on c-span. thank you for being with us and we will be back with " washington journal" xm o'clock a.m.. . [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., march 4, 2010. i hereby appoint the honorable tammy baldwin to act as speaker pro tempore on this day.

signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father coughlin. chaplain coughlin: lord, so blessed are we in the united states of america that when we hear your words of blessing upon abraham, the great man of faith, we hear those words as spoken to the very soul of this nation. i will make of you a great nation and i will bless you. i will make your name great so that you will be a blessing. i will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. all the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you. and the people said amen.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from texas, congressman johnson. mr. johnson: thank you. will you all join us in the pledge, please? i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lent taint up to five requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? mr. kucinich: good morning, madam speaker. i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized.

mr. kucinich: there's a new way to fight war in afghanistan. u.s. commanders are publicly telling the taliban when we are coming and where we are going to be to wage war. this while karzai tries to cut a deal with the taliban. meanwhile, a large offense is being mounted. an assault on kandahar. the u.s. is going to have 100,000 troops mounted for a big battle by autumn. we are using 1.1 million gallons of fuel a day. logistical problems abound. here's a quote from the february 20 national journal. so despite the immense efforts to push out the fight, sometimes they don't have the minimum they need. quote, we have guys out there at the outpost in an area of operation starving because we couldn't get resupply into them, said one major. now, you know, will the surge change that, and what's this all about to disrupt a corrupt

central government which is building villas in dubai? i'm bringing a privileged resolution to the floor to get out of afghanistan, and i urge your support. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. johnson: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. johnson: you know, i think after yet another health care speech by the president, the american people are sick and tired of the democrats' i know what's best for you attitude. congress needs to wake up and realize that americans know more about their health care needs than the government bureaucrats. they know exactly what a washington takeover of health care means, and they're shouting from the rooftops no, no, no. it's time for the president, speaker pelosi to realize that this policy debate isn't between democrats and

republicans. it's between the democrats and the american people. and the american people are saying enough is enough. they don't want a health care bill that raises taxes, stiffles small business, increases insurance premiums and cuts medicare. if the democrats insist on ramming this bill through against the will of the american people, then they better be prepared to suffer the consequences in november. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? mrs. capps: i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. mrs. capps: madam speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to the peace corps. this week the peace corps celebrates their 49th anniversary. since 1961, nearly 200,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries around the world. the talented and selfless volunteers have made lasting contributions in agriculture,

business development, sustainable infrastructure, education, health, hiv-aids, and the environment. each volunteer's work represents a legacy of service that has become a significant part of america's history and positive image abroad. these accomplished volunteers come from very diverse backgrounds, including prestigious universities like the university of california in santa barbara located in my district. i am proud to represent this campus which consistently provides one of the highest members of recruits for the peace corps. again, congratulations, peace corps, on your anniversary and thank you for the wonderful work you do. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: madam speaker, i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. wilson: this morning 79 students from orangeburg preparatory school in south carolina's second district are in the capitol this morning to learn about the legislative

process and the history of the nation's capitol building. under the leadership of head master kelly mills, the students at orangeburg preparatory school excelled both in and out of the classroom. such success is achieved through partnerships between the community, teachers, parents, students and alumni. as a member of the house education and labor committee, i am grateful to spend time with these bright young students and will continue to pursue policies that advance fiscally responsible reforms that will improve their educational opportunities through higher education and beyond. we need insurance reform, not big government takeover. i also want to note when you meet them that the students here today from orangeburg prep continue a tradition to be the best dressed student group to visit the capitol. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the flobal war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: --

mr. wilson: we will never forget september 11 and the glonal war on -- global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? mr. sires: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. sires: the stimulus has created or saved more than two million jobs, giving 95% americans a tax cut and help rebuild our crumble infrastructure, all making an investment in a clean energy future and working to improve our nation's health care. in the past year the recovery act has provided $120 billion tax cuts for working families and businesses. loan nearly $20 billion to small businesses to expand and create jobs. funded more than 500 transportation projects and help keep over 300 educators on the job. the recovery act has also put us on a path towards a green economy through investments in green job training programs. furthermore, the recovery money has funded the creation and expansion of community health centers all over the country as

well as increase investment in health information technology. madam speaker, while there is still much to be done to fully recover our economy, it would be a lot worse had we not passed the recovery act. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, madam, i hereby resign as acting chairman of the committee on ways and means, signed sincerely, pete stark, member of congress. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resignation is accepted. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: madam speaker, it's deja vu all over again on the health care bill. the people have tried everywhere they know to have their voices heard. town halls, tea parties, even special elections. the people don't want washington bureaucrats making their medical decisions, but washington's not listening. people don't want them to force buy health insurance or pay a

fine, an idea that's unconstitutional. but washington's not listening. and when the senate bill fully kicks in it will cost $4.5 trillion. we don't have the money. spending on bailouts and stimulus bills, the taxpayers are out of money. we're broke and we're borrowing billions of dollars from the chinese, but washington's not listening. the massive health care bill now is 2,700 pages long. churchill once said, this report by this very length defends itself of the risk of being read. they don't want a nanny state where government makes all our decisions. government-run health care is unhealthy for americans. but washington's not listening, and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from maryland rise? ms. edwards: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. edwards: madam speaker,

it's past time to boost sustainable job creation by making sound commitment to our nation's education and infrastructure. the result of the american recovery and reinvestment act actually proves a point, but it can't be a one-shot deal. the hemorrhaging of jobs have stopped. in fact, jobless claims fell last week by 29,000. but now it's time to send all our people back to work, and we can't do it on the cheap. and every state across our nation has to be included. we need investments in plant and equipment to bring our manufacturing capacity into the 21st century before the rest of the world outpaces us. and let's find the political courage to buy america in order to build america. encouraging our businesses to create jobs here at home and not ship them abroad. we need sustained investments in vocational and technical training, community colleges and retraining to grow a work force to retain our competitive edge. and we have to foster innovation and creativity.

madam speaker, our economic future relies on the strength of our education and the breath of our opportunities, and we must act quickly. with that i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona rise? mr. flake: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. flake: madam speaker, i rise today to honor the memory of skip nelson who passed away earlier this week leaving us all far too early. arizona was blessed that skip called the state home for most of his life. he was known by many and respected by all. countless individuals, groups and organizations have benefited from his good work, his generosity and his wise counsel. i had the distinct privilege of knowing skip for more than a decade. from my vant point, for all the -- advantage point, for all the notable accomplishments in his life, it was within the walls of his own home that skip's lasting and important work was accomplished. along with judy, his beloved wife of more than 30 years, skip raised three upright and honorable children, mike, ryan and aaron who will surely carry

on his legacy. in fact, mike and ryan have already done much good here on capitol hill. every state and community deserves to have a man of the caliber of skip nelson. we count ourselves fortunate in arizona to have had him as long as we did. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from arizona rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. giffords: march is women's month. major laurence, the commander of the army centcom. she is a true inspiration to soldiers in arizona and women everywhere. lori, a u.s. army soldier killed during an attack in iraq in 2003. a member of the hopey tribe, she was born and raised in arizona and became the first woman in the u.s. armed forces killed in iraq and the first native american woman to die in combat while serving in the

united states military. women such as air force lieutenant meredith doran, working in tucson. she is an aircraft traffic controler involved in the haitian earthquake relief effort under way today. women have voluntary served in conflicts since the early days of the revolutionary war and their significant accomplishments are often overlooked. every day women fly jets in combat, engage enemies on the battlefield and will soon serve along their male counterparts in combat on submarines. this month and all year long we should recognize and remember the service, sacrifice and the lives of the women in our united states armed forces and everything that they have given to our country. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from kansas rise? ms. jenkins: health care costs are unsteable.

they are bankrupting families, they are bankrupting small businesses and if they are not reformed they will bankrupt our government. no one denies we need reform. but what americans do not want is for d.c. politicians to centralize health care decisions in washington and create another entitlement program when everyone knows we haven't paid for the entitlements we already have. instead, what americans need are reforms that actually reduce health care costs for families, help folks with pre-existing conditions and make it easier for small businesses to provide health care. the american people have rejected a government takeover of health care. so i urge my colleagues to support commonsense plans to fix what's broken without throwing out the rulebook and without destroying what works for millions. i yield back. 7 c16 c13

