life and the privileges from his white side, being that white people do have quite privilege in america -- how he can directly relate to with the average black male is going through? what about private-owned prisons? what about addressing issues that could be revolutionary? guest: president barack obama is a wonderful role model for our young african-american men. secondly, i know the president gets it. when you look at the president's policies as it relates to the criminal justice system, for example. when you look at the people he has appointed such as attorney general eric holder who understands the disparities in crack cocaine sentencing. the president has put in place people to begin to try to turn

this around. it will not happen overnight. president obama along with john conyers are doing a fine job together to try to unravel some of these very horrible we leave this quarter portion of washington journal as a house is returning to legislative business. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. richard himes, office of evangelism, archdiocese of chicago, chicago, illinois. the chaplain: lord god, on this day, catholics honor jesus' mother, her own conception. especially today at the shrine of the emack late conception in washington which she is honored

. god of peace and justice, 68 years ago today from this chamber, president franklin roosevelt asked congress for the permission to respond to terror inflicted on our country in pearl harbor the previous day. sadly, lord god, terror continues today. individuals, groups of individuals and even some nation states imagine terror, prepare for terror and conspire for terror. however, the necessity to protect innocent people, the right of communities to live in peace, the expectation that people can live with differences and in harmony remain deep desires for americans and for many others of good will. guide our nation with right judgment and courage, encourage all who labor for an end to terror. we shall never see seeking your

inspiration and our endeavors to work for peace and justice. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house 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 pennsylvania, congressman sestak. mr. sestak: i ask those in the gallary to join us in the pledge of allegiance. 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 pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i rice to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is

recognized. mr. sestak: madam speaker, i rise today to ask the house to quickly pass the extended cobra, the continuation protection act, to ensure health coverage for millions of americans who through no fault of their own has lost their jobs. and now since wall street gambled with their savings cannot afford the cobra premium to keep their health care from their former employer. in the economic stimulus bill we provided 65% of the cost of those premiums, but those benefits are now running off for those who were laid off first. i ask this house to quickly pass the bill to extend those cobra premiums subsidies for six months. take a woman in my district. she pays $535 for her 35% share of the premium. it will go over $1,500 very soon if we do not act. and she has a pre-existing condition and must keep on her health care plan. hundreds have contacted my office regarding this, and i

ask this house to quickly help as we come out of this savaging recession. it's not just economic security, but it's health security we must address. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: madam speaker, yesterday was a historic day. it will be a day which lives in economic infamy. the e.p.a. administer yesterday announced that endangerment finding. yes, co-2 is now a pollutant. that means everyone in this chamber, anyone out there who might be hearing us, you are now polluters. with every breath you take you emit co-2. this was never ever conceived by congress when it passed the clean air act. we now have a situation in which administrators are going

to effectively control the entire economy and the way in which we live and the way in which we breathe. this is not the idea of freedom. this is in fact not an endangerment finding about clean air. this is an endangerment finding about our freedom. our freedom took a vicious blow yesterday, and we as representatives of our people must act. the speaker pro tempore: 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 pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from ohio is recognized for one minute. mr. kucinich: u.s. contractors are paying u.s. tax dollars to the taliban in order to protect the delivery of u.s. shipments of u.s. goods to u.s. soldiers so that our soldiers can fight against the taliban. in an expose, they reported

contractors bribe insurgents not to fight against supply lines. the real secret to trucking in afghanistan is on the perilous roads controlled by war loads, tribal militias and taliban commanders. the american executive which i spoke to was very specific about it. the army is basically paying the taliban not to shoot us, unquote. and then the taliban uses that money to shoot at our troops. what a racket. are we in afghanistan to fight or to fund the taliban or both? the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. smith: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute.

mr. smith: madam speaker, abc, cbs and nbc are the winners of this week's media fairness caucuses highly uncoveted lap dog award for the most glaring example of media bias. the networks took two weeks to devote any coverage to the scandal on their evening news programs. we all know that prominent scientists were so determined to hide contradictory tempts data. but for two weeks, none of the networks gave this scandal any coverage on their evening news programs. and when they finally did cover it, it was largely slanted in favor of global warming alarmists. the networks have shown a steady pattern of bias on climate change. during a six-month period four out of five network news reports failed to acknowledge any dissenting views about global warming, according to a business and media institute study. the networks should tell americans the truth rather than to hide the facts.

the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. baca: last fall, our economy began to tail spin into the worst economic crisis since the great depression. for years greed and irresponsibility was allowed to run wild. now, we find ourselves beginning to climb out of this hole. this week we will continue a comprehensive financial package that is loud and clear. no more, and i state, no more. no more will we allow financial institutions to engage in abusive behavior with other people's money. no more will we allow corporate executives to receive cash bonuses for failed investments. no more will we let consumer protection take a backseat to the bottom line of bank of america or citibank. the age of the bailout is over. last fall americans lost the

ability to deal with corporate greed. we cannot let them down. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. 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 pennsylvania rise? mr. pitts: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: thank you, madam speaker. all too often we come to this floor to talk about problems in the country. today, however, i want to mention some good news about the future of america and the next generation of patriotic men and women. in my district this year applications to the military service acad meese increased by -- academies increased by 30%. today's youth more than ever are looking to serve our country and our academies are among the finest universities in the world. while it may seem counterintuitive that a nation at war will see increased interest in military service, i think we have remarkable young people that value the sacrifices made by previous

generations. they know the value of freedom and liberty and are willing to defend these precious gifts. they're willing to serve a cause greater than themselves. we just celebrated thanksgiving and i believe we need to be thankful for men and women who are eager to wear the uniform and become leaders in our military services. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new mexico rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mitchell: madam speaker, congressional quarterly reported that more american military personnel have taken their own lives in 2009 than have been killed in either the afghanistan or iraq wars this year. with more than 434 members of the military committing suicide. this means one thing. we are not doing enough. we are not doing enough to provide adequate mental health care for our returning service members. the national defense

authorization act of 2009 was recently signed into law with a provision that i championed that requires mental health screening for all service members returning from combat. this is the single best thing we can do to identify cases of mental illness, reduce the stigma of mental illness and ensure our brave men and women in uniform receive the treatment they need and deserve for mental illness. however, we don't have enough mental health professionals to carry out these screenings. i ask my colleagues to join me in increasing mental health funding and making sure the defense department and v.a. hire the mental health professionals they need to keep our service members well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: thank you, madam speaker. i rise to talk about the rush of concern that my colleagues are trying to pass cap and trade legislation.

the e.p.a. has declared greenhouse gas emissions as dangerous pollutants, an action that can prove costly to america's farms, ranchers and small businesses. at a time of double-digit unemployment, the last thing our country needs is a jobs killing tax regime imposed on our family-run small businesses and agriculture producers. agriculture is an energy intensive industry relying on fertilizer for the crops and generators to keep heaters on during the winter. this national energy tax is the wrong way to go and it's based on flawed science. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized for one minute. mr. inslee: the state of washington will memorialize the service and lives of four lakewood city police officers who were slain while on duty on november 30 of this year. sergeant mark renninger, office

ronald owens, officer tina griswold was killed in the line of duty. and today in the tacoma dome thousands of washingtonians will embrace them in their arms and in their hearts and to show respect for their loss. but i just want to note that it was the nation that appropriately honors and memorializes these four officers. and the reason is that they are symbols of the service of police and sheriff's officers who are out on dark roads, who are out in cities who are doing the work to keep us safe. i hope we will thank the next officer we see for their service. i just want to tell these families how they feel. i lost my cousin, a sheriff's deputy, mark brown, in 1999 while in the line of duty. my prayers and hearts go out to these families and i hope all my colleagues will join me in that regard. the speaker pro tempore: the

time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio rise? ms. schmidt: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized for one minute. ms. schmidt: thank you, madam speaker. as i was getting ready to come here this morning, i was listening to the television and something was said that really caused me to not just pause but really question what some folks are doing with this country. the moody's investment service has said if we do not stop our spending, we will lose our a.a. rating, we're in jeopardy of losing our a.a.a. rating in the next three to four years. we will debate an omnibus budget bill that will spend half a trillion dollars, that is half a trillion dollars more to the deficit we already have. moody's has warned us we can't

