this twitter, "main street it$1s $1, wall street gets a bonus of 1 million bucks." maine, good morning. caller: outside of voting, what can we specifically due to remove these assets from these crooks and basically cut off their oxygen to keep them from gambling with the money? obviously the system is utterly corrupt, everyone knows it. host: william cohan? guest: you can take your money out of big banks, put them into yourself. given to people that you know and trust. you can send letters to your congressman.

you can send letters to the sec or the fed expressing our rage. your right, if you take your money out of the banks and brokerage accounts, they will not be able to do this anymore, this is their lifeblood. that relatively cheap money allows them to make investments that do not often turn out so well. host: william cohan, thank you for your time this morning. appreciated. guest: thank you. host: next we will bring you to the senate budget committee. right now they are hearing from the top commander for the u.s. central command, david petraeus, as well as admiral eric olsen. we will bring you there now. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] . úxxxñ?ññóñññoññññññññ ñ?

>> this effort is facilitated. member-nations are working hard to fill the additional mentors and transition teams to enable the considerably augmented training and recruiting that are essential. bad the civil military campaign on which we have embarked will unfold over the next 18 months. as many of us have observed, the going will likely get harder before it gets easier as the seat to expand service and take from the taliban control of key areas. moreover, we're not likely to see the dramatic reduction in

violence that we saw six months into the surge in the rock. -- into iraq. they make progress and certain areas very difficult. in any event, 2010 will be a difficult year. it will be a year in which there will be tough fighting and periodic setbacks. we have seen important change in pakistan over the past years. during that time, the pakistani people, political leaders and clary -- and clerics recognized the threat. they saw the taliban's of barbaric activity, indiscriminate violence, and repressive practices.

they realized that the taliban on wanted to take pakistan backwards several centuries, not forward. with the support of people and leaders, the pakistani military has carried out the impressive counter-insurgency actions. there were cleared from the district which i visited three weeks ago. now, they're holding, building, and beginning to transition in those areas. they have also carried out and press of operations -- impressive operations. and, they have carried out good operations in some other areas. these latter operations have

been carefully coordinated with forces and regional command east. the coronation of about the engagement of extremists. in short, pakistani forces have been carried out an impressive campaign. the people have suffered tough losses. as we recognize the need for considerable assistance, we will continue to work with congress in seeking ways to support pakistan's's military. our fortis -- our focus has been in the supporting their military. our task has to be to show that we went to be a steadfast partner, but we are not wanted to pakistan what we have done before, such this after charlie wilson's or were we provided a

substantial amount of assistance and then left. it is therefore important that we provide a sustained so if -- substantial commitment. that is what we are endeavoring to do. this bill does that provide a $1.5 billion in economic assistance per year for five years. it supports military financing and other forms of security assistance that provide critical assistance for pakistan to build security forces. together, this funding and our assistance to establish our importance for cooperation. in iraq, in the three years since the conduct of said -- security has improved. attacks are down by well over

90% from their highs in 2006 or 2007. with the improvements in security has also come progress in a variety of other areas. a repair of infrastructure. even in various social and political areas. the conduct of the elections brought out an impressive group of voters. to provide the latest example of iraq's progress. as always, however, the progress is still fragile and it could still be reversed. iraq still faces innumerable challenges and they will be evident during what will likely be a difficult process as the newly elected council of representatives selects the next prime minister, president and speaker of the council, and

seeks agreement another key decisions as well. our task in iraq is to continue to help the iraqi security forces as we continue to draw down our forces in a responsible manner. this task has been indicted by the policy announced by president obama about one year ago. since that announcement, we have reduced our forces by well over 30,000. we're on track to reduce that number by 50,000. at which time we will also complete a change in mission from a combat role to one of advising and assisting the iraqi forces. as we drive down our forces in iraq and increase our efforts in afghanistan, we must not lose sight of other developments. i want to highlight the developments in yemen and iran. we have seen an increase in

yemen in the prominence of al qaeda as it exploits challenges. the thread to the -- the threat to the region by what is now called al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has been demonstrated by suicide bombers tried to carry out operations in the capital, attempting to assassinate the assistant minister of the interior and attempted to bomb a u.s. airliner on christmas day. a number of us have been increasingly concerned. last april i approved a plan developed with our ambassador in yemen to expand our assistance to keep security elements in yemen. with the president of yemen's approval, would help strengthen the capabilities demonstrated by the yemen capabilities.

with your support, we're working toward expanded, sustain levels of assistance in yemen. in fact, our efforts in yemen should not be seen as an overall counter-terrorist campaign, but also as what might be termed as preventative counter-insurgency operations. our actions also contributed to the overall effort to help yemen deal with challenges that could cut -- could become much more significant if not dealt with early on. iran >> -- poses a major threat to stability. despite u.n. resolutions and diplomatic efforts, the iran in regime continues its nuclear program. the advent of their program

would destabilize the region and likely spur an arms -- and arms race. the regime also continues to fund and direct extremist? -- elements. it continues significant intervention in the domestic politics in each of those locations as well. the regime's internal activities are also troubling. it's violent suppression has made a mockery of the human rights of the iran in people those internal developments have resulted and a greater reliance to sustain the regime's grip on power. i would like to express the importance of two key enablers and to raise one issue.

the commanders emergency response program continues to be a vital tool for our commanders in afghanistan and iraq. small projects are often the most effective means -- means to affect a committee's needs. in the past year, which ticket number of action to observe that we have preserved the original intent i have, for example, withheld approval for projects at my level. there has only been one such project since late last september. in the past year, we have established guidelines for a number of projects each team should oversee and we have courtney do with the military services to ensure adequate training and preparation of those who will perform functions connected with this.

beyond that, the department of offense has undergone an internal investigation. party has shifted from iraq to afghanistan. -- in addition, will continue to seek innovative mechanisms that will allow for greater cost sharing and spur the development of similar counter- insurgency tools by coalitions. in the past year, we have pursued several missions to improve our capabilities in the communication domain. we accorded these actions closely. this past year, we made significant headway, including

establishing a full-fledged joint task force in afghanistan. nonetheless, we still have a long way to go. we desperately need to build the capabilities of a regional task force to complement the operations of the task force that has done such impressive work in erech and is now beginning to do the same in afghanistan. in the broader set, there is a critical set of records that sinks -- the synchronizes our efforts. it counters ideology and propaganda. they provide them with direct communication capabilities to reach regional audiences to traditional media. in each of these efforts, we follow what we practice in iraq, being first with the truth.

that, did coronation with state department initiatives, a book us to do just that, and in so doing, communicate critical messages and counter the propaganda of our adversaries. cyberspace has become an extension of the battlefield, and we cannot allow it to be uncontested any territory. in the years ahead, threats in cyberspace will pose threats to our nation as a whole. the department of defense and other areas of our government are coming to grips with this emerging threat. clearly, this is an area that we need to develop policies, build capabilities, and insure adequate resources. i suspect legislation will be required overtime as well. within the department of defense, we have an essential step in the right direction with

an initiative. this is it is important. extremist elements are very active in cyberspace. they share tactics and techniques. we have to ask ourselves if this is something which should allow to continue, and if not, we have to determine how to prevent or disrupted without impinging on free speech. in conclusion, there are currently some 210,000 service members. day after day, on the ground and in the air, these courageous and committed trippers performed difficult missions against tough elements. together, with our many civilian and coalition partners, they have constituted the central element in our effort to promote stability and prosperity in the region. these wonderful americans and their fellow troopers constitute the most experienced,

most capable military in our nation's history. they and their families made tremendous sacrifices. nothing means more to these great americans than the sense that those back home appreciate their service to the country. in view of that, and on behalf all those serving, i want to take -- i want to take this opportunity to thank the american people for their extraordinary support our men and women been uniform. i also want to take this opportunity to thank the members of this committee and the commerce overall for their unwavering support and concern for our troopers and their families. >> thank you, general petraeus. we're going to try a six-minute round of questions given the large turnout this morning. general petraeus, iran's actions and lack of willingness to comply with u.n. regulations regarding their nuclear

program, continues to undermine security in the region i believe that while stronger sanctions against iran are not only essential, but it is critically important that they be enforced. the president has rightly kept a military option to take against nuclear facilities in iran on the table, should they be used for production of nuclear weapons in violation of u.n. resolutions. i also believe that the possibility of a blockade or quarantine of iran's oil exports and refined petroleum product imports should also be on a list of possible options for action. can you comment on what actions you think might be successful in terms of sanctions against iran

should they continue to violate u.n. resolutions relative to the nuclear program, but also as to whether we should keep those other options on the table? >> first of all, as you noted, the president has explicitly stated that he is not taken the military option off of the table. as you noted in your statement earlier, we have worked hard in the region to build the so- called regional security architecture -- to build a network of shared early morning ballistic missile defense and other secure relationships and partnerships that have been fostered and brought about in large measure because of concern by those states with whom we are carrying out those activities about the developments in iran but i spoke

of in my opening statement. i think with regard to specific contingency plans or activities, that would obviously be something that we would want to do in a closed session, but clearly, having given their rhine every opportunity, not just the u.s., but all the countries engage in this effort, reaching out in open hand, provided the opportunity for diplomacy to discuss and resolve these issues, the emphasis is now shifting to what is termed the pressure track. there are a variety of sanctions included in that that are now being discussed in the administration. i do not want to get ahead of them if i could been discussing this particular items. >> we will have a full hearing on iran, both open and closed.

general caldwell, who is the head of our nato training mission in afghanistan, has reported a large increase in the number of afghan army retreat -- recruits that are awaiting training. there is a shortage of trainers. we have gone into that. i think you would agree that one way or another we need to get those trainers present to increase the speed with which the size of that army is the increased. my question goes to that issue in a way. what general caldwell told us when we visited him was said there was a number of reasons for that significant increase in the cruise. one of them was an increase in pay. he also said that a cause was

that the afghan leaders were reaching out to their local folks, people in the provinces, to increase significantly the number of recruits are coming in. one of the things that focused the mind of the afghan leaders to do that was the decision of the president to set that july 2011 date to begin to reduce the presence of american forces. not to pull the forces out, not to have a total exit, but simply begin reduction as a way of focusing the minds of the afghan leaders on their responsibility. did you and do you support both the 30,000-troop insurgents and

the setting of that july, 2011 date by the president? >> that is correct. if i could note, there is a shortage of trainers. we did a fourth generation effort. we have to figure out how to get the rest of those and we are looking at options for doing that of the u.s. side while still urging nato to generate the remainder. the surge in recruits, indeed, was a result of two factors, one was the increased pay, without question. also, there was a sense by afghan leaders that they do have to get on with it. i think it is correct to say that in a speech at west point, the president sent two messages.