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. any record vote on the postponed question will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass resolution h.r. 1086. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: house resolution 1086, resolution recognizing the importance and significance of the 2010 census and encouraging each community within the indian country to name an elder to be the first member of that community to answer the 2010 census.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. baca, and the gentleman from california, mr. bilbray, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. baca: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. baca: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. baca: thank you, madam speaker. today i rise in strong support of house resolution 1086, a resolution that recognizes the importance and significance of 2010 census, encouraging each community within indian country, i state within indian country to name an elder, to name an elder to be the first member of that community to answer the 2010 census.pptñ

i would like to thank the majority leader, steny hoyer, chairman ed towns, ranking member darrell issa for the support of this resolution that was introduced on february 22, 2010. i also want to recognize all committee staff and my personnel staff for their hard work on this. i also would like to take the time to thank my colleagues in the house of representatives for the bipartisan support because it is a bipartisan bill that's good for all of us. this resolution serves to raise the awareness of the importance of 2010 census count and urges, and i state, and urges indian country to name, to name an elderly to be the first person to complete the 2010 census from each tribe. it shows respect and dignity for that elder. an accurate census count is very important because the data

gathered will determine the allocation and distribution of millions of dollars to state, local, and tribal government. census data can help tribal leaders understand what their community needs are. many tribal communities use census information to attract new businesses, plan for growth in the future. in fact, many tribes and tribal organizations use census data to plan the facilities and programs for the communities and making their quality of life a lot better. the to 10 census will be used -- the 2010 census will be used as a future basis for the 1,400 funding programs under the catalog of the federal domestic assistance. 245 of these programs use census data for distribution of funds for the grant loans, direct payments, and government grant payments. an accurate account is essential to everyone, especially in indian country. in the year 2000 census, 4.4

million people of the total united states population stated that they were american indians or alaska natives. census data will help save our future and our youth and sends a proud message to those individuals that can be identified. in the 2007, the american community reported that 40% of the american indians in the alaska native population was under the age of 25. and in the tough economic times indian country needs an accurate census count more than ever. that is why i'm proud to work with my tribe from my area of california along with jerry lewis, congressman jerry lewis from my area that have some indians and led by my good friend chairman ramos.[n&i next week pauline will be named

the first elder to complete the 2010 census form to be counted in their tribe. this is a short form that only has 10 questions. this is what it looks like. what they are doing is creative and innovative. elders are looked upon and trusted leaders in most native american communities. they are the best position to help carry on the message of the importance accurate count of the 2010 census and also bring pride and respect within each of the tribes. by law, the census bureau cannot share respond answers to anyone, andv6j% state they cann share responsive answers to anyone including tribal housing, authorities, oriole federal agencies, or law enforcement entities. however there is still interest -- there is mistrust in the census in many tribes. the census needs our help. and this resolution tries to send a message we need to

encourage tribal elders and partners in this challenge. with only 10 questions in the 2010 census questionnaire, it's one of the shortest in history and takes about 10 minutes to complete for the average household. the majority of the house will receive a form by mail in the next few weeks starting on march 15. however special procedures will be used by many indian reservations in alaska native villages where homes do not have city style addresses with a number of street names. in these areas a number of communities working with the census will visit homes to help fill out the form and take an accurate count. distrust in the census will hurt the count especially when these special procedures are arranged for the very hard to count tribal areas. that is why the u.s. census created a special tool to help deliver the message and complete accurate count in indian country. with the help of tribal elders, the 2010 census can be a great

success. i encourage all members to go that an accurate count for every community. i urge my colleagues to support the greater census awareness of indian country and vote in favor of h.r. 2086. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from california, mr. bilbray, is recognized. mr. bilbray: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman. mr. bilbray: madam speaker, the constitution of the united states mandates on the federal government the responsibility of holding a census every decade. it is an essential party/;iñeóñ constitutional obligation and actually a building block for our representative form of government. it's also -- has evolved into a process to be able to assess programs funds andu should be distributed. the integrity of the census is

so important that over the decades, times have been proposed how to improve and to secure the census numbers. today we are actually talkingu about one aspect of the effort to improve the validity of these numbers and the integrity 7ziçó numbers and that iszç>v,, do an outreach to the communities of the native alaskans and americanqó%÷?2 s3ñ. these are communities that tend to be more isolated than the general population and tend to be more suspicious of any80ñii government action, especially the federal government. and frankly, with the way the federal government is treated, these two groups historically i think we all say, a lot of the skepticism of animative american and alaskans are well-founded. but this program is well based in a proposal tomuse the traditional respect for elders. the high regard and status of elledwéécrñi elders in the -- e in the american indian

community as a building block to build the understanding this process is not just important to the federal government, it's not just important to the general population but essential to those individuals who reside on indian reservations and alaska. this proposal is actually a great way to be able to bring this message that this is the census is for you, too, even if you are on a reservatio?z i think it's a very good way of doing it. i got to say, madam chair, there are many things that the federal government does that we mean well, but we don't take the time to understand the individuals that we are trying to serve. we don't take the time or make the effort to understand that the federal government too often asks for one-size-fits all as somehow the perfect ñlpçña!/ztr customizes an approach to reflect those traditional customs and the heritage of our native american and native alaskan population. i think that the integrity of the census is something we don't talk enough about except

m of groupsi= and1 people being involved with it that"kó basically are questionable at the time and put a pale over the entire census"ñ+'zñi proce. this process is one i think we'll be able to look back and say it was a bipartisan effort )t numbers or the process but to allow the numbers to actually be trm'kkó3ñr and well-founded and i strongly support this concept and i would ask at this time, madam chair -- you have a speaker? mr. baca: i reserve the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california mr. baca is recognized. mr. baca: i would like to ask the gentleman from san diego if he has any further speakers.4#:0 speaker. mr. baca: i yield him. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. baca, reserves. the gentleman from california, mr. bilbray, is recognized. mr. bilbray: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i would like to yield to the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized.

mr. broun: i thank mr. bilbray for yielding. madam speaker, the census is very few truly constitutional fu in here in congress.i76ñii in fact, most of does today is unconstitutional according to the original intent. i'm an original intent constitutionalist. i believe the federal government should only be doing 18 things that article one, section 8 gives us the authority to do. but the census is certainly one of those. national veterans, taking care of ourrme under the original intent of the constitution, the major function of the federal government. and i'm a very strong;kñi belie in that. i'm a very strong believer in this government doing only csr that article 1, section 8 gives us the authority to do. and certainly taking the census is one of those. we are going to be today taking (ñ a rule the next seri

votes is going to be, from what i understand, a rule on the jobs bill. well, jobs and the census certainly have a great correlation because the census bureau will be looking at who is unemployed in this country. in fact that's what they do. part of their job in the census bureau is to try to find out all the demographic information. a lot of things that the census bureau does, questions they are asked, are none of the census bureau's or federal government's business, frankly, certainly i encourage people to fill out the census. for the information that is actually required under the constitution. and no more. madam speaker, jobs is certainly important. and countling the -- counting the jobless rate in this country searnl important function of knowing where we

are. the states do this and the federal government takes all that jobless information and we are going to get a report jud]t$ joblessó3@:b1fai rates. madam speaker, just last week i was in one of my counties in georgia in the 10th congressional district and was talking to the county commission chairman. and in that discussion he was telling me one year ago the jobless rate in his county was over 14%. i think it was 14.7 if i remember correctly. i'm not sure of that figure. he said now the jobless rate in their county is down to a little over 10%. i said that's great. n

jobs. they are discouraged. they are greatly discouraged. and i think this is true all over this country. i think the fall in our jobless rate that we have seen recently down from above 10 to slightly below 10 is because people have got yep discouraged and they have just stopped looking. we just passed an extender of unemployment benefits. by voice vote. i'm not real happy that we passed it by voice vote, but we did. just last week. . and madam speaker, we are going to be taking up this jobs bill that we haven't even seen the text. we have not even seen the bill, and it's going to be brought to the floor of this house just like the stimulus bill was, without even having the opportunity to read these plans.

madam speaker, i believe that jobs by this new bill from everything i can tell should be an acronym, jobs, j-o-b-s, should be just one big slush fund, an acronym for just one big slush fund. i introduced my own jobs act. it is an acronym for jump-start our business sector. and that's what we need to be doing. we need to be jump-starting our business sector by getting the tax burden and regulatory burden off small business. madam speaker, small business is the economic engine that pulls along the train of prosperity in america. the small business. and we're killing small business through the regulatory burden and the tax burden. we're going to be taking up a health care bill very soon. we don't know when yet.

