, war cannot be won from a podium but it can be lost. laying out our military strategy for our enemies is not

only unwise but poses a significant threat to national security. our enemies have proven to be patient and steadfast in their determination to wage war on democracy and freedom. the president will send more troops but has shown his entire hand to the world. last night's premature announcement of the president of an arbitrary end date for withdrawal contradicts our commitment for winning the war on terror no longer how -- no matter how long it takes. success should be the mission, not get out of dodge on a certain date. nowhere in history has a nation told its enemy that commitment would be for a set period of time and then the struggle would be abandoned. the president has said he wants to avoid another vietnam but yet he's reintroduced the vietnam syndrome of conditional commitment to america's calls and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman has one minute. mr. wilson: madam speaker, i rise today to address the issue of key importance to my constituents, jobs and the economy. i am proud of the work that congress has done to bolster the economy and create new jobs across our country. in ohio we continue to see new funds awarded and released every week. communities across the state and my district have been positively impacted by these funds. today, over $225 million of recovery funds have been announced to counties i represent along the ohio river. improvements in technology, investments in education funding, substantial things for our future. just last week $75 million recovery money was announced in ohio. these funds include $8.6 million for water projects in 10 of my 12 counties.

that investment represents jobs for our workers, clean water for our residents, and i'm proud to work for the results that these investments have accomplished. with more than half the money to be spent, i look forward to more of these improvements throughout the state of ohio. as we put america back to work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. wilson: i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida rise? ms. ros-lehtinen: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. and i rise today to extend my sincere thanks to a distinguished south floridian and a faithful public servant, miami-dade police director robert "bobby" parker. it is truly with great sadness that we see such a fine and dedicated police officer retiring. in 2004, bobby's long and successful career with

miami-dade police department culminated in the directorship of the department. under his leadership, the department saw the implementation of unique and cutting edge programs such as the mortgage fraud task force and the gun bounty program. bobby's foresight and hard work have consistently had a profound and positive impact on all of south florida. he's always made the greatest efforts for the others. it is with pleasure that i join bobby's family, friends and peers as they honor the many accomplishments of his outstanding career. bobby's lasting legacy will certainly be an inspiring, countless officers to match his selflessness and performance. i thank my good friend, miami-dade police director, bobby parker, for all that he has done for our community in south florida, and i truly wish him all the best in his years to come. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. murphy: madam speaker, since our economy bottomed out in late winter and democrats took bold -- but more can be done and more must be done. so as rerecover from the most severe recessions in our nation's history, democrats will focus on helping americans on main street, not wall street. we will build upon the momentum we created for positive growth in our economy and bring to the house floor strong legislation to create jobs. american families are depending on their leaders to focus their attention on job creation and make the difficult decisions necessary to curb unemployment and begin growing our job force once again. americans expect nothing less

and house democrats are committed to bringing to the floor a strong jobs bill and work to turn our nation's economy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to pay tribute to kevin lee mitchham. he was a supporter of public education and he was committed to lending his time and knowledge to youth in the community. kevin was a devoted husband to his beloved wife, sarah, and a dead cailted father to -- dedicated father to their two children. kevin was a staunch supporter of waterman and the seafood industry. at the time of his passing, kevin was the chairman of the matthews county board of supervisors. he served 12 years as a board member. he served on the planning

commission. kevin was deeply involved in his community and dedicated much of his time and effort to serve the residents of matthews county. kevin lee mitchham was a true friend to all who knew him. he will be greatly missed. he touched many people's lives and the work that he did for his community will never be fore goten. my thoughts -- forgotten. my thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. baca: recently, one in my district called my office for help. he lost his good-paying job, the health benefits that went with it. sadly, he's not alone. more americans than ever before are losing their jobs, their livelihoods and their homes. in california the unemployment rate is 12%. in my area, unemployment is a staggering 14%. we continue to have one of the highest rates of foreclosure in

the nation. the hardworking men and women in my district and throughout the nation deserve a good-paying job, quality, affordable health care, enough food to put on the table and a good quality of life. i congratulate president obama for hosting a job forum. we need good jobs to put food on the table and keep their homes and living the american dream. instead of pointing fingers and calling names at this time when we need to work together to find solutions and creating jobs for american people right here in the united states and not outsourcing those jobs outside of here. for my part, i will host a job summit to hear from the private industry, nonprofit organizations, labor organizations, educators. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. gohmert: thank you, madam speaker. you know, i needed to dispel some of the misinformation

that's been put out about the health care bill that we passed in this house. for one thing, some have said, states require you to have insurance on your car so of course we can mandate people buy health insurance. the bill we passed is not going to provide health insurance. it's going to mandate. it does mandate that you buy it and if you don't, if you're above the poverty line it won't be provided. in fact, you have an extra income tax if you don't buy the cadillac insurance the government mandates. if you want to know about the comparison, first of all, the states requiring car insurance, not one single state in the country requires that a car, your own carb insured. they require that you buy insurance to inensure against hurting another car or -- insurance to ensure against hurting another car or damaging another car. we're mandating that you buy insurance on your own car, your own vehicle, your own body and that's not constitutional. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to ask consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. doggett: madam speaker, i agree so much what president obama said last night. peace and security will not be found through another war. troop escalation by 40%, then deescalation, all within 18 months is totally unrealistic. we've been fighting in afghanistan on the installment plan. a few more troops, a few more months and many more billions. 2011 will not mark the end of this war. it will just mark the beginning of the next installment in what is a deteriorating eight-year war whose illusive end is just over the horizon. the better exit strategy is to have fewer troops who need to exit with some allies already preparing to depart as we expand, most of the blood spill

will remain american. we should honor the sacrifice of those serving by putting fewer of them in harm's way. it shouldn't take 100,000 americans to defeat 100 al qaeda. all this props up the karzai government that just sold over 100 million votes. afghanistan can consume as many lives and as many dollars as we're willing to expend there and leave our families no safer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. . for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon rise? mr. wu: to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized without objection for one minute. mr. wu: thank you, madam speaker. to form a government requires positive steps. and it is much less about what one is against than about what one is for. who can forget that sense of free fall in our economy last fall when we weren't sure those of us who had any money in the

-- in money market accounts that we were going to get 100 pennies back on the dollar we put in to a bank. who could forget the sense of free fall in march or april when it wasn't clear where our economy was ever going to go. but this congress and the administration stepped up to the plate. we passed a stimulus bill that cushioned the loss of jobs and is beginning to bring jobs back. more than half the recovery act money is still going to be spent into our economy. we passed a new unemployment extension benefit that will take effect and cushion the blow for working families. but american families that have lost their jobs know that we need to do more and we are going to do more. in contrast republicans have offered nothing. they voted no on creating jobs. we are going to say yes and we are going to pass another jobs bill and stimulate our economy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from pennsylvania rise?

mrs. dahlkemper: ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. dahlkemper: madam speaker, many hardworking americans are losing their jobs because of this recession. we must use every tool in our arsenal to help stop the loss of jobs and put americans back to work. yesterday i testified in front of the international trade commission urging them to strictly enforce our anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws to protect american workers against unfair subsidies of steel products from china. my constituents depend upon the i.t.c. to enforce our laws and ensure our trade partners play fair. as we look for more ways to create and save jobs, it's imperative that both the congress and federal government remain vigilant in our enforcement of our strong trade policies. we cannot allow any foreign producer to have an unfair advantage over u.s. workers. we owe it to our constituents to protect their jobs and enforce the laws that we have on the

books. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. burton: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. burton: i have the great kick out of my democrat colleagues. they are talking about how they are going to come up with a jobs bill. they have increased the debt this year by $1.4 trillion, they are pushing through a health care bill trying to ram it through that's going to cost $1 trillion to $3 trillion. they are trying to push through a cap and trade bill that's going to cost millions of jobs. and now because they are worried about whether they are going to get re-elected or not, they are coming down here saying they are going to come up another jobs bill. what that means is another stimulus bill. the first stimulus bill did not work. it cost over $1 trillion when you include interest and now they are going to do it again. the way to create jobs is to take the heavyweight off the back of the american people by cutting their taxes and cutting business taxes like john f. kennedy did and like ronald reagan did.

if you do that, you'll start seeing economic recovery. not by blowing more money. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise? mr. yarmuth: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for one minute. mr. yarmuth: madam speaker, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, our republican friends persist in saying bah-humbug whenever you talk about the stimulus effect. in fact my constituents, senator mitch mcconnell, yesterday on the senate floor called the recovery act a failure. obviously he's been too busy obstructing the work of the congress to go home and see what's happening in his own community because he ought to tell the people g.e.'s appliance park is failure where 400 new jobs are coming back from china because of stimulus money or the hundreds of people who are now working on renovating our interstate system, $30 million worth of work courtesy of the american recovery act. or the 80 people who will be

employed at the new maintenance center or 150 teachers who are still in the classrooms in jefferson county public schools because of recovery act dollars. yes, we have plenty of work to do. there are too many people out of work. we are committed to doing that instead of saying bah-humbug, no, no, we won't do anything. that's the message we are getting from the other side. but we will continue to work for the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: jimplete for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? mr. carnahan: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. carnahan: there's a condition in this country that affects more than three million people. and sees 200,000 new cases every year, 25% are children. it's epilepsy. it's the third most common neurological disorder after alzheimer's and stroke. the cause is unknown and 2/3 of epilepsy cases. it can develop at any age. it can be the result of genetic, stroke, head injury, and other factors.

