saints came back in 2006 to a revitalized super dome and carried that momentum to rebuilding the city and its people. the team donated money to charities and times into renewing their city. the add veerity they overcame was enormous but their hope was even greater. i con great late them on winning super bowl xliv and i welcome everyone in america to the who dat nation. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana. . mr. cao: i say he's my dear friend from louisiana, mr. cassidy. he's been a wonderful friend as well as a wonderful supporter of me in the past year. two minutes to my friend, mr. cassidy. mr. cassidy: thank you, mr. cao. i rise in support of mr. cao's

resolution honoring the super bowl champion new orleans saints. i remember as a child watching the saints play in the old tulane football stadium. and between the time i was a child and now there have been some rough times. but this year was different. they started off with 13 wins. they had three hard-fought postseason victories. i'm especially pleased to say that the victory in the n.f.c. championship and super bowl was due in great part to decisive interceptions by tracy porter in west baton rouge, parish. and mr. burton is right, he went to indiana. to the tune of doing so, he had a pick six against the colts. and mr. porter, by the way, has also participated in the week going up to the super bowl in a relief effort for the victims of the haiti earthquake. not only a great football player but a fine person. that said, good things comes to those who wait.

thank you to the saints fans back in louisiana and across the country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: mr. cao. mr. cao: mr. speaker, i cannot find a more saints fan that mr. scalise. he represents a good -- about 10% of new orleans and a good part of jefferson parish. and most of the fans of new orleans comes from the parishes that mr. scalise represents. i'd like to yield to mr. scalise five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has two minutes. five minutes. sorry. mr. scalise: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank mr. cao, my colleague from new orleans, for bringing the resolution and it's really a special time. if you've been and around the city of new orleans and of course so many people have been focused on new orleans and looking at the bad things that happened to our city after hurricane katrina, but we've had such an outpouring over the years of people who have been wanting and rooting for and

pulling for the city to come back. i think what's been the most special thing about this past year with the saints and their success that they've had on the football field is that it's really galvanized the city and the rest of the country. i brought a football here that's got the super bowl logo and represents the fact that the saints won the super bowl and, of course, we're here today congratulating the saints on winning the super bowl. but this victory was much more than a football game. not only do i remember back during the years that my dad took me to tulane stadium when i was a little kid, and as my colleague, congressman cassidy, talked about the leaner years, i think it's the resilience of the team but it's really starts at the top. and we would be remiss if we didn't emphasize the importance to our community that the owner, tom benson, has meant. the fact that he bought the team back in the 1980's but then the fact that even through

some of those tough years he made a dedication to excellence, that he was going to build a team and he said many times that would win the super bowl. there were a lot of people that wondered if that would ever happen. there were a lot of people that were crying in the city of new orleans, not only when the saints won the n.f.c. championship game, but when the saints went to the super bowl and won the super bowl because there was so many people who thought it would not happen, but it did happen. i think the "times-picayune," the local newspaper, the headline was "amen," because many people's prayers were answered and, of course, the saints are named after the saints. and i think we had a lot of prayers from above. but those prayers were answered. but in a lot of ways, those prayers were answered by the organization that tom benson and his wife, gale, and his daughter, rita benson leblanc and so many others with the saints organization who made that commitment to build a world-class football team. if you just go through and you

look at some of the great talent that's been amassed now. it starts with the coach, sean payton. he did one of the more unselfish acts of actually giving up some of his own salary to bring in a defensive coordinator who truly helped transform that defense into what so many people saw and admired on the field. i talk a few other players that i want to feature and commend, it's not as much the acts that they did on the field. because we saw what they did on the field that inspired people in the city of new orleans, it inspired people across the nation in drew brees winning the m.v.p. and putting up records. gary with 3-3 field goal attempts and three over 40 yards. who can forget tracy porter's return for a touchdown. and, of course, the gutsy call for sean payton to start the second half with an onsides kick.

it's the unique bond between the saints and their fans. it's something we've seen after katrina. for those in the superdome that night in 2006 for the atlanta falcons game, when people said the superdome wouldn't open again, when new orleans wouldn't have a team again, in fact, when they said new orleans wasn't going to come back, it was one of those watershed moments that really galvanized the city. it said they could come back because the saints came back. since then they've served as great role models off the field. that's important because we have not seen that much in sports. sean payton has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to do great things in the community in giving money to other organizations who do great things in the community. we've seen drew brees. of course, drew brees, he's gotten so many accolades on the field. but off the field he's gotten accolades as well. in his brees dream foundation he's donated over $4.5 million

to various causes throughout the city. done wonderful things. helped young kids. he was the 2006 walter payton man of the year. just an incredibly high-quality person who's gotten involved in the community. i want to talk about reggie bush, finally. and today is reggie bush's birthday. he wears number 25 and today is his 25th birthday. we want to say happy birthday to reggie bush. his 619 foundation. he donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the community. and another donated $86,000 to rebuild a football field after katrina so that so many young people can look up to role models but to go and participate in sports. it's been an incredible opportunity. we appreciate what the saints have done on the field but we also appreciate what tom benson and his leadership and the team's done off the field. i thank you, mr. speaker, thank congressman cao, and i yield back.

mr. cao: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield two minutes to the distinguished member from the state of louisiana, dr. boustany. dr. boustany has been a wonderful friend to me as well as well as a wonderful mentor. it's always good that there will always be a great person for me to lean on. dr. boustany. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. boustany: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my friend and colleague, mr. cao, for giving me time and for bringing this resolution to the floor which i wholeheartedly support, congratulating the new orleans saints for winning the super bowl xliv and bringing this long overdue nfl championship to south louisiana. you know, i was talking to some businessmen back home in my district who told me after the victory, they're starting to see out-of-state business opportunities come up as a result of the new-found spirit that's come about following this great super bowl victory. and it's a wonderful thing for louisiana. you know, after 43 years without reaching the super bowl, the saints did it.

they finally did it. it's been a great victory for all of us. it's great for our state. leading that charge was super bowl m.v.p. quarterback drew brees who completed 32-39 pass attempts for 288 yards, two touchdowns. and louisiana native tracy porter but i really am especially proud of one district from my district, from on louisas high school, wide receiver -- oppalousas high school, wide receiver. 86 passes, four touchdowns. and he played a key role on offense in the super bowl catching seven passes, important passes for a total of 64 yards. this is truly a very special occasion for the who dat nation, all of our saints fans in louisiana and around this great country. we want to honor our son, payton, for his genius and what

he's brought to the saints organization and the entire saints organization for what they've ton for new orleans and the rest of the saints. we are exceedingly proud of what has happened. we commend the families of the players, the coaches and the support staff, and the loudest and most loyal fans of all, the who dat nation. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. mr. cao: thank you very much, dr. boustany. and because the saints have been so important to my constituents, i am making it official -- i would be making official copies of the resolution to be -- to be available to them. they can receive a copy by contacting my office in washington or new orleans. and i want to close with a prayer for the saints delivered by archbishop phil hammond at the first saints bane get in 1968. -- banquet in 1968. our holy father who has instructed us that the saints conquered kingdom and overcame lions, grant our saints

strength so they will not only overcome the lions but also the bears, the rams, the giants and even those awesome people in green bay. may we continue to -- give the coaches and owners the servants and simple as dove so no good talents will arch our draft. grant our fans' perseverance in their devotion and unlimited lung power. tempered with charity to all, including the referee. may it be a source of good fellowship and may the saints come marching in, be a victory march for all now and in all eternity. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: all time has been yielded. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1079. as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair,

2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to -- mr. cao: mr. speaker, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. 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.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. scott: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1082. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1082, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the fourth annual america saves week. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott, and the gentlewoman from illinois, mrs. biggert, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks

on the legislation and to insert extraneous materials thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume at this point. mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of house resolution 1082, which supports the goals and ideals of the fourth annual america saves week, which was held february 21 through february 28 of this year. mr. speaker, the primary focus of this year's america saves week is encouraging automatic and habitual savings, a great need at this time in the history of our country. this is a theme that is reflected in the work of our financial and economic literacy caucus. the treasury's office of financial education as well as the financial literacy

education commission and federal agencies and nonprofit community based groups, private sector organizations, the consumer federation of america and the employee benefits research institute and its america saving educational council choose to save campaign. a wonderful coalition of great americans who are focusing us on a great need today. mr. speaker, financial literacy is one of the most important issues for americans today, whether it involves saving enough money for our children's college education or saving for an unforeseen medical or family emergency, a house, maybe a car, one's retirement. the current economic instability in our nation today highlights even more to all americans the necessity of

having a savings plan. some emergency savings. and the value of making savings automatic. research has found that there are higher and middle and lower-income savers and there are spenders. in each of these income classes , middle, higher, and lower. almost all have the ability to build wealth through contributions to workplace retirement programs, building home equity, and other savings, if nothing more than just a simple savings account. starting at a very young age for our children. to get them in the habit of saving. older americans are more likely to live within 200% of poverty than any other age group and more than 60% of the current elderly population relies on

social security for 3/4 of their annual income. what i find even more alarming, mr. speaker, is that the average savings of retirees remain at $50,000 and the current financial crisis is draining these funds every day. hence, the need to help address the financial challenges that older americans face. to shed light on all these shortcomings as well as provide ways to address them, america saves, managed by the consumer federation of america, was established nine years ago as an annual nationwide campaign that encourages consumers, especially lower income households, to enroll as american savers and establish a personal savings goal and an -- in an effort to build personal wealth.

and to enhance financial security. nothing is more important than savings. america saves now has 53 local, state, and national campaigns, woking with over 500 mainstream financial institutions that provide no fee or low fee or low opening balance savings accounts that allow small savers to achieve great success. government and nongovernment entities at the local, state, and national levels organize america savings campaign to encourage individuals to open savings accounts, to participate in workplace retirement programs and to devise a good savings plan. as a result of america saves, over 1,000 local, state, and national organizations motivated more than 145,000 people to enroll as american savers.

i am very pleased that the federal agencies, states, lo tallkies -- localities, schools, businesses, and other entities and the people of the united states-america observed the fourth annual america saves week with the goal of increasing the savings rates if -- rates for individuals of all ages and all walks of life. so, mr. speaker, i want to take this opportunity to thank my chairman, chairman barney frank, and the staff of the financial services committee, for their assistance in bringing this important resolution to the floor, especially rick mo raw noah and -- rick morano and tom duncan. i also want to express my sincere appreciation for all my good friend congressman judy biggert has done. she's been at the forefront of literacy for many years in terms of her entire service here in the congress. judy biggert has been in a

leadership role in financial literacy and the importance of saving. and all she's done over the years to help improve the financial literacy rate of all individuals across the united states at all stages of life and ms. judy biggert certainly deserves our commendations. she and congressman ruben hinojosa co-founded and currently co-chair the financial and economic literacy caucus, of which i'm a member. both of these outstanding congresspeople, congressman hinojosa could not be here with us today because yesterday was the texas primary and i'm pleased to announce to all of us that he won his primary yesterday. so congratulations to congressman hinojosa and we're glad to move on and carry this torch in his stead today. i also want to take this opportunity to thank

congressman biggert's staff, nicole austin and vai sakanik, and the staff of ms. eddie behr these johnson -- eddie bernice johnson, she has done an admirable job in pushing this legislation and deserves to be commended for her hard work in this area. what they all are doing, what we all are doing to help the financial and economic literacy caucus attain its goals. this is a tremendous bill. it's for a tremendous purpose. mr. speaker, i reserve the plans of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from illinois, mrs. biggert, is recognized. mrs. biggert: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i thank the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott, for his kind words and all that he does

in the financial services committee on this type of issue. and for his management of this bill. i rise today to join not only mr. scott but my good friend, the gentlewoman from texas, eddie bernice johnson, in support of this year's resolution making the fourth annual america saves week. i'm pleased to join congresswoman johnson as a co-sponsor of the resolution and i urge my colleagues to give it their full support. mr. speaker, as most are aware, i've been working to make financial literacy a top priority both in the classroom and here on capitol hill. in 2005, i joined my good friend and co-sponsor of today's resolution, congressman hinojosa, to form the financial literacy caucus to help equip students and consumers with the tools they need to prosper in today's sophisticated marketplace. since then, the term financial