obamacare. obamacare, madam speaker, is going to kill jobs in america. let me say that again. boimcare is going to kill -- boimcare is going to -- obamacare is going to kill jobs in america. the president's own senior economic advisor said it would kill 5 1/2 million jobs, put 5 1/2 million americans out of work if the house bill was put into law. the senate bill, i haven't seen the date on it, but i'm -- seen the data on it but i'm sure it's the same. i'm not sure if it's five million or 5 1/2 million but the recent proposal by the obama administration is that it's going to kill jobs and create more and more government spending is just creating more government jobs. madam speaker, the american people need to decide. are we going to go down one route of socialism, total

government control, total government takeover of everything in the human endeavor, including health care, or are we going to go down the road of liberty and freedom? i say liberty and freedom because i consider them to be a little different. madam speaker, let me define liberty for you. this is my definition. i don't think you'll find it in a dictionary but i think it's very appropriate. liberty is freedom bridled by morality. liberty is freedom bridled by morality. and america needs to decide, are we going to be a free people, or are we going to be controlled by the federal government? are doctors and patients make their health care decisions? or will it be some bureaucratic in washington? the president had a press conference said he wanted to make doctors and patients make that decision, but his proposal will not do that. his proposal will make a

government bureaucrat here in washington, d.c., tell doctors and patients what kind of care that they can get. madam speaker, i am a medical doctor. i am a family practitioner. and i fought for my patients for years. it's part of my practice to be concerned about their economic well-being. that's what family doctors do. i try to find the best quality care at the lowest price for my patients. that's an integral part of family medicine. but what we are heading towards with this government takeover of health care is going to destroy family medicine and destroy that basic premise of what we do as family doctors. and this jobs bill is going to be nothing more than one big slush fund. jobs by the new bills that we've seen, at least in the senate bill, and i think we're going to have something very close to that once we see legislative language, is going to not be but anything but one

big slush fund, political paybacks, and it's going to create jobs in the federal government. jobs have been created. certainly by the failed stimulus package that was passed a little over a year ago. but let's look back one year later. some of the funding low lights of that failed stimulus bill. 67,726 dollars was used by a casino outside green bay, wisconsin. they used a federal grant to send their employees to learn how to handle confrontations with their customers. this is not constitutional. but once they went there they found it was clear of the instructions in this seminar that the casino staff already

knew how to handle confrontations with their customers. we've created in massachusetts a bike trail. $4 million in federal stimulus dollars to build a 2.66 mile bike trail that connected the manhan bike trail to the north hampton and noraltic, i'm not sure how to pronounce it, trails. that would give them greater access to taco bell. i'm sure taco bell is very appreciative of the taxpayers. many dollars were sent to other companies. former president clinton campaign pollster was awarded

$5.97 million in taxpayer funds from the stimulus bill. and i can go on and on and on. we build bike trails in georgetown with stimulus dollars that were put in place in neighborhoods where the average house value here in georgetown was over $1 million. i mean, come on. the american public needs to stand up and say, -- say no to this outrageous takeover of their liberty and their freedom. madam speaker, a c.e.o. of a steel making corporation recently said, quote, companies large and small are saying i'm not going to do anything until these things, health care, climate legislation, go away or are resolved, unquote. that's what's happening, madam

speaker, in this country. small businesses and large are scared. the american people are frightened. when i did my -- my very first town hall meeting last august in evans, georgia, talking about the pelosi bill, i thanked the people coming and expressing their concern about health care. and when i did, after discussing the bill, i thanked the people coming and showing their concern for health care. the second gentleman that got up in the question and answer period said, dr. broun, i'd like to disagree with you about something. i said, sure, what is it? i want to disagree with you because i'm not concerned about health care. i'm scared and i'm angry. and a scared and angry american

public is pure to be reckoned with. he got a tremendous round of aa plus. i applauded him -- round of applause. i applauded him also. he's exactly right. the american people need to stand up and say no to obamacare. let's trash these bills that are on the floor for consideration now. let's start over again and find something that makes sense. let's have a jobs bill that makes sense and that really creates jobs. the republicans are accused by trattic colleagues and by the president -- democratic colleagues and by the president of being the party of no. well, we are the party of k-n-o-w. we know how to create a strong economy and that's getting the tax burden and regulatory burden off the small businesses in america and individuals, leaving money in their pockets so they can expand their business and create more jobs. where consumers have more money so they can spend on good and

services here in america. we know how to solve the health care financing problem in america where health care and drugs are too expensive. we can lower the cost of health care, not raise it, as the obamacare bills all do. we know how to create jobs. we know how to get this economy back on track. we know how to lower the cost of health care. if our ideas are just heard. but the leadership here in this house, the leadership in the senate and the administration have turned a deaf ear towards commonsense market-based solutions. and i ask, madam speaker, for the american people to stand up and say no to socialism, say yes to freedom and liberty. i hope the american people will contact their congressman and their senators and say no to obamacare, no to this jobs

bill, no to more socialism and more government control of their lives and say yes to freedom and liberty. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: who seeks recognition? the gentleman from california, mr. bilbray. mr. bilbray: thank you, madam speaker. i want to close by thanking my colleague from california. i want to thank him for a lot of reasons but it was nice that you gave -- you proposed a two-page bill, not a 2,000-page bill. it was nice you gave us over a week to be able to review it rather than a few hours. and it's darn nice to see that we can have a bipartisan effort, get something passed in this congress that doesn't cost $1 trillion. thank you very much for taking a leadership role on this thing, and maybe we can get the leadership on both sides to recognize, maybe this is the process we ought to follow more often. thank you very much, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from california, mr. bilbray, yields back his remaining time. the gentleman from california, mr. baca, is recognized. mr. baca: are there any further requests for time on the other side or -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. bilbray, has yielded back his remaining time. mr. baca: thank you very much. first of all, i want to thank the gentleman from san diego, mr. bilbray, for his support of this. i know that he's always been supportive on native americans, not only now but in the past. and i appreciate the gentleman from georgia and his comments, and i think he was supporting this legislation somewhere along the line as he was talking about jobs. and i also believe that it's important, and i know that president obama has that as part of his top priority in creating jobs and dealing with the jobs in this country because he knows very well that the unemployment is now roughly around 10% and he wants to make sure that he gets that up. and we know that the unemployment will affect, you know, the census, and i share in that sense that the gentleman from georgia was supporting it because it's very important that we do an accurate count and that we

count everyone because that will determine the amount of jobs we have, the kind of jobs that have been created in our areas. i stated before, madam chair, i want to thank, you know, chairman towns, ranking member issa and, of course, i want to thank again mr. bilbray for his hard work and support as well as the staff and others that has worked on this bill. as we all know, an accurate count is vital to the importance of the american tribal communities and every other community. in my community, not too long ago we started a census count. we did it at arrowhead medical center. we went there and began to try to tell members of our community about an accurate counsel and that everyone participates on it and also clarifying the law. clarifying the law that it will not be used against any individual but every individual must be counted within our communities. what does it mean to our states, our counties, our

cities? what does it mean to businesses in the area? it's important that we do an accurate count because that's the only way to determine how much dollars will come back into our communities. we don't know unless we do an accurate count. the state of california won't be able to determine their budget if they don't do an accurate count. based on the amount of dollars in their needed area, they can then determine how much money is going to be coming back to the state of california or any other state. or a county official can determine when they look at their budget in trying to demple what goes on, they can only do it if -- determine what goes on, they can only do it if they have an accurate county. and city officials what goes on, all right, what is my budget going to look like, what kind of services do i need to provide at the local level, how does it impact transportation, how does it impact education, how does it impact safety safety -- public safety and how does it impact health? and other businesses in the

area. we know you need a strong marketing plan and want to know where businesses wants to relocate. it happens through the census. so an accurate count is important. if you want to start a business in the area, it's important you have an accurate count because you know where you want to be located. you know the demographics of the area. you know the income of the area. and whether it's a doctor, the doctor needs to know how much patients he has tanned how much profit he's going to make. it's not about profit. it's about service and quality of health care. let me make that statement. it's important because we'll be able to determine that. so an accurate count in the area becomes important. it depends -- also tells us how to market the area. how do we market the immediate area in terms of what goes on? when we look at many tribes in our area and the undercount that's been there. many of our tribes and elders have not been able to determine the kind of services that they need within the reservations. this will determine, you know, the transportation, the housing

in the area, the health in the area, the kind of educational facilities, but most of all, it will be a respect to an elder because this is about identifying an elder within each of the tribes and allowing them to be counted. it's important that we count each and every one of the individuals and that we allow the kind of respect that will be there, not only in this census, but in other census because when we look at 1990, 2000, we did an inaccurate count. there were many people that weren't counted. i believe the census is making every effort in trying to reach out to our communities by marketing, hiring individuals, working in the communities, identifying those individuals, and that kind of partnership and collaboration becomes very important to all of us if we want to make sure that we do an accurate count. that's why this bill is very important. not only to native americans now but in the future. when a child can then look up in future generations to say it

was my elder that was the first one that was counted. the true americans in this country. and they should be the ones that should be counted first. this gives us an opportunity to approach them and to make sure that they're counted. with that, madam chair, i reserve the balance of my time unless there's -- i think we -- yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. broun: thank you, madam speaker. i just wanted to answer your question. yes, absolutely i support this. and counting the census is a constitutional duty. it's extremely important. our founding fathers knew how important it was to know who people were, where they were, etc. i do support the bill very strongly. i yield back. thank you, sir. mr. baca: i thank the gentleman

from georgia for his support. madam speaker, i have no further requests for time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time for debate having expired, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1086. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules -- for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. baca: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. h.res. 699 by the yeas and nays. h.res. 1086, de novo.

h.res. 1111 de novo. first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 421. the nays are zero. 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 upon the table.

for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from california rise? >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 1137, resolution providing for consideration of the senate amendment to the bill h.r. 2847, making appropriations for the departments of commerce and justice and science and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , proceedings will resume on

motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. house resolution 1086, de novo. and house resolution 1111, de novo. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conducted as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the question on suspend the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1086, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution 1086, resolution recognizing the importance and significance of the 2010 census and encouraging each community within the indian country to name an elder to be the first member of that community to answer the 2010 census. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, -- for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested.

those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. td:4r2b2r2,hr2r2r2r2

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 415, the

nays are one. one recorded as present. without objection, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker: the house will come to order. the chair would ask all members present to rise for a moment of silence. the chair asks that the house observe a moment of silence in remembrance of our brave men and women in uniform who have given their lives in service to our nation in iraq and

afghanistan, and their families and of all those who serve in our armed forces and their families. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, five-minute voting will continue. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1111 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution 1111, resolution designating march 2, 2010, as read across

america day. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. so many as in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> madam speaker, i demand a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is arisen, a recorded vote is ordered.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 414. the nays are zero.

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 upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that representative eric paulsen of arizona be removed as a co-sponsor of h.r. 4529. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. matsui: madam speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 1137 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 169, house resolution 1137. resolved, that upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to take from the speaker's table the bill h.r. 2847, making appropriations for the departments of commerce and justice and science and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes.

with the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate amendment thereto and to consider in the house without indvention of any points of order except those arising under clause 10 of rule 21 a motion offered by the chair of the committee on ways and means or his designee that the house concur in the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate amendment with the amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. the senate amendment and the motion shall be considered as read. the motion shall be debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to final adoption without interconvening motion. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one hour. ms. matsui: for the purpose of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions. all time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only.

i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. matsui: i also ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on house resolution 1137. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. matsui: madam speaker, house resolution 1137 provides for consideration of the senate amendment to h.r. 2847, the hiring and census -- snevers to restore employment act. the rule makes in order a motion offered by the chair of the committee on ways and means or his designee that the house concur in the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate amendment with the amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. the rule waives all points of order against consideration of the motion except those arising under clause 10 of rule 21. the rule provides that the senate amendment and the motion shall be considered as read.

the rule provides one hour of debate on the motion equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means. madam speaker, in today's economy many families are struggling to make ends meet. as we know, the economic recession began in 2008 as a direct result of reckless and irresponsible financial decisions. we are still dealing with the wreckage today. over the last few years i have heard countless stories of people struggling to put food on the table, pay their mortgages, and provide for their children. and millions of american seniors are making decisions every day to skip meals or cut their pills in half just to survive. california and in particular my constituents in sacramento have been greatly impacted by this economic crisis. many of my constituents were and continue to be victims of predatory home loan lending,

unfair credit card practices, payday loans, and other forms of unscrupulous business practices. they turn to congress for help and we responded with the card act. and ink was hardly dry on that regulation before credit card companies tried to find loopholes to arbitrarily raise credit card interest rates and fees on consumers. this congress also passed the wall street reform and consumer protection act which will bring much needed oversight and accountability to wall street. this bill also creates a new consumer financial protection agency to protect consumers from unpair and deceptive financial practices. meanwhile, small businesses are seeking assistance to help make payroll, retain their employees, and pay for the skyrocketing costs of health insurance. these other reasons why it is time to once again put the american people first and provide them with the support they need from their representatives in congress. we need to pass the jobs bill

before us today as a significant step towards helping hardworking americans get back to work. the american people are hurting and the top priority of this administration and this congress must be jobs, jobs, jobs. in december the house passed a jobs package. the jobs for main street act that would make $156 billion in targeted investments in our economy. the project supported by this bill will improve our highways and transit infrastructure, renovate schools, and help small businesses rebuild, support job training initiatives, and affordable housing programs. while the jobs package we are considering today is not as broad as the version passed by this house, it is an important step in the right direction and one we cannot afford not to enact. today's bill is one that i hope will be the first of a series

of job creation proposals that we will consider in the coming weeks and months. because the reality is that the unemployment rate in this country is at an unacceptable level of 9.7% and this bill will help incentivize employers to start hiring immediately. already the recovery act put forth by congressional democrats has saved or created more than two million jobs. that is according to c.b.o. the recovery act has clearly helped us rebound from this recession and saved us from the brink of another great depression. the recovery act has greatly benefited my district and the entire sacramento region, providing almost $700 million for dozens of projects. such projects include $21 million for improving and enhancing sacramento's levees for flood protection. lub pick transportation facilities. developing clean energy technology. and hiring 30 new officers at the act police department.

it is also helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure, and the list goes on and on. in my constituents can see where and how every dollar is being spent in our district by visiting my website. one of the most important results of the recovery act is that it helps school districts minimize budget cuts. however as the economy declines, school districts are now considering shorter school years, larger class sizes, and looking to lay off teachers. we cannot let this happen. and so our path towards economic recovery must continue to invest in our nation's work force to spur additional job creation, innovation, and long-term economic growth. and by supporting the rule and the underlying bill, we will do just that. i have heard from small business owners who are eager to be connected to business counseling resources to learn more about financing opportunities, s.b.a. loan

products, and government contracting opportunities. there is a great demand for immediate and real assistance for our small businesses to get back on their feet and for workers to get back into labor markets. over the last few months, i have helped two small business work -- held two small business workshops to help existing small business owners understand the recovery legislation, obtain financing, and find new opportunities through government programs. and i have seen firsthand how eager people are to start working again or get retrained in new fields and take an active part in our country's economic recovery. the proposal before us today offers a key strategy -- strategic tax incentive for employees to hire new workers. the proposal would exempt employers from paying social security taxes through the end of this year for hiring new workers who have been out of work for at least 60 days. if the newly hired workers remain on the payroll for at least a year, the bill provides an additional $1,000 income tax

credit to employers. this new hiring tax credit could spur as many as 250,000 jobs according to leading economists. to help small businesses, the proposal offers an immediate write off, up to $250,000 for equipment purchased this year. to invest in additional transportation infrastructure, the proposal extends the highway trust fund, otherwise known as safetea-lu, for 15 months to pay for transportation projects ready to break ground. using the rule of thumb in highway contracting for every $1 billion in transportation spending creates about 35,000 jobs, this $77 billion investment means more than two million jobs will be retained or created. including high quality jobs in the construction and building trade. finally, the bill expands the build america bond program to allow investors to claim

subsidies, up to 45% of the borrowing costs, for bond issued for public works projects. there is no doubt that this package will incentivize and spur much needed job creation, economic growth in our neighborhood and communities. and to my colleagues, concerned as i am that this bill does not go far enough to create jobs, i want to be clear that this is the first in a series of steps we'll be taking to continue to get the economy back on track. . with the together with the economic assistance, we'll continue with future economic growth to lead us toward prosperity. it's my hope that this congress continues to find new ways to get americans back to work, stabilize the economy and rebuild our middle class. this is not the end of our work but it is a critical step forward for the american people. i therefore urge my colleagues to support this rule and the