earlier this year i met a spirited 9-year-olds from my district. since the age of 7 chad has been living with epilepsy and faces challenges in school because of miscondeppingses. despite diagnosis and treatment it is often misunderstood and overlooked. contrary to belief it is not contagious. some believe epilepsy is curable by medication or treatment when in fact over 30% of patients still suffer uncontrollable seizures. this is why raising awareness is so important. it will dispel myths and empower millions affect the by this condition. i urge my close to support further research, awareness, and education as we work together to find a cure. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from vermont rise? mr. welch: address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. welch: thank you, madam speaker. america faces two very serious challenges today. the first is an economy that continues to struggle.

too many americans who want to work are out of work. second, is an energy policy that is failing. it's not clean, it's not sustainable, and it's not affordable. we can address the jobs issue by taking on the challenge of a clean energy economy. we can create jobs, we can save homeowners money on their energy bills, and we can reduce our contribution to climate change. we can do that by investing in a national energy efficiency retrofit program. recently, 44 of my house colleagues and i wrote to president obama urging him to act now. to use his existing authority, to use already appropriated stimulus funds to build a national home retrofit program that will create jobs. some call it recovery through retrofit, some call it cash for caulkers, i call it a sure-fire way to create jobs and create them now. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. watson: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one minute. ms. watson: madam speaker, democrats have been focused on helping main street not wall street and momentum continues to build for additional job creation legislation. the republicans created one of the worst recessions in history and did very little to help a recovery. the republicans exacerbated the bad economy with tax cuts that favored the wealthy and did very little to help working people. democrats acted to save the economy from falling apart, to facilitate a recovery, and to put people to work. we will build on the work we have done so far to create and save jobs and get this economy moving. more than half of the recovery act still must be spent into our economy, boosting it in the short-term and laying a

newfoundation for long-term prosperity. new extensions of unemployment benefits have been taking effect that will inject demand in the economy. the first time a home buyer tax credit, which has been expanded, will be renewed in less than two weeks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from maine rise? ms. pingree: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. pingree: thank you, madam speaker. $2.5 billion, that's my state's share of the wars we have been fighting for the last eight years. and now this country's being asked to spend another $30 billion a year to send more troops to afghanistan. it's too much, madam speaker, for a war that just isn't working. at a time when we are struggling to put americans back to work, we just can't afford to escalate a war we need to be winding down. at a time when we have asked our men and women in uniform to return to combat again and again, we cannot afford to send them back one more time to

protect a government that is now considered the second most corrupt on earth. at a time when we are working to bring affordable health care to every family in this country, we just can't afford to spend $1 million per soldier to occupy a country that doesn't want us there. don't be mistaken, madam speaker, when we need to protect our vital national interest, there is no cost too great. and the greatest armed forces in the world will rise to meet any chal -- challenge. this is not the time to pay that price. this is the time to end this war and bring the troops home. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. pence: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one min. mr. pence: thank you, madam speaker. after months of deliberation, the president announced yesterday his decision to endorse a request for reinforcements by our commanding officers in afghanistan. i support his decision. by calling for a surge of forces

in afghanistan, president obama is embracing the counter insurgency strategy that succeeded in iraq and if given the chance will succeed again. the war in afghanistan is a war of necessity. a decisive victory over the taliban and al qaeda must remain our unchanging objective. now, while reinforcements are critical to achieving victory, the morale of our troops and unequivocal support of those at home is also important. our brave men in uniform need to know that those who send them into battle will stand by them until the battle is won. congress should resist the temptation to impose artificial timelines for withdrawal or benchmarks as they only demoralize our troops and embolden our enemies. telling the enemy when your commitment to fight will run out is a prescription for defeat. congress should also reject any of the to pass a tax increase on the backs of our soldiers. levying a war surtax is an insult to our men and women in uniform. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from nevada rise? ms. titus: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. titus: thank you, madam speaker. with unemployment at a record high in southern nevada, it's critical that we focus our efforts on creating good jobs that will put nevadans back to work. and that's why i'm proud to have recently joined the new congressional task force on job creation. this working group will collect innovative ideas and formulate legislation that will put people back to work across the country and get our economy moving again. this effort is especially critical to strengthening our economy in southern nevada. creating jobs locally will require innovation in nevada's growing industry such as renewable energy and perhaps a high-speed train. as well as building a stronger national economy that puts money back in the pockets of potential visitors who will come to nevada

and boost our travel and tourism industry. i look forward to joining my colleagues on this task force in the coming weeks to find real solutions that will create jobs for nevada and the rest of the country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. 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 on the yeas and nays are ordered, or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? >> madam speaker, i ask that the house suspend the rules and to pass resolution 494, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 494, resolution recognizing the exemplary service of the soldiers of the 30th infantry

division, old hickory, of the united states army during world war ii. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. kissell, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. wittman, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i request unanimous consent for members to have the usual five days to extend, revise their comments. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. madam speaker, i rise today in strong and enthusiastic support for resolution 494, resolution that honors the history of the 30th infantry division of the united states army. a division that was founded in 1918 during world war i and extends to today in service in iraq as we currently speak. i also especially want to point out a particular time during

august of 1944 when the 30th infantry division was engaged in a battle, a battle that proved to be pivotal and our securing of the invasion of normandy, and a battle which the 30th division for whatever reasons has not fully received the credit for the bravery and the dedication they showed. .3 called themselves the old hickory division, a nickname for which they maintain today. this division was reactivated prior to world war ii and served from the invasion of

normandy in which the 230th field artillery camed ashore on d-day plus one. the rest of the division came ashore d-day plus two. the units were reunited and fought almost continuously in the days and weeks that followed our invasion of france. in august of 1944, the much-anticipated german counterattack and the germans attacked near a town mortan, france, a place where the 30th division was at that point protecting our lives. the generals from eisenhower on down, the allied generals had grown concern that we were not moving quick enough to secure the area of normandy around our invasion beach heads in a way

we could expand throughout france the way we anticipated and wanted. the german counterattack thus came with a certain amount of concern. would we be able to withhold and protect the land that we had already captured? but also came was a certain amount of opportunity because if we could hold off this counterattack, then it would create an opportunity for us to outflank the german army, a maneuver that would be called the st. louis breakout. it all depended upon if the 30th division, the old hickory, could hold. and the 30th division taking on the multiple divisions of the german army did hold. they scattereded into individual units and fought brave -- they scattered into individual units and fought bravely for almost a week. they fought bravely and

dedicated against bret odds but they held. and general bradley was able to send general paton on the flanking maneuver, known as the st. louis breakout that once and for all secured our beach head and launched us across france towards the end of world war ii. eisenhower's chief historian called the 30th the most efficient fighting division in europe. the german army paid the 30th a great compliment in referring to them as roosevelt s.s. it's for these reasons that we want to honor the 30th in its history and especially the recognition of the battle of mortan, france, the most important time period for our invasion to be successful and secure. madam speaker, i reserve the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. wittman: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. wittman: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of house resolution 494 which recognizes the service and sacrifices of the members of the 30th infantry division during world war ii. i want to commend representative larry kissell for his leadership and for his deep passion concerning the members of the 30th infantry. it was a national guard division made up of men from several states many of which coming from north carolina and tennessee. and these citizen soldiers established a remarkable record in europe during the operations from 1944 through the end of the war in may of 1945. so outstanding were their achievements that many historians said it was the first of many infantry divisiones that performed the most efficient and consistent

battle service, achieving support. the commitment of the men of the 30th division to make the sacrifices necessary to finish the mission to defeat an obvious threat to freedom and the security of the world should serve as an example to us today. the nation provided these men the resources necessary to win the war to which they were committed. and our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have made the same commitment to this nation today. we must heed the lessons to be learned from the 30th division and today fully support our troops and their families the with the resources necessary for them to finish the jobs of today. i urge support and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i'd like to thank my colleague from

virginia for his support and remarks. the 30th division after its historic stint at the battle of mortain. they fought in the battle of the bulge. they shook hands with the russians on the elb river at the end of the war. the 30th division is centered mostly once again in north carolina. the 30th, as i mentioned before, is currently over in iraq on its second tour of duty of service to this nation. so the great tradition of the 30th, the old hickory division, which began during world war i continues today. it is these troops, men and women, serve our nation. and, madam speaker, on a personal note, i would like to add that my father, richard henry kissell, was a sergeant in the 30th division. he joined the army in the early part of 1941 and he was with the 30th all the way through as a member of the 230th field

artillery on the beaches of omaha, d-day plus one, and all of the battles that we talked about my father was there. but he was just one of many to serve our nation in the 30th and all the other forces during world war ii that we call the greatest generation that came back and did so much to make this nation the great nation that it continues to be today. so it's with great pride and enthusiasm and noting the aspect of the 30th division to the relationship of not only my state, to my family, to the nation, that i encourage all my colleagues to join me in voting for h.res. 494. i yield my time, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. wittman: madam speaker, i have no further need for time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back his time. the question is will the house

suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 44 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 resolution is agreed to and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. kissell: madam speaker, we request the vote on this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman request the yeas and nays? mr. kissell: yes. 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 and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. and pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? mr. kissell: madam speaker, i ask the house suspend the rules and pass the resolution 129 as amended.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. mr. kissell: as introduced. the speaker pro tempore: the motion is not as amended, as introduced, correct? mr. kissell: correct. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 129, concurrent resolution congratulating the sailors of the united states submarine force upon the completion of the 1,000 ohio class ballistic missile submarine, ssbn, deterrent patrols. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. kissell, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. wittman, each will control 20 minutes. and the chair now recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i request unanimous consent for members to be able to extend and to revise their remarks within the next five days. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i

yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kissell: madam speaker, it's with great enthusiasm that i rise in support of house resolution 129 and i want to thank representative dicks from washington in bringing this resolution to the floor. it is an opportunity for us as the house of representatives to congratulate the navy and the sailors of our ballistic submarine fleet upon the completion of 1,000 missions, that's 1,000 missions of deterrent in protecting our nation. this silent service, the ohio class submarines, the highest of technology, the greatest of sailors and the most stealthy of operations have been in service protecting our nation since the first crews of the u.s.s. ohio in 1982. this is not an easy service. only 5% of all our sailors are qualified to serve in our

ballistic submarine fleet. the highest of technology and the advancements that we have seen as a nation are represented in this classification of service also. oftentimes our sailors are on duty for 77 or more straight days, and they come back then to work 35 days of maintenance. it puts a tremendous burden upon them, but once again, these are the highest qualified of individuals that you can find because when they're on the ship they have to have the knowledge of the technology to the most minute of details to be able to service the ship as needed and to complete the mission. and they have a-plus rating for these years of service during the 1,000 missions that they have brought to us. at this point in time, madam speaker, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance

of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. wittman: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. wittman: thank you. madam speaker, i rise today to share my colleague's congratulations to the sailors of the united states navy submarine force following the completion of the 1,000th ohio class ballistic missile submarine decurrent patrols. it's no small feat and it's only made possible through the dedication of our sailors, the disciplined work force of the naval reactors and the industrial base that has delivered such reliable submarines and missile systems. the ballistic missile submarine or ssbn is the third tier of our nuclear triad. it has delivered firepower to potential aagreesors armed with nuclear weapons.

like-wise, our allies have relied on the shield provided by our ballistic missile submarines. yet this deterrent capability comes at a personal cost to the submarine force, its crews and its families. since the first patrol of the u.s.s. ohio in 1982 through today, these families have endured long periods of noncommunication with their loved ones and tense waiting for their safe return. therefore, despite the extraordinary technological achievement and reliability epitomized by the ssbn the true strength of the ballistic missile submarine lies in the extraordinarily talented and motivated sailors who have voluntarily chosen to serve in the submarine community and are among the most highly skilled, educated and trained war fighters in the u.s. military. today, we thank and honor the crews of the ballistic missile submarines, the civilian and industrial work force that

strive to preserve the submarine's reliability and technological superiority and the devoted families of the submarine force for their continued dedication and sacrifice. and finally, i'd like to thank all of my colleagues who co-sponsored this resolution, especially representative dicks of washington for drafting the original resolution. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i yield such time as he may consume to representative dicks from washington. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dicks: thank you. madam speaker, i introduced this resolution, h.con.res 129, to recognize the achievements of the submarine force for completion of the 1,000th stay t.j.ic deterred patrol earlier this year. it is fitting that we take a moment to recall the sacrifices made by these submariners and their families to defend our freedoms and protect our way of life.

for over 27 years, ohio class ballistic missile submarines, or ssbn's, have been our most surviveable form of deterrence. as a result of the commitment to excellence by everyone associated with the ssbn program, our strategic missile submarines have always been ready and vigilant, reassuring our allies and deterring those who might seek to do us harm. our ballistic missile submarines provided essential deterrence during the cold war and their contributions will forever be a part of our nation's history. today, these elite submarines remain on the front lines of freedom. through their silent patrols, they will preserve peace for many years to come. the success of the program and the protection it continues to provide is the result of the sacrifices of a broad array of organizations and individuals. the submarine industrial base which provides the advanced

technologies and highest quality equipment for these ships, the maintenance facilities and their technicians and engineers who work to a demanding time line and under difficult constraints to keep these boats ready for sea, the submarine training facilities which ensure that our sailors are trained and ready to perform their missions under any circumstances, and not least the sailors and their families who dedicate their lives to supporting our nation. their sacrifice year after year is a large part of our nation's greatness. because i come from the puget sound region in the state of washington, i have had the opportunity to watch the successes of the submarine program from its inception. back in 1972, the navy decided that the puget sound would be the west coast home port for its newest class of strategic missile submarines.

the ohio class submarine, the ohio class ssbn. . in august 1982, the lead ship, u.s.s. ohio, arrived on the bangor watter front to start her operational life. ohio was followed by seven more trident boats. each taking up its responsibilities in the strategic defense of our nation. of the original 18 trident ssbn's in the u.s. inventory, eight now call the puget sound their home and continue their concurrent resolution strategic deterrent role. additionally after 24 years in operation, the first four ssbn's, ohio, michigan, florida, and georgia have been converted into cruise missile submarines. two of these platforms, ohio and michigan, continue their service from the bangor submarine base in this new role. the remaining six ohio class ssbn's and two cruise missile

subma reasons carry out their essential duties from the naval submarine base at kings bay, georgia. it is truly fitting that we recognize the achievements of our trident submariners and their families over the past 27 years. we look to them to continue to build upon their legacy of excellent service to the united states in the years ahead. i want to thank my colleagues, mr. kissell, mr. wittman, who have joined me in co-sponsoring this resolution and i urge all of my colleagues to support it with their votes. i would just add one thing, this is such an important program and i have been on the defense appropriations subcommittee for 31 years, that we are now starting a follow-on to the trident submarine program. and i can remember when we had great debates here in the house on whether we should do a b-2 bomber and whether we should have an m.x. missile. the one thing we always understood was that the most survivable element of our

strategic triade was -- were these trident submarines. i commend admiral rickover and all those who followed him for the great work that they did in inspiring this concept. and it's been of great value to our country. so i appreciate the gentleman from north carolina yielding to me and i appreciate your bringing this resolution to the floor. i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve his time? mr. kissell: i reserve my time, madam speaker. i would like to at this point in time thank my colleagues from virginia, mr. wittman, and from washington, mr. dicks, for their words about this resolution, the importance of this resolution. this branch of service in the navy, to the crews of the 14 -- these ohio class submarines, we offer our appreciation and

thanks. to the people that make it work, all the listings of people that were given, but especially to the friends and the families of these crew members that without them and their support for these crews, it would make this work just extremely much harder than what it is already during the times of separation and trials that exist upon the families. this branch of service remains strong. it is a clear deterrent to threats that our nation may incur. we once again congratulate this branch of service on its 1,000th mission of deterrence and 1,000th successful mission. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. wittman: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. wittman: i would like to thank again mr. dicks from the state of washington and his leadership and his vision, especially as we progress from

the ohio class submarine to the next generation. he is certainly right. the ohio class has been an integral part of the triade of defense of this nation. it is critically important that we plan now for the next generation of submarine that will eventually replace the ohio class. i applaud his vision, his leadership in recognizing the importance of the ohio class, but also efforts to make sure that we have that next class that provides for the defense of this nation. i'd also like to thank mr. kissell, too, for his leadership and recognition of the importance of the ohio class submarine and also the importance of the next generation of the replacement for the ohio class for the future defense of this nation. with that, madam chairman, i have no other speakers and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back his time. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. kissell: madam speaker, at this point in time i would like to encourage all my colleagues to join in voting aye son this resolution, 129, to honor this -- the navy once again and sailors in the ohio class submarine.

the silent service for its great work and 1,000th successful missions. i yield my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 129. 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 concurrent resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. mr. kissell: madam speaker, we do ask for recorded votes on this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman asks for the yeas and nays? mr. kissell: yes. 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 and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? mr. kissell: madam speaker, i ask the house suspend the rules and pass resolution 861 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 861, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of national military family month. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. kissell, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. wittman, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i request unanimous consent for members to have five days in which to extend and modify their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i would first like to recognize congressman rooney from florida for bringing this resolution to the floor. it is a very timely resolution

and one that while we recognize the importance of our military families all the time, that we certainly want to have the opportunity to make it official, so to speak, for this congress, this house of representatives, to join in that recognition. so i thank representative rooney for his efforts. i also want to commend and thank president obama for declaring november to be national military family month. and as we support this resolution that will join in the goals and ideals that are set forth in this proclamation. madam speaker, we know that our military families are dedicated, but they also face great challenges and difficulties. as our troops have faced repeated deployments and have gone back into the field more

often than perhaps we would wish, as they serve our country as we need for them to do, so much of the burden of this service falls back to the military family. but the military families that responded in incredible ways, they unite around each other, they support each other, they help those single parent families. they come together in a way to not only to support themselves but to also support their family members that are deployed. it is not a surprise that this happens because they are an extension of these men and women that serve our nation so heroically. with this resolution, 861, we simply want to recognize once again the work, the dedication, the sacrifice, and how our military families come together

and to acknowledge this in a positive way from the u.s. house of representatives. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from virginia. for what purpose? mr. wittman: madam speaker, i yield to the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney, as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rooney: thank you, madam speaker. thank you, mr. wittman and mr. kissell, for managing this bill and for chairman skelton and ranking member mckeon for supporting the national military families month resolution. this resolution is about supporting our military families. we rightly give due credit time and time again in this chamber to our service men and women who wear the uniform. especially now in a time of war. but this bill goes a step further and recognizes the spouses and parents and the children of those men and women who serve our country. as a former army captain,

married to another army captain, my wife and i met so many families at just two of our duty stations at fort hood, texas, and west point, new york. the people that we came to know in the military were truly the best people we have ever met. the sacrifice of seeing a loved one off to war and wait for the days and months for their return. sending letters, waiting in the middle of the night for a phone call or email just to hear that they are ok. the sacrifice of moving time and time again from town to town and duty station to duty station when other families set down roots much earlier. and finally, the sacrifice of a mom and dad seeing their child put on a uniform for the first time and march at graduation and the pride that they feel. sometimes even the sorrow of receiving a flag that draped their child's casket. this resolution honors them, the

moms and dads, the spouses, the children. i urge members' support and thank you for yielding, mr. wittman, and mr. kissell for supporting this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves his time. mr. wittman: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves his time. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. kissell: madam speaker, i once again thank representative rooney for bringing this resolution to the floor and all of the ideals that he expressed i think am so much for. i have had the opportunity to speak with many of our soldiers and to a person they toll me that if they just know their families are being taken care of, what a relief that is for them to concentrate on the duty that we are asking of them to perform and wherever the mission might be. so once again i ask for support, for resolution, for our national

military families month. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina reserves his time of the the gentleman from virginia. mr. wittman: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. wittman: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of house resolution 861 which recognizes the goals and ideals of national military family month. i want to commend representative tom rooney of florida for sponsoring this legislation. 20 years ago the week of thanksgiving was deemed military family week as part of the great american family project. in 1996 with the support of the armed services ymca, military family week was expanded into military family month. military family month seeks to recognize the sacrifices of our military families and the things they do for our nation each and every day. as we celebrate veterans day and thanksgiving during the month of november, it is important we celebrate the critical role of the military family.