literacy has become an integral part of our legislative lexicon especially as the need has become clearer than ever with more and more american families relying onepled savings to weather this period of financial hardship. when it comes to preparing against economic uncertainty, building credit, or making dozens of other day-to-day decisions, financial decisions, nothing protects consumers and their financial security more effectively than arming them even as young students with a sound financial in financial literacy and that lesson begins with savings. 60% of preteens do not even know the difference between cash, credit cards, and checks, and yet only 26% of students are actively learning financial literacy from their parents. it is little wonder why 10 million u.s. households remain completely unbanked or without

access to standard financial tools like a savings account. that's what makes initiatives like america saves week important. it represents a special opportunity for financial leaders from the fdia -- fdic and federal trade commission to the jump start coalition to share important resources and lessons with future savers who may be able to ride out the next financial downturn, buy a home, or retire more comfortably thanks to the financial tools they gained access to today. as the text of today's resolution suggest the national savings rate has risen slightly as the americans spend more conservatively in the down economy but as we recover, the next step must be to help families set goals, plan effectively and invest wisely in those times when they are most able to build an economic buffer against future needs. mr. speaker, i'd like to take a

brief moment here to urge my colleagues to consider joining the financial and economic literacy caucus, if they haven't already, by contacting either me or my distinguished co-chairman, mr. hinojosa. as my colleagues are aware, last week, the f.t.c. teamed with our caucus to showcase consumer protection resources available to our constituents across america. now we are getting ready for another exciting financial literacy month this april with events and briefings to help americans of all ages educate themselves on how to become more confident, savvy and safe investors and consumers. i hope every member will be able to find time to participate or send staff to learn more about how members of congress can help promote financial literacy in their own way. i'd also like to take a moment to honor a departed colleague and friend, the late congresswoman stephanie tubbs jones. in previous years she

championed in resolution in the house and was a strong advocate for financial literacy throughout her career. i know i'm not alone in sing her presence is missed here on the house floor. with that, mr. speaker, let me just say once again i urge my colleagues to join congresswoman johnson, congressman hinojosa, and me in supporting this resolution and sound saving habits in america saves week and throughout the year. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from illinois reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. scott: thank you very much, mr. speaker. it is my pleasure to introduce the sponsor and author of this bill, the gentlelady from texas who has put in a tremendous amount of work in this effort and she is to certainly be commended for her hard work and dedication to this issue, that is gentlelady eddie bernice johnson of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. johnson: thank you, mr.

speaker. i rise today in strong support of house resolution 1082, supporting the goals and ideals of the fourth annual america saves week, which really runs from february 21 through 28. i want to take this opportunity to thank chairman frank for his assistance in bringing this important and timely resolution to the floor and also would like to thank congressman hinojosa and congresswoman biggert and congressman scott for their tireless efforts for consumer protection and financial literacy. america saves was established nine years ago as an annual, nationwide campaign that encourages consumers, especially those in lower income households, to increase their financial literacy. america saves wants to establish a personal savings

goal to build personal wealth and enhance financial security. america saves focuses on saving, a focus which creates a national culture of financial responsibility, is incredible -- which is incredibly important in these difficult economic times. i believe a financially literate public is a key component to having a strong an robust economy. we really are only as rich as our poorest citizens. resolutions like america saves promote broad-based financial literacy initiatives and absolutely necessary for the well being of our country. a recent survey done by the national foundation for credit counseling has shown that only 42% of adult says they keep close track of their spending. roughly 7% of the adult population or about 16 million people don't know how much they spend on food, housing, and entertainment.

other statistics show even more distressing trends. 26% of the adults, or 58 million people, admit to not paying all their bills on time and 6% of the households carry credit card debt of $10,000 or more from month to month. i'm always surprised to hear statistics like this and it is alarming because they are very simple things that -- there are very simple things people can do to save money and lead more financially stable lives. my father said to me, when i was a little girl, whatever you make, large or small, save some of it. and so that really started me with a little trend. now for the last 40-plus year, i give a piggy bank to all newborns of my family and friends so that saving money becomes an institutionalized

activity for small children. there is some good news. personal savings as a percentage of disposable income has risen from 1.2% in the first quarter of 2008 to 4.8% in the fourth quarter of 2009. i will say, mr. speaker, that's one of the reasons why the economy is not that great, people are saving their money. it is important to provide the public with education in financial manners and develop an unbiased financial literacy program and that will only increase in importance in the coming years. i have very frequent summits and workshops on financial literacy with adults throughout the dallas area and our dallas independent school district has made it part of the curriculum. i want to acknowledge and thank all the people involved and again, i'd like to acknowledge the former congresswoman,

stephanie tubbs jones, who worked hard to improve the overall economic situation for all those residing in the united states. so mr. speaker, i believe that together we can continue to make a difference in helping power people to take control of their financial lives. i thank you and i thank all the people involved, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mrs. biggert: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'd now like to yield three minutes to the dished -- distinguished gentleman from indiana, mr. andre carson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. carson: thank you, mr. speaker. i come to the floor in support of house resolution 1082, supporting the goals and ideals of the fourth annual america saves week. the economy in the last couple

of years has increased everyone's awareness of the need to take control of their personal finances. rather than spending more than they have coming in, households are making a concerted effort to save. learning to be a discipline saver is the key to building wealth. it really does not make a difference how much your paycheck is each month if you're not saving a portion of it for the future. most importantly, we should be able to teach our kids how to save. they should be able to understand the concept of money and investment in early childhood. this will prepare them to learn money management, especially as they grow older and begin to think about credit cards, car loans and mortgages. i also have legislation that will provide grants to programs in financial literacy education for young adults and families as it is the utmost importance that we begin the financial literacy learning process early in life. i applaud this legislation's

core principles. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from illinois. mrs. biggert: i thank you, mr. speaker. in closing i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time, and i yield back the balance of my time and i urge a positive vote on this very, very important and timely legislation. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the remainder of his time. all time has been yielded. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1082 as amended. no amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is

laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. scott: mr. speaker, i ask for a -- i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2554 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2554, a bill to reform the national association of registered agents and brokers, and for other purposes . the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from texas, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert

extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. and i want to thank you, mr. speaker, and i'm pleased to join with my fellow colleagues in bringing this important legislation to the floor for a vote today. this legislation is timely since the issue of insurance regulatory reform has remained crucial for sometime now. and i'm pleased to introduce house resolution 2554, the national association of registered agents and brokers reform act, with congressman neugebauer. to help guarantee adequate agent protecting -- adequate agent broker licensing as well as ensure increased competition. and that is the important word in this, mr. speaker, increased competition.

insurance regulatory reform is an issue many involved agree requires action, and this bill is a good starting point for leveling the playing field for insurance agents and brokers. house resolution 2554 would simply establish the national association of registered agents and brokers to provide for nonresident insurance agent and broker licensing while preserving the rights of states to supervise and discipline insurance agents and brokers. this legislation will benefit consumers through increased competition among agents and brokers leading to greater consumer choice. this legislation is straightforward. insurance agents and brokers who are licensed and good standing in their home states

can apply for membership to the national association of registered agents and brokers which we call narab. this will allow them to operate in multiple states. membership will be voluntary and will not affect the rights of a nonmember producer under any state license. this legislation will benefit policyholders by increasing marketplace competition and consumer choice by enabling insurance producers to more quickly and responsibly serve the needs of consumers. a private, nonprofit narab entity, consisting of state insurance regulators and marketplace representatives, will serve as a portal to

obtain nonresident licenses in additional states. this is provided that they pay the required state nonresident licensing fees and that they meet the narab standard for membership. this bill would also establish membership criteria which would include standards for personal qualifications, education, training and experience. and further, member applicants will be required to undergo a national criminal background check. this very important bill clarifies current state consumer protection and market conduct regulation would be preserved. narab board members would include a narrow majority of state insurance regulators, all bylaws and reports of the association will be filed with the national association of

insurance commissioners. this legislation directs the narab board to consider utilizing the narab as the association it will collaborate with as a central claring house and a national data -- clearing-house and a national database. narab will not be a part of or required to report to any federal agency, nor would it have any federal regulatory power. congress endorsed this concept through its passage of the graham-leach-byerly act in 1999 which would have created narab if certain states did not reach a certain level of reciprocity. at that time enough reciprocity was provided to avoid the creation of narab, but it has

become clear that follow-up legislation is necessary. so my bill addresses market entry procedures only, and it would not impact the daily regulation of insurance. insurance agents would still be subject to consumer protection laws of each of the states. this legislation passed in the 110th congress by a voice vote, but this version had some important improvements. and among these improvements, sections have been added to ensure that state regulators are notified when a producer becomes a narab member. becomes authorized to operate in new states or a membership is suspended or revoked. also, this version makes revisions concerning narab's board of directors to clarify

certain positions -- provisions. namely, the president would formally make the appointments and references to private sector trade associations are eliminated. again, i want to thank my republican colleague, congressman neugebauer, for his work on this legislation. he's done an excellent job. i've enjoyed working with him. and i urge its passage in the house, once again. thank you, mr. speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. neugebauer from texas is recognized. mr. neugebauer: well, thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 2554 and also want to thank my colleague from georgia, mr. scott, for his leadership on this legislation. we introduced this legislation almost a year ago with a strong bipartisan support. mr. scott has worked with the house leadership to help get this bill to the floor today, and i certainly appreciate his efforts. this bill sets up a private

nonprofit insurance agent registration system that will help insurance agents and brokers do work across state lines efficiently. it helps consumers by giving them more choices. at its core, this is really a small business bill. most insurance agents and brokers are independent small businesses. they don't have a lot of employees, and they -- so when they have to file paperwork for multiple states in order to do business across state lines, that only adds more costs for their compliance. under this bill they can register with a new national association of registered agents and brokers, narab, that will serve as a portal for them to be licensed more easily in other states. in today's economy, this bill makes sense for small businesses. if a customer moves to another state but wants to keep his insurance agent that has worked for him for years, this bill will streamline the process for that agent to be licensed in

another state. if they want them to help for policies for elderly parent that they are caring for that lives in another state, this bill also makes that feasible. h.r. 2554 provides a way to streamline insurance agent licensing across state lines without creating a new government bureaucracy. with no cost to the taxpayers, with consistent consumer protections and without new mandates on states. this bill empowers insurance agents and their customers without making the government bureau more expensive. the option was first included in the 1999 graham-leach byerly act. congress realized in 2008 when the house passed this legislation by a voice vote -- while the senate did not take up this bill last time, my hope is that a broad bipartisan support in the house will move this much-needed bill forward. we have a lot of -- we had a lot of debate and discussion in the financial services committee about the big picture for insurance regulation.

there are a lot of perspectives on that issue. the good news about this bill, however, is that this is one -- one insurance reform that we can all agree on. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. it's a good -- it's good for small businesses. it's good for our community agents and it's good for the consumers they serve. i also want to thank mr. scott for his cooperation in this bipartisan bill, and i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 2554. and with that i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. scott: in closing -- we have no speakers, but in closing, mr. speaker, let me again thank my colleague, congressman neugebauer, for his distinguished work on this. it's been a pleasure. again, as he articulated eloquently a few minutes ago, the two things that this bill really does, it helps the american consumers, it increases competition in the marketplace. and that's really what we need as we deal with the very topical issue of insurance, and

it provides the american people, the american consumer with choice. so competition and choice are certainly the great beneficiaries of this legislation. might add that our act has garnered support from both sides of the aisle. we have both democrats and republicans working together on this. 48 of us are sponsors to this bill. and 27 of us belong to our financial services committee where we've done work on it. and this bill has the support of niac, as i said earlier, and it shows that state insurance regulators themselves believe that this type of legislation is needed reform. in addition, the independent insurance agents and brokers of america supports this bill. the national association of insurance and financial advisors supports the bill. the national association of mutual insurance companies, the

property casualty insurance association of america, the council of insurance agents and brokers as well as a number of individual insurance companies all are in support of this bill. and i'm proud to have an opportunity to work with them and to bring this bill before the house and i certainly ask for a favorable support. the speaker pro tempore: do you wish to reserve your time or yield back? mr. scott: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. neugebauer: i yield back my time as well. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2554 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 239. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 239, concurrent resolution authorizing the eyes of emancipation hall in the

capitol visitor center for a ceremony to present the congressional gold medal to the women air force service pilots. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, mrs. davis and the gentlewoman from florida each will control 20 minutes per side. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. mrs. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks in the record on this concurrent resolution. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. davis: i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of house concurrent resolution 239. as chair of the house armed services subcommittee on military personnel and co-chair of the women's caucus task forced on women in the military and veterans, i'm privileged to recognize their service. we're all familiar with the icon of rosie the riveter working in factories in world war ii. her motto was, we can do it.