sustain the spending, and this is going to cost us our a.a. rating. madam speaker, i question what some folks want to do. we need to pause before we spend the taxpayer dollars. we need to make sure that we do not ruin the financial security of our nation. i yield back my time. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from arizona rise? >> i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. kirkpatrick: i rise to honor the accomplishments of the college women's cross-country team. on november 14, they earned their second natural junior college athletic association championship in five years. the squad had four runners in the top 12 at the championship meet with last year's national title winner, rose, placing second. the team has shown an

unwavering commitment to excellence. they have been practicing six mornings a week starting at 5:59 a.m. since the start of the school year. and now all their hard work and lost sleep has paid off. winning the title was a perfect sendoff for coach mike gray, the njcaa coach of the year, who is retiring after leading them for over a decade. i would like to congratulate coach gray and the entire team on this amazing end to their tremendous season. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from hawaii rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman hawaii is recognized for one minute. ms. hirono: our peck slayings on wall street contributed to the deep economic hole we are in today. taxpayers have paid the price, risking around $3 trillion to

stabilize the financial system. astonishingly the top three bailed out firms are reportedly on track to pay $30 billion in bonuses to top executives this year. in the meantime, furloughs, unemployment, and foreclosures are weighing on american families. limited access to lending is still a problem for many small businesses. it's time for us to institute a modest transaction tax on trades of stocks, options, and swaps. even a small tax of a quarter percent on these securities could raise up to $150 billion a year. part of this revenue should be used to invest in our nation's infrastructure, creating jobs, and putting americans back to work again. i ask my colleagues to support the let wall street pay for the restoration of main street act. wall street needs to be part of the solution not an ongoing part of the problem. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. pence: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pens: thank you, madam speaker. last year i opposed the wall street bailout because i thought it was wrong to take $700 billion in bad decisions on wall street and transfer that debt burden to main street and future generations of americans. but while i believe the action taken by congress a year ago was wrong, the tarp legislation actually rightly demanded that any money not used to purchase toxic assets in the bill be used to pay down the national debt. the legislation specifically says that any leftover tarp money goes to deficit reduction. that's why i have to tell you, madam speaker, i was astonished when i heard speaker nancy pelosi last week suggest that her source to pay for a new so-called stimulus bill would be leftover tarp funding. if press reports are true, the president of the united states will address the brookings institute this morning and suggest the same. let me be clear on this point. to use money from the tarp fund

in the manner that is being sussed by the -- discussed by the white house and congressional democrats would be a violation of the law. and it would betray the trust of the american people. it seems the democrats' policy on spending is, if we got it, spend it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. costa: thank you very much, madam speaker. i rise today to discuss the importance of jobs and our economy and the importance to put americans back to work to really spur the economic growth that i think we all desire. i was pleased that the mayor of fresno last week was one of the five mayors to participate in the jobs forum in the white house. since she and i represent a region that has suffered severe economic hardships, including a drought, a devastating drought that has impacted much of the san joaquin valley and other

aspects of california. collapse of the dairy market, and precipitous drop in housing markets that has put housing and foreclosures of the utmost concern. we need to do everything we can to invest in our infrastructure and transportation, schools, and water. california's in the midst of a water crisis and i urge the administration use all its flexibility within their power to get water flowing to this growing -- for next year's growing season to allow tens and thousands of hardworking farm workers, farmers to return to work to putting food on america's dinner table. water equals jobs, equals food. that's what we need to do. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. capps: i rise today in strong support of the wall street reform and consumer protection act.

this historic legislation will strengthen our financial regulatory system and better protect consumers from abuse by the lending and credit industries. most importantly, this historic legislation ends too big to fail and government bailout. never again will taxpayer dollars be used to bailout wall street and their overpaid executives. large financial institutions like a.i.g. or lehman brothers at risk of collapse will be dissolved in an orderly and controlled process. this process will be paid for by the shareholders, by creditors, and the assets of failed companies not by the taxpayers. for years wall street has reaped the spoils of success with no penalties for failure. this bill will end this unjustice and force wall street to accept responsibility for its failings. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: are there further requests for one-minute speeches?

for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? >> madam speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 22, and by direction of the committee on appropriations, i move to take from the speaker's table the bill h.r. 3288, with a senate amendment thereto, disagree to the senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the senate. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the tight. -- title. the clerk: h.r. 3288, an act making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the motion is adopted. for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa rise? >> madam speaker, chairman, i have a motion at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mr. latham of iowa

moves to that the managers on the part of the house at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two houses on the senate amendment to the bill h.r. 3288 be instructed as follows. one, to disagree to any proposition in violation of clause 9 of rule 22 which, a, includes matter not committed to the conference committee by either house. b, modifies specific matter committed to conference by either or both houses beyond the scope of this specific matter as committed to the conference committee. two, that they shall not record their approval of the final conference agreement as such term is used in clause 2-a-4 of rule 22 of the rules of the house of representatives unless the text of such agreement has been available to the managers in an electronic searchable and downloadable former for at least 72 hours prior to the time described in such clause. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 7 of rule 22, the gentleman from iowa,

mr. latham, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. olver, will each control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from iowa. mr. latham: i thank the speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. madam speaker, this is a very basic motion to instruct on what could be very complicated bill. this motion simply instructs the conferees to refrain from adding any extraneous materials like other appropriation bills and any other issues outside the provisions included in either the house or senate passed transportation, h.u.d. bill. this motion also provides any conference report will be available for no less than 72 hours before the conference report will be brought up for final passage in the house. madam speaker, the bill like every appropriations bill this year was slammed through the house in july under an

unprecedented closed and restrictive rule. all the name of completing these bills, and i quote, regular order. the senate even with all of its scheduling issues managed to pass a regular bill in an open process with amendments and i might add by september 17. this bill should have been considered and passed by every -- by early october at the latest. instead here we are now in december. according to the plan as presented to me, chairman obey is planning on lumping five other bills with this bill to create an omnibus. three of those bills, financial service, foreign operations, and the labor-h bills weren't even considered on the senate floor. two of the other bills, military construction, v.a., and commerce, justice, sciences bills have passed both the house and senate and there is no reason these bills shouldn't have their own freestanding conferences. in fact, the commerce, justice,

science bill was supposed to go to anches on november 17 but that conference got yanked due to some cold feet on the part of the majority at the prospect of having their members have to vote on guantanamo bay policy. by voting for this motion to instruct, you are voting for regular order process on these bills. we should be able to vote on veterans issues separate from the d.c. issues. the foreign aid issues and all the other issues we don't want stacked together. there's other things like railroad issues, immigration issues. they should all be done separately. further, this motion to instruct provides that the house will make available the full text of the conference report to the conferees at least 72 hours prior to consideration. there are billions of dollars at stake and a lot of policy to digest. it's our responsibility that we as elected representatives representing our districts know

what we are voting on. further, i believe this motion is not inconsistent with speaker pelosi's policy. i urge a yes vote on the simple motion to instruct and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from iowa reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? mr. olver: madam speaker, i rise to speak on the motion. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. olver: madam speaker, the motion that we have before us is essentially the same motion that we had earlier back in september, september 23, when the leg branch appropriations bill was brought to the floor and we were considering doing a continuing resolution for a period of time which ended up leading to a second continuing

resolution at the point the first one had run out. the only difference with that -- from that motion is that this one now calls for 72 hours rather than 48 hours. thereby making the time constraint more difficult given the circumstances that we are in and given the time at which we are supposed to have another continuing resolution run out. so that's a very small point because we are 48 hours would be -- it would be easier to deal with. madam speaker, -- madam

speaker, in a perfect world we would have 72 hours to further review this bill. however, we cannot guarantee that. er for the reason that the c.r. expires on the 18th and the bills that are -- that have been mentioned by the gentleman from iowa fund critical programs. the departments that are funded in these bills cannot wait much longer for the funds and we want to get the bills enacted for the entire year. . it's already december 8 and we need to get these bills done. plus, we need to have plenty of time for our colleagues on the

senate side to act. now, madam speaker, i would just like to point out that in recent years, in 2005 and all of these, of course, were while the present minority was in the majority and so they were in control of the procedures that were being followed. in 2005 the omnibus at that time included agriculture, commerce, energy, water, foreign operations, interior, labor-hhs and education, the leg branch, h.u.d. and v.a. and foreign operations. that being the vehicle to bring that process to a conclusion.