during a time of extended conflict, it is imperative not only that we stop and take time to acknowledge the dedication and sacrifices made by our military families every day, but also that we pause to recognize the strength, commitment, encourage of the military spouse, and children of our men and women serving today. weather deployed overseas or training at home, the families of our service men and women are the foundation of our military and proudly represent a keystone in a strong national defense. even though this resolution commemorates one month of recognition for our military families, i believe our families should be praised every day for their selfless service to america. eni urge members to vote in -- and i urge members to vote in support of this bill and american military families. with that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. .

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina. mr. kissell: this is something that occurs every day and we should recognize that every day. and with that i do ask my colleagues to support resolution 861 and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 861 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 -- mr. kissell: madam speaker, i do request the yeas and nays on this. the speaker pro tempore: the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the yeas and nays are requested. does the gentleman request the yeas and nays? mr. kissell: yes. the speaker pro tempore: all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having

arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. and pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 897. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 897, recognizing the importance of teaching elementary and secondary school students about the sacrifices that veterans

have made throughout the history of the nation. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. bishop, and the gentleman from kentucky, mr. guthrie, each will control 20 minutes. and the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. bishop: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on h.res. 897 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. bishop: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. bishop: madam speaker, i rise today in support of h.res. 897, and i thank my friend and colleague from kentucky, mr. guthrie, for offering this legislation. this bill recognizes the importance of teaching elementary and secondary school students about the sacrifices that veterans have made throughout our nation's history. our country is built on the backbone of men and women who served in our nation's military force. veterans from all across the nation sacrifice their time, energy and lives for freedoms that we sometimes take for

granted. in 2008, there were over 23 million veterans in the united states, but much of our nation's youth do not fully comprehend commitment our soldiers undergo on a daily basis. many times, veterans leave combat and reintegrate into society with extreme challenges. posttraumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, drug abuse and homelessness are just some of the ailing afflictions our dear veterans face. however, there are a number of dedicated organizations that cater and focus direct attention to the needs of our veterans. last month, we commemorate our veterans on november 11 with veterans day. we remembered heroes for their fearlessness, their loyalty and their dedication. their selfless sacrifices continue to inspire us today as we work to advance peace and extend freedom around the world. we also remember and honor those who layed down their lives in freedom's defense. these brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice for our benefit and our country is forever indebted to our veterans for their courage and

exemplary service. but today less than half of the nation's high school seniors do not possess the basic knowledge of the contribution veterans have made to our nation's safety and security. and because of this i recognize the importance of teaching the sacrifices veterans have made for our nation in the classroom. madam speaker, i again want to support this resolution and to thank representative guthrie for bringing this resolution forward. i encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time, and the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. guthrie: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. guthrie: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of house resolution 897, recognizing the importance of teaching elementary and secondary school students about the sacrifices that veterans have made throughout the history of the nation. over the recent vicious day holiday i was proud -- over the recent veterans day holiday i

was proud to go to schools across my district to honor our veterans. through these events and many others, students learn the important role past generations played in our nation's history. we watch with admiration the accomplishments of our service men and women, both past and present. and as we come upon another holiday season, we're thankful for their perseverance and dedication and are again reminded how important our military, their families and veterans are to our nation's history and future. i want to share an experience just a few weeks ago. i was here and we fin ishted voting early and i decided to go out for a walk around the capitol. it was a beautiful day here in washington. as i was walking down the mall and i walked passed the world war ii memorial and i was looking at all the people there, older people that were standing there and look at the pacific side, the atlantic side. i was trying to think through my mind what they were thinking.

were they remembering a friend, a colleague who didn't come back? a lot of them were sharing their experience, just by looking at them, with grandchildren or even great grandchildren and you could see the memorial and the pride and the tears in our veterans. and as i continue to walk, if you continue to walk, i went down to the korean war memorial. that was one that my family personally has experience. my uncle 12 years before i was born was killed in 1952. so my grandmother and grandfather always taught my family of the sacrifice that veterans make, particularly the sacrifice they made in their oldest son in the korean war. as you cut across the mall, there's abraham lincoln and the gettysburg address, which a lot of us -- the gettysburg part but it was dedicating a cemetery and the words of abraham lincoln and the words to our nation. and i walked by the vietnam wall. as you see families at the vietnam wall, a lot of them will take a piece of paper and take a pen pencil and sketch

out the name of someone. i was standing there going, is that a husband that didn't come home, is that a father for a child they never met? and you just try to figure out what people are thinking as they're hong our veterans and then turned to head back for an evening meeting. as you head to the capitol hill -- capitol building, you notice the dome over the building in which we are standing in. i remember walking back having these moments with veterans and remembering veterans and looking at the dome all the way walking back, that dome, that's opportunity, that's freedom, it's hope. but not just for us. it's hope for those around the world. it hit me that the mall is the story of veterans. and the reason the mall is the story of veterans and memorials to veterans because this country, this nation and this dome and this symbol is about freedom. and we wouldn't have one without the other. and it was an emotional day for

me as i was walking back. i have been talking to schools and i talked about francis scott key and the "star spangled banner" and the history and the actual meaning of those words in that song and i always ended, i can never continue to improve on francis scott key. but the last line i said is land of the free and home of the brave. i said we need to think, the land of the free because of the brave. it's important our students are taught and in our home state of kentucky we -- veterans day is a school day but it's mandated that the school teaches about veterans by being in session on veterans day. it is important to do that, and that's why i think it's important that we do that across this country and i ask my colleagues to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. bishop: madam speaker, may i inquire if the gentleman from kentucky has any further speakers? mr. guthrie: madam speaker, i have no further speakers. i yield back. mr. bishop: and let me just in closing urge my colleagues to support this resolution. i want to once again thank mr. guthrie for bringing it forward. i urge support and passage of this resolution. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky yielded his time. the gentleman from new york yields his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 897. 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 resolution is agreed to -- mr. guthrie: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. guthrie: madam speaker, may i request the yeas and nays on that resolution? mr. bishop: i request 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 and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. and pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. bishop: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass s. 1422. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 1422, an act to amend the family and medical leave act of 1993 to clarify the eligibility requirements with respect to airline flight crews. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. bishop, and the gentleman from kentucky, mr. guthrie, each will control 20 minutes. and the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. bishop: thank you, madam speaker. i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous materials on s. 1422 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. bishop: thank you, madam

speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. bishop: i rise in strong support of s. 1422, the airline flight crew technical corrections act which is almost identical to h.r. 912 which the house passed in february. i am proud to be the principal author and principal sponsor of h.r. 912 and i was glad to see it garner such support in the house of representatives. the family medical leave act has been a great support for working families in this country since passed in 1993. no one can question the benefit of working men and women by being able to take time off to care for themselves or their family members. the intent of the law is to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave if the employee has worked 60% of a full-time schedule over the past year which is about 1,250 hours. in order to qualify for fmla coverage, therefore, an employee has to have logged in 1,250 hours over 12 months

toggle jibble. while 1,250 represents 60% of a full-time schedule for the vast majority of employees in this country, that equation does not work for flight attendants and pilots. flight attendants and pilots work under the railway labor act rather than the labor standard act. time between flights whether during the day or on overnight layovers is based on company scheduling requirements and needs but does not count towards crewmember time at work. flight attend abts and pilots can spend up to four to five days a week away from home and family due to the nature of their job. however, all those hours will not count towards qualification. the courts have strictly interpreted the law and insisted that crewmembers must abide by the 1,250 hours for qualification, even though the intent of the law was 60% of a full-time schedule. airline flight cruise have been left out of what was -- flight crews have been left out of what was intended for them.