well, the women air force service pilots did it too. almost 70 years ago, they became pioneers for women's equality in the armed services. as civilian pilots under the direction of the u.s. army air forces flying noncombat missions from 1942 to 1944, they bravely stepped into service while their male counterparts were stonet combat. the women air force service pilots are referred to as the wasps, w-a-s-p. unlike many acronyms used in the military, this is an apt name. for like wasps, their work demanded a unique combination of feistiness and strength, underlined by loyal to to their fell he wasps and their country. they flew every type of military aircraft in every kind of mission except combat.

they ferried aircraft from factories to military installations, towed aerial targets, transported cargo and serbed in training exercises. 38 of the roughly 1,100 women lost their lives during the war. there are only about 300 surviving wasps. i am astounded by their tenacity and their bravery. and yet, despite that dedication, these women have encountered difficulties in being recognized for their service. the wasp corps only received full military status for their service in 1977. after having their records kept secret and classified arkivel files for more than 35 years. archival files for more than 35 years. next week on march 10, we'll

honor their legacy as the first female aviators in american military history with the award of the congressional gold medal. this is a -- this is the highest civilian honor congress can give and it is both well deserved and it is certainly long overdue. i was proud to have been a co-lead with ileana ros-lehtinen on the bill awarding them this honor. it is wonderful to see this come to fruition. last year, the union tribune in san diego highlighted several of these women from my district, some of whom will be attending the ceremony next week. i look forward to meeting them and i hope all of my colleagues can come and meet the wasps from their districts. to quote vivian eddie, one of the intrepid women from my district, their desire to serve our country was, quote, not so much to prove anything to

anybody but just to fly. unquote. this ceremony will be an illustrative example of our indebtedness to their fearless, selfless service. this group of unsung heroines demonstrates the courage of women in the past, the integrity with which women continue to serve today and the enthusiasm of young women who dream of serving this great nation in the future. i hope all of my colleagues will join me in thank the wasps and their families by offering their support for this resolution. mr. speaker, thank you for the opportunity to offer this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time and without objection, and at this time the gentleman from mississippi, mr. harper will control his 20 minutes. mr. harper: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. today i rise in support of this

resolution which will authorize the use of emancipation hall in the capitol visitors center for an event recognizing the women air force service pilots as recipients of the congressional gold medal. the wasp program, as it was known, was the first introduction of female pilots in the united states armed services. during world war ii, they flew noncombat missions in support of the united states military. wasp pilots numbered in the thousands in world war ii and each woman who served in this capacity freed up one of our male counterparties for combat services and other duties. just as many women performed operational roles on domestic u.s. bases these women played a critical role in helping to mobilize servicemen for deployment in the european and -- in the european theater. i hope my colleague wills join me in thanks these women for

their service to our nation and in supporting this resolution. thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. davis: i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. klein: thank you for bringing this bill forward. i would like to stand in recognition of these women who sprovided such an important part of the royal. i would like to recognize debbie hoyhous who will be honoring her mother, betty nygard who died without veterans' benefits even though she risked her life for the country. i'm glad that congress will be honoring her and other women.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. harper: i yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlelady from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: as the house author of the legislation awarding the congressional gold medal to the women's air force service pilots, wasps, i rise in strong support of today's resolution. i'd like to thank my wonderful friend from california, my colleague, my collaborator, congresswoman susan davis of california, for her dedicated work in support of the wasps and today's bill authorizes the use of emancipation hall, a historic place, for a historic group of ladies, for an event that will honor the most unique sisterhood of women pioneers. next wednesday, march 10, mr. speaker, the united states

congress will present the congressional gold medal to the surviving members of the women air force service pilots, wasps. this award serves as a small token of our tremendous appreciation of the remarkable courage and sacrifice made by these women during the perilous times of world war ii. the wasps were the first women in history to fly america's military aircraft between the years of 1942 to 1944, these courageous women volunteered to fly noncombat missions so that every available male pilot could be deployed in combat. more than 25,000 women applied for the program, but only 1,830 qualified women pilots were accepted. unlike their male counterparts, women applicants were required

to be qualified pilots before they could apply for the army air force military flight training program. that's the way that it was called. it sounds odd to say. but though 1,102 women earned their wings and went on to fly over 60 million miles for the army air forces, equal to some 2,500 times around the globe, and they never got the recognition they deserved. their performance was equal in every way to that of male pilots, with the exception of direct combat missions, the wasps flew the same aircraft with the same missions as male pilots. women pilots were used to -- were used to tow target for male pilots using live ammunition. for search light missions, for chemical missions, engineering test flying and countless other

exercises. in 1944, the wasps were disbanded, their service records sealed and classified. by the time the war ended, 38 women pilots had lost their lives while flying for our country. although they took the military oath and were promised military status, the wasps were never recognized as true military personnel. these 38 women who died in the service of our country during world war ii were denied death benefits, including a proper military funeral. not even an american flag covered their coffin. and their survivor, they never received a single dime. as a former wasp, mary alice putnam noted in a recent letter, fellow wasps would circulate a collection hat to make sure that a fallen sister

pilot received a proper burial. it was not until 1977, more than 30 years after the wasps had served, when another woman pioneer, congresswoman lindsay boggs, introduced legislation to grant the wasps veteran status. now more than 30 years from that important occasion, the united states congress on behalf of the american people will present the wasps with the recognition they deserve, indeed, they have earned. the wasps are true pioneers whose examples pave the way for the armed forces to finally lift the ban on women attending military flight training in the 1970's. today, women in the military fly every type of aircraft from f-15's to the space shuttle. my daughter-in-law, lindsay nelson a marine corps pilot is

part of this lasting legacy of the wasps. lindsay is a graduate oaf the united states naval acadmy. she served combat tours in iraq and afghanistan, where she flew the f-18 fighter jet. i'm so proud of lindsay and of all our servicewomen, past and present, who continue to inspire young women to achieve what was heretofore unimaginable. of the 1,102 wasps, less than 300 are still alive today and they are residing in almost every state of our beautiful union. i have had the honor and privilege of meeting wasps from my congressional area of south florida. last august, mr. speaker, i preside -- presented francis rohr sarget and helen wyatt snap with framed, signed copies

of the wasp congressional gold medal legislation. i cannot tell you how delighted i am that francis, ruth, and helen will be traveling to washington next week along with more than 170 of their fellow wasps. joining me in paying homage to these trail blazers and true patriots who served our country without question and with no expectation of recognition or praise, i hope that all of our colleagues will join us next week and with that, mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues in joining me and my good friend from california, mrs. davis, in voting yes on this important recognition, we've taken a long time to recognize these brave pioneers but that date has finally come, thanks to all our members. i thank my good friend for the time, i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentlelady from california, mrs. davis, is recognized. ms. davis: i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: ok. the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california, ms. davis, is recognized. ms. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. i have no further speakers but i certainly wanted to say and i appreciate the wulff words of my colleagues -- wolf words of my colleague, ms. ros-lehtinen, that we are finally having an opportunity to recognize them in a way that we should have done a long time ago. but we are going to be recognizing the women air force service pilots with a congressional gold medal of honor. i certainly hope that our colleagues will join us on march 10 in emancipation hall for a very special day, i know, to see and hear from these women who

were far more than trail blazers, they served their country and they did it courageously and we are very proud of them and want to let them know how much we care about that service. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlewoman yield back? she yields back. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. the gentleman has yielded back his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house conference resolution 239. 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.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to h.con.res. 236. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: concurrent resolution permitting the use of the rotunda of the capitol for ceremony of the parts of commemoration of victims of remembrance of victims of the holocaust. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. klein, and the gentleman from mississippi, mr. harper, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extends their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution you understand consideration.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. klein: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. klein: mr. speaker, i rise to support h.con.res. 236, a resolution to allow the capitol rotunda to be used on april 15 for the purpose of the annual congressional ceremony to commemorate the holocaust. the congressional commemoration of the holocaust is a poignant reminder of the atrocities committed by the nazis and the harrowing experiences of the survivors. this year we will be celebrating the here -- heroism of those who liberated the nazi death camps. the theme for this year's ceremony, stories of freedom, what you do matters, hallows the experience of soldiers who risked their lives for the cause of freedom. the stories of these soldiers are inspiring. these soldiers confronted evil and physically saw despair in the eyes of every survivor they

encountered. and these soldiers gave the survivors hope. the actions of these liberaters changed the lives of the survivors and the course of human history. last year on veterans day i participated in a ceremony that honored american world war ii veterans, including bernard -- dr. bernard mechick who helped liberate a subcamp while serving in the eighth armored tank division. he will be joining me in washington in april to participate in the days of remembrance. what the doctor did, what all of the allied liberaters did mattered back then and each and every one of us must learn from their lessons. what we do matters and that is the message that the ceremony will inspire. what you do matters. this is both our individual and collective responsibility. never again can we allow a

holocaust to occur on our watch. all my life i personally have felt moved to spread the message of never again. in the florida legislature where i served i passed legislation to mandate holocaust education in our florida public schools so that students from all walks of life and backgrounds could learn the lessons of the holocaust. here in congress in my capacity as co-chair of the congressional task force against anti-semitism i work with my co-chairman, congressman mike pence of indiana, to organize an annual visit to the u.s. holocaust memorial museum for members of congress and their families. this is a unique form of holocaust education where the museum serves as a teaching tool to educate u.s. representatives who have not been to the museum before about how the holocaust is relevant to their lives and the lives of their constituents. i'm grateful to speaker pelosi for appointing me to serve on the u.s. holocaust memorial

commission with other members of the house and senate and other citizens around the united states. and i hope to advance the cause of holocaust education in this new role. i would also like to thank chairman brady and ranking member lungren for moving this resolution to the floor today. as a sponsor of this legislation and a member of the u.s. holocaust memorial council, i would like to thank the other sponsor of this legislation, congresswoman giffords of california, congressman latourette of ohio, congressman cantor of virginia and of course congressman waxman who worked closely with me on this resolution. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and i encourage my colleagues to attend the ceremony on april 15 in the capitol rotunda so that we may mourn those who perished and recognize those who sacrificed so much for freedom in the world. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields --

excuse me, reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from mississippi. mr. harper: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. harper: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of this very important resolution. under congress' direction, the united states holocaust memorial museum has organized and annually led the national days of remembrance ceremony in the capitol rotunda. the theme chosen by the museum this year is stories of freedom, what you do matters. and what we do does matter, mr. speaker. on occasions like this, there aren't appropriate enough words to share on behalf of the millions of victims of the holocaust yet we here today and those on the rotunda next month will once again commemorate the line ofs taken and the lives that suffered due to the unspeakable brutality and evil of that it dark moment in history. mr. speaker, this year is the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the nazi concentration camps.

65 years have passed since the doors were opened and the inhumane was laid bear for all eyes. just as the theme this year is, what do you matters, so it mattered what others did then. we think of those like oscar schindler, deet rick bond who haver and so many others who did their part in this effort. heroic efforts which forever mattered to the lives they saved and the truth they pursued, some to their own death. mr. speaker, we, too, must do our part in this body and uphold the ideals of which our nation was founded. this ceremony days of remembrance reminds us what happens when the rule of law and the commitment toered odd liberty upon which it -- commitment to ordered liberty upon which it rests. this ceremony is not reflective of one event or one tragedy. we remember the entire scope of mankind's history and use it as a reminder that human life is

precious and that we must never allow a travesty like this to ever happen again. through this resolution and this commemoration we remember the night of broken glass, the warsaw ghetto uprising, the methodical devouring and destruction of a whole continent, the labor concentration and death camps at auschwitz and others. . may our actions and may our remembrance honor the courage and bravery shown by the millions murdered only seven decades ago. mr. speaker, just as our 34th president, general eisenhower, made sure that things he had seen were not quickly forgotten, may this year's ceremony in the capitol rotunda be a solemn and fitting reminder of the victims of the holocaust. i'm pleased to support this bipartisan resolution and encourage the support of my colleagues. thank you, mr. speaker, and i

reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: we have no more speakers, mr. speaker -- we have no more speakers, mr. speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentleman from mississippi. mr. harper: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: mr. speaker, i'd like to thank mr. harper of mississippi for his very supportive words and his heartfelt support of this important bipartisan resolution and look forward to being at the event with you in the rotunda. mr. speaker, again, i just thank the support of this chamber, look forward to the opportunity of, again, supporting this very important event in the rotunda. thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 236. 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.

for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? johnson jonse mr. speaker, i move -- mr. johnson: mr. speaker, i move to pass the bill s. 2968. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 2968, an act to make certain technical and performing amendments to the lanham act. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson, and the gentleman from north carolina, mr. coble, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: and thank you, mr. speaker, and i ask unanimous consent that all members 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. mr. johnson: and i yield to myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. johnson: mr. speaker, today we seek to correct a technical and unintentional mistake in the trademark laws that could result in inadvertent abandonment for trademark owners who registered under our international agreement on trade marks which is called -- trademarks which is called the madrid protocol. at the exploration of their trademark term, they're required to submit affidavits to the united states patent and trademark office stayeding that -- stating that they have continuously met the statutory requirements of use in commerce or alternative -- alternatively excusable nonuse. such affidavits are essential to maintain current trademark

registrations and to clear the register of inactive trademarks. however, due to a technical mistake in the lanham act our trademark laws unintentionally prevent trademark owners who filed these affidavits for registering extensions under the madrid protocol. . compliance with regular lations should not reduce the rights of trademark owners. today, we will harmonize our laws with the madrid prot coal so this particular injustice no longer occurs. additionally, this legislation gives the director of the u.s. p.t.o. discretion to allow applicants to correct harmless

errors that other wise would be -- would have severe and unreasonable intellectual property ramifications. the intellectual property organization and the american intellectual property law association, both support this legislation. in their letter in support of this bill, the american intellectual property law association stated that this bill is, quote, a highly desirable amendment to the trademark act, end quote. and refers to this legislation as a, quote, cure, end quote, for specific inconsistencies for trademark owners. however, the bill is not perfect. it includes a study provision including trademark lawsuit alleged abuse and small businesses. while we don't want to delay the

necessary relief to trademark owner -- to the trademark owner that this bill will provide by immediate passage of senate bill 2968, the ranking member and i are committed to working with senator leahy to refine the text of this study provision at our soonest opportunity. it is time to finally give our trademark owners who register under the madrid protocol the rights they should have had originally. the legislative update accomplishes just that and the i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. coble: i rise in support of s. 2968 and recognize myself for such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. coble: this legislation makes technical and important provisions amendments to the madrid implementation act which congress pass nd 2002. the act is one of the most significant legislative accomplishments in the past 15 years. by way of background, the united states is a signatory to the madrid protocol. international treaty that allowed the trademark owner to seek registration in any of the countries that have joined the protocol. this means an american trademark owner pays the patent and trademark office in alexandria, virginia, a nominal fee to expedite the necessary paperwork overseas. this process makes it easier and less expensive for u.s. trademark owners to acquire protection for their intellectual property in other countries. the 2002 act that implements the protocol has functioned well through the years, but must be

updated. the main purpose of the bill is to bring provisions for maintaining extensions of protection under madrid in conformity with provisions for maintaining registrations. maintenance filings with the p.t.o. by the trademark owner are necessary to perpetrate protection of the trademark. this bill also authorizes the p.t.o. director to permit applicants to correct good faith and harmless errors. finally, mr. speaker, the legislation includes a study provision that was inserted at the request of the other body. it dreggets the intellectual property enforcement coordinator and the department of commerce to evaluate and report on treatment of smaller businesses involved in trademark litigation. along with chairman conyers and the chairman of the distinguished the gentleman from georgia, the text could be

clarified further. senator leahy has agreed to work with us on making the necessary minor revisions to improve the language. we intend to move this language at a later date on a different vehicle. we just don't want to delay further consideration of s. 2968 by requiring the other body to pass the bill for a second time. in closing, i urge the members to support s. 2968 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: mr. speaker. i yield the balance of my time as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate bill 2968. those in favor say aye.. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> i rise today in support of h. res. 1117. i move that the house suspend the rules and gee to the house resolution 1117. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1117, resolution commending and congrat lating the california state university system on the occasion of its 50th

anniversary. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. woolsey and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. rowe each will control 20 minutes. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert ex train indianaous material into the record. the speaker pro tempore: no objection. ms. woolsey: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. woolsey: i rise today in support of h. res. 1117 offered by congresswoman lofgren, a bill that celebrates california state university, c.s.u., for 50 years of service and leadership. in 1960, california developed its massive plan for higher education. since that time, this plan has provided access to higher education to the state's diverse

students. in that same year, mr. speaker, with the passage of the donahue act, state colleges were brought toying to form the c.s.u. system. since its inception, the california state university has grown into an exemplary higher state education institutions. the c.s.u. boasts 23 campuses, seven off-campus centers and 433,000 students. in addition, the system maintains 4400 staff offering masters, bachelors's degrees in 357 areas making it the largest and most diverse university system in the united states. each campus in the c.s.u. system provides its you neek experience and a diverse set of students.

c.s.u. attracts the best and brightest students. the great state of california produces. these students are not only leaders inside the classroom but they also lead in service to their communities. annually, c.s.u. students participate in over 32 million hours of community service, providing an economic impact of over 634 million to a multitude of california neighborhoods. under the current leadership of dr. charles reed and the board of trustees, the california state university system remains dedicated to providing access to all students, regardless of financial needs. i applaud this -- i applaud this continued commitment, particularly in this time of economic turmoil. many representatives of this c.s.u. system are visitic with us today, including charles reed

and also the president of snowmana state university in my -- sonoma state university in my district. we owe them thanks and great deal of support. once again, i express my support of the california state university system. and i thank representative lofgren for bringing this bill forward. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. roe: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: i rise to commend and congratulate the california state university system on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. the weekly normal school, san jose state university became the

first institution of higher education established by the state of california in 1862. the california state university system was established in 1960 as the california state college system. today, the system is comprised of 23 campuses with almost 433,000 students and 44,000 faculty and staff. it stretches from northern california to san diego. it is a nation's largest and one of the most affordable university systems. california state university system offers more than 1,800 degree programs from 357 different subjects. c.s.u. draws its students from the two 2/3 of high school students and graduates 91,000 students annually. the system prepares approximately 60% of the teachers in the state and 40% of the engineering graduates and more graduates in business, agriculture, communications, health education and public

administration than any other college or university in california. california state university system undoubtedly makes an invaluable contribution to the education of the people of california and the nation. california state university also makes significant outreach efforts to inform and promote college attendance to middle and high school students, minority populations and veterans. c.s.u. system's outreach to underserved communities also provides a pathway to students from diverse backgrounds to pursue an education. i'm pleased to congratulate c.s.u. on the 50th anniversary. i extend my congratulations to the california state university system. all the alumni, students, fack utility and staff at the 23 campuses and i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time.

the gentlewoman from california. ms. woolsey: i'm delighted to recognize the gentlewoman from california, congresswoman lofgren, the sponsor of h. res. 1117 for as much time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. lofgren: i thank ms. woolsey, a great supporter of this resolution and of education in california. mr. speaker, i rise today as the proud sponsor of the resolution congratulating the california state university system on 50 years of providing high quality accessible rg and affordable education and i want to thank my colleague, representative herger, for introducing this resolution with you. the c.s.u. system is the nation's largest and most diverse university system. it includes 23 campuses and seven off-campus centers with 44,000 faculty and staff and 430,000 students.

it was created in 1961 under the master plan, but san jose state university preceded it. san jose state university is the oldest university in the system. it's in my district and it's in my neighborhoodment. founded in 1857 in the basement of a high school in the bay area. that first class had four graduates, all women and san jose state has obviously grown since that time. it is based in the heart of what is known as silicon valley and san jose state is the largest provider of engineers in silicon valley. the university sits on 154 acres in downtown san jose and has 30,000 diverse students and it is ranked as a top 50 master's level public institution in the west. san jose's population like many

of the other campuses is a representation of the diverse community that it serves. many of its students are from immigrant families and are the first in their families to attend or graduate from college. san jose state university is also redefining what a traditional student is as over a quarter of the graduates are over the age of 24. surrounded by silicon valley, students are able to supplement their classroom knowledge with hands-on experience at my of the firms and agencies in the valley through internships, summer programs and research assistants. now, all of the c.s.u., including san jose state play a critical role in preparing a student for california's economy. with 91,000 annual graduates, the c.s.u. is the state's greatest producers of bachelor's degrees. these students help drive california's economy.

for every $1 the state invests in the c.s.u. system, the state returns $4.41. c.s.u. sustains more than 200,000 jobs in the state and c.s.u.-related expenditures create $13.6 billion in economic activity. often referred to as the people's university, c.s.u. reaches out to california's growing underserved communities. c.s.u. provides more than half of all undergraduate degrees granted to california's latino, african americans and native american students. in fact, the chancellor, charles reed is here with us today and told us at our delegation meeting today about the outreach efforts into african-american churches on sunday to tell families, 100,000 families in california about the opportunity that c.s.u. presents to those families and minority

enrollments, graduation are up among latinos, african-american families, families who didn't see a way for their kids to move forward. we know there have been cutbacks, but the california delegation and president obama have worked to improve and preserves affordability. 190,000 c.s.u. students will pay no fee increases due to increases in the federal grants and c.s.u. fee waivers. the recovery act has provided millions of needed dollars to c.s.u. and has provided an additional $81 million for 120,000 c.s.u. neediest students through the pell grant program. it also provided $76. million to restore classrooms that would have been cut so students can graduate in four years. mr. speaker, i gave the commencement speech at san jose

state last year. as i looked out, i saw thousands of young people and some not so young who had a dream, whose family never thought that their kids would have a chance to get an education and fight off a part of the american dream. because of the c.s.u. system, they are really part of our future. i'm really thrilled today to be part of honoring c.s.u. and also noting that the entire california democratic delegation has co-sponsored this resolution. i thank my colleague for allowing me to speak. and i urge passage of the resolution and yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee. >> thank you, mr. speaker. just one comment. there are a lot of things about our education system in america that are not right and we deal with it every single day. one of the things that is right is the higher education system

in america and i will tell that you without a system like california's had, i wouldn't be standing here today. i was given my opportunity to succeed and i know so many students in california that don't have the opportunity because of cost to attend a private university, get a great education in that system and not only is the state of california better, america is better because of this. and i would urge my colleagues to support this and i again congratulate the c.s.u. system and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california. ms. lofgren: thank you, mr. speaker -- ms. woolsey: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to thank the gentleman from tennessee for his remarks and if are you educated in california, look at who you are. thank you. mr. speaker, i'm pleased it to recognize the gentlewoman from california, a member of the education and labor committee, ms. chu, for two minutes.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor california state university on its 50th anniversary. the c.s.u. system is a model for states across the country. with 23 campuses, 430,000 students and 44,000 faculty and staff, it is the largest and most diverse university system in the nation. in fact, california state university-los angeles is located right in my district and has been educating students for over 50 years. i once taught there and i know firsthand that this is one of the most affordable and diverse cal state universities in the state if not the nation. since most cal state-l.a. students come from families with incomes under $50,000, this university plays a critical role in making it possible for every student to attain their dream of a college ed education. many of these students -- education. many of these students go on to successful careers in

high-demand fields such as nursing, i.t. and the life sciences and help make up the backbone of the work force in los angeles county. i commend california state university-los angeles and the entire c.s.u. system for serving california so well for over half a century. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentlewoman from california. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, with that i urge my colleagues to support h.res. 1117 which celebrates the california state university system for 50 years of service and leadership and to thank representative lofgren for introducing this very meaningful piece of legislation. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1117.

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 and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair will entertain one-minute speeches. without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. and i rise tonight to congratulate homestead air reserves base 482nd fighter wing for receiving the department of defense reserve family readiness award. through the vigilance of these brave men and women in uniform every day americans can live with a greater piece of mind.

the safety of our families is dependent on them and it is heart warming to know that our military families are given the extra support that they need. the strong leadership of wing commander brigadier general william b. binger has made this distinction possible. he serves as an inspiration and motivation for such a remarkable unit and support personnel. again congratulations to the 482nd fighter wing of the homestead air reserve base for this well-deserved honor. congratulations, ladies and gentlemen. and i yield back, mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> mr. speaker, i rise to ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, it is with a hesky heart that i rise today and speak of the death of pennsylvania state trooper paul g. richie. on january 13, richie responded to a domestic dispute call. he volunteered because he had taken a call at that residence just past outside oil city, pennsylvania, in the past. this time he was shot in the neck as he stepped out of his car and never had the time to react. and the resident killed his wife and then himself. he was native of a township and franklin high school. he graduated from edinburgh university with a degree in criminalology and then from the pennsylvania state police academy. he was married to carry cornel for more than 15 years and left two children aged 9 and 6. he was act in his church and scouting with his son. he's also such vived by his parents. riven -- richie lived up to the call of honor at the police academy which states, i must serve honorably, faithfully and

if not need -- and if need be lay my life down like others before me. my thoughts and prayers are with the family. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous concept to address the house for one minute, revise and extends my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize international woman's day and to highlight the needs of mothers around the world. every minute somewhere in the world a woman dies in pregnancy or child birth. most of these deaths are preventable with targeted cost-effective interventions and increased access to maternal health care. i applaud president obama's newly announced global health initiative and its focus on maternal health issues. these programs will make sustainable changes in the daily lives of women around the world. now i call on my colleagues to take the next step and fully fund the initiative and the

programs that are meeting the dire needs of women in need worldwide. we owe the women of the world no less. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: are there any further one-minute requests? for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house, revise and extend their remarks and include therein extraneous material. mr. poe, march 10 for five minutes, mr. jones, march 10 for five minutes, mr. moran, march 9 and 10 for five minutes, mr. thompson today for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: no ox. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into the following members may be permitted to address the house

for five minutes, to revise and extend their remarks and include therein extraneous materials. ms. berkley, nevada, mr. defazio, oregon, ms. kaptur, ohio. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house the following members are recognized for five minutes each. ms. berkley. mr. poe from texas. mr. jones: mr. speaker, i ask that i might speak in his time. the speaker pro tempore: no objection. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. jones: mr. speaker, thank you very much. i have introduced h.r. 4639 and it's known as the corporal dustin lee memorial act. this to amend title 10 united states code to authorize the adoption of a military working dog by the family of a deceased or seriously wounded member of the armed forces who was a

handler of the dog. mr. speaker, three years ago i got involved with a family from mississippi, it was somewhat by accident, really, it was brought to my attention that rachel and mr. lee, the husband, had lost a son named dustin lee and that dustin was killed for this country in iraq and the dog he was -- he was a dog handler and the dog was wounded as well. the marine corps took the dog named lex to the funeral in mississippi of dustin lee, the marine who were kiss -- who was killed, at at that time the daddy, injury home lee, and the mama, rachel lee, they wanted to have the dog stay with them. well, it wasn't possible because the rules and regulations said that the dog which was owned by the air force, leased to the marine corps, had to be retired. so when the family -- the mother

and dad asked for the dog that their son loved so much, the marine corps said, we need two more years of service by the dog lex. and when i heard about it, i called the family in mississippi and my heart went out to the family and i asked the family what we could do to help and i don't want to take credit for this, mr. speaker, i want to give credit to mike regular in a who is everybody -- regna who is serving in afghanistan. he's responsible for this happening, i just made a phone call. the dog was retired, lex was retired two years ago this december, at a ceremony down in georgia and the family now has the dog. in fact, ms. lee is going to bring lex and come to walter reid on the 12th of april -- walter reed on the 12th of april. she wants to take the dog to visit the troops at walter reed which i think is magnanimous of the mom and dad. they want to let the soldiers

know that -- and the marines there, too, what happened with their son, dustin, and say thank you but also take lex, that lex can say thank you to the soldiers and marines at walter reed. mr. speaker, i'm going to yield back my time in just a second. i'm going to ask my colleagues in the house to please join us on h.r. 4639, this again is to honor the families who have given a child who happened to be a dog handler, the opportunity to own that dog almost immediately after the dog is cleared and it should be a wounded soldier, marine, airman or seaman, they should have the same opportunity. so this is a photograph, mr. speaker, of lex looking at the headstone of the grave of dustin lee and dustin is there on his knees with his handses around the head of the dog which was lex and this is very special and that's why i wanted to bring it

to the floor and ask my friends again to join me in this legislation, h.r. 4639, and, mr. speaker, as i always do on the floor of the house, i want to ask god to please bless our men and women in uniform, i want to ask god to please bless of families of of -- of our men and women in uniform, i want to ask god in his loving arms to hold the families who have give an child dying for freedom in afghanistan and iraq. mr. speaker, i want to ask god to please bless the house and senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of god for his people throughout this country and i want to ask god to give wisdom, strength and curning to the president, mr. obama, that he is will do what is right in the eyes of god for god's people in this country. and three times i ask god, please, god, please, god, please, god, continue to bless america. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: ms. woolsey from california.

mr. moran from kansas. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. moran: i'm here this evening to recognize the harvest market for its service to the community and citizens of grainfield, kansas. the harvest market represents everything that makes a small town business work. community support, dedicated employees and desire to maintain the quality of life for those living in and around greenfield, kansas. during my travels throughout my congressional district, the community grocery store has proven itself to be the cultural center of rural kansas. i hear from quents following a conversation they heard at the grocery store. it provides the patrons with current activities. economic development can easily be seen whether a community does or doesn't have a grocery store. i know my colleagues may find

it's hard to believe it's an issue. the violate of rural kansas depends on fresh and available food. when we lose our grocery store, we begin to lose our town. greenfield is no exception to this rule. in this tiny community of 300 people, harvest market provides everything from a cup of coffee such as food to make the evening's dinner. don and nicole own and operate the harvest market and they supply a wide variety of affordable produce with meats and dairy products in order to make the local shopping experience more enjoyable. with people in rural kansas willing to travel to other communities, maintaining that competitive edge is vital to both the store and to the community. the couple has made efforts to make the store more energy efficient and installed more

efficient coolers and making plans for freezer and reusable grocery bags. these changes reflect the long-term goal of maintaining a thriving business in this small town. store efficiency will cut down on costs allowing them to put extra money back into the store. this means additional choices for their shoppers. harvest market is a socially important component to greenfield at well. the store serves as a community center for people to visit with their neighbors. residents discuss local news and run into old friends. they also participate and help sponsor community events as their way of giving back to the people. just a few of their civic activities include organizing and sponsoring, crews, shoes and bar be cues and the harvest pie festival on labor day weekend. while they work hard to maintain the success of the store, their fellow residents have helped around the store. dan says he is very impressed with the locals and how much

they have supported him. customers are willing to help by retreating items from the back. one resident commented, it's not just my store, it's everybody's store and they're all proud of it, too. even dan's mother in law makes the point to help stock shelves. the willingness to partner with this couple to help one another succeed is a great example of the many values that america lives by and they can be proud of their achievements just as i'm proud to represent these kinds of people. congratulations to your efforts at harvest market and the services they bring. and thanks for the citizens for their support of the harvest market. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: mr. defazio. mr. harper: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my

remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. harper: mr. speaker, as you may know and many of you may know, my wife and are blessed with a 20-year-old son and a wonderful 18-year-old daughter. early in livingston's life, we noticed he wasn't reaching developmental milestones. he was slow to walk, slow to talk and at times, he would slap his hands, rock back and forth and chew on a terry cloth doll that he had. doctors continually informed sydney and me that he was developmentally delayed and would grow out of it. we were told not to be concerned. when livingston was nearly 19 months old and we were three months pregnant with maggie, our doctor informed us that something could be wrong. at that time, he didn't know what it was, but assured us that he would begin searching for

what the diagnosis was. over the next two years, all eyes was consumed with occupational therapy and speech therapy and visits to the doctor, trying to find out what we had along with other diagnose gnostic tests. livingston was misdiagnosed with mild cerebral palsy and said to be a near miss on autism. my strong and loving wife dealt with these issues on a daily basis and dealt with the brunt of the day-to-day activity with livingston. after almost two years, we were able to get a correct diagnosis of fragile x syndrome. most families have shared similar stories of delayed diagnosis. this is why i support the work of the fragile x clinical and research consortium. fragile x associated disorders are genetic, resulting in

developmental and language disabilities throughout a person's life. it is linked to a mutation on the x chromosome and the most common form of intellectual disabilities and is linked to reproductive problems in the women. today, over 100,000 americans fer live with fragile x and americans are at risk with developing a fragile x disorder. 130 women are carriers of fragile x mutation. today, over 140r fragile x advocates visited capitol hill today discussing treatment, raising awareness of this disorder and sharing their

personal stories. as one of the co-chairmen of this fragile x caucus, i'm committed to improving the health of children and adults living with this disorder. last year, our caucus, united with the national fragile x foundation reached many of our targeted objectives. working with senator cochran of mississippi and other members of congress, we secured funding for national post-secondary education demonstration program which was authorized in the 2008 higher education opportunities act, that was previously not funded. this program will give hope to families and will allow young adults with intellectual disabilities to perhaps enjoy the opportunity and experience of going to college. the fragile x caucus supported funding for the center for disease control to establish public health activities for fragile x syndrome, obtaining $1.9 million for the current

fiscal queer. we have supportive efforts at n.i.h. for the implementation of their research plan. and we succeeded in adding fragile x to the list of disorders under the department of defense's peer review medical research program. these accomplishments have had a significant impanth on the fragile x -- impact on the fragile x community. this year, the fragile x caucus will work with other members of congress to push research and will urge congress to continue funding translational research that shows significant promise of a safe and effective treatment of this disorder. we will request that the department of defense expand the program to include fragile x associated disorders and this eligible research topic for

fiscal year 2011 and we'll advocate for continued support to grow the fragile x public initiative and clinical research consortium in order to expand to underserved regions. i commend the research being conducted in drug therapy and hope it will lead to successes. we must focus on efforts to enhance the lives of these families that are blessed with a fragile x child. as the only member of congress who has a fragile x child, i share it with many families. this is a labor of love and daily blessings. we thank god to our son and to the individuals so we will work tirelessly to increase awareness of this disorder. the speaker pro tempore: ms.

kaptur. ms. ros-lehtinen from florida. the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. ros-lehtinen: i rise tonight to recognize the contributions of the relief efforts in haiti made by dr. bart green and the university of miami's global institute, project medyshare and miller school of medicine at the university of miami. when haiti was devastated by the earthquake on january 12, dr. green of the project medishare for haiti and doctors and nurses pleadly sprung into action, arriving the very next day, they were the first medical team in haiti following this catastrophic earthquake. and within less than 24 hours at the request of haitian president preval, project medishare set up

a field hospital on the grounds of the port-au-prince airport. this critical care hospital is reportedly the country's largest functioning urgent care hospital and it is working closely with the u.s. military in haiti, providing important triage services. under dr. green's leadership, project medishare has deployed over 500 medical, and logistical personnel to staff the hospital and they have raised hundreds of patients -- effectively treated hundreds of patients on a daily basis. more than 2,000 earthquake survivors have received care at the university of miami hospital. in addition, the project medishare u.n. global hospital has served as an important clearinghouse and staging point for medical evaluations for

other hospitals that are operating in the port-au-prince area, but it doesn't stop there, mr. speaker. because project medishare has been engaged in health and development work in haiti, for over 15 years, they were able to quickly grow their emergency response efforts across all of haiti. they were able to expand their long-standing programs and in the central plateau to care for individuals who had left the capital city to be with their families elsewhere. similarly, because the u.n. global institute has been working in haiti for nearly 40 years now, it is uniquely positioned to work with the government of haiti, the u.s. military and other organizations to help organize medical teams on the ground and implement field hospital plans around the capital city. notably, project medishare is

making an effort to integrate with the ministry of health and other doctors and nurses in an effort to better train each other. as dr. green himself explained, and i quote, we're beginning to train our colleagues so when we hand off these hospitals in the next couple of months, they'll be there forever. we aren't rebuilding haiti the way it is, we are rebuilding a different haiti, end quote. dr. green has also said they plan to lead with their colleagues in haiti every piece of the transported equipment used for their relief efforts. this will help to transition the immediate relief assistance they have provided into a real, long-lasting and sustainable progress for the people of haiti. i was so proud to help coordinate dr. green's efforts with our u.s. military personnel on the ground and in my district at the u.s. southern command.

i applaud the many individuals who have participated in the relief efforts headed by dr. green by the university of miami, by the global institute's project medishare and u.n. miller school of medicine. the work of private individuals and organizations such as these is the key to the broader u.s. response to the crisis in haiti. again, i would like to recognize the tremendous contributions made by dr. green and his partners at the university of miami, especially u.n. president donna shalaila. my sincere gratitude to their selfless dedication to this cause. thank you, mr. speaker, congratulations u.n. and congratulations dr. bart green. . the speaker pro tempore: mr. paulson. the gentleman is recognized for

five minutes. mr. paulsen: well, mr. speaker, the amount of sacrifice given to this nation by those serving in our armed forces is truly inspiring. american men and women in uniform are a remarkable symbol for our country and we are truly proud of their dedication. the minnesota national guard's 34th infantry division known as the red bulls have served our state and our country with honor and are truly the best our nation has to offer. their dedication to ensure freedom has been a momentous task and they continue to succeed with utmost bravery. this responsibility is no small task. indeed ensuring democracy in a fragile state is something that takes courage and trust. now most recently more than 1,000 members of the red bulls were deployed to basra, iraq, where they took command of 14,000 troops in nine of 18 of iraq's provinces. after serving long hours and giving up days and years of their lives the red sbrulls finally returned home to

minnesota -- bulls have finally returned home to minnesota and it was an occasion. these heroes took part in the minnesota national guards' return to the yellow ribbon re-interrogation program which helps soldiers ease back into every day life and to give thanks for their extended service, in january, 2010, -- 2010, the post -- 2007, the p.d. -- pdmra was implemented to offer extra pay to those who served extended time overseas during deployments in iraq and afghanistan. but despite this promise more than 23,000 troops did not receive the benefits they were promised due to the bureaucracy and the red tape within the department of defense. troops that were owed thousands of dollars, they didn't see a dime. this was entirely unacceptable. this was the type of delay, whatever the success, was certainly outrageous.

and though this was not a new issue, i was proud to work on this issue as soon as i arrivinged in congress and in fact the effort was led by the minnesota national guard representatives john kline and tim walz from minnesota along with the rest of the minnesota delegation and representative bruce braley from iowa whose tireless work on this issue should not go unnoticed. mr. speaker, when it comes to our veterans issues, partisan pal ticks are not an option. we all share a common goal in congress to support our troops and have worked together to ensure that those that serve our nation get the respect and the recognition that they deserve. while we authored legislation that would have provided an immediate fix for this issue, a major hurtle we faced was that many members of congress did not know the problem ever existed. despite the fact that 19 states had 500 or more constituents who had not received money many members were unfortunately aware which was a major hurdle in

passing this legislation. so we made it our mission personaly to educate members of congress about the problem and we tried to raise awareness about the issue. we also sent numerous letters to the defense proportion authorization committees so we could begin to address the problem in congress. while thousands in the meantime continued to wait for the d.o.d. to act. and in the house we were successful in getting language in the defense authorization bill and we got money allocated in the defense appropriations bill and then unfortunately the senate authorization bill had language to fix the problem but their appropriations bill did not include the funding. so sadly after all of our efforts the final defense appropriations bill that the president signed into law did not contain the funding that was needed to provide the fix to this problem for our troops. but we kept on fighting. we did not give up and the issue was raised in a question by representative kline to the defense secretary gates during a house armed services committee hearing recently and it was just shortly after that that the department of defense you a know

-- announced it was changing its policy and that they would end these burdensome regulations in order for the soldiers to get the money that they were promised a long time ago. so i'm proud to report that now the first checks have been mailed out to our deserving troops. the red bulls without a doubt deserve every dollar they will be receiving after this three-year wait. i want to take this opportunity to thank them again for their service and pledge to them that we will fight to make sure that a similar situation never happens again in the future. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: mr. paulsen. excuse me, mr. thompson from pennsylvania. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker, some say that america's successful because of what we do here in washington. i couldn't disagree more. america's successful because of our citizens and tonight i wanted to share -- i wanted to talk about and recognize three such individuals from clinton county, pennsylvania. mr. speaker, the first of these is donald malotte.

from february 12 -- friday february 12, 2010, donald g. malotte made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty while serving the citizens of the communities of clinton county, pennsylvania. he tragically lost his life while working to control the traffic scene of a two-vehicle crash. a long-time public servant in clinton county, he recently served as captain of the wool rich fire department association. he began his public service at the age of 16 and served his communities for 46 years. his involvement originated as home community ad he's been an active member of the dunceton and wool rich fire departments. he's also evolved in the public service as a member of the local ma sonic lodge. captain malotte's life embodies that of a true american hero. he lived and served with making

a difference to the lives of both his neighbors and complete strangers. he sacrificed personally, missing family time meals and full nights of rest when called upon to serve those in need. and while we mourn the loss of this american hero, we celebrate his lifetime record of service and his principles of public service. the families of all fire and emergency personnel share in the service and sacrifices of their loved ones. to the family, please know that i'm keeping you in my prayers during this very difficult time. the second individual, mr. speaker, i rise to honor today is jerry who spent 20 years raising funds to advance the causes of a university in pennsylvania. he plans to retire with a balance sheet of more than $40 million in contributions and other income that has come to the university during his tenure as executive director of the university foundation. jerry represented the university on the council for the advancement and support of education and past chair of the

clinton county economic partnership. last month he received a lifetime service award for his contributions to higher education over the course of his 42-year career. i also know him as a former member of the executive board of the council of the boy scouts of america where he served with honor. prior to joining rock haven he had fundraising responsibilities at the university of toledo, bowling green state university and the university of charleston. jerry recently surpassed the $10 million mark fundraising goal in lock haven university's capital campaign by helping to raise $11.6 million. we thank jerry for his dedication and outstanding service to lock haven and wish him well in his retirement. and finally mr. speaker i recognize this evening lock haven university president keith miller. keith has had an outstanding -- has been an outstanding representative for the college. enrollment has grown under his tenure as has the honors program. lock haven has achieved all

steinway's status and national science foundation grants since he arrived in 2004. he's a warm individual whose dedication to the school was always in evidence. et never stopped promoting and believing the mission of the university. i'm pleased for dr. miller that he's going to assume the reigns of virginia state university. their gain is our loss. before lock haven he was provoice and vice chancellor of the university of wisconsin-oshkosh, dean of the college of business at niagara university in new york and associate dean of a school business in hamden, connecticut. he owns a bachelor's, master's and ph.d. from the university of arizona but he has also worked in sales for procter and gamble -- gamble. i can continue to describe his distinguished career and many attributes but suffice to say that lock haven and lock haven university will miss dr. miller as will i. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: mr. burton from indiana.

under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentleman from missouri, mr. akin, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. akin: thank you, mr. speaker. it's a pleasure being able to join you, my colleagues and those gathered in various places around the buildings here near the capitol. i've had the opportunity having served in government as a legislator for a number of years to serve both in the majority, in the minority, but also in the wilderness. this last year and a half has

been different. i've served in the wilderness. because we have actually come up to the edge of the abyss with a piece of legislation that promises to be so threatening and so destructive to our country that should we decide to swallow this poison pill and pass this piece of legislation america will never be the same. i have seen in the majority and in the minority pieces of legislation which are harmful that may be poor solutions to some particular problem or solutions to a problem that doesn't exist or excuses just to have more taxes and more government control. but we have never quite seen a threat like the threat that confronts america today and we, you and i, my friends, who love the red, white and blue, are looking off the edge. i don't know if you've ever

stood on the edge of the rim of the grand canyon and looked thousands of feet downward or if you've ever been on the very top of some high skyscraper and some bridge and just looked off into empty space, but that is where we stand tonight. that is where we stand this week or next week in america. we are standing looking into the abyss, into a piece of legislation which is quite possibly going to be passed and if it is passed it will leave our nation very, very weak, much weaker and unlike anything we've seen before. it threatens to do two major things. to destroy the quality of health care in america and to destroy the fiscal integrity of our very country. i am talking of course about an old topic, a topic that has been

debated now for more than half a year here in congress. it is be a -- it has absorbed the attention of the nation and it's an interesting topic because the more that it's been around it seems that the more the public is aware of it and the more they see of it the more they don't like it. in fact, as you start to take the covers off the legislation on health care it becomes a very ugly picture and the american public is wise. in fact, the statistical information suggests that at least 20% more americans believe that we'd be better not passing this piece of legislation and a great majority think we should just scrap it and start over again by systemically defining a problem and fixing it instead of having the government take over all of health care. now, the process, the way that the legislature works historically has been so boring

that none of the american public paid attention to it. but that has changed since we've been in the days of looking into the abyss. the abyss of the destruction of health care and the destruction of our economy. and the people are becoming conscious of how it is that bills are passed, how they become law. what would be required to have this health care bill passed would be a process that people call reconciliation and what that means essentially is that the bill would end run or bypass a safety process in the u.s. senate. the u.s. senate has a very conservative way of operating and that is that you can have a bill that you have 51 senators that would vote for it, so it would pass if you have a chance to vote on it, but they put this extra caveat, that you have to have 60 senators agree to bring it up for a vote. so in a sense everything in the senate requires a 60% approval

before it goes to a final vote. there is an exception to that, and that is because of the necessity of dealing with the budget and spending and taxing and some of those issues, on certain financial kinds of transactions, because of the fact we can't afford a gridwelcome we allow a 50-vote majority to be able to move something along, that's reconciliation. but it is not a process that is typically used for a completely new bill on a great -- a very broad subject, which is not specifically a financial kind of thing. we have this quote from our president, on this subject of reconciliation, he says, now, reconciliation is therefore the wrong place for policy changes. now, wait a minute, now, this is the president saying

reconciliation is therefore the wrong place for policy changes. isn't the health care bill a policy change? i guess it is. it's a whale of a big policy change. in short, the reconciliation process appears to have lost its proper meaning. a vehicle designed for deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility has been hijacked to facilitate reckless deficits and unsustainable debt. well, i wish the president would pay attention to his own words. this is what he said. reconciliation is not a place for policy changes and yet the health care bill is a massive policy change. it will take over about 1/6 of the u.s. economy. the government will step in and effectively run 1/6 of the u.s. economy with all kinds of rules and regulations and bureaucracies. i guess that's a policy change,

mr. president. in short, the reconciliation process appears to have lost its proper meaning. indeed, it does. a vehicle designed for deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility. that's what the reconciliation process was supposed to be about and in fact, it's going to be hijacked, it's been hijacked to facilitate, what? to facilitate jamming down the throats of the american public a bill that america clearly does not want us to do. they want to take the reconciliation process as a mechanism to jump with all of america into the abyss. so i think it's interesting that after the votes, particularly the vote in massachusetts, where the democrats do not have 60 votes in the senate they don't have one republican that would support this bill, not one, for people who served in the legislature that is a huge

warning sign. when you see a total party line vote on something, it says, that means there's some problems. usually in the legislative process, if it's been done properly a lot of people have a chance for input, people have a chance to improve and say, this part seems to be a little radical, let's go back this way. usually what you have is more of a mix of people. when you see something being jammed in a process that's not designed that is reconciliation, for this massive policy change, and you see not one republican voting for it, that should be a warning sign for people everywhere and it's misuse of reconciliation. so while the public is saying in poll after poll, survey after survey, phone call after phone call from our districts, stop this train, do not jump into the abyss, do not allow

the federal government to take over 1/6 of the economy, yet what do we see? we see a tremendous determination to jam this bill through whether the procedure fits or not, but it is my way or the highway and we're going to do it because we know what's best for you. this is a very high-handed approach and it is something that does not, never does, and never bill produce a good consensus in america. it will be something that will divide america, create a tremendous amount of tension and pressure, end up with lousy health care and a federal budget that is even more out of control. now if you take a look down here, we have another quote from the spoker of the house, nancy pelosi, it says this will take courage. this will take courage. in other words, for the democrats to vote for this bill, it will take courage. what does that mean? it will take courage. if it takes courage it means

somebody is going to be mad. somebody is not going to like it. so you have to be courageous and stand up to somebody who doesn't want you to vote for this bill. who do you think the somebody is? is it the republicans, the republicans don't like it, but we have 80 votes less than the democrats so we can't say much of anything about it, other than explain whige we don't like it. but our hopes don't -- our votes don't make the difference. nancy pelosi has a lot of ex-paravotes. she could have 20 or 30 people vote no and still pass this bill. why does it take courage? because somebody couldn't want it. somebody very much doesn't want it. and they'll be mad if it's jammed down the throats of the american public who is the somebody going to be? you got it, the american public. people are not going to like this bill. if you vote for it, the point she's taking is, you're risking your seat because people are going to be mad. it's interesting, when the

leader is saying it's going to take courage, that says somebody doesn't like it. now, are there some reasons why people don't like the bill? first of all, this is a rough flow chart trying to describe what happens when the government takes over 1/6 of the u.s. economy. obviously there's a whole lot of things being done by private institutions which will be replaced with government institutions and they've got to figure out how to replace it all. so no wonder it takes almost 3,000 pages of bill to try to put some sort of scheme together for the government to be running the health care business. now, on the surface of the whole situation with this bill this is not an easy sell. as you know this bill has been around for more than half a year, i guess it's 3/4 of the year. people don't like it very well. the president thinks it's a beautiful bill but the more

that people see it, theless they like it. they think it's an ugly bill. let's think about the logic of this, stand way back away from the details of health care. we have got medicare and medicaid, both of those have to do with medicine. they're both very large federal entitlements. medicare, medicaid. in fact, the great challenge to the american budget are three entitlements. people say earmarks is what it's all about. earmarks is 1%. they're not the thing that's really a threat to the budget. the thing that's the threat to the budget are three entitlements, social security, medicare, and medicaid. two of those have to do with health care. medicare and medicaid. and what's the problem with medicare and medicaid? well, they're financially broken. if they continue as they are right now without changing those laws, they will bankrupt our country. so we've got medicare and medicaid, government programs that are currently bankrupting

our country and so what are we trying to sell the american public? oh, hey, we've got the government running medicare and medicaid, they're bankrupting our country, let's take other all of health care with the government. there's something intuitively counterintuitive about that, isn't there? why would you want the government to take over something it's already messing up and that is not working financially. that it is in the process of bankrupting our country. if you can't do it in a smaller area of medicare and medicaid, why do you want to expand it to everybody? this is kind of a hard sell for the president and that's why it's taking a lot of courage and why this bill is not moving any too fast and why the public doesn't like it. but there are many, many other reasons. you can see the complexity here ands audiocassette -- as you can imagine, when you start looking that the editails, you find it's full of a lot of little details. one of the things you find, and i think one of the little devils that is perhaps most

knock toshes a lot of american people are the special deals you see, when off piece of legislation that's going to take a lot of courage, you have to put some sugar in it to make people vote for it. and the sugar, of course, comes in the special deals. so what you find in the legislation to the best of our knowledge because the idea about transparency and openness, we have not seen. so we don't actually see exactly what this bill in itself final form wetch just see what it was like in the house what we saw it was like in the senate but we find it has some of these special little things that is that it's going to take out 500 -- going to take out $500 billion out of medicare. is it taking $500 billion out of medicare all the way across the country? no. in the state of florida, it's not going to take of -- take money out of medicare advantage at all.

it won't be coming out in florida but in the other states they do take it out. that was a special deal for somebody in florida. then we've got special deals, i believe it was called louisiana purchase two, for louisiana. special deal for massachusetts, medicare gets special reimbursements there. going to build a hospital in new jersey, but not in other places. so you have special deals. that's one of the things that make this is look ugly to the voters. because you're not treating every state the same. you're making some states pay more and oir ones don't. you're making some special adjustments for various people. you find there's adjustments for people who work in a labor union but somebody who works the same kind of job in a company that's not in a union doesn't get the same break as if you are in a union. this is one of those special deals people in genesee that, they say that isn't fair, isn't right, that's not good legislation. that's special deals.

we don't like special deals. they don't treat people equally before the law. now the -- when you take a look at the complexity of this chart, what it suggests is that this is going to be expensive, not only is it going to be expensive if you've got a problem and you fall through the cracks somewhere, you may never get over to getting any health care at all. it's got so much red tape and bureaucracy. so the whole idea of this kind of system working well and providing good quality service is a little bit hard to understand. when you take a look at the failings of medicare and medicaid in terms of the projected way that they're going to take our country into bankruptcy, do you really want to expand all of health care into these categories? there's a fiscal sanity kind of component.

one of the ways to take a look at the bill and to ask some questions and to get a sense of what's going on as to why this bill is unpopular as people study it and see more and more of it, these are some comparisons on what the health care proposal does. this is the old democrat bills, this is the president's new online bill, and this would be the republican alternative or alternatives. so we have three different bills in comparison here. a comparison based on a number of different criterion. i think it's maybe helpful to take a look at some of those. first of all, it says here that it imposes half a trillion in medicare cuts. we talked about that just a minute ago. this bill is going to cut medicare. you heard the democrats saying the republicans are going to take your medicare away. that didn't turn out to be

true, we have not done that but this bill does this bill is going to cut $500 billion out of medicare and the answer to this, of course, is yes, the old democrat bill did that. that's the yes. and the president cease -- the president's new bill is going to do the same thing. it's going to impose half a trillion in medicare cuts. the republican alternative does not. so this is one of those situations where people are a little uncomfortable. if medicare is having trouble financially if doctors are in the being reimbursed very much in medicare so they're starting to not accept new patients because they're not being reimbursed enough to make it worth their while to take patients, if that's a problem in medicare, why are we going to pull half a trillion out of it? so that's one of the ways you could take a look at these bills. there's a difference, the republicans are not proposing that but both the president's new online bill and the

democrat bill does that. it also enacts job-killing tax hikes and government regulations costing hundreds of billions of dollars. this bill, in order to pay for it, its a $1 trillion bill, a conservative estimate, this bill is going to cost more than $1 trillion, how do you pay for it? guess what, tax increases. and cuts to medicare. so the tax increases here are going to come from where? a lot of them come from small businesses. when you tax small businesss a whole lot for their employees, they're not going to be able to hire as many employees, so this bill then has the effect of causing unemployment. so that's something that in our particular climate with unemployment near 10% in america and not a lot of sense of hope that that employment is going to turn around in a hurry because of very badly shaped policies by the federal government,

particularly policies which hammer small business owners, to have this bill which is going to tax heavily small business owners and put tremendous new government regulations on them costing billions of dollars, this is not something from an unemployment point of view that's a very good idea. and this is going to be done by the old democratic bill, the president's new proposal, the republican terve, it doesn't surprise you, were not enthused about tax increases and we don't know that's the best way to be dealing with some of our problems in medicine. i'm joined by a very good friend of mine, congressman bishop, and i would very much appreciate his perspective on what we're talking about. i've just been saying that -- and i don't think that i'm overdramatizing this, that to a degree it's my sense that america's standing on the edge of an abyss like looking over the grand canyon or something and that if we step off the edge

, misuse this reconciliation process, we're going to damage our country in a way unlike anything that we've seen before. please join me, though. mr. bishop: i appreciate being able to join the gentleman from missouri here and i appreciate his efforts so far in explaining the differences in these particular bills and i want to echo that i agree with you that we are in a precarious situation. there are those who would tell us the most important thing we could do right now is pass something. a lot of bad pieces of legislation and policy changes have happened when we simply pass something that was there. our goal in this particular issue should be to pass the right type of reform, not just something. and until we get the right type of reform we should never actually quit looking to form a way that is best in providing options and choices to american people. i'm assuming as you started, you talked about some of the four

proposed alleged proposals that were added today. when i first saw that i thought somebody was pulling my leg, it was a joke. i find it ludicrous and somewhat insulting to the american people that there are actually those who believe that if you take a $1 trillion program which transfers power from american people to bureaucrats in washington that by adding more spending for a few studies and a few small little tweaks here and there that that's actually better and it's going to buy people support -- and that that's actually better and it's going to buy people's support. week of spoken too long about it, week of been -- we've spoken too long about it, we've given speech after speech. what we should do now is listen to the reasons americans have complaint about the core program that is before us. and i appreciate what you're doing up there, as you are going through some of the core

problems in this particular bill that a few little add-ons that cost a little more money are not going to sell this core problem issue. if i could say just one more thing -- mr. akin: it just sounds like what you're saying, you can chrome plate a pig but it still is a pig when you're done. but go ahead. mr. bishop: we've been trying to think of a lot of metaphors here and i don't think a lot of them work very well. i remember one time when my oldest kid was about 3 or 4 and he had been given a candy bar and was supposed to participate in a program and didn't want to go up and join the other kids in the program. so i took his candy bar away and i said, if you go up there and perform i'll give you a candy bar. and of course he was dumb enough to accept that and he waddled up there and the program and i gave him his candy bar back. i hope people don't think that just giving a candy bar back is going to buy the program. the program is still fundamentally flawed. a reporter just asked me, don't

you think these bims should have an up-down vote? everything here in the house is an up-down vote. but there are bills introduceded by representative shadegg, representative price who have a different approach about solving the problem and reforming our system based on giving the power to people so people can make choices and representative akin, i think they deserve an up,-down vote on this body as well. instead they have been prohibitted from evening being discussed in committee or on the floor. mr. akin: in other words, what's happening, you have other approaches to solve some of the problems in health care, not trying to have the government take it all over but to fix various component parts and we have a rules committee that, for instance, if you have -- you want to offer suggestions, they prohibit you from offering that as an amendment to get an up or down vote on it. is that correct? mr. bishop: i would simply suggest that to the leaders of this congress and our president, instead of saying if you have ideas give them to me and i'll make a choice on whether they're

good or not -- mr. akin: that's the way the processes work. go ahead, right. mr. bishop: put the ideas on the floor and let all of those ideas be fully debated in front of the american people, give an up-down vote on every idea that's out there and just perhaps we will find that there is a needed reform to our health care system that actually meets the needs of the american people, does not cost them out of existence, does not cut jobs, does not move power away from people back here to washington and allows people and their doctors to chart their own future. i have said a couple of times when i talked to you on the floor here on this issue, the state of utah has launched last year a reform -- i'm sorry, a reform of the health care system based on utah's unique demographics. we have the youngest state in the nation, our median age is younger. we also have a lot, probably more, small businesses that don't provide insurance than most states. we need something specifically for our need and we have

launched it, a program that is well designed with fundamentals, still needs to be tweaked, still needs to be worked on but it's based on our needs and our demographics and if either the senate or the house bill, these one-size-fits-all programs were to pass in any form, it totally destroyed what the state is trying to accomplish. we're not the only ones with the brilliance here. we're not the only ones who care about people. we should be partnering with states to come up with new and creative ideas to meet the individual needs of our people in their individual areas and we flat-out are not allowing that to take place. mr. akin: we're basically muzzling a lot of the representative process. there have been different analogies as you said. you talked about your son with a candy bar. another one was the idea of a kitchen that needs -- that has a broken sink and when you hire the plumber to fix the broken sink you don't remodel the entire kitchen. and of course that's the model that the democrats have been

using, the concept that, ha, the sink is broken, therefore we can remodel the whole kitchen. they had the idea of remodeling the kitchen, they've been wanting to do that for a very long time and the broken sink is now the excuse to remodel the whole kitchen. but the point of the matter is i think the american public would be more comfortable and the legislative process would work better if we were to say, let's define a specific problem in the health care system, instead of having the government take it all over, let's try to solve that one individual problem. i guess the -- it depends how you explain it or say if it. if i were to say, gentlemen, would you like the government to buy you a house, you might be tempted to say, well, that sounds pretty good. but if i were to say, would you like to live in government housing, you might think, i'm not so sure i want that. and the little bit that maybe is an analogy to explain what we've got here.

the idea is to say, hey, don't you want free health care, but the other way of looking at it is, do you really want the government making health care decisions or would you rather prefer that your doctor makes those decisions? so depends how you say it. but that's -- the american public's gotten wise to this and that's why you have a 20% at least more number of americans that don't want this program. mr. bishop: i think the gentleman has also brought the other chart down here which you probably used earlier which is how this system would be structured. now, i hate to say that but when the first bill was presented by our good friends on the other side, that was the structure. i hate to say this, over all the times we've discussed about it, that typical washington approach of convoluted, complex patterns, people making decisions, that hasn't changed at all. as week of come through, supposedly come up with this new

idea that has tweaks from the republican side, there's been no compromise on the basic problem which is, that structure -- which is that structure. mr. akin: i kind of like this chart because i think that some entrepreneur could make money with this chart because if you were to just shrink it down a little smaller, add some additional lines, you could start over here and these are the consumers, these are the people who are sick, and the medical professionals are over there and you could sell it to restaurants as a placemat and give them a crayon and customers could try and draw and see if they could get through the maze to get over to the health care professional and -- because that's a little bit how this looks. maybe that sounds like a silly thing to say, but, gentlemen, you're in the business in your office, among other parts of the work that we do as congressmen, we get phone cause from our constituents. and our constituents want us to help them solve problems that they're having with the federal government. i'm thinking about, if this system gets put in, i'm going to

have i don't know how many thousand people every day in my phone saying, i need this kind of medical care and i can't get through the system and they're going to ask me to help them do it. and i'm going to say, fat chance. this is a mess. mr. bishop: i think you're absolutely right and i think that's one of the reasons why a lot of people have changed their opinion and a lot of people have grave concerns about this type of a program, a one-size-fits-all washington-based program. i've also had some other people calling me, a lot of people with grave concerns and a great deal of anger over everything that's going on, but some who have simply said, why can't you just sit down and compromise? why can't you work things out? i think i join with you in saying that i am more than happy to sit down to work with anybody who will work with me. the bottom line is, we have not been allowed to work together. which is why i was saying earlier, let those other ideas, the other bills, have an up-down vote as well. bring them to the floor and allow a true debate on all ideas.

don't siphon the ideas down to what is allowable by the leaders of congress and allow us actually to work together, or, as i think you intimated, you know, there are some things which are think both republicans and democrats do agree on certain provisions. let them stand by themselves and see what we can actually accomplish. without taking the idea in which we basically all agree and then adding 10 or 15 bad ideas in which we fundamentally disagree to it and say, ok, take it or leave it. mr. akin: well, you know, i hate to admit how many years i've served in the legislative body, and as i started by saying, i'm certain the -- i've served in the majority, the minority and now in the wilderness but most of the legislation i've seen that works pretty well surprisingly enough people are sold on it. there is a process of a bunch of people coming together, defining a problem, working on a solution, the bills frequently when they start are pretty

rough, pretty hard to understand, a lot of questions and problems in them, but as more and more people have a chance to work on it, roll their sleeves up and have input to it, the bills get refined. in the business world if you want to mess something up you send it to a committee but in the political world, when committees work on legislation it tends to refine the product. and after a period of time what happens is, if certain ideas that some people just can't tolerate and you tend to trow the radical stuff out, what you can agree to comes together and when that happens and particularly when it happens across party lines, you don't have major fundamental reform, but you change and you fix things in ways that solves people's problems. what happened this year around, we had 80 less seats than the democrats so they thought, we don't need the republicans. the dickens with the republicans. week of got such a majority we can do whatever we want and as they marched off to totally

change all of health care, now they've gotten kind of in a jam. because they're realizing the public is not agreeing with it and they don't have one republican vote. that's very, very unusual politically. that there's not at least one republican that would vote for a bill. that says that this has been such a partisan kind of approach and that's why there's cause to scrap it. it's not that -- calls to scrap it. it's not that people are going to go back to ground zero on health care but they're saying this approach right here is too much. mr. bishop: and i would not -- i'd be very hesitant to describe any motives on why things happened the way they did but what we do know is historically when major changes of policy have taken place, even when they were hotly debated, even sometimes when cloture was approached over in the senate, the final product had a lot of majority and minority votes coming together. it was not this deadvicive of an

issue that was trying to be pushed through in a very partisan and divisive way and i think you're right. what republicans are saying is there are other ways that still have to be out there and what is more important for us is to do the system and do the reform the right way the first time. it's very difficult once something is established to go back and fix it. to do it right the first time and err not doing that here. mr. akin: it affects so many people, it's so expensive and what you create can never be taken back, it is absolutely crucial we get this thing right the first time. we would be far better off, i guess it's like choosing a wife, you want to make sure you choose the right one the first time, it's less expensive that way. this is something you want to get it right the first time. if there's bout, -- if there's doubt, if there's questions, it's probably better to slow up and take a good look at what

you're doing. there are some things about the bill that's being proposed here that are just completely anathema to many, many americans. i think if you have to say, well, what would some of those things be? i mentioned the special deals. people don't like that. but if you get to the heart of what's going on in health care, it's that relationship between you when you're sick and your doctor. we call it the doctor-patient relationship. i think that's fundamental to our understanding of what good health care has to start with and that is you've got qualified, professional doctors who work with somebody who is ill, the family and the doctor come together and they put together a solution as to what's going to happen and what the doctors can do to help you with your health. one of the things that gets people veryup set and with good reason is when somebody butts in to that doctor-patient relationship. and one of the examples that we

have seen too frequently is that we have allowed insurance companies sometimes to jump into that doctor-patient relationship and they say, oh, we're not jumping into the doctor-patient relationship. it's just that we're deciding what we will fund and what we won't fund. so the doctor says, you need to do x, y, z, the insurance company says you don't need to do that. we don't like it when somebody who is not a medical professional starts to superintend over our health care and we don't have any control on it. what's even worse is that when the doctor makes a medical mistake, he's going to get sued, but when the insurance company says you don't need to do that and you up and die and your relative says, the insurance company just cost a life, well then it turns out they don't have any medical liability. that's not a good situation. but it's not the worst situation. something worse could happen.

it's this. this is what's worse. instead of an insurance company which, if you want to, if you have to, you can change your insurance company, this is going to put a government bureaucrat between you and your doctor. that's something that i don't know a single republican who likes that idea. we don't think we want government bureaucrats get tweeng you and your doctor. how is that going to happen? because the bureaucrats have got their calculators and as they call cue rate, they say, how old are you? what are the statistical chances of this, oh, you don't get this care. the bureaucrats say you're not going to allow you to get that health care. the doctor says, but in this case this particular treatment is necessary. the bureaucrat says, no, you can't get it. that's one of the reasons why in the united kingdom health care death rates are much higher than they are in america because of the fact that the bureaucrats say, no, you didn't

get any car care. -- any care. mr. bishop: if the gentleman will yield? mr. akin: i will. mr. bishop: i think it's well to emphasize the fact that not everyone will get what they want in this program. i was told once again today that the president in his remarks said if you like your plan you keep keep your plan if you like your doctor, keep your doctor. if that sounds familiar, it was a stipple -- a staple in the rhetoric last year. but media have debunked that claim. the white house said, we're not taking that line literally and eventually it was removed. it's coming back now but it's still not accurate. the problem is, if you like what you have, you may not end up keeping what you like yusm may end up being told what to

do, which is the problem every time you try to transfer power from individuals back to washington to tell us what is best for us. we sometimes may not agree. and that is the sad part. that is the fundamental problem that a few tweaks around the edges can't solve. but that is a significant problem. i think the gentleman from missouri hit the nail on thed the when -- on the head when he said this is one of those fundamental issues which is why this program should not be forced through but you should back up and start again with something that doesn't have that premise of washington being empowered to tell us how we will live our lives. there are thousands -- there are 8,000 state legislators out there. all of them are bright. all of them can come up with programs for their state. allow the states to be the laboratory of democracy that louis bran dice used to talk -- louis bran dise used to talk bt -- bran deist used to talk

about. this is not good enough for us to force through -- so we can say we did something. i yield back. mr. akin: i couldn't agree with you more. i think that is a fundamental question. when people talk about compromise, i picture people on the outside of congress saying, why can't those people just get together, solve a problem, bury their partisan hatchets, and just serve the american public. and part of the reason why you don't see that is because there are fundamental differences of opinion on what to do with health care and one of the very, very big ones is that question, is it going to be between you and your doctor, or is it going to be you and the federal government and some doctor that they choose. that's a very, very big difference in opinions on health care. this system forces the federal government between you and your doctor and it's why it doesn't have any support among other reasons from republicans.

and there are a couple of other things we probably ought to talk about. when we talk about health care being too expensive, one of the things that really increases the cost of health care has been attorneys, particularly trial attorneys, who are going to sue doctors for having done the wrong thing. now it's time, there are times when doctors do the wrong thing, there are time whence doctors, when they do the wrong things, need to fix it and need to pay for some of the damages their actions cause. but this is more than that. these are punitive lawsuits with millions of dollar claims and what does that do? it adds a tremendous cost to the cost of health care. so one of the ideas if you want to reduce the cost of health care, is that you want to have what's called tort reform. we were promised in baltimore by the president that certainly he believed in tort reform. as we take a look at the legislation that we've got, one of the things that you find is

that thee supposed tort reform in this bill, the old democrat bill, and i believe the new president's bill, i'm not sure that this is in there, is the fact that the states that have enacted tort reform, such as my own state of missouri, the states that have enacted tort reform, they cannot keep that tort reform in place when this medical bill goes in. it gets rid of tort reform instead of making tort reform. now i said that that costs a whole lot of money, if you don't have tort reform or tort reform is a good idea to reduce cost of health care. in the state of missouri, it's dropped the cost of health care significantly. i'm talking in excess of 10 or so percent states that have decent tort reform. it reduces the cost of medicine system of that's a reform that republicans wanted to do and it's not included in the bill which is the tort reform. i do yield.

mr. bishop: if i could maybe add to that. i think you've hit on one of the things, i think it's essential, if we're going to reform the health care system, because we do have two problems, one is people being covered by insurance, but the second one is the overall cost to the system. if you don't address both of those problem, you haven't done a good health reform. mr. akin: the cost of the system and what's the other? mr. bishop: coverage of individuals. being covered and having the cost overall. even if you have insurance, it's still very expensive and the cost keeps going up. a key element a crucial element that everyone within the medical community will tell you is if we don't do cost reform dealing with tort issues, if we don't do the massive amount of litigation that forces doctors to do more and more procedures just so they are covered just in case someone decides to sue them. we will never actually get a handle on the cost of health care that keeps going up. once again, the president has

said in past speeches he's willing to look at that. but in one of the four proposals he added as a sweetener to this deal, it was not to have malpractice resolution but simply to study alternative malpractice resolutions. that ain't it. a study of what -- we've been doing that for a long time. we know what the problem is. seems -- mr. akin: it seems the study has already occur. various states have done it, tried it, it saved a lot of money, what more do we need to study? mr. bishop: so adding that as something to improve the system doesn't improve the system at all, it's nothing. we need toimplement those. even my home state, the legislature is once again address on the state issue that concept of tort reform and litigation limitation. it's essential. we need to do that. that's one of the issues in which i think both parties can easily come together and make a

resolution if we were allowed to discuss real litigation reform. but once again, that's not on the table. that's not discussable on the floor. if stussable is a word. which it -- if discussable is a word. which it probably isn't. mr. akin: it's something that needs to be dealt with, people will understand. you're a doctor, got somebody who's ill, you're pretty sure this is what's wrong with them but it could be five other thing, so i'll run these other tests, some very expensive tests, just in case, no matter what, so if anything goes wrong, if anybody gets me a courtroom i can say, i did everything anybody could do and more besides. they're doing it strictly to cover their tails because they don't want to be sued and have millions and millions of dollars against them and run their cost of insurance up. if their insurance goes up and

up and up, guess how they have to pay for that insurance? by charging patients more money. that's how tort reform can save in various states. we don't have to study it. it saved a whole lot of money in a great number of states. those are some things that are, i think, important. i talk about reconciliation, the misuse of that process. i had a good quotation here from a prominent senator, a prominent senator was looking at reconciliation. that's the process the democrats are talking about doing and this prominent senator, you've got it, it's the president, he says reconciliation is therefore the wrong place for policy changes. i think the government taking over a sixth of the u.s. economy would probably qualify as a policy change. he says, in short, the reconciliation process appears to have lost its proper meaning, a vehicle designed for deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility, this doesn't seem like deficit reduction or

fiscal responsibility, it seems like a policy change. we have to agree with the president, this is not the place for reconciliation, yet guess what, in spite of the fact that massachusetts has even voted on this, we're going to jam this bill through, whether you want it or not, using this process, the misuse of this process called reconciliation, which most people have never heard of before, but it is by hook and by crook and not by a legitimate method. here's the benefits trial attorneys by failing to enact meaningful lawsuit reform. that's tort reform. the old democrat bill does not put it in, the new one does not, the republicans believe, yeah, we should have tort reform. here's another one. protects back room deals with washington special interests. there have been a lot of special deals in these particular bills. i think the one that i find most offensive was an agreement

made with insurance companies that said if an insurance company makes a decision that overrides the doctor-patient relationship that is, they say, yeah we recognize the doctor-patient relationship, we're just not going to pay for it. if they do that and something goes wrong, the insurance company cannot be sued system of the doctor gets sued for everything but the insurance company that's not a medical authority makes a decision, the decision turns out to be bad, the doctor says your wife should go to the hospital but we said we're not going to cover it, she doesn't really need to go to the hospital and she gets really, really sick because she should have been in the hospital, guess what happens? the insurance company has no liability whatsoever. so this is -- that's one of the back room deals that's particularly upsetting. the other one we've talked about is put the government bureaucrats in charge of personal health care decisions. the democrats' bills are doing