underlying legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: madam speaker, thank you very much. the republicans in this body are in a quandary again today because of the way this bill was brought to the floor. i'd like to yield if i can to the gentleman from houston, texas, the gentleman, to ask a few questions. the speaker pro tempore: hutch time does the gentleman yields? mr. sessions: i yield the gentleman three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. >> i'd like to, if i could, ask ms. matsui, how long has the public had to read this bill. it's my understanding that this bill was post the internet 2 1/2 hours ago and there was no committee hearing, and it contains about $15 billion in

tax increases. i'm committed to transparency, the speaker says she's committed to transparency, but this bill has only been available to read for 2 1/2 hours and there was no committee hearing. ms. matsui: this job creation practice has been discussed for weeks now. in addition the proposal here has been debated before. >> that's what we hear, this concept has been discussed this idea has been discuss bud my question is, has this specific piece of legislation had a full committee hearing, number one, and how long has this specific piece of legislation, this $18 billion, this $15 billion tax increase, how long has this $15 billion tax increase been available to read on the internet? isn't it true it's only been available for 2 1/2 years -- 2

1/2 hours. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman yield? ms. matsui: i just received this amendment as well this morning. it's fairly short, 15 pages, double spaced, i read it and it took less than 10 minutes for me to see that the amendment is really paid for. mr. culberson: i'm just confirming for the record, madam speaker that once again this liberal leadership of the congress is shutting out the american public, utterly untransparent, denying the american taxpayers the ability to read and see the legislation before the congress. this $15 billion tax increase, madam speaker, has only been available for the american people read for about 2 1/2 hours. no committee hearing. no transparency. consistent with the cap and tax legislation. 300-page amendment in the lobby. consistent with every major piece of legislation, the spend louse package, all the other --

the spends canulous package, all these other -- the spendulous package, all these other pieces of legislation, you -- it is an affront to this great institution, the greatest democracy in the history of the world, you're denying the public a chance to participate, that's why you see the tea party rallies all over america. this is why there will be a tsunami this november to sweep out this liberal leadership this tax and spend majority in congress is using up the good will that this president had when he came in as a new president and i'm very disappointed, frakly, that this congress, that this speaker has not athroid public to read important legislation before a vote. the speaker pro tempore: the chair reminds members to direct their comments to the chair.

who seeks recognition? the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. matsui: i yield as much time as he may consume to mr. oberstar of minnesota. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. oberstar: i thank the gentlewoman for yielding. i was troubled by the remarks of the gentleman from texas. for whom i have great respect. i think he was making more a political argument than a substantive discussion of the matter at hand. in december, the house passed the jobs for main street bill. it included the piece that is before us today. that measure went over to the senate. it was held up in its entirety and in the specific that we are dealing with today by a hold, a

series of holds, and then a filibuster by the senator from kentucky. eventually the senate overcame that filibuster. this measure, $15 billion, has been before the congress for nigh on to 2 1/2 months. it is no surprise to anyone. the measure before us does what republican leadership did with our support on this side. on safe-t-lu in 2004 and 2005. 12 extensions of current law. 12 extensions to muster the support we needed to buy the time necessary to pass the five-year surface transportation bill. this measure before us provides

$77 billion for a 15-month extension of current law. it restores the $8.7 billion rescission that was required in safe-t-lu at the insistence of the bush administration which required for the president's signature a rescission at the end of the five-year period, that occurred september of 2009. that meant that programs were underfunded, that is underfunded below the authorization level of safe-t-lu for several months. the bill restores that funding level. i'll yield to the gentleman in just a moment. so what we're doing here is restoring stability to the highway bridge safety and transit program, providing

certainty for states that they can award bids, that they can advertise for bids and keep contracts going. the filibuster of the senator from kentucky resulted in numerous bid lettings being canceled, others being withheld. jobs lost. great disruption to the program because there were not fellow highway administration personnel on the job to be able to make the overnight electronic transfer toths state for their vouchers this bill restores stability to the program. i'll yield to the gentleman. mr. culberson: my concern, i could focus on the transparency of the process. i know you're committed to transparency, you run the committee that way, but the concern we have on behalf of the american taxpayers is the bill has only been available for 2 1/2 hours. i think you're a co-author of requiring bills to be laid out

for 72 hours. i understand the urgency of some of the provisions in here. this is a $15 billion tax increase, mr. chairman, my concern is it was not posted on the internet for the public to read but 2 1/2 hours ago. no committee hearing. if i could comment on that. mr. oberstar: madam speaker i -- the speaker pro tempore: the time is being controlled by the gentlewoman from california. mr. oberstar: i would point out there isn't a single new provision in this bill that hasn't been available since last december. ms. matsui: reclaiming my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time currently is controlled by the gentlewoman from florida, ms. matsui. ms. matsui: the motion to concur with an amendment made in order under this rule is a very simple one that brings the bill into compliance with statutory pay as you go rules. it changes very little as mr.

oberstar says about the underlying bill which is intended to create jobs and spur hire big america's small businesses. delaying consideration of this package would delay our ability to get americans pack to -- back to work. time son our side which is why we have to act quickly here today and i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves her time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. i do appreciate the gentleman and i am extending my words to him at this time. i do appreciate the gentleman, mr. oberstar, being available to come down on the floor, but that's not the process. the process is, the gentleman should have been upstairs at the rules committee. there was not one person available on behalf of the majority to come up to the rules committee to explain the bill. an explanation of, well, none

of this is new, is an inadequate explanation to the american people and to this body and the speaker should be embarrassed. this is not open. this is not, i believe, ethical. because the decisions were made and there was no discussion. and i believe we're calling into question, republicans are calling into question today about how this house is being run. i do appreciate the gentleman, mr. oberstar, as a matter of fact, i admire him a lot but the fact of the matter is, despite it being perhaps only 15 or 18 pages, it's an inadequate explanation. this hougs should not stand for it. the members of this body should say, we will not tolerate this. i'm deeply disappointed once again. madam speaker, at this time i'd like to yield for such time as he may consume, the ranking member, the gentleman from

california, mr. dreier. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dreier: i request unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dreier: i thank my friend from dallas for yielding me time. yesterday, madam speaker, i stood here in the well and began talking about a date that may only be in my head but i've been talking about it. the date, june 24, and my friend from dallas, of course, remembers it. it was 3:00 in the morning on june 24 and it was when we were sitting upstairs in the rules committee, considering the so-called cap and trade bill and as the motion was being offered by my friend from worcester, mr. mcgovern to move the special rule to the floor for consideration, as that motion was being offered, i had a nice, warm, hot off the press, 300-page amendment dropped in my lap, as did mr. sessions, mr. diaz-balart, and

ms. foxx. we, within a matter of hours, considered that measure and it was a very important time, madam speaker, because that's when the american people got it. they began this chant, read the bill, read the bill. the next day we will all recall when the customary one minute was yielded to the distinguished minority leader, the gentleman from ohio, mr. boehner, he spent one hour going through the 300 pages in that amendment that members of this house had not yet read and had only had before them for a matter of a few hours. and i talked about that just yesterday when we were, for the second time in as many weeks, proceeding under martial law rule. i was arguing that that takes place at the end of a congress, when we're dealing with very, very pressing situations, not in the third month of the

second session of the 111th congress, which is where we are today. so madam speaker, we once again have it again, i know that my friends from texas, mr. culberson and mr. sessions, have both referred to the fact that we met this morning far grand total of two minutes in the rules committee and this measure is now before us. the american people are hurting. they want us to focus on job creation and economic growth. they know full well that it is absolutely imperative that we create good, long-term, private sector jobs. we know how important that is. but we also have a responsibility to do what james madison envisaged this institution as being, that is a great deliberative body. we have the responsibility to deliberate on these matters. now, i understand the urgency. i understand the urgency. but when you look at the

legislative schedule we've had over the past several weeks and some of our colleagues have gone through, i can't name them all, post offices, recognition of items, we have not expended the time and energy and effort that we clearly could here in this institution doing it. now, i know that mr. oberstar was speaking earlier and others have spoken, and it's not a question of our not trusting the process we're under right now, but i'm reminded so vividly of the famous exchange that took place between ronald reagan and gorbachev. they used russian that meant trust but verify. madam speaker, i think that that's all we're saying. we have a responsibility, not to republicans, not to democrats, but to all of the american people to hold

accountable this institution which saw this majority come to power based on a document, a document that was entitled a new direction for america. . legislation would be considered under an open amendment process whenever possible. and it talked about minority rights. the kind of things that james madison regularly focused on when he talked about the rights of the minority. and what is it that's happened, madam speaker? unfortunately we are now as i said in the third month of the second session of the 111th congress and guess what? we have gone through the entire first session of congress for the first time in the history of the republic and not had a single piece of legislation considered under an open amendment process. not a single piece of legislation considered under an open amendment process.

and obviously we have gone these now, we are in the third month of this second session, nothing considered under an open amendment process, and then we have, as we deal with the very important pressing jobs issue, we have legislation that is brought you here -- brought here under martial law rule, considered for a grand total of two minutes in the house rules committee, just three hours ago, and now we are here on the floor dealing with it. so, madam speaker, we can do better. i urge my colleagues to join with mr. sessions in opposition to this rule so that we can come back with a work product that will do the kinds of things that will get real jobs created out there. i know that in this measure there is a provision that provides a tax incentive for people to hire new employees. that sounds great, but the heads of one of the top companies in this country had this proposal offered to him by the former treasury secretary,

the top -- one of the top economic advisors to president obama, larry summers, and his response was don't offer me a tax credit to hire someone. what we need to do is increase the demand for our product. those are the kinds of things that we should be doing. so, madam speaker, again i say as i regularly do from this well, when it comes to job creation and economic growth, what we should be doing is pursuing the bipartisan john f. kennedy-ronald reagan vision. marginal rate reduction, a reduction of the top rate on capital gains, job creators deserve the kiped of relief -- the kind of relief that's necessary since japan is the only nation in the world with a higher tax on those job creators than ours is. so we know what it takes. we know what it takes. it worked under a democratic administration and it's worked

under a republican administration. so let's defeat this rule and go back and come up with a bill that will, in fact, create exactly what i said at the outset, good, long-term private sector jobs. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. matsui: madam speaker, before i yield to my next speaker i just want to point out, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are quite concerned that we are using same day authority before the end of the session. but in the 109th congress when the republicans were in the majority the rules committee reported two same-day rules in march and early april. these were hardly end of the session times, madam speaker, and they had nothing to do with reviving our economy. these particular same-day rules were about the federal government interfering in the case of terry shiveo. without reopening that device of the debate, i want to say the issues we are dealing with today under this same-day rule

are important to the lives of millions of americans. with that i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. doggett: i thank the gentlelady. i oppose neither the rule nor the transportation funding in this bill, but i do oppose the so-called jobs tax credit. i only have one big problem with it, that it does so little to create jobs while adding at the our -- to our very big debt. in deciding whether to waste more resources on such legislation that will not accomplish its purpose, i think it's important that we look at one of the last jobs bills that this congress considered. we were told that the only way to extend unemployment benefits to families in need through christmas was to simultaneously approve a measure that sent $33 billion to corporations with no requirement that they use the cash windfall to create or preserve jobs. the so-called loss carryback

condition simply directed the treasury to begin writing checks, $33 billion in checks this year to corporations. one corporation, a bankrupt financial services company, washington mutual, got $2.6 billion in checks this year from the treasury, and that just happens to be a little more than all of the unemployed people in america combined got from this piece of legislation. so i think we need to take a close look at every piece of legislation to see whether it really creates jobs, and this one did not. today we have another tax break that is weak on policy, strong on politics. it's a retread proposal that this congress rejected last year and it doesn't smell any better this year. indeed, one former treasury department economist has described, quote, a general consensus among tax exports that the credit is a real stinker. because it simply encourages conduct that would occur anyway.

amazingly one current top leader at the treasury department has said, don't worry. it may be 10% effective in creating new jobs. i don't think that passes the sniff test. surely there are better ways to promote job growth than a proposal whose own advocates say it may be 90% ineffective. and being ineffective does not mean that it is harmless. since it disadvantages some businesses in the marketplace versus their competitors. those small businesses in central texas who have hung on to their employees, even though it hurt, even though it was painful to do so, get absolutely no benefit from this job tax credit. although they certainly could use it. but a company that dismissed its employees last year, or a new competitor that moves in down the street into town will gain the benefit. as the congressional budget office has noted, this jobs credit will provide no incentive to maintain employment, in struggling firms, and provides less incentive to maintain

employment overall in industry, in regions that are hurting the most. while it may deliver a few temporary minimum wage jobs at considerable expense to the united states treasury, this credit won't deliver help where it is needed most, and to whom or with whom it is needed the most. it is off target and it's off budget. i think it has the same problem as a bill that gave more money to one bankrupt corporation than to all the unemployed people in our country. it's great that the united states senate can finally find bipartisan agreement on something, but this bill, this job tax credit, is not just bipartisan from the senate, it's bewrong. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. session: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, the gentleman said it best about this bill. nobody even really knows what's in it. there is no general discussion,

there was no one made available to come to the rules committee to answer questions. there were no committee hearings on this. this isn't the way to run this house. and it's not just republicans that are down saying this. it's members of the majority party also. it's these kinds of unthoughtful and unprofessional conduct that is being put off on this body where members don't even know what's in the bill. have not had the time. once again republicans are down saying it's not open, it's not honest, and certainly not ethical. i would like to yield three minutes at this time to the favorite son of winter park, florida, the gentleman, mr. mica. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for three minutes. mr. mica: thank you. thank you for yielding. the opportunity to stand up and talk on the rule here that is before us that would allow the

so-called jobs bill to move forward. i had to think long and hard about my position on this because i do favor every opportunity to increase jobs. i have one county with nearly 18% unemployment. florida is in the top 10 with 10 states with unemployment, with 11.8%. and i understand we are going to get some even grimmer news tomorrow on the job front nationally. i have to oppose the rule and reluctantly i'm going to oppose the bill. many people because i'm the republican leader of the transportation committee has asked me how i'm going to vote on the final bill and final passage and it's a reluctant no and let me tell you why. the substance of my opposition really lies in what the rules committee did. if we ever needed a time to amend, we should have had an opportunity to amend this. and we have time to send it

back to the senate. the previous speaker, a democrat from the other side of the aisle, i believe the gentleman from texas, stated opposition to a tax provision. let me tell folks that are listening, madam speaker, the members may be concerned about this, but when the senate passed the transportation provision, four states take 58% of the new money in this and transportation projects of national significance. those states are, i believe, california, illinois, the state of washington, and louisiana. 22 states get zero. the big goose egg, including my state, the state of florida. now this isn't a parochial issue just for florida. but 46 states are in fact disadvantaged by the way the senate passed this bill and giving an advantage to four states. so it's unfair. mr. oberstar, my democrat counterpart, the chair, he has

worked. he's got a letter of intention from the speaker and also from mr. reid to correct this after we pass this. but to do this in the proper legislative fashion, to actually create jobs, we should be fair to everyone and distribute this equitably to all states. also missing from this is a six-year bill which we only need. this only extends transportation authorization through december 31 of this year, which will leave many states behind. so this bill leaves many jobs behind. it leaves fairness behind. and again it doesn't do the job it should do in creating jobs that we so badly need in this nation. i will reluctantly oppose the so-called jobs bill on the basis that i stated. it's my hope that we can correct this measure.

i'll do everything i can working in a bipartisan fashion to correct it so we have fairness for all 50 states in the distribution of the funds that they sent to washington. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i just want to say while this bill distributes some highway funds in a way that disproportionately benefits a handful of states, it's important to remind my colleagues that these concerns will be addressed in subsequent legislation. with that i would like to yield three minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for three minutes. without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i thank the distinguished gentlelady from california. i rise to thank the rules committee. this is a tough business. they had to do their work in

the backdrop of senator bunning who didn't care about the unemployed. thousands upon thousands and millions and held up this bill in the negotiateations for this bill for as long as he -- negotiations for this bill for as long as he thought it was relevant. so here bestand trying to address this question -- we stand trying a dress this question. i would like to say there are some good things. the fact that employers have a $1,000 income tax credit for every new employee that continues to work for 52 weeks. the fact there is an incentive to hire new employees and keep them hired. the fact that there is an extension of the small business expensing to allow small businesses the backbone of america to be able to write off certain capital expenditures so they can hire new people. the safetea-lu, the infrastructure bill is a good thing that deals with the rebilling of the infrastructure that is so important. and of course protecting minority-owned business that is likewise go into those hard-hit

communities and should be hiring people. but yet we are dealing with a senate bill, the other body has a different understanding. so that some states, for example, are not getting the money that they should. texas, it raises a lot of concerns. and then i have to rise on this floor to talk about young people and the summer youth program, why isn't that in the bill? the chronically unemployed that i see walking the streets of my district over and over again, when are we going to provide for them? it is key to recognize that there is obstruction on the other body that now pours over into this body. and so we have to stymie the unemployment benefits which all of us should have rallied around to support. my state alone rejected just a couple months ago $515 million for the unemployed. where is the compassion there? where is the compassion for individuals who have served their time, have their families, trying to do well in our state houses being worked with by faith organizations and

persistently cannot find jobs? there is a lot to be desired. the rules committee, however, worked with what they had to work with. but my message is that we have to go back to the drawing board not for what my colleagues are talking about, more tax cuts, more tax cuts, but to help the people who are working the streets of america who ask us, can you put a job in their hands? they are qualified and there is nothing in this bill that would suggest that you are putting a job in their hands. let me say this, the infrastructure work is important. if this is going to generate a job in their hand, then it is important for us to hear that, that jobs in the hand is going to get the folks that are walking the streets in fifth ward, in fourth ward, and places around america, those places, in the 18th congressional district, i'm fighting for jobs and i want to make sure that we have the right kind of vehicle for these jobs, for this job language. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman's time has expired. ms. jackson lee: i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: there is an answer for the gentlewoman from texas, vote against the rule and then become part of the process where the things you would hope and expect and want to be in the bill can at least, your feedback can be accepted. we've been told the senate is the problem. but the problem is this house, madam speaker. the problem is the way we're doing things. the gentleman, mr. oberstar, said we've been waiting for months to get this from the senate. we took 2 1/2 minutes upstair this is morning, not one hearing, not one person who represented the democratic party who would explain what's in this bill. and now we're down on the floor trying to figure out what's in the bill. getting it just hours ago. madam speaker, this is a flawed process and madam speaker, you know, hening back to february

5, -- hearkening back to february 5, 2009, over a year ago, in an article "c.q.," regular oorder will prevail in the house after the stimulus package is complete, so says speaker pelosi. speaking at the house democrat's annual policy conference, speaker pelosi said in her opening speech that, quote, of course we will go forward under regular order. we have a large majority and a president who will sign legislation. not happening. not happening again today. has not happened even after february 5, 2009. we should be embarrassed. but as the old saying goes, beatings will continue until morale improves. madam speaker, at this time, i'd like to yield five minutes

to the distinguished gentleman from ohio, mr. latourette. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. latourette: before i begin my five minutes, i have a parliamentary inquiry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will state his inquiry. mr. latourette: i tnt want to -- i didn't want to interrupt the gentlewoman from texas, is it appropriate to utter words about mr. buenning not caring about the people. the speaker pro tempore: the chair cannot answer hypothetical questions. mr. latourette: it's not hypothetical, she said it two minutes ago. the speaker pro tempore: the chair is constrained not to give advisory opinions. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. latourette: i think the regular order has prevailed in

this house, the regular order is to issue gag rules and a closed rule. we have not only a bad underlying bill but a bad rule. i have great admiration for the manager of the bill, but my admiration has grown today because she's been able to call this a jobs bill with a straight face. she has not giggled once. she should be. this isn't a jobs bill. s that no jobs bill. this is a snow job bill. mr. doggett, who i rarely agree with, i think was right on the money. the senate piece of this bill, $13 billion for a tax credit, here's the way this thing works. $13 billion out of $15 billion. if you're a small business person in this country struggling and you hire somebody at $30,000 a year, you know what? we're going to give you, we're going to give you, you don't have to pay the payroll taxes,

the 6.2% payroll taxes. i had three chambers back in ohio, chambers of commerce, republicans, democrats, i said, you know what, how many of you are going to hire anybody? this is not going to create one job. it's the centerpiece of the bill. i will be asking members to defeat the previous question so i may amend the rule. if the previous question is defeated, i would propose to make in order an amendment to modify the house amendment which would eliminate the $13 billion in this stupid tax provision and transfer to it infrastructure spending and further that that infrastructure spend being distributed pursuant to the house-passed formula and not the senate-passed formula. i want to get now to the underlying policy on the infrastructure side. 14 years in the infrastructure committee, love the infrastructure committee, but i didn't figure out why people would vote for this thing based on the infrastuckture spending.

i understand that if you're from california you might like this bill but under this bill, california gets $277 million, under the house bill only $85 million. illinois, the president's home statering, $151 million of the bill. $15 under the house bill. oregon, i don't know why a person from oregon would vote for this bill, $40 million under this bill, $11 million under the -- actually, you should vote for this bill, people from oregon. texas, i saw ms. jackson lee who apparently can say senator buenning doesn't care about unemployed people. i don't know why anybody from texas would vote for this bill. thunder bill, you get $1 million and change. under mr. oberstar's proposal, you would get $78 million. why is it fair that 22 states get zero? why sit fair you have winners and losers? why is it fair that california gets 30% of the money under this bill?

it's not. you know it's not. finally, to the process. i was tipping my hat to the democratic majority a little earlier today because the original plan was just to bring the senate amendment to the house bill over here, which of course would have cut off the minority's ability to offer an amendment, a motion to recommit, but no, they didn't do that. i thought that was pretty crafty. what dithey did us do was amend it with the 15 pages that were available three hours ago for our consideration, i'll give the gentlelady from california the nod that, yeah, these ideas have been talked about for a long time. nobody has seen the 15 pages before 9:00 this morning. they had a rules committee hearing and what did they not permit thunder rule? a motion to recommit. you should be ashamed -- excuse me, madam speaker. they should be ashame. s that fraud. this is an anti-democratic rule. what are you afraid of? you have 256 votes. let us offer my motion to

recommit, that transfers this stupid $13 billion to infrastructure spending that will put people to work in a sector of the economy that has 30% unemployment and will distribute it according to to the house proposal, not the senate proposal, so california, oregon, illinois, don't walk out of this place with 58% of the money. not fair. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentlewoman from california is recognize. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i want to say this again. i believe it's important to note that the chairman of the authorizing committee has reached an agreement with the house and senate leadership on the contentious highway funding issue included in the other chamber's jobs package. madam speaker, i'd like to yield four minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for four minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you. i appreciate the gentlelady's courtesy and i appreciate the

opportunity to follow my dear friend from ohio, with whom i look forward to the day when we come to this floor and we can deal with a broad-based approach to renew and rebuild america. that's how we're really going to create jobs. i commend the gentleman from ohio for having the courage to stand up to his leadership when they tried to pull the plug on extending the highway transportation bill. and i think it's interesting that he has a proposal that he would like to transfer some of this money into infrastructure. would that we were playing with two chambers that were playing by the same rules and committed to the well being of america. i'd be happy to see that happen. one of the reasons we have the bill before us today in the form is that we've seen what's

happened when one member of the senate decides that his personal peak is more important than millions of people, their welfare, causing thousands of people to be laid off, stopping critical money going to the state, it's an example of how the nondemocratic operation on the other side of the chamber puts us at this point. if we monkey with this, there's no guarantee that we will in fact have an extension of the part of this bill that is the great jobs generator and that's the extension of the surface transportation act through the end of this calendar year and stop this stupid game of russian roulette that, sadly, the -- my friends on the other side of the aisle have decided that they're going to play games with. as my friend from minnesota,

the distinguished chair of the transportation and infrastructure committee pointed out we never, when we were in the minority, played games with the critical infrastructure needs. and when they were stumbling around, when they were in control and required not one, not two, not three, but 12 extensions, we never made it partisan. we always helped them. we didn't play parliamentary games. but the combination of parliamentary games from my dear friends on the republican side of the aisle and the meltdown of responsibility in the senate has left us with this. this is the vehicle and i'm not contending that what the best the senate could do is, in terms of job creation is going to be a panacea, i think it's relatively minor. i'm not impressed, but it is a small price to pay to guarantee

the $77 billion to make sure that america's transportation system continues while we try and get people here to act like grownups. with all due respect, to somehow seize on less than $1 billion out of $77 billion and claim that only four states benefit, not true. it's not true. first and foremost, what we have had is the chairman, who happens to agree that he wants that formula changed, he's committed, the senate has committed, we're going to work with the administration and refine that. but even if you put aside the $800 million, we have $77 billion that we're relying on. and i think that not to obscure. it's kind of ironic that our friend from california got up and talked about doing what --

the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. ms. matsui: i yield an additional one minute to the gentleman. mr. blumenauer: talks about why don't we do what ronald reagan and president kennedy would do we've done twheasm cut taxes. we cut taxes several times before that. and in fact his facts are completely wrong when he says that american taxes on companies that create jobs are the second highest in the world except for japan. that is the effective tax rate. that's what's on the books. that's not what they pay. because when we get through all the gimmicks and loopholes and exemptions, those tax rates for american business are actually the second lowest in the world. effective tax rate and what people actually pay. that's not the problem. the problem is, we need to get the economy unfrozen, we need to have people stop paying -- playing political games we need

to invest in infrastructure, to rebuild and renew america and we need to do so in a way that doesn't have us talking past one another and playing games with jobs across america if we don't pass this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expire. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. we've heard all this before and it's not working. . it's not working and that's why we are back at the well, so to speak, again. over and over and over again we have a bunch of people that want to claim, we know how to get this done. look what president clinton did. that was a republican house of representatives. those were free market ideas. that was encouraging this country to be competitive. that was doing things that

would encourage america and american business to go hire people. the three largest political items of speaker pelosi and president barack obama net lose this country 10 million jobs. no wonder american business is not hiring people. they are getting things jammed down their throat. the president of the united states when he was a candidate talked about all the great things that could be accomplished. and since the president has been in the white house, he's done nothing but call people names, pick on them, belittle them, bully them, and then turns around and wonders why we have no jobs, why his agenda is not working. it's obvious why it's not working, because it's not made to work. it's made to bully the free enterprise system. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i'd like to inquire of the gentleman from texas if he has any remaining speakers.

mr. sessions: i thank the gentlewoman for asking. i appear to have one additional speaker plus myself. ms. matsui: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. if i could inquire upon the time that remains on both sides, please. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas controls 6 1/2 minutes. the gentlewoman from california controls five minutes. mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sessions: madam speaker, i want to reiterate that this house of representatives is made up of 435 members. who take time every week to come here to washington, perhaps they live here, but they still come to work, i believe with a sense of obligation and duty, all 435 of us, to be fully participatory

and to be a part of a moving body and a process that should work for the american people. we are now in our fourth year of leadership that denies the american people and the members of this body an opportunity, i believe, to even participate. not just fully participate, but to participate. and this bill that is on the floor again today is an example of a process that is very deceptive because our friends, the speaker and the democratic leadership, talk about being open and honest and yet the bill is here today just with hours notice with no one up in the rules committee on behalf of the democrat leadership even explaining what's in the bill.

and i believe again the american people will reject this kind of leadership when the american people want to be engaged and members of congress want to be engaged. so today republicans are going to ask that we reject this. and we should reject this because we know that republicans have better ideas. at this time i'd like to yield to the gentleman from ohio, the republican leader, mr. boehner. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. boehner: i want to thank my colleague for yielding and suggest to my colleagues that here we go again. we are bringing this bill to the floor, a bill that no one has read. the bill was filed at 9:35 a.m. and here we are at 12:50 p.m. we are operating under what is normally called a martial rule. it was passed yesterday. that allows the majority to bring any bill to the floor at

any time this week. and so there was this hastily called rules committee meeting after this bill was filed. now it's here on the floor. members haven't had time to reid this bill. in addition to that, there is no score on this bill from the joint tax committee on the so-called pay-fors in this bill and what impact they'll have on taxes. i just think it's outrageous and another example of how the majority continues to ram through partisan legislation here on the floor of the house without the transparency and accountability that the american people deserve and expect. and this is a dress rehearsal for how we are going to handle the so-called health care bill. i think the majority better be ready to endure the wrath of the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is

recognized. mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i believe that our republican leader, john baner, has said it very clearly. and that is that the way we are operating is not the best interest of this house, the institution, the members, we have heard lots of colleagues on the other side come down and argue about this isn't even a jobs bill because it's not even going to create jobs and how inefficient it is. but until this democratic leadership agrees that they want to be open, that they want to be honest about what's in the bill, and that they want to be ethical about how decisions are made, republicans are going to keep coming down to this floor. and many times i have argued openly in front of our rules committee chairman, louise slaughter, i said, please know

that the republican party wants to be better at our job not as loyal opposition but as an alternative party and you do not even allow us an opportunity to know what's in the bills. ridiculous. so we find ourself in the role of asking questions, making statements, and doing things that to the american people looks awkward and quite honestly unprofessional. i lay at the feet of the speaker of the house and the democratic leadership and my great rules committee chairman, louise slaughter, once again a request if you want this body to have a chance to not look unprofessional and perhaps stupid like we don't know what we are doing and gain back some trust of the american people, you got to open up the process.

to where we as members of congress are able to come down with an educated opportunity to understand what's in the bill, to engage our colleagues on a professional basis, and to be able to thoughtfully talk about the content of the bill. this is an embarrassment it is an embarrassment that after we heard a year ago we'll start going through regular order now, we are still not doing that. that members of congress cannot even see the bill hours before they read it, nor do we know the content because nobody came to explain it. and it's wholly inadequate to people who are back home, madam speaker, to expect their member of congress who comes up here 40 weeks a year to represent people and be told, we don't even know what's in the bill.

i encourage a no vote. i encourage a no vote on this rule and i will say that once again to my friends that are democrats, if you want to read the bill, if you want to open up the process, your vote is the one that will make it happen. don't blame that on somebody else. i have said it over the years. you want to read the bill, then vote no on the rule. if you're perfectly happy with the process that's happening, go ahead and support this rule. but don't go back home and tell people, i didn't have a chance. their vote matters on this floor. madam speaker, every single one of us were issued a card, a voting card. that should be controlled by the member not by somebody else. and today the republican party is coming down once again on

this floor and saying directly to the american people and the speaker of the house of representatives, we are not happy. the process is flawed. and we are going to hold accountable every member that votes for this rule today. just like we are for the others. so if you bring what we consider to be a less than stellar bill to the floor and the process is part of that participation and you shut it out, you can expect to hear the same from the republican party. we want to be a part of this process. the american people do. and i even heard today your own members again. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. matsui: calling up and passing rules using same-day authority is a legitimate legislative tool with precedent. when the 109th congress, when the republicans had the majority, it passed the fiscal

year 2006 budget resolution same day authority was used to bring it before the house. during debate on that rule, the then chairman of the rules committee called it a very fair rule. that was followed by mr. dreier's assertion that members have had a great deal of time over the past several weeks and months to focus on this issue. let us continue what we have done throughout this great 109th congress, get the work of the american people done. madam speaker, getting the work of the american people done is exactly what we aim to do today by passing the jobs bill under an expedited procedure. creating jobs must be our top priority until we get our economy completely back on track and put more americans back to work. the legislation we are considering today had bipartisan support in the senate with 13 senate republicans voting for this much needed jobs package. and that bill was not even paid for. well, the house version is.

it has a full pay-go language included. the jobs package includes key provisions to spur job creation and investment in our work force. it includes a new jobs payroll extension, offering employers exemption from paying social security payroll taxes for hiring new workers who were previously unemployed. this spefpk provision is estimated to create -- specific provision is estimated to create 250,000 jobs alone. the bill also provides relief to small businesses by allowing them to write off more of the cost of their 2010 expenditures. the package extends the highway trust fund for 15 months to existing highway programs to allow for billions to be invested in infrastructure projects and make a real difference in communities across our country. the bill also expands the build america bond to allow states and local governments to borrow at lower cost, to finance infrastructure projects, and put more americans to work.

together with the ongoing investment by the recovery act, this jobs package will further incentivize and spur job creation and economic growth in this country. this congress must continue to invest wisely and proposals that will train our works, create new good paying jobs, grow our economy, and rebuild the middle class. madam speaker, we must lead by example and demonstrate our continued commitment to help our commiddle class families, our seniors, and the economy move forward. with that in mind, i urge a yes vote on the previous question and on the rule. i yield back the balance of my time, and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. mr. sessions: madam speaker, for that i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested.

those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having