a technical correction needs to ensure that fmla benefits are for these employees. this legislation simply states that an airline crewmember will be eligible for fmla benefits if they have worked or have been paid at least 60% of the applicable total monthly guarantee or the equivalent for the previous 12-month period and a minimum of 504 hours. in keeping with current law, any sick, vacation or commuting time does not count towards the required number of hours. this brings these transportation workers in line with the intent of the original legislation, and as promised when the law was first passed. last congress during an education and labor committee hearing, we heard from jennifer hunt, a flight attendant for u.s. air waist. jennifer was denied fmla coverage when she applied to take time off to take care of her ill husband, an iraq war vet. jennifer, unfortunately, like many other flight attendants and pilots as well did not meet

the hourly requirement. i urge my colleagues to support this education to that flight attendants, like jennifer, can qualify for the fmla. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. guthrie: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he requires. mr. guthrie: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in s. 1422, the airline flight crew technical corrections act. this is companion bill to h.r. 912 which the congress passed on a voice vote. this makes a few changes in the other body and it is equally deserving of support. . as we have heard this legislation is needed to address a very narrow, very specific concern. at issue is the fact that some airline personnel are subject to a unique scheduling process which they are paid for being on call but in some cases are not credit with those hours and

calculation used for the family, medal leave eligibility. some flight crew personnel may work a full-time schedule but fail to qualify for family medical leave. this is a real concern for those grappling with health conditions or family obligations. many members have been uneasy about efforts to open up the family medical leave act for small changes when it's clear broader reforms are necessary. the fmla has worked well for 16 years, offering workers the flexibility to tend to their own health or care for a loved one in their time of need without fear of losing their job. despite the loss, many successes has become clear that changes are needed. the realities of today's workplaces are different than those of a decade and a half ago. courts have offered evolving interpretations and is often the case with such a sweeping change in employment law, there have been unintended consequence force both employers and employees. i know the majority has worked with members on our side of the aisle to craft legislation

carefully and avoid some of the pitfall that is could come with piecemeal reform of fmla. i want to thank them for ensuring this bill does exactly what it intends, no more or no less. the bill before us today in fact player phis further several narrow points contained in the house passed bill and ensures that these are truly technical corrections. i hope members will join me m supporting this bill and sending it to the president for his signature. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. bishop: thank you, madam speaker. may i ask if the gentleman from kentucky has any further speakers? mr. guthrie: we have no further speakers. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will yield his time back. the gentleman from kentucky will yield his time back, the gentleman from new york. mr. bishop: let me just observe we have been working on this bill now for approximately two years. i am delighted that we are now at the point where we are on the verge of passage and moving this bill to the president for his signature. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 1422. 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 motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. waters: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 320. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 320, a bill to amend the national manufactured housing construction and safety standards act of 1974 to require that weather radios be installed in all manufactured home, manufactured or sold in the united states. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. wittman, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. waters: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. waters: madam speaker, i

yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. waters: thank you, madam speaker, before i begin my remarks i would like to thank the gentleman from indiana, mr. ellsworth, for his continued leadership on this issue and for authoring the legislation that is before us today. . c.j. martin was killed when an f-3 tornado struck his manufactured home in 2005. over eight million families rely on manufactured housing to fulfill their housing needs. however, many manufactured homes, particularly those before 1994, built before that time, are incapable of withstanding the winds of a tornado which can reach up to 200 miles an hour. in 2008, 45% of tornado-related

deaths occurred in manufactured homes. h.r. 320 will provide a much-needed safety component to manufactured homes by requiring that they be equipped with whether radios that can inform families ahead of time that potentially dangerous weather is on the way. with this information, families can take appropriate action to protect themselves in the event of dangerous weather. these radios can be provided and a minimal cost, less than $50 in most cases, and are a small price to pay for saving even one life. in addition, given the government's reliance on manufactured housing to meet the temporary housing needs of families displaced by natural disasters, such as hurricane katrina, this kind of housing is becoming more and more critical to the lives of many americans. it is crucial that this housing be safe and secure over the long term because, as we have

seen in the aftermath of hurricane katrina, the federal government can be lax in funding and finding permanent housing solutions for families temporarily living in these housing units. the house already passed this legislation during the 110th congress, and i hope the senate joins us in sending a bill to the president for his signature. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. wittman: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. wittman: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 320, c.j.'s home protection act of 2009. and i'd like to thank the chairman for expediting this

important bill to the floor. i'd like to thank my colleague and author of the legislation, the gentleman from indiana, mr. ellsworth, for putting this bill together. this bipartisan bill amends the manufactured housing and construction safety standards act of 1974 by requiring the installation of a national oceanic and atmospheric administration weather radio in all manufactured homes built or sold in the united states. and these weather radios will provide immediate broadcast of severe weather warnings and several emergency messages, including tornado and flood warnings, amber alerts. and it is in memory of c.j. martin, a 2-year-old boy, who was killed in a tornado in southwest indiana in 2005. his mother, kathryn, helped pass a state law by requiring the manufactured housing industry to install weather radios in all new manufactured homes. manufactured housing in this country has replaced a lot of

substandard housing and it provides very affordable housing. it is clean and it provides an extraordinarily good home. despite rapid advances in tornado warning technologies, residents of manufactured housing communities often do not have adequate access to proper shelter. many residents of homes -- whether it is a basement or interior room. that is why congress passed the tornado shelters act which was signed into law in 2003. that bipartisan bill authorized communities using community development block grant moneys to construct or improve tornado shelters located in manufactured parks. unfortunately, this program is not used often enough. h.r. 320 represents the final link in protecting families and residents in these communities. these weather radios will get warnings out sometimes in as much as half an hour before a

severe storm arrives. we have the ability to build shelters. now, we are going to give residents an opportunity to hear these warnings earlier so they can take shelter from these storms. the cost of installing these radios is minimal, and this is going to save lives. it is going to save families. we will never go back and know whether c.j. could have survived had this legislation had been passed. we do know by talking to people across the united states that these radios have in many, many cases already saved lives and will save lives if we install them in manufactured housing. we have a shot at significantly reducing over half of the deaths from tornados simply by taking the step together and passing this legislation. i gep want to commend the chairman and ranking member for expeditiously moving this legislation, and i commend the member from indiana, mr. ellsworth, for his thoughtfulness and his care and passion and dedication to this issue. and with that, madam chairman,

i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: i yield the balance of the time to the gentleman from indiana, the author of this bill, representative ellsworth. mr. ellsworth: i thank the gentlelady. madam speaker, i rise in support of c.j.'s home protection act of 2009. legislation which would require a weather radio to be installed in all manufactured homes built that are sold in this country. it's a continuation of an effort that we started back in 2007. the house passed this bill by voice vote. and i hope it will receive broad support today. at 2:00 a.m. on the morning of november 6 of 2005, an f-3 tornado touched down in my strict in southwest indiana. the tornado hit a manufactured housing community after most people had gone to sleep and it tragically took 25 lives, hoosier lives, in warren and

vandenburg county. c.j., a loving and playful 2-year-old boy, was one of the victims that night. c.j. and 24 other victims, including his grandmother and great grandmother are the reason why i'm here today. his picture is a reminder of the heartbreaking loss that severe weather can bring to families and communities throughout this country. all too frequently, this loss comes with little or no warning. madam speaker, i was the sheriff of the county back in 2005, and my department oversaw the recovery effort in the aftermath of this horrendous storm. the horror and devastation the storm left behind is something i will remember the rest of my life. that is why this bill is so important to me and many others. while c.j. is the inspiration of this important public safety legislation, kathryn martin, c.j.'s mother, is the leader in the effort. in the months after the storm, kathryn channeled her pain and suffering toward an effort to pass similar legislation in the state of indiana. kathryn would not be denied. she was successful in getting

the bill passed, and because of the awareness she raised about weather radios, the people in my hometown of evansville, indiana, have the most weather radios in households per capita in the united states. when i first met kathryn i promised her if i ever came to congress i would introduce federal legislation to do the same thing that she was trying to push in our state. the bill before us today is a fulfillment of that promise. c.j.'s home protection act amends the federal manufactured home and safety standard to require that each manufactured delivered for sale shall be supplied with a weather radio inside the manufactured home. one might question that when not every area of the country endures the same dangerous tornado season why should this be a national standard? while it's true that some regions encounter more tornadoes than others and extreme weather exists everywhere, a tornado took c.j.'s life, but for another child living in california, it could be a wildfire or mudslide.

for a child living in texas, it could be a flashflood. also, it should be added that noaa weather radios are used to put out amber alerts. it must be capable of broadcasting emergency information related to local weather information and specific alert coding and comply with the consumer electric association standard for public receivers. like a smoke detectors, these inexpensive devices can provide families with a warning they need to take action and protect themselves when severe weather strikes. this bill is about improving public safety, plain and simple. it's not about demonizing the manufactured housing industry. kathryn and john martin and other residents in this community love their homes. and the manufactured house provides affordable, high-quality homes for thousands of american families. i'm a strong supporter of manufactured housing. i see this legislation as adding one more feature to enhance the safety features of these structures. before i conclude my remarks, madam speaker, i'd like to

thank chairman barney frank and his staff at the financial services committee for their efforts in bringing this legislation forward. this bill would not be where it is today without the ranking member spencer bachus. he's been a vocal advocate for this cause since the very beginning. thank you very much. i'd also like to thank congressman dennis moore, congresswoman kay granger and their support as original co-sponsors. and finally, i'd like to thank my good friend from indiana, congressman joe donnelly, who was helpful throughout the entire process. i urge my colleagues to pass this important public safety legislation. the cost of a noaa radio is a mere $30 to $80. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlewoman reserve her time? ms. waters: madam speaker, i have no further requests for time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back her time. and the gentleman from virginia?