so the number of bills that were involved in that process were nine plus the vehicle, 10 of the 12 bills. in that instance, the agriculture bill had never been considered in the senate. the commerce, justice, state bill had never been considered in the senate. in fact, that was before justice and judiciary at that point. it was a more complicated bill. energy-water was never considered in the senate. interior had never been considered in the senate. labor-h had never been considered in the senate. leg-branch had never appointed conferees. and the v.a. and h.u.d. bill was not considered in either body, yet all of those bills were in that continuing resolution. and so this has been -- this

has been done in the past. the -- that was the continuing -- that was the omnibus bill for -- to finish up our work for the fiscal year 2005 budget. going back a year, they considered an appropriations bill in -- to finish up the fiscal 2004 sequence that included agriculture, commerce, state-justice, district of columbia, foreign operations, labor, health and education, transportation, treasury and va-hud, and agriculture was the vehicle. and c.j.s. was never considered in the senate. district of columbia had not appointed conferees. the foreign operations bill had appointed conferees but never

reported a conference report, a report had never been agreed to. labor-h, the conferees had been appointed but then the conference -- the conferees discharged from their appointment and brought it back to the full committee. and so va-hud had never appointed conferees, and so it goes. the conferees in these instances included a series of members from the majority side, from the variety of the committees in each case. at that time mr. young of florida was the chairman of the appropriations committee, and i could go on here. 2003, the consolidated

appropriations resolution that completed the 2003 budgetary events included agriculture, commerce, district of columbia. those were still part of -- it was still a separate subcommittee. energy and water development, foreign operations, interior, labor-h, legislative branch, transportation, treasury and postal service. we're now getting back at least two different reorganizations of the jurisdictions of the appropriations committee all during the period that the present minority making the motion was in control and moved very quickly on the actions. in that year, 2003, every one of the bills that i had mentioned had never been considered in one or the other branch. several of them had not been considered in the house, and

several of them had not been considered in the senate. well, i'm wrong, actually. in the house, the leg branch had never appointed conferees but it had been considered, the bill had been passed. but in the others, the others had never been considered in either the house, in one of the two branches at least. so it is a time-honored process. when one gets here we've known we had now for three months, since the end of the fiscal year, almost three months since the end of the fiscal year and all of these bills had been put forward in continuing resolutions. and the final continuing resolution ends on the 18th of december, 10 days away.

the bill that we have before us is the transportation, treasury bill. my ranking member, mr. latham, i want to express my strong appreciation for all the work that he has done on the legislation thus far, that is the caring legislation here. and he has mentioned there are several bills that are being added, and i am not going to exactly repeat those because they are already now part of the record and they do not complete our -- there is a defense bill that is left. so we are in a time constraint. we need to move. we have a situation that we understand quite well. if i were to go through and list the dates on which the senate acted finally on several of these bills, they have been passed in the senate in the case of commerce, at least, and

veterans' affairs and military construction, but they weren't passed in the senate until well after the end of the fiscal year, the fiscal year 2009. all of our bills have been passed through the house by the end of fiscal 2009. so we were ready to move forward with individual bills at a much earlier stage. and as i have already said, as i've already stated, we cannot guarantee 72 hours. it would be nice in a perfect world to be able to do that but we must get this legislation done or we are putting enormous pressures on the executive departments of this government and on our own procedures as we move forward toward the appropriations process for fiscal 2011 which comes quickly on the tail of getting finished

with the needs that we have for finishing fiscal year 2010. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from iowa is recognized. mr. latham: i thank the speaker and while i appreciate the chairman reciting history, also, you should look at fiscal year 2006 when ever bill was passed individually, signed into law, in regular order with an open, free process. and so i think that's the model that we should all be looking for, and hopefully that would be the case. and there's no reason to put all of these bills together, and certainly there's no reason that we shouldn't have enough time to look at -- it's about half a trillion dollars in spending to have 72 hours to finally look at this bill. and again, madam speaker, there really is no controversy here.

it's a simple motion to instruct directing the committee to number one keep the h.u.d. bill clean and within its scope of the conference and, number two, to allow the conference agreement to be available to conferees 72 hours in advance of final passage. i ask for a yes vote, and i thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from iowa reserves. who seeks recognition? the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. olver: madam speaker, i would like to just reiterate that the bill that we are considering bringing to conference this morning is the transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies bill. the bill -- i want to thank again my ranking member. this is his first year that mr. latham has been the ranking

member. and i have enjoyed greatly the communications that we have had . sporadic as they have been. we worked kind of -- because there's been a lot of waiting in the process to get to where we are today, but i want to thank him in particular for the cooperation and the work that he and his staff have done. and i would name the minority clerk, dena barren, and on the majority side, dave gibbons and allison peers and jeannine. and on our side, i want to give the strongest praise to our

staff and to our clerk and that staff, kate who has given me a list who doesn't have her name on it. she is so modest here. kate, laura, alex, sylvia garcia, who is in this lengthened process a replacement in the middle of the process of bringing out this legislation for a previous staff member who has now gone on to greener pastures. and with that i am prepared to yield time if the gentleman has no other -- i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back. the gentleman from iowa is recognized. mr. latham: i thank the speaker once again, and i want to express my appreciation to the chairman for his patience. this has been a difficult process, and like he mentioned, we've started and stopped and back and forth, but it's been a real pleasure for me in my first year on this subcommittee to work with the chairman. while we don't always agree on everything but we always have a very, very open dialogue, and i appreciate that very much. again, madam speaker, this really is very simple. with all the money that we're spending in this bill, that we're pulling together a bunch of extraneous bills that has nothing to do with transportation and h.u.d., the idea that we should just limit the conference to this bill. there's other avenues for doing

the other bills, and certainly when you're spending this much money, there's no doubt that people should have a chance, at least 72 hours to look at this bill in advance of passage. i would ask for a yes vote and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. all time for debate having expired, without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion to instruct. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it and the motion is not agreed to. mr. latham: madam speaker. on that i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this

question will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i move to suspend the rules and agree to the bill, h.r. 2278, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2278, a bill to

direct the president to transmit to congress a report on anti-american incitement to violence in the middle east, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. costa, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. costa: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. costa: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. costa: thank you, madam speaker. i want to commend my friend from florida, mr. bilirakis, for introducing this piece of legislation. as well as my friend and fellow -- colleague from new york, joe crowley, for his leadership on this issue. this is an important matter.

the obama administration is bringing new and positive tone to american foreign policy in the middle east. yet despite the president's desire to seek new beginning between the united states and muslims around the world, there still lies fanatical anti-american and anti-semitic efforts that continue to excite -- insight -- incite people around the world through broadcasts in the middle east that are broadcast in television stations for those muslim viewers. without a doubt freedom of the press and freedom of expression are the foundations of a free and prosperous society throughout the world, yet with this important freedom comes the great responsibility to reject and repudiate that incitement to violence. this resolution attempts to remind us of that fact. for years certain media outlets in the middle east, particularly those associated with terrorist groups, have

repeatedly published or broadcast incitement to violence against the united states and our allies. television stations such as hezbollah elamur, and others that broadcast incrimet to -- incitement to violence against the united states, aid to foreign terrorist organizations in their key functions to recruit and fundraise and in cite further propaganda. this must not continue. some of these stations are broadcast throughout the region by two prominent arab world satellites. egyp -- egypt's nilsaturday and the arab league's arab sat. in which both saudi arabia and kuwait are leading shareholders, who have relationships with our country. this is unfortunate. this propaganda threatens the long-term u.s. interests in the

region and does a great deal of damage to the prospects of improving the bilateral relations between america and our allies in the arab world. in addition, it undermines the prospects for arab-israeli peace, make no doubt about that. americans have witnessed this direct connection between the charged rhetoric of the jihadist narrative. as tom friedman called in his recent column that many of us have read. and incites actual violence. this incitement creates and environment conducive to and accepting of terrorism. terrorism that impacts all of us throughout the world. as the u.s. and other nations join in fighting this terrorism, there must be a renewed vigilance against the purveyors of anti-american hatred abroad and the consequences for inaction and inattention are state sponsorship of this hatred we know in terms of what the outcomes -- outcome's prospects

are. this legislation requires the state department to submit to the congress an annual reporter that details country by country middle eastern media outlets that engage in anti-american incitement to violence and the satellite companies that transmit them. they are the enablers. it also establishes a u.s. policy that satellite providers that knowingly and willingly contract with terrorist entities can legally be designated as a specially designated global terrorist for perpetrating this incitement. under the executive order 13224 in addition it calls upon our government to consider state sponsorship of anti-american incitement to violence when determining level of assistance to and the frequency of our relations with other middle eastern states. we ought to take a reflection and make an analysis of this effort. this legislation attempts to do so. finally, h.r. 2278 urges all governments and private

investors who are involved with satellite transmissions to oppose the broadcasting of telecasts by any specially designated global terrorist-owned and operated station that openly incites their audiences to commit acts of terrorism, acts of of terrorism are violence against the united states and its citizens and citizens throughout the world. i know that terrorists like hamas and hezbollah will not soon abandon their attempts to mass media means of promoting hatred and violence, but there are efforts that we can do and should pursue. it's long time past for all state-owned and privately owned satellite companies wherever they are located to cease transmitting these ugly messages that encourage the murder of americans and our allies. that is why, madam speaker, that we and i strongly support this legislation and i urge all my colleagues to join me in that support. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves.

the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the speaker. and i rise also in strong support of this legislation authored by my good friend and colleague from florida, congressman gus bilirakis. and i'm a proud co-sponsor of this important bill. madam speaker, i thank mr. bilirakis for his vision and also wish to extend my gratitude to our colleague from new york, congressman joe crowley, they have been leaders in this important issue. the bill before us, madam speaker, is a successor to a resolution that was passed last congress condemning the broadcasting of incitement to violence against americans and the united states in media based in the middle east and calling for the designation of al axatv as a specially designated global terrorist entity. as we commemorate the 68th

anniversary of the united states' entry into world war ii, we know well the power that words have for either good or evil. before there were factories to drive the nazi war machine, there were hateful and violent words. before there were bricks to build concentration camps, there were ugly dehumanizing words. as we have witnessed such charged rhetoric incites violent action and such invimet -- crimet -- incrimet creates an firment accepting of and conducive too violent islamic extremism. as we too sadly learned on september 11, 2001, purveyors of anti-american incitement to violence traffic not only in orders but in deeds. accordingly, this important and critical legislation before us this morning requires the

president submit a report to congress on the activities of media outlets that engage in anti-american incitement to violence and the satellite providers that carry out these messages of hate. furthermore, mr. bilirakis' legislation seeks to document the threat posed by the broadcast of incitement to violence against americans and the united states on television channels and other media that are accessible in the united states and a report that will highlight how it may increase the risk of radicalization and recruitment of americans into extremist organizations that seek to carry out attacks against american targets and on american soil. we cannot allow satellite providers that traffic in and profit from anti-american incitement to violence to

remain in the shadows. we must join with the majority of those throughout the middle east and right here at home that value pluralism, that value tolerance, and in both word and deed reject the purveyors of anti-american incitement to violence and their enablers. madam speaker, i strongly urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation and i thank the author of this important bill, my colleague from florida, mr. bilirakis, for its introduction as well as our friend from new york, mr. crowley, and with that, madam speaker, i would like to yield such time as he may consume to my friend from florida, mr. bilirakis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bilirakis: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 2278, i want to thank the gentleman from california, of course my good friend from florida, and also the gentleman from new york, mr. crowley.

my legislation that will direct the president to transmit to congress a report on anti-american incitement to violence in the middle east. this in fairous activity is escalating in quality and quantity. fueled by the rapid growth of satellite television throughout the arab world n 2008, a tv run by hezbollah broadcast over two dozen video clips of insurgent bombings against u.s. and coalition forces in iraq. further, iranian state controlled tv chanlts repeatedly broadcast calls for death to america. and a tv in the arm of hamas broadcast a puppet show depicting an arab child stabbing the president of the united states. instead of denouncing such incitement, many countries in the region provide financial material and technological support to the purveyors of incitement.

al manar among others are transmitted on the satellite providers controlled by the egyptian government and arabsat controlled by the arab league. given the dangers such incitement poses to american soldiers and civilians in the reasoningon -- region and at home, it is long past time for the u.s. and other responsible nations to stop this growing threat. passage of h.r. 2278 is therefore critical. this legislation seeking to designate a spessly designated global terrorist satellite providers that knowingly engage in contracts with entities already designated as special designated global terrorists under executive order 13224. this bill would also make it the policy of the u.s. to urge all governments and private investors who own shares in satellite companies to oppose transmissions of telecasts by any station that openly incite

the audience to commit acts of terrorism or violence against the united states and its citizens. this bill requires the president to transmit a report to congress that must include a country by country list and description of media outlets that engage in anti-american incitement to violence in the middle east and a list of satellite companies that carry such media. most importantly, it must be the policy of the united states in crafting its foreign policy to consider state 1307bsor -- sponsorship of anti-american incitement to violence when determining the level of assistance to and frequency and nature relations with regional states. finally, madam speaker, the broadcast of incitement to violence against americans and our country on television channels and other media that are accessible in the u.s. may increase the risk of radicalization and recruitment of individuals into foreign terrorist organization that is seek to carry out acts of

violence against american targets on american soil. this is a concerning trend that must be halted. madam speaker, i urge passage of this very important measure which i hope will improve our national security and the safety of our soldiers and citizens overseas. thank you, madam speaker. again i thank the gentleman from california and the gentleman from florida. appreciate it very much. ms. ros-lehtinen: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. costa: madam speaker, i'd ask unanimous consent to return the management of this measure and other remaining items to my friend, the gentleman from new york. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from new york will control the time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from new york reserves. who seeks recognition? ms. ros-lehtinen: madam speaker, i continue to reserve. i would like to ask my colleague from california if he has other speakers on this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida reserves. the snafment new york. million engel: we have no other speakers. ms. ros-lehtinen: with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida yields back her remaining time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back his remaining time. . the speaker pro tempore: those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, -- >> madam speaker, 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. 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. engel: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to the bill h.r. 2134 as amended the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2134, a bill to establish the western hemisphere drug policy commission. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. engel: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill

under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. engening thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 2134, a bill that i authored, to establish a western hemisphere drug policy commission. i thank foreign affairs chairman howard berman and ranking member ros-lehtinen for their support of this bill and i'm particularly grateful to connie mack, the ranking member of the western hemisphere subcommittee which i chair, for being my lead republican co-sponsor of this bill. madam speaker, billions of u.s. taxpayer dollars have been spent over the years to fight the drug trade in latin america and the caribbean. in spite of our efforts, drug use in the united states has increased. according to the bookings -- brookings institute, since the peak of the heroin and cocaine epidemics since the mid 1980's, consumption rates of these narcotics have remained more or

less stable. at the same time amphetamine use has spread. as members of congress we owe it to our constituents to do a better job combating the drug trade and taking illegal drugs off our city streets. i believe that we are long past due in re-examining our counternarcotics efforts here at home and throughout the americas. h.r. 2134 will create an independent commission to evaluate u.s. drug policies and programs aimed at reducing illicit drug supply in the americas and the demand for these drugs here at home. this commission will assess all aspects of the illegal drug trade including prevention and treatment programs in the united states. the western hemisphere drug policy commission will be required to submit recommendations on future u.s. drug policy to congress and various cabinet secretaries including the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the secretary of health and

human services and the attorney general. to tackle our nation's horrific drug problem once and for all we must have a better sense of what works and what does not work. the citizens of our great country who deal every day with illegal drugs on their streets and our partners in the americas have who -- who have worked with us in fighting the drug trade for years deserve no less. madam speaker, i have long thought that as we tried to combat the growing of crops that produce drugs we also need to combat the consumption side here at home. and this report will help us to understand what we can do more effectively. i urge my colleagues to support this crucial legislation and, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: madam speaker, i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman.

ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the speaker. madam speaker, the united states has been involved in multilateral international drug control efforts for nearly a century. over the years our agencies have used a wide array of tools to counter the drug trade in our hemisphere. ranging from multilateral cooperation and foreign assistance restrictions to crop eradication, alternative development, interdiction and institutional capacity building. here within our own hemisphere the u.s. remains a major supporter and participant of the inter-american drug abuse control he commission. regionally and bilaterally the u.s. has also worked closely with responsible partners on counternarcotics efforts through important programs such as the merida initiative, the andean counterdrug initiative, plan colombia and the upcoming caribbean basin security initiative. through these programs and others at least eight u.s. agencies are involved in

implementing u.s. international counternarcotics activities. the western hemisphere drug policy commission created by this bill, h.r. 2134, will be responsible for assessing the promotion of economic development alternatives to elicit drugs, also how to better employ technology to target major drug cartels. in addition u.s. drug prevention and treatment programs and the value of working with other governments and n.g.o.'s to promote the reduction of supply and demand for illicit drugs. after this one-year review, the commission will complete its mandate by providing a report to congress that provides an assessment of overall u.s. -international elicit drug policies in our western hemisphere and recommendations on how to best improve these

policies. it is critical that the appropriate measures be taken to ensure that u.s. drug policy, both here at home and abroad, is responsible and is effective. already we have seen tremendous results from some of our efforts. for example, in the last two years the price of cocaine in the united states has increased nearly 80% while its purity has decreased nearly 30%. drugs not only poison our children and our communities but drugs fund and sustain many of the violent criminal groups and extremist organizations lurking in our hemisphere. within the last years or so too major drug rings with ties to hezbollah have been caught operating in our western hemisphere. the comfort with which these criminals trapes around the region is alarming. however, with leaders like hugo

chavez and ortega bending over backwards to let rogue states like iran expand its presence in the region, it really is no surprise that extremist groups like heds would also make their -- hezbollah would also make their homes here. we cannot allow the western hemisphere to become the staging ground for extremists. from money laundering to drug smuggling to arms trafficking extremist groups like the farc and hezbollah, the regimes who support them and their neighbors are putting the people of the americas in direct danger. the united states must continue to work with our democratic allies to stamp out these threats and i am hopeful that this commission will help us to do just that. madam speaker, thank you for the time and with that i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: madam speaker, let me just say that i've listened to everything that my good friend and colleague from florida, congresswoman ros-lehtinen, said, and i concur with every word that she said. this is a very important bill, the a very important subject and i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. i have no other speakers and i would like to ask my good friend from new york if he has other speakers? mr. engel: i have no other speakers. ms. ros-lehtinen: with that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida yields back. the gentleman from new york. mr. engel: madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. all time for debate having expired, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and

pass h.r. 2134 as amended. those 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 on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. engel: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to h.res. 915. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 915, resolution encouraging the republic of hungary to respect the rule of law, treat foreign incesters fairly and promote a free and independent prells. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does -- press. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? is the gentlewoman from florida opposed to the resolution?

ms. ros-lehtinen: madam speaker, i do not oppose this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio, mr. kucinich, will control the 20 minutes in opposition. pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, and the gentlewoman from florida, -- ohio, mr. kucinich, will each control 20 minutes and the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. engel: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. engel: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution and i yield myself you as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: -- myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. engel: madam speaker, i thank my friend from indiana for introducing this important resolution and let me just say in 1989 hungary joined its

central and eastern european neighbors in throwing off the combat truly -- rule. by taking that brave zgs in that year to openity borders to austria and allow germans to travel to the west, hungary played a decisive role in bringing about an end to the cold war. in the 20 years since, hungary has become a member of nato and the european union and a strong partner of the united states. hungary's working side by side with the u.s. in afghanistan where it leads the provincial reconstruction team and it has been a partner in conflicts in iraq and in the balkans. we greatly appreciate hungary's staumpling support in these and many other areas. however, as we have become concerned about recent reports of possible unfair treatment of foreign investors in hungary and possible efforts to inject politically motivated demands into the commercial process. in particular we're concerned by the actions of the hungarian national radio and television

board, ortt, in deciding not to renew the national radio licenses for two foreign companies, one of which is american-owned and, two, award them instead to two local bidders. in 1997 the ortt awarded to the foreign companies the only two licenses to provide commercial rather than state-owned nationwide broadcast services. those licenses expired on november 19 of this year. according to widespread media reporting, both foreign companies have alleged that before the renewal bids were due they were approached by representatives of hungary's two leading political parties offering it to ensure their licenses would be extended if they agreed to the representatives' demandes for a percentage of the company's equity and a say in editorial content. the two foreign companies refused and the ortt awarded the licenses to both local bidders instead who had submitted

tenders that many outside experts have said are not commercially viable. the day following the award, the chairman of the ortt resigned in protest, claiming that both local bidders' contracts were flawed and economically unsound. numerous commentaters have indicated that on the face of it, the ortt's decision clearly appears to have been politically motivated and have ignored the economic feasibility of the two local bidders' tenders. madam speaker, american companies have invested over $9 billion in hungary since 1989. hungary's economy, as with every other country, has been severely affected by the global economic down turn. we support u.s. companies investment in hungary but we note that events such as this case give rise to questions about the fairness and transparency of doing business in hungary. we welcome the prime minister's commitment to investigate any complaint relating to foreign investments and with a decision

by the hungarian parliament's constitutional and justice committee to set up a body to examine the radio license transaction. hungary is a close friend and ally of the united states and we urge the government to take all necessary steps to ensure that foreign investors are treated fairly. i urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution and, madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to split the time evenly in favor of the resolution with my colleague, ms. ros-lehtinen of florida. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will state his inquiry. mr. kucinich: the gentleman asked for a unanimous consent to split the time between himself and ms. ros-lehtinen. i have already claimed time in opposition. what is the chair rule on that? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio will control 20 minutes in opposition. is there objection to the request of the gentleman from

new york that the gentlewoman from florida control 10 minutes of the time in support? mr. kucinich: i have no objection. the speaker pro tempore: hearing no objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman will control 10 minutes. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. kucinich: madam speaker and my colleagues, as chair of the unhair began american -- hungarian american congress, i -- american caucus, i want to bring to the attention legislation which quotes, encourages the republic of hungary to respect the rule of law, treat foreign investors fairly, and promote a free and independent press, unquote. this legislation issues broad condemnation of the republic of hungary without regard to current legal proceedings that

should receive more discussion. i urge my colleagues to consider the consequence of this legislation before casting a vote. it's already been stated that the hungarian prime minister has given statements questioning the award of the contract. that there is a parliamentary committee looking into it. that courts are reviewing it. and in fact there's a prosecution -- prosecutorial investigation in the offing. i have contacted the hungarian government and in response to this congressional inquiry, the hungarian government pointed out that the licenses awarded to two national radio stations by the hungarian national radio and television boarder are under judicial review before the court. a criminal procedure related to the issue was launched with the

prosecutor's office, unquote. if this doesn't indicate a responsiveness by the government to the award of the contract, i don't know what does. the question then comes, why is this even on the floor of the house as a suspension? i stand by the right of every member of this body to protect the interest of any business in any district. that's what we are here for. but i think that to put this resolution before the house for passage before any committee meetings have been held to review the actual extent of hungarian government's involvement or lack thereof, is really not consistent with our duties and due diligence at every piece of legislation. now, the hungarian national radio and television board

awarded 12-year licenses to two national radio stations in 1997 to two companies, one based in the united states and other in europe. the licenses expired last month. and are the only licenses that allow for a nationwide coverage by commercial rather than state-run radio broadcast services in hungary. following an international bidding process, the licenses were awarded to two hungarian companies. members across the political spectrum in hungary have raised concerns regarding the manner in which the licenses were issued. and the u.s.-based telecommunication company filed legal proceedings in hungarian court. now, the legislation accurately states the importance of foreign investment and the need for equitable treatment in accordance with united states and hungarian laws. however, broad condemnation of the republic of hungary charging the country or implying that there's

widespread corruption without allowing legal processes to take place is more than problematic. this dispute should be resolved in hungarian courts which can render judgment, provide sufficient remedy to the injured party including if they care to, revoking existing licenses, forcing a new round of competitive bidding, or awarding compensation. these are all things that the republic of hungary has the opportunity to do. -- hungary has the opportunity to do. i just want to go back to the legislation itself which raises questions about the integrity of the government itself. and frankly i don't think that's appropriate given the scope of the legislation and the grievances that members have about the contract awarding procedure. i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio reserves. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. the bill before us, house resolution 915, encourages the republic of hungary to respect the rule of law, to treat foreign investors fairly, and to promote a free and independent press. since breaking the chains of communist dictatorship and soviet domination, hungary has made significant progress in implementing democracy and economic reforms. i congratulate the hungarian people and its government for these significant steps. it has also become a full member of the transatlantic community having joined both the nato alliance and the european union. in light of how far hungary has

come in just two decades since the fall of the iron curtain in integrating itself in western institutions and embracing basic freedoms, some recent developments in that country regarding the freedom of the press and the rule of law have raised some concern. specifically political appointees to a government body that administers hungary's airwaves have reportedly taken away two radio licenses from foreign-owned stations, one of them an american company, and have given the licenses to local firms that have links to hungary's major political party. the chairman of that government body administering the airwaves has resigned as a result, stating that the decision to take the licenses away from the foreign firms violated the law. madam speaker, the manner in which this hungarian government

body reportedly treated these foreign companies also may raise concerns about hungary's full commitment to a free and independent press, political cronyism, corruption, and restriction on the media are relics of the old communist system and the old parties. the hungarian people do not wish to resurrect these harmful policies. not just foreign investors in hungary, but the hungarian people deserve much better. they have worked too hard, they have gone through too much to make their beautiful country, hungary, a free and democratic nation. the sponsors of this measure, mr. donnelly, mr. pence, and mr. burton have introduced this resolution which condemns the recent action by the hungarian national radio and television board. it encourages the republic of hungary to continue to promote

and respect the rule of law and treat foreign investors fairly, and lastly, it encourages the republic of hungary to maintain its strong and vibrant commitment to a free and independent press. i thank the speaker for the time and i would like to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: may i ask how much time i have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman controls 6 1/2 minutes. mr. engel: i yield five minutes to the gentleman from indiana, mr. donnelly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for five minutes. mr. donnelly: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of house resolution 915, a resolution that encourages hungary to respect the rule of law, treat foreign investors flare, and to promote a free and independent press. i appreciate the words ever my good friend from ohio -- of my good friend from ohio, but i

would like to say this resolution expresses our concern and condemns the hungarian radio and television board's process in granting these licenses. it does not question the government of hungary's efforts and it does not question our full confidence in their ability to resolve this matter. we welcome the government steps in moving this forward. for decades, the hungarian people fought against communist rule for the chance at freedom and democracy. they have been our ally, they have joined nato in 1999, and the country of hungary is a good and dear friend of the united states of america. we must ensure that this friendship continues to maintain in a healthy and engaged way and that it continues to foster economic growth for our countries. in 1997, the hungarian national radio and television board, ortt, awarded licenses for two national radio stations. one of these licenses was awarded to an american company,

the other to a european company. each for 12 years. these terms ended on november 19 of this year. the financial times reported on november 6 that shortly before these bids renewal for the national licenses were due, that the companies were approached by individuals claiming to represent various parties in hungary. they offered to extend these companies license it is they received 50% of the equity. both companies refused this attempt and the ortt voted to award these licenses to two connected local bidders instead. we want to ensure the fullness and fairness that will be provided by the government of hungary's review, and we want to make sure that this resolution expresses our concern and condemns the actions of the ortt. u.s. investors are an important part of the hungarian economy and deserve equitable

treatment. we have invested over $9 billion in hungary since 1989. the friendship is strong. the friendship is unbreakable. and we are the fourth largest contributor to direct foreign investment in hungary. this resolution as indicated expresses our concerns and condemns the ortt's actions and we ask the government of hungary to treat foreign investors fairly and fully respect the rule of law as we know they will. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and to pass house resolution 915. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. who seeks recognition? who seeks to yield time? ms. ros-lehtinen: i continue to reserve, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida continues to reserve. the gentleman from new york. mr. engel: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. kucinich: may i ask how

much time i have? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio controls 15 1/2 minutes. mr. kucinich: this resolution encourages the republic of hungary to respect the rule of law. if you're encouraging someone to respect the law, the underlying assumption is that they don't. i think that to look at the action of of a sickle -- single agency and to put a broad brush on an entire national government is really grossly unfair. to imply that hungary does not respect the law is actually an insult. to the people of hungary, who put their lives on the line in

1956, fighting to break free of domination by the soviet union. who put their lives on the line to be able to establish a democracy and self-determination. is this what they key serve -- deserve? people of hungary really deserve to be treated this way? why can't -- this should have been handled diplomatically. this should have been handled at a committee level before bringing it to the floor of the house of representatives. and with respect to foreign inversors -- investors, since the government of hungary has itself launched an investigation into the award of this contract, doesn't that show that they want foreign investors to be treated fairly? doesn't it show that they

respect the rule of law by going forward to raise the potential of prosecution? of people involved in the award of this contract? don't we already have what it is this legislation supposedly aspires to, evidence of respect for the law and fair treatment of foreign investors? . there's no evidence that the country of hungary has taken a tilt toward soviet-type control of the press. i hope that no one's seriously asserting that. hungary is a proud and free society and we should be very careful about moving forward with the resolution that in any

way implies otherwise. not to say simultaneously, well, hungary's a law-abiding nation and then say, well, they ought to respect the law. so, again, i wish that the sponsors of this legislation who i deeply respect and who i know are working very hard for their constituents in the business community as well as for all the people in their districts, i wish they'd take another look at this and maybe send it to committee so that we could have the opportunity to have a deeper discussion about the advisability of the legislation and maybe to taylor it more firmly. i could agree -- tailor it more firmly. i could agree with questioning the action of the hungarian national radio and television board. the hungarian government's questioning that action. but to challenge the entire

government's integrity when the government's already taken action to raise questions itself about the award of the contracts , we really have to ask what we're doing here. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio reserves. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: excuse me, madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. engel: i just want to answer the gentleman from ohio for whom i have profound respect and i want to do it by just reading what this resolution says because i don't think it implies what he thinks it implies. first of all, the start of the resolution we talk about the brave people of hungary and how they rose up against domination,

communist domination, soviet domination, in 1956 and whereas the hungarian people fought bravely for freedom, democracy and human rights and we talk about celebrating the fact that they've become a member of nato and a member of the european union and then at the end the bill simply says, and let me read it, resolved that the house of representatives, one, condemns the recent action by the hungarian national radio and television board that awarded the national community radio licenses. two, encourages the republican republic of hungary to respect the rule of law and treat foreign investors fairly and, three, encourages the republic of hungary to maintain its commitment to a free and independent press. i don't think that implies anything. i think that it encourages them and obviously this resolution is bipartisan with a company from indiana that was wronged and that's why you have both mr. donnelly and mr. burton and mr. pence from different parties but

all from indiana very concerned about this as well. so i don't think this casts anything on hungary,ity people or its government. quite the opposite. i think clearly in the resolution it celebrates the great partnership and alliance that we have with hungary and all the brave things that the hungarian people did during the past 50 years. so i just wanted to point that out and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. who seeks recognition? the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: may i ask how much time i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio controls 11 1/2 minutes. mr. kucinich: i question why this resolution was brought before this house under suspension. i question why an effort wasn't made to contact the hungarian government, an effort by the

proponents of the legislation, to contact the hungarian government and to learn that their position is in fact -- that there is a judicial review and that there is a criminal procedure related to the issue that was launched with the prosecutor's office. because that would clearly indicate action being taken on the part of the government to look at this particular contract. why is this matter on the floor of the house of representatives? why are we taking this time to look at something that's already under review by the hungarian government? and do it in the context of urging the hungarian government to have respect for law? that's what they're doing. they're showing respect for you law by taking this -- for take

by law for taking this. why do they have to be encouraged? everyone understands what that means. we're implying they don't understand the law unless their judicial response is a certain way. that's not -- that's not an appropriate way to proceed here. and i again, you know, it's very difficult when you have a colleague who you want to agree with on everything present a resolution with which you don't agree. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: yes, madam speaker, i yield one minute to the author of this resolution, the gentleman from indiana, mr. donnelly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for one minute. mr. donnelly: and i too have the greatest respect and friendship for my colleague from ohio but i

did want to comment that we in fact did meet with the hungarian ambassador and did meet with him in my office here at the capitol and there is no implication in any way that hungary does not respect the rule of law. in fact we are very, very proud of the partnership and friendship that has been built with hungary. what we are trying to do is express our concern about the conduct of the hungarian radio and television board, a concern we also expressed to the hungarian ambassador and we are hopeful that this will be resolved in the near future. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. mr. engel: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves his time. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. kucinich: as my colleague has stated, this resolution is intended to address the actions

of the hungarian national radio and television board. they're the ones who awarded the contract. but yet in the same breath we're asking the hungarian government to respect the rule of law. is there any other example other than the action of a sing -- single board that any proponent of this legislation can point to which indicates that the republic of hungary doesn't respect the rule of law? or are we only talking -- are we simply talking about one agency? if we're talking about one agency then the resolution should be written in a different way. because the impact of this resolution is not going to be

just to talk about the decision of one agency it's going to imply very broadly that the government of hungary doesn't respect the rule of law. that passage should have been struck from this legislation and i ask my colleague, mr. engel, would you look at the second clause, the second part of the enactment clause on -- if he would consider striking that? mr. engel: let me say to my friend it's not my resolution, it's mr. donnelly's resolution. mr. kucinich: parliamentary inquiry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.

mr. kucinich: is the motion to strike in order by the manager of the bill or the sponsor of the bill, have to ask for such a motion? the speaker pro tempore: a motion to suspend the rules is not amendable. mr. kucinich: so is that -- since this legislation is being offered under suspension then no motion to strike would be in order, is that right? the speaker pro tempore: correct. a motion to suspend the rules is not -- mr. kucinich: i withdraw my request for a colloquy with my friend from new york. i just think that if it was so important to bring this to the floor it should have been tailored quite narrowly to talk about the hungarian national radio intelligence board and not -- radio and television board and not to take a broad brush with which they paint the government of hungary. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio reserves the balance of his time. who seeks recognition?

the gentleman from new york has 1 1/2 remaining and the gentleman from ohio controls seven minutes. the gentleman from new york has the right to close. who speaks recognition? the gentleman from -- who seeks recognition? the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: i think in the time i had allotted i had the opportunity to present my point here and i just hope that when my colleagues vote on this later on in the day that they'll consider the diplomatic implications of voting for this resolution and i will say again and this is really a concern that i have that i want to express to the leaders of the house of representatives. we have a lot of bills that document this floor under suspension that appropriately should be discussed in committee before they come to the floor of house.

this is a good example -- of the house. this is a good example. i would ask the leadership to please pay more careful attention of these issues because this house has very valuable time and while we have the freedom of speech on this floor, the speech gets very expensive when there's so many other issues waiting for discussion on the floor and i appreciate the opportunity here. i want to thank my colleague, ms. ros-lehtinen, for what she's expressed and the concerns mr. donnelly and mr. engel have expressed. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio yields back his remaining time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: thank you, miami. i would just urge my colleagues -- thank you, madam speaker. i would just urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill, this really is not a controversial bill, this is really, with all due respect, a tell pest in a teapot. i will simply read the first

sentence. let me just finish and then i'll be happy to yield. i'll read the first sentence in this resolution which says, and i quote, encouraging the republic of hungary to respect the rule of law, treat foreign investors fairly and promote a free and independent press. i don't think anyone can disagree with that, not even my friend from ohio and i now yield to him. mr. kucinich: with all due respect to my good friend, mr. engel, you compared this to a tempest in a tee pot. it's your -- teapot. it's your teapot and it's your tempest. i yield back. mr. engel: it's not my tempest and it's not my teapot. i wish the gentleman had come to us earlier. we didn't know of his objections prior to this debate and maybe if he'd have come to us earlier we might have been able to accommodate him but not knowing about it and being blind sided by his objection, i think it's difficult to change it.

mr. kucinich: would the gentleman yield? mr. engel: no, i've yielded enough and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back his remaining time. all time for debate having expired, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 915. those 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 resolution is agreed to -- mr. kucinich: madam speaker, on that i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? mr. kucinich: i ask nor 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. 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. engel: i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, h.con.res. 213, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 213, concurrent resolution expressing the sense of congress for and solidarity with the people of el salvador as they persevere through the aftermath of torrential rain which caused devastating flooding and deadly mudslides. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. engel: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. engel: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in strong support of h.con.res. 213, a resolution

expressing our support for the people of el salvador as they persevere through the aftermath of floods brought on by hurricane ida. i am the chairman of the western hemisphere subcommittee of the house foreign affairs committee and i feel especially strongly about resolution like this. i want to thank the ranking member of my subcommittee, connie mack, the gentleman from florida, for introducing this important resolution. on november 9, a large portion of el salvador was devastated by floods brought on by hurricane ida, 196 people were killed, 78 people are missing. and nearly 14,000 individuals are displaced from their homes. our thoughts are with the people and government of el salvador as they cope with these difficult losses. the united states through usaid and u.s. southern command has provided significantly emergency relief and assistance to the people of el salvador in

the wake of hurricane ida. the president of el salvador and his government have worked closely with the united states to assist the affected populations. let me add that i attended the inauguration of the president in el salvador with secretary of state hillary clinton just a few months ago, and i am glad that our governments are working so closely together. let me say that i have great confidence in the president as he takes on these crucial disaster relief efforts. i had the pleasure when i attended the inauguration of the president with secretary clinton of meeting with then president-elect fuenas at the summit of the americas in trinidad as well. i have discussed things with him twice. as i have said, the u.s. and other countries have already done a great deal to assist el salvador during this difficult time, but i believe much more remains to be done. i urge my colleagues to support

this crucial legislation and i again thank representative mack for his important initiative. i encourage the obama administration to also support disaster relief efforts in nicaragua and guatemala and we need to continue to assist the government, people of el salvador, and prevent future disasters by investing in the country's infrastructure. i want to again say that hurricane ida's damages were not limited to el salvador. guatemala and nick rag a -- nicaragua were impacted as well. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the jere wreck thiesings -- recognize -- chair recognizes the gentlewoman. ms. ros-lehtinen: i rise to join my colleagues in support of the people of el salvador and specifically the bill before us, h.con.res. 213, a resolution introduced by my

colleague from florida, my good friend, mr. connie mack, the ranking member of our important subcommittee on the western hemisphere last month as we have heard, the torrential rains of hurricane ida took a devastating toll on the people of el salvador. nearly 200 people lost their lives and more than 14,000 were left homeless. up to 10,000 salvadorans were left in reported need of emergency food supplies. the devastation did not stop at the borders of el salvador, however. hurricane ida also left about 13,000 people homeless in nicaragua and damaged about 100 homes in guatemala. this important resolution expresses our solidarity with all of the people impacted by this horrendous storm and it commends the brave efforts of all who helped to contribute in

the relief efforts in its aftermath. specifically i would like to recognize and commend the significant and immediate efforts undertaken by our most generous country, the united states of america, in wake of this horrific storm. through the u.s. agency for international development's office of the u.s. foreign disaster assistance, and the u.s. southern command, the united states was able to help airlift emergency relief supplies, finance humanitarian assistance projects, support medical evacuations, assess infrastructure repair projects, and deliver emergency and food supplies to the worst hit and isolated communities in el salvador. this resolution also recognizes the coordination among the countries of central america in

the relief efforts following the storm. it is critical that responsible nations continue to work together to better prepare ourselves and our democratic partners for natural disasters such as this one. again i would like to again the brave efforts of the people of el salvador and in fact all of central america as they recover from hurricane ida and to express our strong support during this most difficult time. specifically i would like to congratulate my friend from florida, mr. mack, for his authorship of this important resolution. and i would like to recognize him at this time, madam speaker, to speak on this resolution and i would ask him if he would also speak on the drug commission on western hemisphere which he and mr. engel were the authors. at this time, madam speaker, i would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from florida, mr.

mack, the ranking member of the foreign affairs subcommittee on western hemisphere and the author of this measure. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. mack: thank you, madam speaker. thank you to chairman berman and special thanks to the ranking member, ros-lehtinen, for all of her efforts and her leadership. for bringing this resolution to the floor. i'd also like to thank my colleague from new york, congressman towns, for joining me in introducing this resolution. finally, i also want to thank my chairman, chairman engel, for his leadership in the hemisphere. it has been a pleasure working with chairman engel on the important issues facing the western hemisphere. madam speaker, the people of el salvador were hit hard by hurricane ida. as a floridian i understand how destructive and devastating a hurricane can be. we in florida know what it's like to see the eye of a hurricane coming our way and how it impacts our lives. my heart goes out to the thousands of men, women, and

children who have had their lives completely changed by hurricane ida. and who are as we speak picking up the pieces and slowly rebuilding their destroyed villages. as the ranking member of the western hemisphere subcommittee, i believe it's important that the people of el salvador understand that the people of the united states support them during these difficult times. i also think it's important to note how several nations work together and continue to do so to ensure the people of el salvador are getting the help they need to rebuild. from honduras our forces were able to lift those in need out of harm's way. from south florida we were able to airlift much needed supplies. those who have participated in these relief efforts should be commended for their help. we are honored by their service. madam speaker, we in congress remain committed to ensure that the people of el salvador recover from this disaster. and i urge my colleagues to support this important

resolution. i'd also like to make a quick note if i could on an earlier resolution that was brought up, h.r. 2134. and i want to thank again, chairman engel, for his leadership for introducing the western hemisphere drug policy act. the problem of illegal drugs impact people across borders, cultures, and socioeconomic status. when we evaluate the u.s. drug policy in the americas, we must take an all encompassing approach to the problem. this legislation is a positive step towards evaluating u.s. polcy. some have focused on treatment or better education. others have focused on supply and the law enforcement aspect of the problem. let me be clear. we must make sure that we attack the problem from both angles and all perspectives. as we continue to address u.s. drug policy in the hemisphere, i know that there will be as there have been many obstacles.

some of these include countries that simply refuse to cooperate with the united states. and even worse, madam speaker, there are governments that have chosen to be part of or facilitate the flow of drugs into the united states. according to president obama, venezuela has failed during the past year when it comes to counter narcotic efforts. the obama administration has strong evidence that venezuela has refused to cooperate on almost all couldn'ter narcotic issues. hugo chavez's refuse -- refusal to act responsibly not only hurts americans, they have the second highest murder rate in the world. it is so pervasive that ministers of the chavez government are now categorized as tier two kingpins. it's pretty clear-cut, madam speaker, that chvezz and the flow of drugs into the united

states is something we cannot ignore. i want to thank chairman engel again for his leadership and urge my colleagues to vote yes on the western hemisphere drug policy commission act, h.r. 2134. thank you, chairman and enkle. thank you, madam speaker. thank you to the ranking member , ileana ros-lehtinen. thank you. ms. ros-lehtinen: with that i'd like to yield the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida yields back her remaining time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: madam speaker, let me just say very quickly, it's been a pleasure to work with the gentleman from florida, mr. mack, as well as the ranking member of our subcommittee. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back. all remaining time for debate has expired.

the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 213, as amended. 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. engel: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, h.con.res. 218. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 218. concurrent resolution expressing sympathy for the 57 civilians who were killed in the southern philippines on november 23, 2009. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from new york. mr. engel: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. engel: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: thank you, madam speaker. this concurrent resolution extends our profound condolences to the people of the philippines who witnessed the worst election related violence in the country's recent history. i'd like to thank the chairman of our committee, howard berman, for his leadership in bringing this resolution before the house. on november 23, 57 civilians were killed in southern philippines. they were on their way to file nomination papers on behalf of someone who intended to run

against the son of the incumbent governor in next year's elections. many of those killed were women and children. at least 30 journalists were also killed, putting into question the safety of journalists and integrity of independent journalism in the philippines. i want to extend my deepest sympathy in support for the president who has taken strong measures to hold accountable those who are responsible for this atrocity, vowing, that, quote, no effort will be spared to bring justice to the victims, unquote. the united states and the philippines maintain strong bilateral ties based upon historical relation, common interests, and shared values. this resolution underscores our commitment to this important relationship during these difficult times. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman. ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the speaker. madam speaker, i rise in support of this resolution which commemorates the victims of the worst political violence in recent philippine history. the wholesale massacre of 57 innocent persons including women, children, and journalists, can only be termed as shocking. even in this era of mass violence. the fact that this attack which included mutilation and rape took place on a convoy headed to register a candidate for election is a cause for concern for all who uphold the democratic values and the rule of law. . i held discussions with my philippine friends who warned of the corruption, intimidation and violence in the runup to

elections in may of next year. killings have sadly become rather commonplace in the republic of the philippines. over 30 journalists have reportedly been killed since the year 2000 with prosecutions in only four cases. the pen may be mightier than the sword but no pen can maintain its strength if so easily cut down. the philippines is, after all, no ordinary republic. it is the only asian nation that first incorporated democratic values as a territory of the united states of america. it was to the philippines that general douglas macarthur vowed to return after the courage of the defense of the agony of the baton death march. american blood was shed,

american treasure expended, american youth lost to give birth to the philippine democracy in the post world war ii world. that is why the massacre of november 23 must be a concern to all of us as the political airs to the brave veterans of the philippines campaign. anything less, madam speaker, than a thorough, transparent and independent investigation of this massacre is unacceptable. the success of the global war on terror in this volatile southern region in the philippines depends on a full implementation of transparency and the rule of law. the people power revolution of 1986 which the united states both celebrated and assisted requires open, fair and violent-free presidential elections in may of 2010.

anything less would besmirch the memory of those who have fought and died so that the philippines might have government of the people, for the people and by the people. this dream, madam speaker, may only be achieved if the truth of the november 23 massacre is fully disclosed. with that, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: madam speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from texas, congressman al green. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. green: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the chair and the ranking member. i would like to quickly give 200,000 reasons why we should be concerned about this incident. 200,000. that's the number of persons from the philippines who served

with the united states military in world war ii. the philippines have earned our respect and they're earned our necessity to step forward in times of difficulty for them. we owe it to ourselves to make sure that injustice in the philippines is addressed because injustice there is a threat to justice here just as a threat to justice for us was a threat to justice for them. i support this resolution and i strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it. i thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the speaker. i have no further requests for time and i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida yields back had her remaining time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: madam speaker, i too yield back the balance of my time. i just would very quickly like to point out that besides

expressing our deep concern we also express the concern about the culture of impugn think a continues to exist among -- impunity that continues to exist among persons of influence in the philippines and this calls on the united states to offer any kind of assistance, technical assistance, that we can and we stand by the philippine government as it brings peace, rule of law and security to the southern province. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back his time. all time for debate having expired the question is will the house suspend the rule and agree to -- rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 218. those 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 on the table.

pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on questions prively postponed -- previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. the motion to instruct conferees on h.r. 3288 by the yeas and nays, suspending the rules and agreeing to h.con.res. 199 by the yeas and nays, h.con.res. 206 by the yeas and nays and h.res. 940 by the yeas and nays. 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 iowa, mr. latham, to instruct conferees on h.r. 3288 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: motion to instruct conferees on h.r. 3288 offered by mr. latham of iowa. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are ordered.

members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote@p ú ú x

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 213 and the nays are 192. the motion is adopted.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 212 and the nays are 193. the motion is adopted. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentlewoman from guam, ms. bordallo, to suspend the rules and agree to h.con.resolution 199 as amended on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 199, concurrent resolution recognizing the 10th anniversary of the activation of echo company of the 100th battalion of the 442nd infantry and the sacrifice of the soldiers and family in support of the united states. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agreen to concurrent resolution as amend#@ú@úealelwáfcibú->

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 400. the nays are zero. 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the resolution is

-- the rules is suspended, the concurrent resolution is fwred to and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amend. the unfinished business is the -- the title is amendment. the unfinished business is the question on will the house suspend the rules and pass h.con.res 206 as amended. the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 206. concurrent resolution commending the soldiers and civilian personnel stationed at fort gordon and their families for their service and dedication to the united states and recognizing the contributions of fort gordon to operation iraqi freedom and operation enduring freedom, and its role as a pivotal role as a communication training center. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 404. the nays are zero. 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, and the concurrent resolution is agreed to. without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. zúzçzçqi