one was urgency. it was connected to the july, 2011 date. it has concentrated the minds of afghan leaders to a degree. we have also been taught to assure leaders that that is a date not which we both for the exits, but began a process of transitioning some tasks to afghan forces and began a responsible reduction of our forces. >> you personally support that? >> i did. i have stated many times on the record. >> senator mccain. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to talk about the issue that has dominated the news in the last few days, the increased tensions between the united states and israel over the settlements issue, the timing of it, and the implications of it.

another has been an increase in palestinian demonstrations in violence in the past day or two. first of all, i understand that you have the greatest confidence in senator mitchell and his works to try to bring about progress in the israeli- palestinian peace process. is that true? >> that is absolutely true. that is why we haven't gotten to every single conference we have posted -- that is why we have invited him to every single conference we have posted. >> the issue is over increase settlements in jerusalem that israelis view as within the state of israel with -- when the peace process is concluded and

palestinians view it as a part of a palestinian state. is the issue not the issue of settlements as much as it is the existence of the state of israel, its neighbors with exceptions have dedicated themselves to the extermination of the state of israel is it not true that the israelis left gaza on the presumption that there would be progress and instead, they got rocket attacks? maybe you could put this into a larger context for us. what needs to be done to reduce the tensions between the united states and israel, our closest ally and friend in many respects, we would like to hear a little bit about your views on that situation and what needs to

be done to diffuse it? >> thank you. first of all, but as a reminder for all, neither israel or the palestinian territories are in the central command area of responsibility. having said that, we keep a very close eye on what goes on there because of the impact that it has on that part of the our operations. we have urged, at various times, that this is a critical component. it is one reason why we invite senator mitchell to brief all the different conferences that the host and seek to support him in any way that we can when he is in the central command part of the region. that is just how we support general dayton. and, in fact, although some staff members have at various

times asked for palestinian territories to be added, i have never made that a formal recommendation for the unified command plan and that was not what i submitted this year, nor have i sent a memo to the white house on any of this. i welcome the opportunity to point that out. again, clearly, the tensions, the issues and so forth have been enormous effect in that they set strategic context within which we operate in the central command area of responsibility. my thrust has generally been to encourage that process that can indeed get the recognition that you have talked about and indeed, get a sense of progress. >> we will leave this hearing

with general petraeus as the u.s. house is about to gavel in. you can continue watching at c- span.org. members will start the day with speeches before the restrictive work kicks in. when dozen bills are to be considered today. -- one dozen bills are to be considered today. now, live coverage on c-span.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., march 12, 2010. i hereby appoint the honorable watson to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 6, 2009, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to 30 minutes and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly, for five minutes. 7 c16 c13 mr. connolly: madam speaker, last week i brought the same chart to the house floor to demonstrate visibly how starting in 2007 the great recession destroyed 17.5 -- $17.5 trillion of household aggregate wealth in the united states. that's american families' net worth. i noted it represented a loss

of more than $56,000 for every man, woman, and child in america. trillions of dollars in home equity loss, retirement savings, and college funds lost. as you can see in the red line here, the worst recession since world war ii continually destroyed value from american households for seven straight quarters. from june of 2007 until march of 2009. 21 months of lost net worth. the economy was on the brink of collapse and the tremendous loss to every american household were directly evident. but this congress acted. as you can see from the blue line since passage of the recovery act, from americans we recovered $5 trillion in net worth during the second and third quarters of 2009. today i have even better news. last week data came out for the fourth quarter of 2009 and once again americans' net worth increased for the third straight quarter. there was an additional $800

billion returned to american households over just the past three months. let me put this in context. the recovery act was an investment in this nation in this economy in the american people. to help bring us out of the great recession. it kept hundreds of thousands of teachers from being laid off, including 800 in my own district. that's not just a short-term investment in economic recovery, it's a long-term investment in our communities and the education of our children. the recovery act also provided for thousands of needed transportation improvements. again that is a short-term investment in construction jobs but a long-term investment in our communities and national infrastructure. the recoveries act investments including more than $200 billion in tax cuts totaled $787 billion. and it will suspend over two years' time. where's the return on that investment? you have to look at the blue line showing $5 trillion in net worth that's been recovered since we passed that bill for american families in the first nine months of this year.

we can now add another $800 billion to that figure for the last three months of 2009, nearly $6 trillion in recovered wealth. the recovery of america's net worth is vital to the overall recovery of our economy. consumer spending makes up 70% of our g.d.p. however so long as consumers' net worth remains depressed, consumer spending will suffer. when consumer spending suffers, businesses pull back and lay off employees. it's a tragic downward spiral, one that unfolded starting in the bush administration in 2007. but this chart, this blue line of recovery shows we are back on the right track. despite historic blizzards many thought would have parlede the recovery -- periled the recovery, it increased. housing prices increased seven straight months, reversing 22 straight months of decline. new orders for manufacturing goods are at their highest level since 2008. the manufacturing index has been growing for six straight

months. and manufacturing jobs have been going for three months. g.d.p. grew at 5.9%. it's fastest growth in six years. in the fourth quarter of 2009. today the stock market is up more than 70% since its march of 2009 low. we are not out of the woods yet and we have some ground to cover before the value of the economic losses are fully recovered, but we are making steady progress as we can see from this chart. we must now continue in that path to restore financial stability for our residents and the economy as a whole. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from north carolina, ms. foxx. for five minutes. mitts fox: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker -- ms. foxx: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, this week we are going to be taking up, we think, a job-killing so-called

health care reform bill that the american people do not want but that the democratic leadership and the president are determined to cram down our throats. this bill will not help our situation in terms of health care or health insurance. it does not reduce the cost of health insurance, which was one of the goals the president said that he wanted. it does not solve any of the problems that we need to solve in health care. in fact, it makes those problems worse. yesterday i had a town hall in statesville, north carolina, with about 175 people there. they are very upset about this supposed health care reform bill. they understand that a lot of dirty tricks are being played here and they don't like it. they don't like several aspects

of the proposal that's being brought forth this week. number one, they don't like the fact that the democrats are proposing to pass this bill without voting on the bill. they know that that goes from passing bills without reading them to passing bills without voting for them. another thing that they don't like is they don't like to see two bills that have no relationship to each other put together because one of the bills can't pass on its own and so the folks in charge attach it to a bill that they can get the votes for. so what the majority people are doing is that they are going to latch on to the reconciliation bill a job-killing, government takeover of student loans. they are attaching that to their job-killing government takeover of health care which

many people have called a monstrossity. -- monstrosity. this is not the way the american people want us to be operating in this congress. we are the greatest country in the world with the best form of government in the world, but what is about to happen this week if the american people do not speak out even louder than they have spoken out, is that you're going to see democrats vote for this monstrossity -- montrossity -- montross it and undermine the rule of law that exists in this contry. it is a scary proposition. republicans know that we need reform in health insurance and in health care. and we have made proposals to do that. we want -- and we have legislation that will reduce costs in health insurance. the plan that the democrats have put forward will not reduce costs, even one of their

senators, dick durbin, said that last week on the floor of the senate. the bill also does not allow people to continue the current health insurance that they have which the president has been saying you could do. in his meeting with republicans at our retreat, he admitted that he had been saying that incorrectly. he still -- he's still saying it even though he said it was incorrect, because you will not be allowed to keep your insurance if you like it. republicans want to be able -- for americans to buy their health care across state lines. we want medical liability reform. we want a health savings account. we want to put americans in charge of their health care, in charge of their health insurance. we don't want a giant government takeover of health insurance and health care. this can be done to help americans, but what the

democrats are proposing will not be the right thing to do. i serve on the rules committee. they are planning to bring a rule that will say, if you vote for the rule, you voted for the bill. that's never happened in the history of this country. and again it undermines the rule of law and the american people will not stand for it. with that i yield back, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the chair now recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. boren, for five minutes. mr. boren: madam speaker, i rise today to remind members of this body that the month of march is colorectal cancer awareness month. during the month of march colon cancer advocates across the country will organize and participate in a wide range of activities to raise awareness about this horrible disease. this year alone almost 150,000

americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer. and approximately 50,000 of them will die from it. madam speaker, it doesn't have to be that way. if detected early, the survival rate for colon cancer is almost 90%. yet less than half of all americans get the recommended preventive test by the suggested age of 50. colon cancer is an issue that's very personal to me. 12 years ago i lost my mother to this dreadful disease. and since arriving in congress, i have made it one of my missions to bring attention to the serious yet preventable cancer. so for the next three weeks i want members of this body to ask themselves and their constituents two important questions, one, have you asked your doctor if you should get a colonoscopy? and, two, do you know it could save your life?

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from kansas, mr. moran, for five minutes. mr. moran: madam speaker, thank you. this past weekend like many americans my wife and i sat at our kitchen table and worked on getting our taxes figured out so we could file our return. across our country millions of americans are working to finalize their annual tax return. this is clear -- it is clear that our system of income taxes is broken. to restore our nice's economic health, increase personal liberty, reduce cheating and confusion, and restore fairness, congress must abandon our current tax code and replace it with something much better. there is no reason that paying taxes should be so complicated and so confusing. the burden in this process that's placed upon individuals and small businesses must be relieved. the i.r.s. itself has estimated that 7.6 billion hours are

spent in tax preparation every year. 7.6 billion hours equates to 3.8 million people working full-time for a full year. congress can simplify this process and reduce the amount of time and energy spent on paying our taxes. as a long-time supporter of the fair tax, i see h.r. 25 as a step in the direction of liberty and prosperity. the fair tax seeks to eliminate the payroll, estate, and many other taxes to be replaced by a national sales tax leveed on purchased goods. overhaul the u.s. tax code is not an easy task to take. but reducing the burden of filing taxes should be a priority in this congress. anyone who abused our tax collection practices can see the flaws. the question is whether the congress has the courage and determination to change it. the process of tax reform has major consequences for every american. but it is a process that must be started because the consequences of inaction are

too costly. the truth remains that americans want and need some sort of tax filing relief. the need for commonsense reform becomes more obvious during this tax season. i call on the newly installed chairman of the ways and means committee, the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, to schedule a hearing on the fair tax. i encourage my colleagues who are serious about starting an open conversation on tax reform to join me in this request. the american people are ready to have that conversation and their representatives should be also. americans are in need of tax reform and simplification, but instead all they are getting from this congress is increased spending and record deficits. by reforming this broken process, americans will once more be in charge of their lives and their money. over the course of the last several years, american taxpayers have become much more attentive to what is and what is not happening in washington, d.c. tea party protests and fair tax advocates are making their voices heard. their message is clear to congress, if congress will only

listen. simplify the tax code. . we can have new prosperity while encouraging personal freedom and liberty. april 15 is now less than one month away. no more business as usual. let's not let another tax year go by without action to replace our convoluted, confusing and freedom-restricting tax code. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair now recognizes mr. walz from minnesota for five minutes. mr. walz: thank you, madam speaker. this week this house has a historic opportunity. for far too long, millions of americans have not been able to afford basic health care coverage. for far too long, families with insurance are told when they finally need to use that insurance that they're not covered. for too long insurance company executives and bureaucrats have dictated what is covered to the

doctors. for far too long, those who are insured have been paying a hidden tax to cover the millions of uninsured. this week the figure is 51 million. for far too long, the united states has spent double the amount of any other industrialized nation, and we are no healthier for it. and for far too long, there have been those who have said, we can wait a little longer, we'll put health care off and do it at another time. this button was given to me last weekend by a woman in fountain, minnesota. it reads, "health care for all, the time is now." she's been carrying it for 25 years. last week, the mayo clinic, which is in my district in southern minnesota, along with the cleveland clinic and other leading institutions, put out a statement urging reform in this house. this statement read, "reforming health care in america will not become easier with the passage of time, and we urge you to

move forward." the time is right for america to fix this inequity, the time is right to move america forward. and as the button says, "health care for all: the time is now." that's this week. i yield back, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the chair now recognizes ms. ros-lehtinen from florida for five minutes. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. yesterday, march 15, was florida's day of action to raise awareness about the sham elections in sudan which are scheduled for next month. when the comprehensive peace agreement was signed in the year 2005, the dream of a united sudan where everyone, regardless of genter, ethnicity or religion, lived in freedom. it seemed possible. elections were intended to usher that change. unfortunately, the sudanese government has since proven that it will do anything to

maintain in power, including slaughtering civilians and stealing elections. southern parties -- some parties have committed abuses, but it is sudan's tyrant who remains the greatest obstacle to peace. the time for wishful thinking is over. these elections are a sham, hijacked to legitimize the rule of the reprehensible regime. he needs to answer for his crime before this process moves forward. so congratulations to the many floridians who spearheaded the day of action yesterday, and speaking of floridians, our state is hurting. our economy is in serious trouble. floridians ask, what is the best way to put floridians back to work without increasing our mounting national debt? the latest national unemployment record shows that

we are still facing an almost 10% unemployment statistic and totally unacceptable is florida's numbers. florida's number, 11.8% unemployment rate in my home state of florida. how can we fix this problem? part of it deals with what u.s. trade representative ron kirk said and it was an important and very timely message. he said, trade supports millions of u.s. jobs and expanding trade must be part of the u.s. economy. congress needs to support long delayed trade pacts with colombia, panama and south korea, which will greatly expand access to oversea markets for florida businesses. while these agreements are stalling here in washington, our competitors are cutting their own deals, to open more markets for their exporters. the european union, for example, has concluded an agreement with south korea, similar to the one that's been

languishing here in washington, d.c. hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the trade industry. in my home state of florida, we exported more than $47 billion in goods last year. south florida is a gateway to latin america, and it's a huge hub with trade with colombia, which has already produced thousands of jobs in key industries such as the flower importing industry. trade is a crucial part of our economic recovery and an ideal opportunity for democrats and republicans to work together on an important issue. it's so important to my home state of florida which brings me to another national issue that is crucial to my state, to florida, and that's a complete and accurate sense us count. we must -- census count. we must mobilize everyone to participate in the 2010 census and help in transportation, education and other key

programs while ensuring our area will get the programs it deserves. having represented a diverse area, such as florida here in congress, i know we need to reach out to residents of low-income and minority neighborhoods which are especially at risk of being undercounted in the 2010 census. along with many other metro poll pan -- metropolitan areas, miami-dade will have a biling well census form, as well as a special census outreach efforts to the colombian, the haitian and many ethnic groups in our community and in our nation. accurate data reflecting changes in our diverse and ever-changing communities will decide how over $400 billion per year is spent in federal grants and how it's allocated for programs like new hospitals and schools. so your system, south florida, with a complete census count,

will help ensure that essential social service programs, like job creating, after-school programs, school lunch programs, senior citizen seniors, they will receive the funding they deserve. so please help us kick off our efforts to get the most complete census count in history. floridians, get onboard, and i'm so proud of the many floridians who do amazing things every day. in my congressional district of south florida, madam speaker, extraordinary groups such as teens against domestic abuse, otherwise known as tada, are working to raise awareness of domestic abuse. and tada is run by a caring and passionate young woman, emily martinez lansa. so i thank the exemplary work of floridians, from the call of action, to the economy -- the speaker pro tempore: your time is now expired. ms. ros-lehtinen: floridians are hard at work.

thank you. madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: now, the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana, mr. pence, for five minutes. mr. pence: thank you, madam speaker. i'd ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pence: madam speaker, the american people don't want a government takeover of health care. i heard it at town hall meetings across eastern indiana this weekend and at a rally at the state house in indianapolis yesterday where thousands gathered on short notice. now, i know many in the democratic leadership and in the administration don't like us to call it a government takeover of health care, but when you mandate that every american purchase health insurance, whether they want it or need it or not, you mandate what's in that insurance, you set up a government-run insurance exchange to control what kind of insurance people

can buy and set up a massive bureaucracy, even a new health care czar to govern all of it, that sure looks to me like a government takeover of health care. the american people know it. now, a clear majority of this country has rejected this approach, but nevertheless, as we read in the papers, congress is intent this week on bringing this legislation, seemingly by any means to the floor of the house of representatives. and i want to speak about those means today. the choice that the leadership in the congress has before them is whether or not to bring the wildly discredited senate bill to the floor of the house of representatives. but the truth is the bill with its cornhusker kickback, with its public funding of abortion, simply couldn't pass the house floor. there are just not the votes for it. but it seems at this moment what we hear is that the democratic leadership here in congress is so desperate to pass this government takeover of health care that they're willing to twist the rules of

the house and the senate into a pretzel to get it done. but i -- i'm not here to talk about the arcane rules of the senate and reconciliation that follow-on bill would be an abuse of. i am not here to talk about the rules of the house. i'm really here to talk about the constitution of the united states of america. i mean, this so-called slaughterhouse rule that's being proposed, a -- the idea that the senate bill could be deemed as passed on the house floor without members of congress being asked to vote for it, i believe is not just -- tramples on the common sense and insults the intelligence of the american people, it really tramples on the constitution of the united states. let me break it down for you. i've understood this since the first time i saw "schoolhouse rock" about how a bill becomes a law and that little bill doused up the house steps when

i saw it. it was in article 1, section 7. every bill shall have passed the house of representatives and the senate shall before it becomes law be presented to the president of the united states. there it is. as i -- as we learned as schoolchildren as it says in the constitution, a bill becomes a law after it has passed the house of representatives. not after it was deemed to have passed, not after it was buried in a procedural motion that no one really has to say they support it but after it has passed on the floor of the house of representatives. now, some will say that, you know, well, republicans just want to talk about process here. we are trying to do something for health care. wait a minute. the process that's in the constitution of the united states exist to protect the liberty of the american people and hold those who govern them responsible. the reason our founders enshrined in the constitution of the united states the requirement that bills not

become laws unless they pass on the house floor is so that they could hold accountable the decisions that the men and women who would serve in this chamber throughout our history would make. madam speaker, the very idea that the senate bill could be adopted by the house without any vote on the floor is discrediting the constitution of the united states. i believe it's an insult to the american people. i would say respectively, madam speaker, if you have the votes, vote on the house floor. let's have a good debate that passed the senate on christmas eve, with all of the back room deals, with the funding of abortion and tax increases. if you don't have the votes, let's scrap the bill. let's start over. let's commit ourselves to building health care reform on the principles of limited government, free market economics. let's pass health care reform that will lower the cost of health insurance rather than

growing the size of government. for heaven's sake, whatever we do, let's go forward this week in a way that honors those who have gone before, those who have fought for in constitution. let us live up to the ideals of our founders and the expectation of our people. and let's throw this slaughter house rule business in the trash heap where it belongs. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until noon today.

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in iraq yesterday be transitioned taji to the training facility, down to the 2500 #of the trainees from the 27,000 that we had during the height of the surge, which is quite an accomplishment, really, for those elements engaged. including the u.s. air force, colonel lindsay gramm, and as much the iraqi security force element in charge of that now. we do not just handoff to them. we train and we monitor and so

forth. >> i am always concerned when program is in theater. [laughter] >> we will give him an extra minute of his time. >> needs more than that. [laughter] the guide had for the troops in afghanistan -- the guiding path for the troops in afghanistan? the collateral issue of training the security forces in iraq, are we on the right path? will we be able to meet that goal next year? >> you are talking about afghanistan? >> yes. >> in terms of the employment -- deployment of the additional forces we made the commitment to the president to have them all there by august. about 99% of the 30,000. we are on track to do that.

i can tell you that transportation commanders have done magnificent work to allow us to do that to get what they need into the theater so that we have what we need before we get there or before hand. that is on track somewhere close to the 10,000 mark of the 30,000, increasing a bit recently. again, touchwood, that is on track. we are behind it a dead and the nav -- afghan national army side, around 1300 before the path that we need to be on to take us to that additional figure we have talked about in the future. the combination of additional army and police will be somewhere around 100,000 over the next 18 months or so.

clearly this is going to have to be greater recruiting and better retention on the part of the afghan national army. the goal is an important reason that afghan leaders have to grit this, which is exactly what they have done. we also have to expand training capacity is linked to the need for additional trainers. no question about that. that is part of the general's plan. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. senator kaca? >> thank you very much for your leadership and your distinguished service to our country. also, thank you to the men and women that you leasd and to

the families of the troops. afghan forces are taking an important part in operations. many times even making up the bulk of forces involved. soldiers and police officers must not only expanded greatly in a short amount of time, but they must be trained to a higher standard in order for them to gain the trust and confidence of the people. i believe that well-trained and a properly sized afghan national army is a prerequisite to america leaving afghanistan. my question to you, general,

what are the most difficult obstacles to successfully building the afghan national army and police forces? how are we coping with these obstacles? >> you are exactly right, this is a critical element component of the overall strategy. among some of the challenges, insufficient training capacity. with this authorization of additional forces, we need to increase capacity to train them. that is not just basic recruit training, it is also branch training for the different elements of the military and the police. leader training in the development of institutions, as well as basic trainees. the challenge their, beyond

needing more trainers and in some cases, more facilities, it is also the challenge of illiteracy, running somewhere in the 70% range. in afghanistan. more in the rural areas. that is a challenge if you want the police to be able to read the laws they are enforcing. there is actually going to be a modest component of literacy training. it will be a part of the training plans brought in. we will see if that can help with the effort as we go forward as well. i think that the facilities, equipment, and other components, again there are challenges but those are generally surmountable and i think it comes back to the

issues of having the numbers of trainers and partner elements over time. frankly, dealing with a culture in which there is a group acceptance of a degree of corruption in which tribal mormons intrude understandably as well. >> admiral olson, general petraeus, since you mentioned the culture, i believe that we must draw upon foreign language capabilities. there seems to be an emphasis in the department of defense to improve those capabilities so that we can better perform counterinsurgency and stability operations. admiral, general, what are your

impressions regarding the efforts to develop service members' cultural knowledge skills to better develop traditional and non-traditional war fighting activities? >> i applaud the efforts of the department's services to increase language skills in regional expertise. i think that they are progressing in that regard. they are demonstrating a much better sense of projecting a relatively shallow level of regional skills across a broad force. we are still challenged to develop true expertise and

native-born regional skills, if you will. but discussions are taking place. i think that the latest budget submission highlights those requirements. >> i also agree with the need, not just language, but cultural awareness of appreciation as well. a number of initiatives have been pursued. shallow, entry level, but it is helpful for our forces. beyond that, there are other initiatives, including target performing to demonstrate the department's recognition of the importance of language proficiency. with respect to afghanistan and pakistan, there is a program that is led out of the joint staff with our headquarters involved in the services to

develop individuals who have a real understanding of the culture, language, history, and so on in afghanistan, doing repetitive chewtours in the regn or in the states that keep them working in the arena. >> thank you. >> senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. the 96 hour rule, i understand the that is under review. >> yes, the secretary of defense has approved, in a sense, a u.s. cup yacht, if you will, that goes along with our transition of authority to nato control.

including up to 14 days for interrogation, analysis, and in some cases, for those that need longer, the tension, that is also available as well. >> thank you for leading that charge, i think that our war fighters will appreciate that. has it been well received? >> it has. if you want to live your values, you must set conditions in which troopers can do that. >> yes, i am glad that you have been given relief, the old rule did not make sense, the new way forward did not make sense -- does make sense. how much time is available to the world, given what they're doing today? >> again, probably best for a closed session, but thankfully it has slid to the right a bit.

not this calendar year, i do not think. >> but not infant? >> no. >> my favorite topic, detainee's. we know that your camp is one of the greatest success stories of iraq, transformed from a recruiting center for the enemy into a great operation. i really appreciate what you have been able to do to turn it into a model military prison that rehabilitates people. those that were not able to be reconciled were segregated out. a great success story, taking us to afghanistan. detention operations are a part of the surge? >> yes, your former wing man, mark martin, is a full-time

residents of the area of blog room -- bagram now called the par 1 detention facility. he is spearheading the effort to ensure the same kinds of initiatives are pursued there. to help to develop and implement the concepts for afghan forces to be trained, equipped, and take on the task their increasingly, so that we can step back into a number of areas that over time we will need to step back into. dad is the plan. his boss, -- that is the plan. his boss, the vice admiral, general martins is the deputy. overseeing the overall effort.

also, working more with state department colleagues and others, ensuring that the afghan facility, conducting their business appropriately. they are also partnered with the future in some of the other rule of law areas as well. >> thank you. do we have people in the confinement facility that are not afghan? foreign fighters? >> yes, sir. >> we need a closed session -- session eventually, but is it best to say -- we have a dilemma in this role, we need to find confinement facilities at work, would you support sending them from afghanistan to bagram?

>> over time, at the very least, that is an idea that we need to go sit under a tree until the passes. >> i will take it to be that that is not a good idea? >> again, if we transition control as we should -- >> i am talking about sending gitmo people to afghanistan, would that not create greater problems for the afghan people? >> that is why we need to think hard about it. again, we are transitioning this facility to afghan control. we are going to do it in the relatively near term purpo. >> these foreign fighters, are the afghans willing to take them? >> i would defer to the apartment of justice or others. this is a big policy issue. >> is not fair to say that there are prisoners in afghanistan

that are not afghan? told by the american military that might be difficult to convince the afghans to take them? is that not a fair summary? >> you are the lawyer, sir. >> then just say yes. [laughter] >> the fact is that those individuals broke laws in afghanistan. again, as we are transitioning, that is an afghan legal issue, but i would be happy to defer that to the legal commission. >> where do we send them? >> search, a question that on so many levels we would have to go into closed session. >> fair enough. you have indicated in the past, reluctantly, that gitmo is

counterproductive to the war effort. can you tell me why you believe that? >> rightly or wrongly, probably wrongly, that facility, and many of you have visited it, it is conducted in an appropriate manner, but at the very least it has a symbol attached to it that is one that is used in our area of responsibility, against us. in some cases it is even a lump in with public abu grahb. it has become iconic in certain respects, which is not helpful. >> one simple question, is it not true that some of the allies would turn prisoners over to was if they thought they could work their way to gitmo? >> i do not know the answer of

that question. >> you have never had an ally say that they cannot turn over a prisoner because they will go to hilo bella -- gitmo? >> i do not think we of senate when they're under my watch. but we have not? >> not in my 15 months. >> senator nelson. >> gentlemen, thank you for your service and for being here today. general, we have heard from all of the services that combat commanders have difficulty getting enough isr. the focus has primarily been on the number of aircraft and not on the personnel required to operate the aircraft, analyzing the intelligence collective. in some respects it seems to me

that the easier part might be getting the uavf's, that cover part might be manning the missions in terms of staffing and intelligence. -- the tough part might be manning the missions and in terms of intelligence. can you give us your perspective? >> i would be happy to. there is something that is fine, fixed, finished, ready to analyze, assess, and to disseminate. the hardware that you just talked about that might be on a uav is a subset of that. a critical of that -- critical subset. without all the people that do all the tests to exploit, analyze, and disseminate the process, it certainly is not fully exploited to the extent that we need to. we have actually spent quite a bit of time pulling back up to

the procedural level in talking about the overall intelligence process that involves these various platforms. and a host of other platforms of capability. in fact, the air force is to be commended for the enormous shift it has made in particular to man all of these different elements. the same can be said for the other intelligence community services. >> between the army and the air force, the fiscal year 2011 request is $6 billion for 77 creditor class umv's, $10.2 billion on 499 of them by and projections. i am looking at the unmanned platforms and requirements for staffing to fit all of those requirements, is there all of -- adequate coordination between

services so that we do not wind up with each branch having its own approach to dealing with this? >> there is. there is an isr task force that looks at his broadly and analyzes it together with services all of the way down to the tactical level and on the strategic level. again, a hugely important element of what we need out there. again, hardware without the people is not sufficient. >> in achieving the goals, sometimes referred to as benchmarks, can you take two of the major benchmarks and give us your impression of how we are doing on achieving those goals? two of the most important ones? >> going back the hardware, that is definitely one of them. we have literally maxed out production capacity.

there has been intense scrutiny on every one of these platforms. there has been equal scrutiny of what again has been termed the back end. everything that allows us to stay in the sky for 24 hours per day. providing the unblinking eye. i think that in each of those areas we have pushed the industry about as far as it can go in my understanding. i think that the personnel pipeline has been expanded dramatically. not just in terms of the pilots of the systems, but also the others doing the analysis and the dissemination. the real breakthrough in intelligence in recent years has been the infusion of imagery, human intelligence, signaling that -- intelligence, and measurement intelligence.

>> we are in the middle of implementing a new missile defense plan in europe called face the death of her approach. of course, one of the benefits is that it allows for immediate missile the fence systems -- defense systems against iran. what impact does the approach have on affecting regional stability in the aor? >> we are looking at the ballistic missile defense in the aor itself. we have made our requirements known to the department. also there is obviously an effort to tie what we do -- because it is all about shared early warning bell and sharing across combatant commands. as the deployment sequences are sorted out, we will tie them in with our european command

brother and in making sure that what we see, they see, and vice versa. >> in an area that is more intriguing than others, a piracy in the vicinity. how much of our time in our financial resources and personnel and equipment would be assigned to dealing with piracy in the vicinity that is within the aor? >> not a substantial portion, abutted is a important mission that is performed, done together with the coalition of maritime forces, even with independent elements, including china and russia as well. ultimately, the key is going to be maritime shipping companies

taking more defensive measures, including and up to, at some point, armed security elements. we have changed our tactics as well, learning a lot about the networks that carry out the pirate attacks. very open boats with huge, a 55 gallon drums of fuel. there are other paraphernalia. it has been a very challenging mission, because we have the authority is relative to pirates only that police have relative to an alleged criminal. they are not declared as a hostile enemy for a military force, they are a reduced set of authorities held in the arena. if you became a pirate, we're back to the question of who we hand them over to. there are not authorities in somalia to deal with them.

we have made arrangements with neighboring countries, but some of their facilities are starting to fill up. >> with respect to those authorities, and my time is up, is that something we should be looking at in terms of rules of engagement in those arenas? >> is sensitive. we have offered this to the policy arena. it has become an international arena, the u.n. has been given the authority that the international community is willing to provide. >> thank you, senator nelson. >> admiral, general, thank you very much for your extraordinary service in these dangerous times. general petraeus, the advanced weapons system denied to aerial levels is being proliferated throughout the world.

iran is seeking to examine -- purchase one of the most advanced surface-to-air missile systems. i am interested in your views with regards to the activities by them to pursue these areas. >> with respect to the s 300, which has not been delivered, there is quite a bit of focus on that. on whether it will be delivered, as it represents a significant him freeze in the capability -- significant increase in the capability of the iranian forces. there's no question that they are trying to increase their anti-access capabilities against the maritime, as well as air threats. something that we watch, that regional partners and others in the area have watched very closely.

>> what is your view on the pursuit of the strategy by iran and how it would affect our ability to project power in the middle east in the gulf of iran and the strait of hormuz? if they are successful in their pursuit? >> again, we have the most capable military in the world. we can deal with the threats that are there, but they do make it more difficult. that is basically the short answer to that without getting into the specifics of the kind of system and what we have in return. for example, we think that this rate can be kept open in the event of a crisis if we were properly positioned and so forth. that would be a challenging task, the kind we have to be prepared to bring home. >> the development of the air

sea battle concept in the pentagon, qdr addresses the air force to develop joint air and sea battle forces to defeat the enemies in the area of response capabilities, in term guiding development of capabilities that will be needed for effective power projection operations. some of these can be low-tech, like-, small boats using swarm tactics, sometimes as effective, just as effective in the denied areas. can you give us your views on the development of this new concept so far bella where does saicentcom fit in to the development and implementation of the concept?

>> we are being consulted, but i cannot give you that much as it is in the conceptual stage at this time. the truth is that our focus is on dealing with what we know exists right now and could exist in the near term. that is really our focus, although we do get the opportunity to contribute to the services in developing the concept. >> it is not like -- i assume that they are consulting in their discussions? >> correct. >> how long will battle strike fees -- trifle -- strike force teams fit in to the concept? >> unless we get into real specifics, i am not sure where we would head with that. we have had a variety of long- range strike capabilities that are quite impressive, we have

used some of them in recent years. again, without really getting into the details of the concepts. >> let me ask one more question regarding afghanistan. it has to do with intelligence operations there. major general michael flan. he published a blueprint for what he called making intelligence relevant in afghanistan. the apparatus still finds itself unable to answer fundamental questions. i would pose this question to both of you, do you agree with general flam's overall assessment in his report regarding the overall actions

being taken in response? have any of these initiatives been carried out? >> senator, when we conducted the strategic assessment, it was customary with a new commander coming in like that, one of the biggest ideas was that our capability was not adequate. talking to emerald player leon, i ask if he would appoint a mission manager. he did one better, appointing a deputy director of national when television's. we said about beefing up capabilities and capacities there, including sending the general there, amongst others. be helped him to.

in central command, in a cell staff has attempted to do the same. we have tried to rebuild the capability that we had, not unlike what we did in iraq. one of the first request i ever made before taking command was for a substantial augmentation of intelligence capabilities. we have been working on providing that kind of augmentation in afghanistan as well. >> admiral? >> it is natural for early energy and intelligence communities to focus on the immediate threats to our forces. what about using the transition to better develop the environment and seek better competition? >> thank you.

>> senator nelson? >> thank you, mr. chairman. gentleman, that you for your continued service to our country. i am especially proud that most of you reside in my state in the wonderful area of california. gentlemen, last week i cheered for the chairman in the emerging threats committee on the increased radicalization of young men. and the extremist elements that are so bedeviling the civilized world. the conclusion that came out of a lot of testimony in hearing was that we could continue to do

everything that we are doing very well, that the military is doing exceptionally well, particularly in the responsibilities given to the general officers, says that they can go in and held a village or community, and it helps us, ultimately, from the military objective. we talked about how all of the other agencies of government working with the military in places like afghanistan, agriculture, health, digging wells, education, all of these things are so important. but if you do not get right to it about the radicalization of young men by presenting his mom as something that is not, that is not taught in the koran, you

will still have these extremists that will go out and blow themselves up, threatening stability. i would love to have your comments on that conclusion. >> senator, this really gets to the heart of one of the bigger ideas out there, which is that it takes much more than military security activity. it takes the entire government approach. not just our governments. indeed, you must get at the conditions that give rise to extremism. discontent and so forth, giving rise to extremism. you must get the issues of sexual education in some cases, which can create for a ground

for planting extremes as well. some of our partners in the region has -- have done quite well when you look at the countries in the peninsula. that is the kind of approach that is necessary to this overall challenge. >> i completely agree. the department of the pants plan -- the form of defense plan includes actions led by the military to conduct the traditional military actions, lending strong support to the government approach to dealing with the environment.

>> if you are as successful as you have been, certainly in iraq and we hope in afghanistan, now in our relations through the pakistani government, if young men are led astray as to what the koran teaches, and they are willing to go and commit suicide, that is going to continue to be a great hindrance to us. we have got to look at this through our northern command as well. the radicalization of young men here in the united states. that means that we have got to be able to find clerics who know what true islam is and are willing to go out and educate

the ones that are being radicalized. how do we do that? >> sir, i think that the answer has to lie, needless to say, in the islamic world. it must be islamic leaders who identified the issue you have just raised about the importance of religious leaders who have the courage to deny the extremism as an aspect of islam. those leaders are out there. they are carrying out these initiatives. some of these countries were threatened enormously by extremism, directly diagnosing the threat and taking action. needless to say, that has to continue to spread to address

the threat of extremism as you have laid it out. >> countries like saudi arabia can deal with radicalization by going to the tribal or family of a young person, working at it that way. in other countries, you cannot do that. you cannot work through the tribes. my time is up. i want to lay out the problem and continue to work with both of you and with the overall problem in the country as well. >> and follow up, saudi arabia is not just working through the tribes, frankly. they have taken a whole government approach to this overall issue. indeed, it has been quite

impressive for a country that five years ago was seriously threatened by extremists who blew up the exterior building. thousands of those workers took over our consulate. >> thank you, gentlemen. >> senator sessions? >> thank you to both of you for your service to our country. the more than the american people see men and women in uniform, the more proud of them they are. i continue to talk to them in the air force. they are just an inspiration to me. good leadership is important. makes a difference and you are providing it. thank you so much. with regards to the training of

the afghan military and police, general petraeus, your second tour in iraq, you spent one year or so training a force. i am sure that you develop ideas about how that ought to be done. it seems to me that if you have got a local success force that is willing to defend their community against taliban or al qaeda p perpetrators, if it is going to dramatically delay the ability of those people to be effective in the model, i recall where we were quickly getting travel leaders to empower their local young men to turn on al qaeda. i thought that that was effective. my question to you, i see that

there is tension within the military about how, being trained in cobble, trained by the central government before they can be allowed to defend their home territories, with the support of a good tribal leader or community, much good can be done. do you understand? are we demanding too much centralized training before we joined with friendly, local leaders? >> we are trying to abandon to that in appropriate cases. with good oversight and partnering, the community defense initiative, there are

eight or nine of them that are ongoing, these great special forces elements that are typically the ones partnering with them, tied into the ministry of the interior. it is important that we not just empower them to stand up forces again given the effort that it took to disperse and disarm a number of those elements. really, it is the same dynamic that we had in iraq, different social makeup as opposed to larger tribal areas. but in the province over time, we knew this in the beginning, the situation in iraq was so that desperate, there were individuals willing to oppose al qaeda, afterwards we figured out how we would measure them into the structure. it has taken us some time to do that, but it has happened.

the remaining so-called sons of iraq that have not been provided jobs in various ministries, a number of them have already transition in that form. that is what we have to be sensitive to hear, recognizing that afghanistan is a country that does not have the financial means of iraq. another dynamic at we are wrestling with. but we are taking advantage of these opportunities with our iraqi colleagues. >> it is a large, -- country, 25 million people, we will soon be drawing down troop levels. many of them are now going to be concentrated in the more dangerous areas. leaving a lot of areas where we have no presence, or no presence.

it seems to me that we might be desperate enough to have to take some chances with leaders that we believe our good local leaders. >> some of this is going on naturally. there are areas where afghans and security forces have been, for some time, like in the north, where we have virtually no other presence and protection elements that work with reconstruction, there is always a variety, these endeavors are often a patchwork quilt. what we are trying to find is the right answer for that particular location, figuring out how to make it in their -- and you are endur -- endure. >> it seems to me that trainers would be one area you would not want to show upon until we see

how long it is before we get sufficient numbers there. >> let me just say, again, what we would like to see right now is for our partners in nato to generate the additional trainers requested. under the theory of always having contingency plans, there are thoughts on how to fill that in other ways. >> admiral, with regards to the program and how you train special operating forces, is it not true that we believe that the best policy of our government is to have a seamless relationship between government aid and special operations forces? that we use all of those factors, political, financial, military, to achieve maximum

progress towards the goals? >> is certainly true that the more interagency cooperation that there is, the different the outcome is. >> with regard to aid going to u.s. aid and the state department, other things, it seems to me that when you have got to fill a special operations team in the area, with little or no other u.s. government presence, are they not the result -- representative of the united states? you feel like they have sufficient financial powers to make commitments to those leaders? to say that if you do this, we will do this? if we had more, if they were more greatly empowered, could they be more effective in protecting the lives of our own

people? >> i believe that the answer regarding sufficiency, the money flows through, for the most part. it is true that special operations forces are somewhat more remote, becoming representative of the u.s. presence. it is important that they are able to apply benefits in the regions where they live. within the special operations community and affairs capabilities of the army, for example. a strong and strengthening relationship between u.s. aid and special operations in other regions. >> i feel that we have made

progress in that area. >> we have made progress, but we can also make more. one of the important elements of the general's overall approach is to achieve greater unity of effort. meaning conventional forces, special forces, civilian elements, and so forth, all working together for a common goal, trying not to duplicate efforts, doing it in a way that has as little bureaucracy as necessary, recognizing that some of it is necessary. there is a need to do more in this area, which is one of the general's frosts. >> i strongly support that. thank you. >> senator a word? >> thank you, mr. chairman. as the members of the committee have already said, i think you

to -- i thank you for your service today. i am proud that the medical operations center is located in fort bragg. as you know, special operations combat medics are trained here to obtain the skills they need on the battlefield. several months ago i had the opportunity to visit the facility. i witnessed the great training taking place. i understand that combat medics me the opportunity to perform combat procedures in the dark in the middle of the night, under tossed out conditions. i also understand that the department of defense sees tremendous value in this training, especially when faced with the task of taking these young men and women, transforming them into combat trauma specialist in 26 weeks. while simulators' might hold

promise according to the office of the secretary of defense, they lack the realism and ability to regulate -- replicate combat wounds and emotional stress that you find on the battlefield. many patients do not believe the same or react to procedures in the same fashion. can you describe the operational and institutional impact that would be seen if live tissue training was stopped? >> there are many compelling examples as to how it has directly contributed to the preservation of human life on the battlefield. i have not been exposed to any simulation or technology that adequately substitutes for live tissue training. >> thank you. i am also pleased that the u.s. army of special operations command and the marine corps special operations command have

developed a close relationship with the university of north carolina. we recently signed a memorandum of agreement with both operational commands, including but not limited to senior service caller fat -- college fellowship programs. my question, can you provide your view on the educational needs of special forces and how public and private universities can assist? are you interested in trading public policy for the special operations community? >> as they are interacting, the kind of support that we have is the kind of relationship we have developed that enables us to, in areas where we simply do not have the capacity in military forces to perform that kind of

training, i would support an effort to create similar kinds of fellowships for specialized education as you described. in that area around fort bragg, the university system has 16 public universities. we have excellent private universities as well, such as duke and wake forest. i think that the mou will go lilongwe helping in educational needs in terms of linguistics for the special operations men and women. i also wanted to talk about the iranian influence in iraq. despite the fact that the iraqis are extreme -- increasingly expressing discontent with their influence, we need to keep in mind that iraq -- i mean iran,

they have people that are used to drive a wedge between the sectarian tensions. these actions can undermine iraqi security in delicate political situations. how do you foresee the department of defense using its relationship in the future to steer its strategy in acquisition of weapons systems to avoid uranium meddling that can jeopardize iraq? >> the leaders of iraq and their security force leaders share a concern about neighbors who are unable to train, fund, and equippe proxy elements on their soil. they will continue to carry out operations against these the legal elements, and i am

confident that they will continue to do that in the future as we draw down. they have conducted a number of unilateral operations as well. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. the chairman began early on asking about iran. mentioning the un resolutions as being more explicit about the possibility of a blockade or quarantine. saying that the president was explicitly saying not to take the military option off of the table. you recently talked about combining engagements with iranian leaders regarding the threat of further sanctions.

i think that this is a quote from you, "that puts us in a solid foundation on the pressure track." the course in which you are embarking now. can you explain a little bit about what the pressure track would involve? and if you could, tell us, as anything that the international community done so far yielded positive results? do we have any success stories at all regarding all of these sanctions and options? all of the talk we have done about iran? after that, i want to ask you about the dissidents. if you would answer the first part, i would appreciate it. >> over the course of the last

year the effort has focused on the diplomatic track. the world has given iran ample opportunity to discuss the issues out there, and to try to resolve them. of course, that has not happened. that has led to what the president and others have termed the pressure track. that is the effort with the u.n. security council and others, other organizations as well, the european union is involved, countries do it as single actors and so forth. in a variety of different ways, everything on the u.s. side, treasury designations and a host of financial and trade restrictions and so forth. >> this hearing with general david petraeus will probably run another half-hour, you can

follow it live on c-span.org. we are going to leave it as the u.s. house is dabbling in momentarily, working on bills for national social work month and recognizing the achievements at the recent vancouver olympics. live coverage now on c-span.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father coughlin. chaplain coughlin:, god, almighty, and father of us all, we praise you, the source of all we have and all we are. teach us to acknowledge always the many good things your inyou fin gnat -- infinite love has given us. help us to love you in return with all our heart and all our strength. empower us to serve this nation with such wisdom and compassion that your own gracious goodness and love of humanity may be evident and give you glory both now and forever. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his

approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from michigan, congressman shafer. >> would members and guests please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: a message from the senate. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has agreed to s.con.res. 63, recognizing and congratulating the city of colorado springs, colorado,'s the new official stite of the national emergency medical service memorial service in

which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. baca: in my home state of california is trying to raise the premiums by 39%. this is only the beginning. if we do nothing. we must give the american people not the insurance companies more control. if we do nothing, the american people will continue to pay higher premiums, higher out-of-pocket costs, now and in the future. we cannot, our families cannot afford to do nothing. health care reform will hold health insurance companies accountable, end discrimination on pre-existing conditions, cut eventually the cost in the doughnut hole for thousands of seniors, including $5,200

seniors in my district. cut the national deficit. produce over four million new jobs in the decade. that is 4,000 new jobs every year. health care reform will bring coverage to 219,000 in my district and 31 million nationwide for the very first time in history. this is an historic moment. in 1935 we passed social security. in 1965 we passed medicare. we must pass health care reform now. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise, the minority leader? mr. boehner: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. boehner: the american people are appalled by what they have seen in this health care debate. but the worst is still ahead. the bill's already failed. the american people don't want it and they are screaming it at the top of their lungs, stop. but yet congress continues to proceed. they want jobs, the american people do. but what's this bill do?

puts the american people out of work. they want lower health care costs, how about a health care bill that's going to raise the cost of premiums? they want less government. yet this bill's going to create a giant bureaucracy here in washington. they want to protect life. yet the bill is going to force taxpayers to fund elective abortions. if that weren't enough, the majority plans to force the toxic senate bill through the house under some controversial trick. there is no way to hide from this vote. it will be the biggest vote that most members ever cast. you can run but you can't hide. let's defeat this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. schauer: madam speaker, health care is an issue of basic economics to middle class families, seniors, and businesses. during the health care debate my constituents have asked me

to listen. i'm listening. the story i heard last week is from a college in my area. it employs 300 people. as in the case with many employers, the lion's share of their costs come from employee costs. 70% in this college's case. and their health insurance premiums this year went up 17%. 17%. what does that mean? it means job cuts or tuition increases or both. both disastrous for middle class families in our economy. 17% premium increases. the nation's five largest private health insurance companies' profits went up $12 billion last year while they dropped 2.7 million people from coverage. our current health care system may work for the health insurance industry, but it's broken for middle class families and is hurting our economy. it must be fixed now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to

address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. cantor: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, republicans have come to the floor today because we care about americans' health care. we just don't care for this bill. but still the majority seems committed to trying to muscle through a trillion dollar overhaul that will change health care for every man, woman, and child. americans have made it very clear, they don't like this bill. they don't want the government and the decisionmaking of their health care. they want to lower costs, and they don't want their government tax dollars going to fund abortion services. so why can't we start over, madam speaker? we ask again. there's been a year and a half nearly of debate over this and still more questions than answers. that's why we are hearing reports that the majority will try and ram this through without a direct vote on the senate bill. madam speaker, we should take an up or down vote on the senate bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> i rise today to honor the sacrifice of american men and women serving our country overseas and to urge my colleagues to support legislation i introduced to give them a much deserved pay increase for facing dangerous situations. late last year i traveled to afghanistan and was privileged to meet members of our armed forces serving our country in a difficult and dangerous environment. two of those soldiers --

i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting their troops and families by becoming co-sponsors of this bill. thank you, madam speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. pence: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pence: the democrat health care bill that's being brought through the congress this week is nothing more than a government takeover of health care and the american people know it. come on. whether they want it or need it or not you mandate that every business provided, you create a massive government-run bureaucracy exchange, demands what's in insurance plans, you wrap that all in about $1 trillion worth of spending, that's a government takeover of health care. but what's really remarkable about this whole business is that not only the american

people rejected this plan but democrats are so desperate to pass it that they're willing to trample on the traditional rules of the house and senate and even trample on the constitution of the united states to get it done. a bill becomes a law if it's passed the house of representatives and the senate. democrats actually don't have the votes to pass the senate bill so they've decided they're going to try and pass the bill without a vote. well, that will be news to the founders of this country and a detrail of the commitment of every member of this congress to the american people. i urge the speaker, bring it to the floor. if not -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. pence: start over for the american people. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. woolsey: madam speaker, at least 46 million americans are now uninsured.

7.1 million in california are uninsured and by the end of the day 14,000 more americans will lose their coverage, more than 2,000 of them in california. without health care reform, the average family premium in california will rise from 13,280 dollars to $22,670 by the year 2019. that's why we must pass a health care reform bill that brings down cost and increases competition. the senate bill with the corrections, including better subsidies and insurance market rample will be the beginning of this. we must pass health care reform so that our nation's families have access to affordable, quality health insurance. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? >> to address the house for one minute and ask permission to

revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. blunt: thank you, madam speaker. "the washington post" today, madam speaker, on the front page said pelosi may try to pass a health bill without a vote. may try to pass the health bill without a vote. i didn't even think that was possible, but apparently "the washington post" and the speaker of the house thinks it's possible. it's no wonder, madam speaker, that the country is outraged, not by the bill but by the process. it's like the speaker's statement that said we had to pass a bill so we'd know what's in it. madam speaker, this bill does not reduce cost. it cuts medicare and increases taxes for 10 years and spends the money in six years. madam speaker, this bill throws the health care system up in the air and just hopes that the greatest health care system in the world is still there when it lands a few years from now. madam speaker, i hope we have a vote on this bill, a debate on this bill and we do not pass this bill with a vote.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from arizona rise? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. kirkpatrick: madam speaker, on saturday, three people connected to the u.s. consulate in juarez was brutally murdered by drug cartels in front of their young children. what more must happen to focus our attention on the serious threat along 2,000 miles of our southern border? for the safety of americans living in border states and traveling or working in mexico, we must take this danger seriously and crack down on the cartels. u.s. citizens are at increasingly at risk of being victims of this violence, but the administration's budget would cut resources intended to crack down on cartels and to secure our borders. i call on the white house to

provide necessary support for law enforcement at all levels. to track down their criminals and their networks. this is a fight we cannot lose. it is too close to home. my thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives in these attacks and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from washington rise? lum -- mrs. lummis: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. lummis: america needs health care reform but america knows this is not the right approach. this is the wrong policy and it is the wrong process, yet the majority is willing to do everything possible to pass this bill. even over the objections of the american people. just recently cnn had a poll that showed 73% of the americans across the country would like to scrap the bill or start all over. yet now we're being told the democrat leadership may deem

the bill passed without members of congress even voting on it. that's un-american. it ignores the democratic process. madam speaker, we need an up or down vote. if congress passes this bill without even a vote on it, the american people will be outraged and rightfully so. there's a better way. let's go to work on it and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from maryland rise? ms. edwards: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. edwards: madam speaker, just when we thought we'd heard enough, seen enough and paid enough, the big insurance companies are at it again. seniors are paying more for prescriptions, home values plummet, savings in retirement accounts disappear and millions lose homes, jobs and nair health care. but that didn't stop the big health insurance companies from announcing -- announcing premium increases of nearly 40%. these companies have some impotence. they have to be stopped. deny, deny, deny.

they deny coverage, they deny claims and they deny care. and last week the c.e.o.'s came to washington. it's not something we have to dodge the lobbyists in washington, but they stayed at the ritz on your premium dollars and now they want to deny the american of quality, affordable and accessible health care. they know we are on the homestretch and they'll stop at nothing to keep us from clamping down on their practices, but we're going to stop them. let's deny them and vote them off the island. i'm ready to do it. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from -- the gentleman rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> words that strike every american is i'm from the federal government and i'm here to help you. well, we have a bill here that people can't read, they are not given the opportunity to understand, we have smoke screams every brand back room deals being made everywhere all from the federal government that's being here to help you.

we are going to take over your health care, take over about 1/6 of the economy and we are from the federal government and we're here to help you. by the way, we're even going to pass this through the house of representatives without a vote so you don't have to worry if your representative stands up for your right or not. this is the kind of democracy we want? this is a bad bill. give us a straight vote. be straight with the american people and let's let the american people know that man says we're here to help you is not to get in your back pocket. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend . the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, madam speaker. we have been talking about health care for nearly over a century. the american people voted for and demanded reform. they deserve our support. health insurance reform is about cost. these reforms slow the growth of health care spending and

make health insurance more affordable for everyone while reducing our deficit. health insurance reform is about coverage. these reforms will cover nearly all americans, including those with pre-existing conditions and will not drop you if you get sick. health insurance reform is about competition. it repeals antitrust exemptions for insurance companies and brings them into a regulated marketplace to bring down prices for families and small businesses. health insurance reform is about care. these reforms eliminate co-pays for yearly checkups and screenings and ensure that our seniors have access to prescription drugs that they can actually afford. health insurance reform helps where it belongs, not with insurance companies, not with government. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon rise? >> thank you, madam speaker. to address the house for one minute and top revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized.

mr. walden: i support reforming the health care system. in fact, i offered up legislation to do that and supported other bills. but the way this this process is being mismanaged and misrun today is not the way to do health care reform. there isn't the transparency that the american people deserve. and is now being denied by those in charge. we're reading in the press that the senate bill with all of its barncals on it may pass this house without having a standup yes or no vote. that is outrageous. what does that bill do? it whacks medicare $2,500 billion, 38,000 seniors $it whacks medicare $500 billion. 38,000 seniors are hit. we should scrap the bill and start over on a bipartisan basis. i have two bills adopted unanimously in the energy and commerce committee both were stripped out somewhere between

the committee and the house floor. and the democrats wouldn't even let me offer those amendments on the house floor again. stop this. let's do it right. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from philadelphia rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. altmire: madam speaker, i continue to hear my friends on the other side of the aisle refer to the stimulus bill as a failed policy. apparently in the believe that if you say it over and over again it will be true. but it's not true. not by a long shot. last year at this time the stock market was at 6500 and today it's at 10,600. one year ago during the first quarter of 2009, g.d.p. came in at a staggering 6% decline, but in the last quarter of 2009 it rose almost 6%. and monthly job losses while not where we want them to be are literally 20 times better than they were a year ago today.

some may say this would have happened anyway and that the stimulus had nothing to do with it, but i would ask my colleagues, madam speaker, to consider that would be quite a coincidence, don't you think, for all those economic indicators to begin such a dramatic turnaround at precisely the time the stimulus passed. quite a coincidence indeed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. dreier: to address the house for one minute and trox. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dreier: it was interesting, when i woke up this morning i heard this is actually -- this week has been dubbed sunshine week. meaning that there needs to be greater openness and transparency. we all agree that we need to do everything that we can, as my democratic colleagues have said, to increase competition and bring the cost of health insurance down. we all agree that that needs to be done. but, madam speaker, this measure will not accomplish that at all. we have commonsense solutions

that i believe we can utilize and implement in a bipartisan way. so here we are in the midst of sunshine week and as my colleagues have been saying, what is it that's happening? we're seeing every effort made to try and avoid the kind of transparency, disclosure and accountability that were promised in that document, "a new direction for america," that then minority leader pelosi put forward. madam speaker, i'm convinced, i'm convinced that we can do better, but we need to make sure that as we proceed with this process we have the kind of openness that the american people insist. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. butterfield: madam speaker, every process must end. after dozens of hearings on health care, we have all of the information that we need to create strong legislation, to provide much-needed health insurance reform. the american people cannot

wait. it's time to vote. rising health care costs are crushing families and businesses, forcing small business owners to choose between health care and jobs. this isn't about politics or poll numbers. in is about making good on the promise of providing every american access to high-quality, affordable health care. this is about having the courage to do what is right. by voting for health insurance reform now, we are supporting the millions of americans who quietly struggled every day with the system that works better for the health insurance companies than it does for them. madam speaker, i urge my colleagues, democrat and republican, to join us in helping the american people by votings for -- voting for health insurance reform now. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> thank you, madam speaker. to address the house. >> madam speaker, the united

states is the largest economy in the world. we are four times bigger than our next competitor. we're bigger than our fourth -- four next competitors and we got through individual freedom and individual choice. we didn't get there by government management. now, countries in europe, we heard a lot about that, they have government-run health care. but that's not america. we are distinct. we place our faith in the individual. we compete but we don't compete with the government. the federal government should not be given the power to make health care choices for you or your family or to force you as a taxpayer, as a citizen to pay for an abortion when it violates your values. let's listen to the majority of americans. let's start over.

let's have an american plan. let's work on solutions that are consistent with our traditions of choice, freedom and put our faith in the individual, not the government. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? mrs. capps: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. capps: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of finally passing health reform. this bill is the product of countless hearings, hundreds of amendments and a full year of national public debate. it's time to vote. according to the robert wood johnson foundation, without reform health care costs for american families will rise by as much as 79% in the next 10 years. that is unsustainable for taxpayers, for small businesses, for families. the bill we will pass this week will take the necessary steps to rein in these costs. it creates incentives to reduce

preventable hospital readmission, it limits possible overpayment to medicare plans and increases our capability to fight fraud, waste and abuse. passing health reform means lower costs for patients, better access to higher quality care and at long last accountability for insurance companies. i urge all of my colleagues, democrats and republicans, let's move our nation forward by passing health reform today. this week. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. smith: the american people are speaking and the republicans are listening. strong arm tactics and legislative gimmicks should not be used to jam through a bill

that will impact the life of every single american. we need to focus on true reform which lowers health care costs, limits unnecessary lawsuits and expands access by allowing purchasing across the state lines. for health insurance. not simply takeover which we already know will not control costs. that's the type of reform americans want, not this one-size-fits-all approach putting bureaucrats between doctors and their patients. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized, without objection. mr. inslee: i have a remarkable american in my office this morning, gary hall, who won gife golds, three silvers and two bronzes in three olympic games in free-style swimming. a remarkable person. and he told me a story about having insurance for 12 years while in the olympics but when he lost the olympics he couldn't get insurance. you know why? his dwibets diabetes.

here's a guy that won gold, silver and bronze medals and couldn't get insurance in america because of diabetes. and the reason he couldn't get insurance in america is because we couldn't get health care reform bill passed. we will put green lights on that board to pass health care reform so that gary hall can get insurance and even if you haven't won a gold medal you can get insurance if you have diabetes. and these people who are smoking something i don't know what who doesn't think we are going to vote on this, i am going to take a picture on the booed to show you the votes because the green lights will mean that people with diabetes will get insurance and the red lights will be you can't get insurance even if you won a gold medal. that's not right. it will change. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from kansas rise? jenkjenk i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute -- ms. jenkins: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jenkins: there is a problem

with the senate government takeover of health care, problems with the cornhusker kickback, problems with the massive job killing taxes. problems with federally funding of abortion. but the latest problem is that the majority doesn't have the votes to pass it. rather than finally listening to the american people's rejection of this misguided bill, the majority is planning to abuse the legislative process to pass their government takeover without a single up or down vote. as a mom, i'd never allow my kids to deem their rooms clean, so it's disgraceful that the majority plans to deem their $2.5 trillion government takeover of health care as passed without a vote as provided for in the constitution. i urge my colleagues to do the truly courageous thing and demand a clean vote. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> perm and to revise and

extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. lewis: madam speaker, the time is always right to do what is right. and that time is now. we must pass health care. there are those who have told us to wait. they have told us to be patient. we cannot wait. we cannot be patient. the american people need health care and they need it now. we stand with the american people or will we stand with the big insurance companies? we have a moral obligation to make health care a right and not a privilege. we cannot wait a moment longer. we must pass health care and we must pass it now. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.

>> madam speaker, today "the washington post" bore a headline that should be of grave concern to all americans, quote, house may try to pass senate health care bill without voting on it, close quote. first article said, after laying the groundwork for a decisive vote this week on the senate's health care bill, house speaker nancy pelosi suggested monday that she might attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it. despite deep reservations of a majority of americans, congressional leaders plan to ram through their 2,700-page, nearly $1 trillion proposal by using a parliamentary maneuver that is both politically treacherous and likely unconstitutional. article 1, section 7 of the constitution clearly states that a bill must pass both the house and senate to become law. i call on leaders of congress to adhere to our constitution's requirement of democratic

accountability and allow a straight up or down vote on the majority party's health care proposal that is opposed by the american people. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcdermott: madam speaker, a great if i loss for george santianos, those who fail to learn from hisrytry -- history are doomed to repeat it. the republicans say we should scrap the bill and start over again. in 1994 newt gingrich very proudly killed mrs. clinton's health care efforts. we have waited 16 years, 12 years we had republicans in control of this house. we had six years with the republican senate, republican house, and republican president and nothing was offered.

what you're saying today is, let's kill the democratic bill and we'll wait another 16 years to 2026 until we try again. the americans are going into bankruptcy, 2/3 of them because of health care. and we cannot wait any longer. the time has come for a vote, folks. let's stand up and tell the american people, you want to wait until 2026 to try again. that doesn't make sense. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. paulsen: madam speaker, the health care debate has aroused the american public like few other issues ever have. for months the american people have stood up and said they don't want the government in charge of health care and they don't want the bill that's currently moving through congress. i have received thousands of emails and phone calls and letters from my constituents

and the vast majority of them are opposed to this bill. how long will it take for washington to listen to the american public? congress should heed the will of the american people and start over on bipartisan reform that will lower health care costs for everyone. but instead, the speaker and the house leadership are now suggesting they may pass this controversial bill without members even actually having to vote on it. using a legislative sleight of hand to pass an unpopular bill, represents an arrogance in washington that is absolutely becoming so frustrating we have to change politics and business as usual in congress. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from the district of columbia, for what purpose do you rise? without objection, so ordered, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. norton: madam speaker, the american people are fed up with the most costly health care system in the world with too little good health to show for it. we are 38 of 195 countries in

life expectancy. pity those who think they can run on the theme, repeal health care reform. democrats oppose bush's version of drugs for seniors because unlike our health care bill that's coming to the floor, the bush plan added billions to the deficit, didn't pay for the bill, and cut seniors off with a doughnut hole. but we never ran on the outrageous theme, repeal prescription drugs for seniors. instead we vowed to fix the prescription drug law if americans would give us control of the congress. they did and we are. we are closing the doughnut hole and we are paying for it. you're entitled to criticize, indeed to change, the health care reform americans have been waiting for almost 100 years. it is simply a fool's errand -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

ms. norton: and madness to try to repeal it. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> madam speaker request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. thompson: madam speaker, from the "cincinnati enquirer" to "the washington post" the editorials today tell the democrats to stop this health care reform and start again. i agree because i have always said health care works to increasing access. this bill fails. the senate bill expands medicaid to cover families earning 133% of poverty level. the medicare rules will exclude under this proposal. some 40% of family practice physicians currently do not accept medicaid patients. this is expected to increase to 60%. some 60% specialists do not accept medicaid patients. this is expected to skyrocket to 80%. this bill expands medicaid beyond its capacity. it cuts medicare for seniors and leaves malpractice tort reform untouched and skyrocketing costs in place.

this bill has the potential to bankrupt rural hospitals that have a disproportionate share of the problems inherent in the bill. this adds up to less access and lower quality. that is not reform. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, the united states and israel have long shared and important friendship. that friendship is rooted in close moral and strategy bonds built on common values, common interest, and common concerns. today that friendship is being tested. but we must not allow ourselves to be distracted from the concerns and goals that bring us together. the threat of a nuclear iran is too great and the peace process is too important for us to spend more time engaging in critical rhetoric of our most important ally. it is time to put aside the rhetoric and reaffirm our bonds with israel. we must make it clear we are united in our opposition to a nuclear iran. while no one gains by an escalation ever tensions, you must make it clear that we

value and support our relationship with the state and people of israel. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker, right now behind closed doors negotiations are taking place on the $1 trillion bill to provide for the government takeover of health care. i find it baffling that instead of talking about jobs my friends on the other side of the aisle continue a path toward radically changing 20% of our economy. small businesses continue to struggle. but rather than creating an environment that eases financial burdens on business, the administration and this congress are creating unternt through health care takeovers, cap and tax, deficit spending, looming tax increases. a recent analysis of the current health care bill shows it could cost america one million jobs by the end of this decade. that is unacceptable. i reason cently polled my

constituents, 2/3 are opposed to the health care bill. they want congress to start over, focus on items we agree on. let's return to the question of how we can make health care more accessible, more efficient, and less expensive. let's kill this bill and save american freedom and our economy. thank you. i deem back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from pennsylvania rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlelady is recognized. miss sha wars: families across -- ms. schwartz: families across our nation understand the status quo in health care is not working. they are calling upon us to pass uniquely american solution to ensure that all americans have access to meaningful, affordable health coverage, what is what this congress is committed to do. health care reform means commonsense consumer protections like whibt -- prohibiting insurers to deny

coverage from pre-ex-ising conditions. affordable, private health care options, choices for individuals, and small businesses. strengthening medicare for seniors which means closing that doughnut hole with the gap of prescription coverage for too many seniors. improving quality efficiency in health care services and containing the rising cost of health care, a challenge that faces all of us as taxpayers and as purchasers of health care and health coverage. our plan builds on america's public-private system. it is not only paid for but it reduces the federal deficit by $100 billion. passing health care reform -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. schwartz: now is the time to act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. schmidt: thank you, madam speaker. yesterday bloomberg reported what moodies has been saying all year. moodies once again reminded the

united states that we are moving substantially closer to losing our triple-a credit rating doing -- due to the rising cost of our debt service. the u.s. will spend 7% of our revenue this year just on servicing our debt. by 2013, moodys estimates we will spend 11% of our revenue just to pay the interest on our national debt. this would be a higher percentage than every other top rated country. fortunately we can protect our credit rating by reining in run away spending and reducing our debt. but what does this president and democratically controlled congress do? they want to ram down a new huge entitlement program called the health care bill riddled with awful policy and budget gimmicks that mask its true im pact through the house maybe even without an official vote. the truth is this health care bill will choke our economy and

saddle our children with $500 billion in new taxes and deficits. far worse than they are now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. so ordered. >> thank you, madam speaker, few regions in the nation are suffering more from the recession than the san joaquin valley of california. the three biggest cities in my district, merced, stockton, and mow defendanto have some of the highest -- mow defendanto -- mow desto -- modesto have some of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. my district has been ravaged that come in the aftermath ofñr hurricanes. 12 days ago the democratic congress passed the hire act to help create jobs, strengthen our economy, and bring help to the communities like mine that need it. it provides tax incentives and credits for businesses to hire unemployed workers and help small businesses invest and expand. this commonsense legislation

will help countless unemployed americans back on company payrolls. it's high time for the senate to finally pass this bill and send it to president obama. nowhere is this bill more necessary than in the san joaquin valley. we needed help last week. we needed it a year ago. we needed it a year ago. economic relief they but those claims are patently false. just look at the most glaring

example. the bill counts for 10 year tax increases amounting to $1 million and cutting medicare costs to half trillion dollars, but it only counts for six years of spending. so what is the real cost of this bill? what do you do when you compare 10 years spending with 10 years of taxes and medicare costs? $2.3 trillion. that's nowhere near budget neutral and will drive the deficit up much higher than it is. let's defeat this bill. madam speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. speier: you know, it's time for us to stop talking in generalalitys and jibberish. it's time to start talking about real people and their real experiences. one thing all of us can agree on is that we trust our doctors.

i just received a letter from a doctor in my district who is an e.r. doc. four years ago his ininsurance premium for anthem blue cross for a family of four was $439 a month. this year that same policy will cost him $2,008 a month, a 373% increase since 2006. what makes this especially hard to take is that in 2005 dr. bressler and his practice was forced by blue cost to accept a contract with a 60% reduction in payment. dr. bressler calls anthem blue cross throttle barriers. i assume he uses harsher language when not talking with congress. this is a fight between the insurance industry and american doctors, families and working people.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. shuster: the next few days will show the american people if they have health care. in my district they strongly and vocally oppose this plan and i hear it every day in phone calls and emails. i hear it when i go to the grocery store and to a restaurant in my district. people come up, bill, oppose this bill, stop this bill. and i fully intend to vote against it. i've also talked to the small businesses and large businesses across this country. they oppose it also because it's creating great uncertainty for them. and this great uncertainty is causing harm to our economy. they're not hiring new employees because of the uncertainty of the cost this bill will have on them. they're not investing in their businesses because of the

uncertainty these mandates will have, will push onto their businesses. this is the uncertainty that's keeping our unemployment rate at 10% and job creaths is stagnant. -- creation is stagnant. the democrats' health care plan is reckless and i believe it will put america on a path to financial ruin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from nevada rise? ms. titus: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. titus: thank you, madam speaker. last week i hosted a telephone town hall with more than 3,500 people tuned in from district three. this was an excellent opportunity to hear directly from my constituents about the issues that are important to their lives. this was the sixth telephone town hall that i participated in it. in addition, we've answered some 95,000 letters, held 10 congress on the corners and hosted five workshops. this means of communication has

helped me to be a powerful voice for the people of district three and to provide as much transparency as possible about the proceedings here in washington. in fact, thanks to these efforts, i've put $1.6 million directly in the pockets of southern nevada by fighting for veterans to get their benefits, seniors to get their social security benefits, and homeowners to receive loan modifications that keep them in their homes. i've made it a top priority to stay closely connected to my constituents, fighting for them in washington while serving them in southern nevada. and i encourage them to call on me anytime. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. so ordered. >> madam speaker, i rise today to encourage the rejection of this health care bill. the american people have spoken

out time after time and i'm puzzled why congress is still considering it. done in secrecy, this bill will cost jobs, raise taxes and slash medicare benefits. and as a physician, i know this bill will be bad for patients, it's terrible for our economy and is damaging to the very people we are trying to help. although the past is no guarantee of the future, it is, however, instructive. this administration has a failed stimulus package, failed banking system, failed cap and trade and numerous questionable interventions into general motors, a.i.g., fannie mae, freddie mac and others. this kind of track record gives the american public no reason to trust in administration with this health care. i urge my colleagues to listen to the will of the american people and vote no. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. or tease: congress is waiting desperately to -- mr. hinojosa: as subcommittee chair of higher education, lifelong learning and competitiveness, i call on my colleagues in the house to put the ininsured and our students and families first. the student aid and fiscal responsibility act, known as safra, which we passed in the house in september, must be included as part of the final health care reconciliation legislation. safra makes the single largest investment in college financial aid in history. it's bigger than the g.i. bill. it expands accessibility and

affordability in higher education by investing tens of billions of dollars in pell grants, building a world class community college system, strengthening early education programs and making landmark investments of $2.55 billion in historically black colleges and universities, hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities and other minority serve institutions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to address the house for one minute and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. olson: the process that the democrats will use to ram through their government-run health care program through this house is truly deplorable and like leeling unconstitutional. -- and likely unconstitutional. article 1, section 7 of the constitution clearly states

that both chambers must pass their bills by a vote. then, the bill sent to the president for his signature before we can reconcile a bill here in congress. it's unconscionable to disregard these principles after the american people have clearly said no to this plan. they told congress to go back to the drawing board and find a solution. it's wrong to flaunt the constitution and the will of the american people by forcing this proposal down their throats. madam speaker, it will be a sad day for this institution and our great nation if a proposal of this nature comes to the floor of the house under these circumstances. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? mr. payne: to address the house for one minute.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. payne: today i'm urging my colleagues to step up to the plate with courage and vote for passage of this critical legislation. if we don't move forward, the american people will be faced with the grave consequences due to our inaction. rising health costs are crushing american families, forcing small businesses to choose between health care and jobs. one out of every $6 in the u.s. economy is spent on health care today. if we do nothing in 30 years $1 out of every $3 in our economy will be tied up in health care. if we fail to pass health care reform, families could see their spending on premiums and out-of-pocket insurance costs rise 34% in five years and 79% in 10. without reform, every four years 3.5 million american jobs will be lost. more importantly, if we fail to pass reform, insurance companies will be allowed to continue to deny coverage of pre-existing conditions. insurance companies will be allowed to drop coverage when

you get sick. i urge you to pass this bill now. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. wolf: thank you. madam speaker, i'm deeply concerned about reports that the majority party may try to move a health care reform bill through the house without a vote. to move such sweeping legislation, especially considering the price tag using a parliamentary gimmick is unconscionable. the majority of the american people do not support the health care reform bill presently before congress. it spends money we don't have, cuts the medicare program when we should be coming up ways to get our financial house in order and make sure the medicare program is protected. the american people want a bipartisan bill that fixes what is broken and keep what's working. where is the accountability? where is the transparency? america expects more, deserves more. this morning "the washington post" said what the democrats are threatening to do is, quote, unseemly. there needs to be an up or down

vote on health care reform, not on a procedural sleight of hand. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. garamendi: i often wonder what party of the world our colleagues are living in on the other side of the aisle. if i -- i arrived here on november 5, on november 6 there was an up and dune vote on a major health care reform bill. the senate did it on christmas eve. there has been an up or down vote. we can now pass it onto the president, get it signed and simultaneously make corrections in the senate. sounds to me like that's an open process and we've been at this now for more than a year here and this nation for more in an a comprentry trying to provide health care for all. and let's keep in mind that our economy absolutely demands that we take action now.

17% of our economy's being used. the more we spend the more uninsured we have. we saw -- we solved those problems with this bill. it's time for action. it's time to stop saying no and get on with solving a major fundamental problem here in america. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. latta: madam speaker, 233 years ago this may a group of american patriots met in philadelphia to create a constitution which has been the guiding light to freedom-loving people around the world. now, as we gather here, the majority is planning a procedural gimmick to get around having to vote for a health care bill that americans don't want or can't afford. let's not circumvent the constitution. outside independence hall where the -- outside -- when the constitutional convention concluded in 1787, a mrs. poul

of philadelphia reportedly asked benjamin franklin, well, doctor, what do we got, a republic or a monarchy? with no hesitation whatsoever franklin said, a republic if you can keep it. let's keep it constitution. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii rise? ms. hirono: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlelady is recognized. ms. hirono: your health or your home? americans should not have to make this choice but all too often they have to because of the high cost of health care. leslie of maui called my office yesterday to tell me about her 20-year-old niece. last year her niece collapsed and fell into a seize your. medics rushed her to the hospital and ultimately she was diagnosed with epilepsy. her niece had a part-time retail job that did not offer health insurance to their employees. because of the emergency care d subsequent follow-up visits fought doctor, her niece was recently forced to sell her

house so she could pay her medical bills. leslie called me because she wanted to make sure i will support health care reform. she told me that while it's too late for her niece it's not too late for our country. i couldn't agree more. private health insurance companies run a business. their goal is to make money for their shareholders. they pay their c.e.o.'s millions of dollars a year while raising health care costs for the rest of us. who's side are you on? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. poe: madam speaker, we're having the vote of the century on the senate health care bill, but there's a sneaky snake oil gimmick to pass the bill without voting on it. first, we're passing bills without reading them, and now they want us to pass bills without actually voting on the bill. the trick is to deem the senate

bill passed without ever having a straight up or down vote. and it's a trick. when we vote on the rules for debate, they want to make that count as the vote on the health care bill. instead of actually voting on the health care bill. let's have an up or down vote on this bill and not hide behind some procedural mumbo jumbo. the constitution says in all cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays. it doesn't say anything about deeming in the constitution. to obtain votes for government-run health care, back room secret deals are being made in the caverns of this building and it's shameful. this is slaughtering the house rules, and that's just the way it is. i deem back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: the gentlemro