mr. wittman: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. wittman: thank you. madam speaker, in closing, i do want to thank ranking member bachus. he's done a tremendous job in pushing forward this bill along with the chairman. and i also want to thank mr. ellsworth for his passion and his leadership on this issue. we all know that we dread times of storm. we just gone through one in virginia. we're luckily we didn't lose any lives. but we know when there are ways to prevent death and destruction we ought to act in that way. mr. ellsworth and his leadership, seeing the need, seeing where we can save lives stood up, assumed that leadership role and was really done, i think, a great thing for folks that have manufactured homes throughout the united states. so, again, thank you for your leadership and thank you, again, to mr. bachus, the ranking member, for his leadership on this and to the chairman for pushing this important legislation through. and, madam chairman, with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 320. 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 a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise seek recognition? ms. waters: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to h.con.res 197, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 197, concurrent resolution encouraging banks and mortgage servicers to work with families affected by contaminated drywall to allow temporary forbearance without penalty on payments on their home mortgages. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. wittman, each will control 20 minutes. and the chair now recognizes

the gentlewoman from california. ms. waters: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous materials thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. waters: madam speaker, i yield to myself as much time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for as much time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: thank you, madam speaker. america's homeowners are currently facing the worse economic crisis in recent memory. foreclosures are up, home prices have declined and many homeowners now owe more on their homes than they are worth. these economic challenges have been made worse by health and safety issues many homeowners are now facing due to the installation of chinese drywall in their homes. since 2007, the consumer product safety commission has received over 2,100 reports from 32 states detailing health

and safety problems associated with chinese drywall. health problems include asthma attacks, headaches, irritated eyes and skin and bloody noses. regarding home safety, homeowners are seeking -- are seeing their appliances shut down and have witnessed the piping and wiring in their homes turned black from corrosion. this is because of the highly toxic chemicals had a are in chinese drywall. a recent study found high levels of hydrogen, in the homes built with chinese trywall. as these highly corrosive and dangerous chemicals, the cpsc is now advising homeowners with homes built with chinese trywall to spend as much time outdoors and in the fresh air as possible. in the meantime, homeowners are desperate to remove these toxic building materials from their homes. some have even moved out of

their homes in order to complete the repairs. unfortunately, due to the current economic crisis, many families cannot afford to pay their mortgage and pay the rent on a second home. the resolution before us today calls on the nation's mortgage servicers to help homeowners who are living in homes affected by chinese drywall by providing a temporary forebearance of their mortgage in order to assist them in affording the cost of renting a second home while their primary residence is treated. madam speaker, this is a commonsense resolution. it's long overdue. as i mentioned earlier, america's homeowners are dealing with the brunt of the economic crisis head on. those dealing with chinese drywall are vulnerable and need for their mortgage servicers to step up to the plate to assist them in dealing with this health and safety issue. i'd like to thank the gentleman from virginia, mr. nye, for

offering this solution. i'd like to note that the senate has already passed a concurrent resolution, and i hope that my colleagues in the house can show their support for america's homeowners by doing the same. . madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. wittman: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: recognized for as much time as you may consume. mr. wittman: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to thank my colleague from virginia, mr. nye, for introducing this legislation to encourage financial and lending institutions to work with homeowners affected by toxic dry wall. i would also like to thank the chairman and ranking member of the financial services committee for bringing this resolution to the floor. as of friday, november 20, 2009, the consumer product safety commission had received nearly 2,100 compaints from homeowners

in 3 -- complaints from homeowners in 32 states and the district of columbia. the commonwealth of virginia, particularly the hampton roads region, has been hit hard and many homeowners are facing significant health problems and financial ruin because of the presence of toxic dry wall in their homes. the complaints to the consumer product safety commission, which began sometime in 2006, include a rotten egg smell within the home, health concerns such as irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty in breathing, persistent cough, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infections, nose bleeds, and asthma attacks, and blackened and corroded metal components and electrical systems and air conditioning units. in october i toured the homes of several constituents affected by the toxic dry wall in the hollymeade subdivision in newport news, and saw firsthand

how toxic dry wall has put the health of families at risk. i met with these folks again last week to be updated on their current predicament. these homeowners, many of whom served or serving our country in the armed forces, cannot afford to carry a mortgage on a home that is uninhabitable and make arrangements to pay rent or pay a mortgage on a second home to keep their family safe. many of these families are juggling the burdens of having a deployed spouse or spouse preparing for deployment and an additional financial burden such as a moveout of an impactsed home, foreclosure, or loss ever insurance coverage. all of these would be devastating to these families. this resolution encourages banks to allow for a temporary forebarons without penalty on payments on their home mortgages. this would give homeowners the time they need to work out a more permanent solution. my office is currently working

with seven homeowners who are seeking assistance from their lenders. again i would like to thank my colleague from virginia, mr. nye, for introducing this legislation and i urge my colleagues to support it strongly. madam chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: thank you very much, madam chair lady. i would like to yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from virginia, mr. nye. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for the balance of the time. mr. nye: i thank my colleague very much for yielding. madam speaker, i stand here today to raise awareness about a problem affecting hundreds of families in hampton roads, virginia, and thousands across the united states. the problem of toxic chinese dry wall. chinese dry wall has induced serious health problems, created severe financial hardships, and driven thousands of american families from their homes. since january, 2009, over 1,300

cases have been reported from now over 26 states and the district of columbia. i have seen firsthand the physical, emotional, and financial burden toxic chinese dry wall creates. just the other month, i visited homes in my district that had the dry wall installed. the toxins released by the dry wall wreaked of rotten eggs and had corroded the electrical wiring of the homes. there are homes that had to replace expensive air conditioning units, televisions, microwaves, and other valuable appliances several times because of the harmful chemicals contained in the dry wall. toxic chinese dry wall can also cause deep coves, bloody noses, and severe eye irritation. those are the short-term health effects we know about. i wouldn't be surprised if even more serious health effects are soon found. affected families have been left with an impossible choice -- live in a home and put their family at risk or shell out tens

if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to replace the dry wall. while some more fortunate families have been able to get help from friends, relatives, and neighbors, many others have moved into rental housing forcing them to pay both rent and the mortgage on the contaminated home. at a time when the economy is already struggling, this hardship is more than families can sustain. today i urge my colleagues to support this resolution encouraging banks and mortgage servicers to work with their customers by allowing a grace period on their mortgage payments until they get back on their feet. many banking institutions have already voluntarily provided mortgage forebarons for many of their customers and i applaud the benevolence ever these institutions. this assistance can be a lifesaver for affected families. as we work to create long-term solutions, we must also find a way to give these families some relief now. i want to thank my friends, mr. wexler and ms. mccarthy, my colleague from virginia, mr.

wittman, mr. buchanan, as well as ms. waters and chairman frank for working with me on this important legislation. i hope the rest of my colleagues will join us in its support. with that i yield back my time. thank you. ms. waters: i have no further requests for time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california yields back her time of the the gentleman from virginia. mr. wittman: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields -- takes the baffle his time. mr. wittman: thank you, madam speaker. i want to echo the comments from mr. nye from virginia. having visit add number of these homes, it is very apparent the health effects from this toxic dry wall. the sulfur there is pungent. just in the time i spent there i experienced some of the same symptoms, runny nose, itchy eyes, irritation of the lungs, a cough. that was just in the very short period of time of about two hours. can i only imagine what those families have to endure under

those conditions and living in those homes. our hearts and minds and concerns go out to them. last week the consumer product safety commission released the results of their most recent study of 51 homes. there was a lot of effort to try to get the consumer product safety commission to do a study on this toxic dry wall. their study did not find anything now that is conclusive about the health effects of dry wall, but the consumer product safety commission did commit to continue the study. we all believe that just looking at 51 homes doesn't look at the full scope of this problem. this problem is in over 2,100 instances, we know there are more, and across 32 states. they have committed to work continue yulely to identify which compounds could be -- continually to identify which compounds could be causing the problems. they found an association between the problem dry wall, the hydrogen sulfide level in homes with that dry wall, and corrosion in these homes. in these two preliminary studies of corrosion ever metal

components taken from homes containing the problem dry wall found cop perfect sulfide corrosion in the initial samples tested which supports the finding of an association between hydrogen sulfide and the corrosion. ongoing laboratory tests continue to investigate the nexus between safety and the short-term and long-term effects of such corrosion, not only on the homes, but it should also be looking at the effects on individuals that inhabit those homes. based on these studies completed to date, the interagency task force can begin a new phase by developing a protocol to identify homes with corrosive dry wall and a process to address the corrosive dry wall and its effects. i urge the task force to work expeditiously to complete the study phase and to release its protocols for identifying impacted homes and for remediation. this resolution will give homeowners the time they need to make decisions based on the

consumer product safety commission studies and protocols for a more permanent solution to their situation. madam chairman, with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back the balance of his time. all time is yielded back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 197, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. ms. waters: i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the concurrent resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. without objection, this title is amended. the the gentlewoman from california called for the yeas and nays. ms. waters: i do. 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 and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior

announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from -- for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i have a resolution. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman offer a motion? >> yes. the speaker pro tempore: the motion being? >> to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2873 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2873, a bill to provide enhanced enforcement authority to the securities and exchange commission. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. kanjorski, and the gentleman from california, mr. campbell, will each control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. kanjorski: madam speaker, i

ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. kanjorski: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. and rise today to speak in support of h.r. 2873, the enhanced s.e.c. enforcement authorities act. and to congratulate the gentleman from california, mr. campbell, for his work on these matters. h.r. 2873 enjoys bipartisan support and has previously passed the house in a slightly different form as part of the securities act of 2008 in the 111th congress. in the 111th congress we have -- 110th congress. in the 111th congress we have incorporated this commonsense legislative reform in the investors protection act of

2009. the house financial services committee recently approved the investors protection act and that bill will come to the house floor in the near future as part of the broader financial services regulatory reform package. the u.s. securities and exchange commission currently has nationwide service process of and mrdive proceedings. this bill will enhance the commission's enforcement program by allowing subpoenas be to be served nationwide in civil actions brought by the agency in federal court. currently the commission can issue a subpoena only within the federal jurisdictional district where a trial takes place or within 100 miles of the courthouse. witnesses in civil cases brought by the commission are, however, often located outside the trial court's range. with the proliferation of internet scams that are perpetrated in multiple states, this quirk in the law has hampered the commission's

ability to efficiently and effectively mount its cases. unless witnesses volunteer to appear at civil trials, the commission must take depositions where the witnesses are located and use a written or videotaped deposition testimony at trial. must of the associated travel for numerous lawyers and associates that must be present, depositions are generally more expensive than having a witness attend the trial. h.r. 2873 would fix this problem by allowing the commission to have nationwide service of process just as it currently has for its administrative proceedings. these changes in subpoena procedures for civil cases would apply to the securities exchange act of 1933, the securities exchange act of 1934, the investment company act of 1940, and the investment advisors act of 1940. nationwide service of process would produce a number of

substantial advantages including a significant savings in terms of travel cost and staff time. . we need to ensure that the commission maximizes its limited resources to resume and resolve wrong doing in our markets. h.r. 2873 achieves both of these objectives. moreover, the bill that the house is considering today incorporates the recommendation os they have commission, the justice department and our colleagues on the house judiciary committee. it therefore not only has bipartisan support of the house but also has support from within the administration and across committee jurisdictions in the house. in short, h r. 2873 is a common sense bill that will allow the u.s. securities and exchange commission to operate more

efficiently. madam speaker, i again recommend -- commend the gentleman from california for his work on these matters and i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> i would like to thank my colleague, mr. kanjorski, for his support of this bill and his kind words about this bill. i would also like to thank the judiciary committee for working with us to come up with language that's mutually acceptable. in light of the recent wall street scandal with bernie may dauf and other we think it's appropriate to grant the securities and exchange commission some additional tools they need to fight fraud and corruption in the market. as mr. kanjorski suggested, i won't repeat details of the bill he accurately described,

but if you think about it, most of these s.e.c. enforcement issues will involve investors and perhaps conspirators from all over the current. yet under current law, the s.e.c. only has the authority to subpoena someone if they live within 100 miles of the federal courthouse in which the trial is held. so this means that if they need witness testimony from a victim from a co-conspirator, from somebody involved with the investment, somebody who participated in the alleged crime or who was a victim of the alleged crime, they have to get a deposition from them if they live more than 100 miles outside of the courthouse. those depositions can be costly, difficult to get and they clearly are not as effective in a trial circumstance as a witness actually in the trial. this bill would correct that and simply give the s.e.c. the same enforcement capabilities,

the same subpoena capabilities, that many other federal enforcement agencies have in similar circumstances. so i appreciate the bipartisan support, appreciate the comments, and i'll reserve the balance of of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. kanjorski: i have no further requests for time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman gr california. mr. campbell: i yield back as well. the speaker pro tempore: all time has expire the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2873 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 and the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york rise?

>> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1242 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1242, a bill to amend the emergency economic stabilization act of 2008 to provide for additional monitoring and accountability of the troubled assets relief program. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. maloney, and the gentleman from california, mr. campbell, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from new york. mrs. maloney: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative tais within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert additional material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. maloney: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized.

mrs. maloney: i rise in strong support of h.r. 1242, the tarp accountability and disclosure act of 2009. this bill would require the department of the treasury to establish an electronic database for tracking all tarp funds. the bill would create a database available to the public on the internet that will track in realtime the spending of funds and the federal government's troubled asset relief program called tarp. if u.p.s. can track millions of packages, clear across the world, on any continent, at any time, we can certainly track where $700 billion in taxpayers' money has gone. in fact, we have a duty to do so. when tarp began, the treasury department never required the financial institutions it funded to explain what they did

with the money. and over a year later, we still do not know. it is past time for us to have a system so that the american people can tell in realtime, enhancing its value as a regulatory tool and also as a preventive oversight tool. taxpayers have a right to know how their tax dollars are being used. i believe that in order to ensure transparency, we should require the available technological tools that are available today. currently, tarp data are presented in filing in over 25 different agencies, including filings with the securities and exchange commission. websites, federal reserve registration data, the fdic data, over the counter trades and commodities futures. trading commission data. the data sources are not only

housed in different agencies, but are in incompatible systems and formats, making the use of material unusable. these agencies are unable to share the data with each other and learn from it. the bill which i have co-authored with represent arive peter king and 42 of my colleagues require all relevant tarp data, including regulatory filings and public records and calls for them to be collected by the department of the treasury and put in a consistent, standardized format so tarp funds will be transparent and traceable. this bill would also provide the ability to monitor inconsistencies that may indicate waste, fraud, and abuse or both for both the corporate and individual officers. by using tools that currently exist, individual filings and transactions can be pulled

together to create a single view of an institution. and provide better management and regulatory oversight. the basic data elements would include, but not be limited to, the following -- the capture and standardization of every transaction the institution is involved with, wherever possible. news releases, press releases and other sources of public data. counterparty filings, securities transactions, u.c.c. filings in certain cases, transaction data including mortgages, debt issuance, and fund participation. in its simplest term,000,000 bill allows the question to be answered where has the money gone. this is a question that pundits and taxpayers ask every single day. recently, elizabeth warren, one of the oversight regulator, stated in testimony that she has no idea where the tarp

money. is this bill would change this this would put safe gards in to ensure that proprietary information about financial services companies is not disclosed and this bill does not put any additional burden on industry. it merely puts in a usable form information that is already required by regulators. there is broad support for this bill from close to 40 groups, from across the political field, including the center for democracy and technology, the u.s. chamber of commerce, the naacp, and the heritage foundation. and i ask permission to place in the record the list of supporters from -- the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. maloney: as we have seen since this time last year, the lack of transparency in terms of how tarp funds are being spent make this is bill necessary.

the american people, members of congress, regulators are demanding transparency. it's time we gave it to them. they are entitled to it. i would like to thank members on the other side of the aisle, mr. king and others who have been supported, -- supportive, and particularly chairman frank for his leadership and mr. hoyer. it's time for us to have a system so the american people can tell in realtime how their tax dollars are being ewed. i would add i also believe it would build confidence in the system, hopefully confidence that's being managed in an appropriate way. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. campbell: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. campbell: i rise to support this bipartisan bill offered by the gentlelady from new york and the gentleman from new york, mr. king. you know, this bill is really pretty simple and it's really

just about transparency, disclosure, and sunshine. $700 billion of taxpayer money was made available last year in order to provide a rescue plan for the financial system, which was troubled at that time. we all know that much of this money has gone out, but what we don't really know is what it has gone to do, what it is being used for, where it is being employed. there are those who will say that, well, because they are dollars if you put dollars into a given financial institution, they're fungible and you don't know which dollar went to what. i understand that that has some legitimacy. but the point of this bill is, let's disclose and make available what we do know. there's a lot of information out there, as the gentlelady from new york suggested, which is in multiple agencies and multiple placesing -- places,

and it's not available to members of the house or members of the congress so we can make an effective determination of whether this money is, has, and will be used in a manner consistent with its objective, to stabilize the financial system. this bill, what it really does, quote, to make ongoing, continuous and close to realtime updates of funds distributed through the an electronic database. that's something technology today enables us to do and something which the taxpayers and members of congress have a right to see in order to oversee use of the funds. i stand in support of this bill and reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. maloney: i have no further speakers.

i'd like to say that the program's effectiveness was testified -- was supported by ted zandy who said tarp has beens any to bring an end to the credit crisis, but there are concerns about its effectiveness, its cost, and how it can be improve thsmed bill that brings online transparency would move us in the right direction and i'm strongly in support of it, as well as many of my colleagues. having no further speakers, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. campbell: i yield back the balance of my time as well. the speaker pro tempore: all time is expired. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1242 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 --

mrs. maloney: i request the yeas and nays on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. . pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will presume on motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. h.res. 498 by the yeas and nays. h.con.res. 129 by the yeas and nays. h.res. 861 by the yeas and nays, h.res. 897 by the yeas and nays,

h.r. 3634 de novo. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conducted as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from north carolina, mr. kissell, to suspend the rules and agree to h.res. 494, as amended on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 494, resolution recognizing the exemplary service of the soldiers of the 30th infantry division, old hickory, the united states army during world war ii. 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 will be a 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.] it is disturbing to me as

i worry that having a fixed time schedule but is now flexible to conditions on the ground is a dangerous signal a. i'm concerned it was more of an as a strategy than a winning strategy. host: you just got back from afghanistan. guest: i did get to talk to general stanley mcchrystal as well as some folks working on the ground. host: did you get the feeling from the president's speech last night that what the general was

asking for, he he got a little, most, that he can use this? guest: probably less than half. i asked general stanley mcchrystal, i understand there were three options to give the administration. but you also gave a higher range number as a city with a higher probability of success -- can you tell me? he said it is classified. what is the higher number? i have a concern overall that we're not really utilizing the afghan people in how they know how to fight by tribal militias. they defeated the taliban before in 2001 without boots on the

ground. i think there are other things we can get to exploit. the strategy going forward, i more about the fixed timetable. host: this headline says with extra troops obama is sending demands for afghans to step up the five. based on what you saw are the afghans getting that message that they have to step up? guest: militarily they have stepped up. militarily having served with the u.s. marine corps in iraq, and i tk to individuals there who served in both theaters and for me that these people, they are pretty aggressive on the battlefield and like the iraqi army. we are observing them into the military as fast as we can to train them. it is not the problem. the problem is afghan governments, civil

administration making a meaningful difference to the population. host: the first call comes from chuck in holy lake ranch, texas. caller: good morning. i lost my nephew on 21 august 2005 in afghanistan. you know what? the political correctness must cease. we have three navy seals that are being court-martialed because a terrorist in iraq was captured and got a bloody lip. these rules of engagement have got to see some. we are in all were of survival of our way of life. this is going to be ongoing. i am tired of seeing our troops being maligned with all these

rules of engagement when they should go in there to kick some butt. guest: thank you, i am certainly sympathetic. first of all, thank you for your family's service and i am sorry for your loss. the president has identified afghanistan as a central front of the war and a necessity to prosecute -- general stanley mcchrystal has adjusted the rules of engagement which will be tougher on our troops. his concern is the number of afghan civilian casualties is alienating the population and he has to balance those two. host: the next call comes from indiana, billy, who opposes the president. caller: hello. yes, i am a vietnam veteran

back from 1969. it seems like after the vietnam war they forgot about all the veterans who came back with mental and physical conditions. i am wondering what will keep them from doing the same thing after afghanistan? when they get the war over with their will forget about the veteran. guest: thank you for your service and particularly for the war in vietnam. it is easy for americans to remember folks when they are going to war, and they tend to be forgotten when combat. it is a challenge. as a member of congress i will take that challenge up and make sure that we adequately care for those who served our country. host: next up is a doctor from miami. go ahead. caller: what i like a congressman to amend, the fact that he has the facts, and why

the insensitive support of the president knowing the facts, and they have been known since the bush administration, and the plan that this president has, the timeframe, you would think that if you are a fiscally conservative republican, considered moderate, then you more so give is president the benefit of the doubt because of the time frame. and encourage those who are fiscal conservatives compared to the social conservatives who seem to have the problem. i think in the long run the president is going to win out because he has taken a lot of adverse abuse which was not necessary because 43 countries

along with knowing the problems in afghanistan, they have several me -- and we in our right mind as strong as we are cannot accommodate the needs or the hypocrisy, knowing that you will be shamed and then to come back to your people because there's a 2010 election and have to say to your people, the president was right. are not support him now? guest: i hope that the president is right on that. the problem is this. it is not having a time schedule. i think we should always have goals and a time schedule. it is having a fixed time schedule in respect of the conditions on the ground. i think it tells the taliban that they can wait out the situation. from a tactical military standpoint it is wrong for the

commander-in-chief to do that in any circumstances. host: here is this of line. -- this headline. those that send a signal based on your experience to the troops in afghanistan that this president has taken ownership of this war and that he is in charge in making decisions? and this is how he wants to proceed? guest: not only a message to the troops in the field, but also a message to the american people that in fact this is the way the president wants to go ford. it is certainly his war. he has inherited a pretty bad situation from the prior administration. the energy was diverted to iraq

in every way. the president was correct on all his comments about what he inherited.. he is in a tough situation. yes, we have been there for eight years, but it has only been holding action. host: next up, reno, nevada, from jeryl opposes the president's action. caller: we need to get out of there. i'm glad that the president has a ton on. as long as we are occupiers, will be seen as such, will have to kill every afghan person before we win. no one likes occupiers. as for a centralized government, i'm surprised to see the conservative try to create a centlized government and of guinness and when all they do is complain about ours. guest: two things.

general stanley mcchrystal has said we cannot kill ourselves out of this. at the end of the data has to be governance, capability on behalf of the afghans to deliver things like the rule of law to the people. then, secondly, i do think we took a wrong turn in superimposing a political process. giving them a form of government they're not familiar with. anything we can do to have a more decentralized structure that fits the afghan people i think would be a step forward. host: what kind of steps is the u.s. taking to work our system of permanent and to there's, into a tribal government? guest: i am not familiar with all the steps we are now taking.

it was a terrible turned this country tick. initially what i think that president bush did was absolutely billion. he gave air and logistical support without putting food on the ground and support of the northern alliance who defeated the taliban on the ground. once they did that, we pushed them aside, superimposed a political process that does not have roots in their culture. what we should have done in hindsight is to say to those of the northern alliance your now in charge, please return to the other ethnic groups. and by the way, you ought to move in the direction of human rights and elections. but we will support you as long as you share our strategic interest in the region. we have to make the best with what we have now, host: though based on the situation there now and what the president said

last night, how would you define u.s. success there? guest: certainly as giving this particular mission, giving the afghan government the time and space necessary to develop their capacity. at the end of the day we will not win it. they have to win this war. it is the ability to train their army and assume the battle space from us. host: the next call comes from virginia from stephen who supports the president's proposal. caller: yes, i want to make one comment and question. i'm 32 years old and about to enlist. i am in the process. despite being a father of five- year-old child. there was a gentleman earlier who said we have nothing at stake in the afghan war. i want to remind him of 9/11

once again that our homeland security is the most important thing at stake. my question, how for the as the representative see this time back towards george bush, a senior and our involvement there for so long? host: before you go, why did it take you so long to make the decision to enlist? caller: growing up i was a person very against war. as a matter of fact i do have my own doubts and insecurities about the process. i have picked up learning arabic and in trying to win. i believe that i will take peace to every one. i have a pair of flags here that overlook the rotc here. it has taken me awhile, but think this was more of an important issue.

my heart dropped when i saw the second tower go through. guest: thank you so much for your service. for your willingness to serve our country. there is no question we got attacked from al qaeda and the taliban give them safe harbor. i certainly agree with the president in attaching national security concerns with afghanistan. it was too bad we diverted so much energy to iraq which in my view was not a war of necessity. but i felt that once and we had to reasonably finish the job. the same way in afghanistan. now that we are in we have to finish. it is too bad that having disbursed the taliban in 2001, defeated them on the battlefield, that we did not

exploit the window of opportunity. we allowed the taliban by diverting energies to iraq to regroup and take initiative. although we have been there eight years, we have not been fighting for eight years. my difference with the president is merely on having a fixed time schedule. host: doug calls for oregon and opposes the president's proposal. caller: good morning. i did vote for, and i supported his view as far as getting us out of the war, but my main concern with what is going on is republicans just seem to have it both ways. they marched us into this thing, could not wait for us to have this done. got the country all behind them, and now that obama is trying to fix the mess that has been created, he just seems to get

opposed from all directions. it seems to me that the republicans love to have it both ways. i just do not understand why they even have a say in the matter here? hostguest: i think there is a diversity of opinion in republic. and some in congress think we ought to pull out right away. there will be a tendency for most to support the president. as opposed to probably the democrats. there will be a tendency for most of them to oppose him on this issue. my observation is merely that if you are going to go in -- we have been going down the middle for eight years now -- having reverses on the battlefield if anything, but i do believe that

a fixed time schedule it in perspective of conditions on the ground is irresponsible. i differ on that and also, even with general stanley mcchrystal, i think he ought to take a look more at utilizing the afghans in a manner that they know how to fight in. they have been fighting for 2500 years by tribal militia. we're trying to organize them into the conventional military. we need to rethink that. host: there is an article this morning which says that many republicans will support and a trip increased water quick to charge that the timetable for withdrawal would an emboldened adversaries. does the timetable we can support among republicans for the president's proposal that he

otherwise might get? guest: i think so. senator john mccain is exactly right. the taliban will look at this and say, they usually have seasonal offensive operations they long, and it will save this season we need all that. we need to wait this out. it does it send the wrong signal and embolden our enemies. host: the next call comes from new york. caller: i support the president's proposal to add more troops. one thing missing from the strategy is the proliferation of these fundamentalist who put out these ideologues who are good for nothing but recruitment into the taliban and terrorist organizations. in pakistan aid has come from saudi arabia in oil loans. the graduates have no job skills

and are easy recruits for the taliban. what done to stop the proliferation of these small terrorist factories? guest: that is a good question. i know that there's a real concern that stems from the conservative view a ofsunni islam out of saudi arabia and establishing a madras' as part of the foreign aid package that has increased hatred. that some terrorism stems from the schools that are prevalent in pakistan. there is a real concern about. from a diplomatic perspective i know that the state department is looking at that issue. i do not know that it is connected with a particular policy today. host: here is an analysis from

"the washington post" -- do you think the president's speech yesterday betrayed troops already out in the field? guest: at the end of the data general who is good and a loyal soldier works for the president as he should. it is hard to get answers from general stanley mcchrystal. what does this mean? i believe it is less than half the number he requested that was associated with a high probability of success. when i asked general stanley mcchrystal about the draw dadow inform me some time before 2014. does they give him the time and space requested in terms of

being able to develop the afghan military and? and host: the last call comes from marietta, ga. caller: yes, how are you, mr. coffman? how many actual terrorists are from the taliban and al qaeda, who we are partially dealing with? i hear it might be somewhere might100-500. we have already been defeated because if we have to take 100,000 soldiers to fight 100? then we need not be afraid because we're being told that the economy is outside of the country, but really we need to check inside the country because

a lot of the things that have happened are within. host: we will leave it there. guest: good point. al qaeda is thought to no longer be in afghanistan, but in the remote trouble areas of pakistan. the taliban is thought to number somewhere between 20,040 thousand, many not full-time, but simply doing it because of the lack of other opportunities for income. the leadership are dedicated ideologues. -- the taliban is thought to be somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000. the fear is that if the taliban take control of pakistan then the al qaeda will move back down into afghanistan and the institutions of that nation- state will once again be used to allow terrorism to be exported in the country. host: the representative is a

member of the house armed services committee. thank you. the program will continue in a few minutes. first this update. >> congress begins hearings on

the speaker: the house will be in order. the chair would ask all present to rise for the purpose of a moment of silence. the chair asks that the house now observe a moment of silence in remembrance of our brave men and women in uniform who have given their lives in the service of our nation in iraq and afghanistan and their families and all who serve in our armed

the speaker pro tempore: without objection, five-minute voting will continue. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion from the gentleman from north carolina, mr. kissell, to suspend the rules and agree to h.res. 861 as amended on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 861, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of national military

family month. 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 will be 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.]

2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules --