peters, for offering this thoughtful measure. madam speaker, the men and women of the united states army, navy, air force, marines and coast guard, are true patriots, not only because they heard, but because they answered the call of duty, the duty to defend our great nation from threats both foreign and domestic, the duty to protect our freedoms and the duty to uphold the values that make the united states both a guardian and a herald of peace and justice. they come from all around us, from big cities and small towns, from the heartland to the coast, from jobs and farming, industry and technology, from high schools, colleges and universities and from wall street and main street. they come from all different backgrounds, from all classes, races, and denominations. they are diverse, yet they share the same sense of duty and

purpose. they possess the same courage and fortitude to go and do what others cannot. they courageously grasp the mantle passed on by those before them, those who gave their lives so others may live free. they understand the consequences and the risks, yet they keep their heads held high in honor and in pride, knowing that the rewards are great, but so are the costs. . they are often asked to sacrifice that which many of us take for granted, a home-cooked meal a comfortable bed, the company of a friend or relative, and most importantly, safety. they leave behind spouses, children, other families members, the people they love the most, that other american, complete strangers, can enjoy the same freedom. mr. speaker, house resolution

1119 also acknowledges the critical sacrifice families of service members make. the uncertainties and inconveniences incurred from prerm innocent changes of station. the anxiety and the stress induced by a deployed service member. the grief experienced by families and loved ones of those service members wounded or killed in action. these families and loved ones also deserve our most sincere thanks. the moment of silence that will take place on march 26, 2010, on national support our troops day to honor the men and women in uniform, is an undemanding effort. but their service and sacrifice demand our contemplation and our gratitude. i implore that everyone use the time to recall the sacrifice that they make each and every day. mr. speaker, i urge my

colleagues to support house resolution 1119 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. lamborn: i ask support for resolution 1119, which asks all people to reflect a moment of silence to reflect on the courage and sacrifice of those serving at home and abroad. service in peacetime is a difficult proposition, but during an extended period of war, such as we've had since 9/11, the requirements of our volunteer military are especially challenging. they are working on land, on and under the sea and in skies above. they are on duty around the clock, every day, seven days a week, every month, every year, all seasons and climates.

this nation owes the armed services and families their willingness and thanks for service and sacrifice. this resolution asks us to do that by taking a moment out of our own busy lives to pause and honor our soldiers, sailors, air men and marines. i yield back and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from guam is recognize. ms. bordallo: i yield such time as he may consume to my friend and colleague and the sponsor of this resolution, mr. peters. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. peters: i rise today in support of house resolution 1119, calling for a moment of silence in support of our troops and designation of march 26, 2010 as national support our troops day.

we honor our veterans, yet we dent have a day to honor our current servicemen. as a son of a world war ii veteran, and a member of the army reserve, i have the utmost respect for the act fice -- sacrifices of our soldiers, sailors, air force, and marines. recently, i critted afghanistan where i was able to witness firsthand the dedication with which they were serving our nation. i was humbled by the sacrifices they were making each and every day. i'm proud to have introduced it continuing a bipartisan tradition in the ninth congressional district in michigan. one of my constituents, alexander mcgregor, contacted my predecessor, joe knollenberg, with the idea of a day to honor our heroes currently fighting on the front lines. alexandra was a student in high school, and she along with her

fellow students and the faculty at that high school have observed a moment of silence for the last several years on march 26 in support of our troops. alexandra brought this idea to her congressman asking him to pass a resolution for march 26 to be recognized as a day for all americans to observe a moment of silence to recognize our troops and during the 110th congress, the body passed such a resolution. i'm honored to keep this idea alive by bringing this before the house of representatives. i would like to thank those at the school for coordinating the event and bringing this to my attention. i would like to thank chairman skelton for his support and members of the armed services committee staff for their work in bringing house resolution 19 to the floor today. finally, i would like to thank my colleagues for supporting this resolution. mr. chairman -- mr. speaker, i

yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from colorado is recognize. mr. lamborn: mr. speaker, thank you. the service performed by cold war veterans is indeed honorable and herer tos you. we should encourage the people of the united states to participate in activities to honor these brave men and women in uniform. we must give them the recognition they deserve. as members of the military, their health care falls under the tricare system which must be protected in any health care bill before congress. we must make sure any bill gives them the benefits they deserve. however, what happens to them and the families of them tomorrow? we're going to be voting on a massive health care bill that will affect the health care of our veterans and their families and indeed of all americans. something i would like to briefly address is that we have many doctors and physicians in the united states who are opposed to this health care

plan. yes, there is one large organization of about 245,000 members which supports the plan. the american medical association. but we have a number of medical plans, including the state plans, excuse me, the state associations, of alabama, delaware, district of columbia, florida, georgia, kansas, louisiana, missouri, new jersey, ohio, south carolina, and texas, which are opposing the health care plan. we have many medical national societies which are opposing this plan, such as the american academy of dermatology, american academy of facial, plastic, and reconstructive surgery, the american academy of ophthalmology, the american academy of otoe laron joling. the -- of otolaryngology.

the congress of obstetricians and gynecologists, the american college of students, the american osteopathic academy of orthopedics, the the american pediatric association, the american society of anesthesiologists and it goes on and on and on. general surgeons, colon and rectal surns, neurological surgeons, on and on and on. twice as many doctors in this country are formally opposed to this health care plan as have are supported it through the american medical association. twice as many are in opposition. i think that speaks importantly for what we should consider the medical community's response, really, to be to this legislation. at this point, i would like to yield five minutes to my colleague and friend from kansas, representative moran. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. moran: thank you. every member of the united states house of representatives is privileged to serve the people of their districts. i'm honored to work for the people of kansas. a place that's been my home my entire life. tomorrow, it's expected that we will be called to vote on health care reform legislation. while most of the focus here in washington has been on the politics surrounding this vote, back home they care about what this legislation will mean to them, their families, the businesses they work in or own, and importantly, what it will mean to their children and grandchildren. for a long time, well before the obama administration began talking about health care, i have been arguing that we need to make improvements to our health care delivery system. many folks can't afford the medical costs associated with illness and old age. folks with pre-existing conditions can't change jobs without losing their health insurance and small business owners struggle to provide

health coverage to their employees. i would have welcomed the chance to work to see that these problems were addressed. i co-chaired the rural health care coalition a group of more than 150 members of the house of representatives, republicans and democrats, who worked continually to see that patients in states like kansas have access to affordable quality health care. i'm extremely disappointed that president obama and speaker pelosi have chosen to go their own way on this issue with no input from those of us who disagree with them on what's best for america. many times in this chamber, i've outlined common sense things that we could and should do. medical liability reform to eliminate lawsuit abuse that forces the practice of expensive defensive medicine. allowing the purchase of insurance policies across state lines. creating state high-risk pools to address conditions and provide uninsured medicines --

americans access to medicine. implementing health information technology that upgrades our outdated record systems and streamlines costs, redeuces medical errors, and eliminates redun daunt medical tests asme louing small businesses to pool together to purchase health insurance. these and many more could and should be done. while i know there's much to do, almost none of these ideas are contained in the bill that my colleagues and i will be voting on tomorrow. i now strongly object to the plan that speaker pelosi is forcing upon the house. this bill is too big and tries to change too much at once. instead of working to improve our current system, which the majority of americans like, this plan will create a massive expansion of government. history demonstrates that government programs are significantly more expensive than estimated. this plan would raise taxes and increase the deficit. it's propped up with budget gimmicks that will greatly expand our deficits.

the bill requires 10 years of tax increases and 10 years of medicare cuts to pay for only six years so-called benefits. this plan is a plan that the senate passed earlier. it's the same bill america cried out against in september because it was pieced together through vote peddling and back room deals. members who think this plan is good should vote yes. members who don't think this plan is good should vote no. but this is much too much of an important issue for the usual deal of politics and cutting the deals in the back room promises. this plan reduces the chances that all americans will have access to quality care. in rural america, our health care delivery system is fragile. as medical professions are caring for an aging population across a wide geographic area. medicare reimbursement rates determine whether hospital doors stay open and whether doctors and nurses remain in communities. it's likely more hospital doors

will close and fewer doctors will remain in kansas. the government's method of control is through price fixing, which leads to scarcity of doctors, nurse, and medical innovation and the advancement of medical research. tomorrow's vote will be one of the most important cast in my time in congress. if the bill should pass, i will work hard in an open and public way to repeal what speaker pe pelosi has done in darkness. some have said we need to pass a bill because we have to do something. what i think they really mean is we need to pass a bill to do something right. we can overcome the washington knows best attitude. americans rightly are opposing the washington, d.c. approach to changing health care, an approach that tramples upon our constitution, diminishes personal responsibility and reduces freedom of our children and the prosperity of our nation. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentlelady from guam is recognized.

ms. bordallo: i yield such time as he may consume to my friend and colleague from connecticut, mr. himes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. himes: i rise with a certain amount of outrage tonight because we are debating a resolution that just to remind this house expresses the sense of the house of representatives that all people of the united states should participate in a moment of silence to reflect upon the service and sacrifice of members of the united states armed forces, both at home and abroad. a noble thing, a good thing, that we would honor our veterans who day in, day out, put their lives on the line for the freedom and safe fi of -- safety of every single american. the minority stands here tonight and brings their politics into this resolution. i cannot remember a moment -- i will not yield. i cannot remember a moment --

>> if my friend -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from connecticut controls the floor. the gentlem from connecticut controls the floor. the gentleman is recognized. mr. himes: i will yield to the gentleman when i have completed my statement. thank you, mr. speaker. i am appalled. that at this moment when we are here to honor our veterans the minority would bring their politics and their misinformation and though i am appalled, while we are talking about veterans, i will not stand here while that misinformation is pedals. a bill made in darkness, if i might quote my friend or the other side of the aisle, this bill has been discussed for months, for years, for decades, this debate has raged. hundreds -- 120 republican amendments included in this, this thing posted in the house and? the senate and now for the requisite 72 hours and they call that darkness. increasing the deficit, the nonpartisan congressional budget

office respected by both sides has indicated clearly down to many significant figures that this will be the largest reduction in the deficit ever engineered by this house. in excess of $100 billion in the first 10 years, in excess of $1 trillion in the second 10 years. we're hearing the same misinformation about six years of benefits for 10 years of taxation. how is this? shortly after this bill's enactment children will no longer be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. shortly after this bill is pass -- this bill's passage. how's this for six years of benefits? our seniors will experience immediately a reduction in the doughnut hole that has forced them in instances to choose between food and drugs, shortly after passage of this bill. shortly after the passage of this bill young people up to the age of 26 will be able to go on

their parents' insurance. six years of benefits with 10 years of taxation. this is outrageous misinformation made all the worse by the fact that the minority chooses to bring this up at this moment when we are here to honor the sacrifice of our proud veterans. i yield to my friend on the other side. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kansas is recognized. from georgia. i apologize. >> i will proudly take kansas, mr. speaker. georgia, which ever. i thank the gentlelady for yielding and although which haven't worked together on any committees i know you by reputation and i know that your reputation is good and that you are known to be a fair representative. so one of my concerns, i just have to tell you, as somebody who served in the minority and in the majority, and often times in the majority felt that we ran rough over the minority and it was the wrong thing to do, but i

also know that when you're in the minority and you don't get to offer, for example, a single amendment on the largest piece of legislation that we have faced maybe since the income tax today, i would appeal to your sense of understanding why you and i have this discussion going on because i support this bill and i certainly think a moment of silence is a fit and proper thing to do and i look forward to traveling with the gentleman not just to iraq and afghanistan but actually to some of the places where we have world war ii soldiers buried in foreign lands and i can tell you they absolutely love americans as they look at graves of americans all over the world, protecting not just our freedom but their freedom. i think that -- i certainly understand why you are appalled that we are using this as a vehicle to discuss health care. you know, i agree with you. there is a good sense of indignation. yet i find myself in a few

minutes -- these people who will be talking about health care because it's my only opportunity. because as i understand it we're going to have one hour of debate on two different pieces of legislation, 30 minutes per side, and if you're not directly on the health care committee you won't have an opportunity to speak tomorrow. that's why, while i support this legislation -- himehime reclaiming my time -- mr. himes: reclaiming my time. reclaiming my time. i thank the gentleman for bringing the discussion back to its proper topic. the honoring that this house and the people of america can do for our veterans. i thank the gentleman for that. and would like to note to this gentleman that i spent this morning fighting to make sure that we would vote on the bill in an up and down fashion and in fact that is what we will do and i will note to the gentleman that he has had ample opportunity to discuss this over many, many months. but, again, i thank him for bringing this discuss bags -- discussion back to where it should be which is debating

whether and how we honor our veterans. with that i yield back to the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. lamborn: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to say that i take exception to the suggestion that this process has been conducted in an open way. we have 3,800 pages of materials right here that we've been given in the last three days. who on earth is able to go through 3,800 pages? that consists of the bill itself, h.r. 4872, 2,300 pages, house report volumes 1 and 2 from the budget committee report explaining the bill, that adds up to 1,300 pages. and the amendment in the nature of a substitute to the reconciliation act, 150 pages. that's a total of 3,800 pages that we've been given in the last 72 hours.

what kind of process is this? i would like to yield one minute now to representative souder from the state of indiana. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for one minute. mr. souder: in an earlier bill where i was talking about the veterans' hate care parts of this bill -- health care parts of this bill, chairman andrews and i had a follow-up discussion about two of the details which shows the difficulty of this bill. he believes that the partial fix that was done this afternoon on tricare was not needed. and that it was duplicative. we believe it was absolutely needed. members who read the same bill can come to different conclusions. now, my friend from new jersey actually wrote much of the bill, he's a very detailed guy. and i appreciate his knowledge, but we feel that we needed the tricare fix. on the question of the second home, i said 30,000 and used the example of 200,000. by not going to 230,000 i have mixed the tax portion. and he also agrees that it depend on what your income is. if it's $80,000 or above the

example that i gave of somebody who had a mobile home which is now worth $230,000 and if they have a job as a teacher and work at a gas station they will have $80,000 income which means they will now have taxes on a home that they never thought were taxes. so there were disagreements, you can look at the same question differently. but clearly it's a tax increase on veterans. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from guam is recognized. ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, may i inquire from the chair how much time we have? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from guam has 8 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from colorado, nine minutes. ms. bordallo: i now yield, mr. speaker, two minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from california, mr. garamendi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. garamendi: i have the great plive and -- privilege and honor of representing travis air force base and the nearly -- more than 20,000 active service men and women on that base. their mission is one of supplying the necessary

equipment and armaments and food and other materials to men and women that are in the front zone of fighting. they also provide extraordinary support for humanitarian efforts, most recently those in guam and they may very well be heading to chile on missions there. and so i honor them and call our attention to their work. again, i remain really saddened by the use of this time that the republican party has -- and my colleagues on the republican side have used this time instead of honoring the work of our active duty men and women in the armed forces, they're using it to debate a bill of which there's plenty of time. most recently the discussion about the availability. the senate bill has been available to all of us since christmas eve, three months, to read the senate bill and that's a large portion of those documents that you have there on your table.

the house bill has been available since november 6. so those two bills have been available to be read all that time. there's about 156 or 160 pages of corrections to the senate bill that are before us. there are explanations to be sure and i suppose all of us would like to see the explanations from the committee and that's been available to us also. this is not done in the dark of night, this has been done over a long period of time and that big stack of material before you has been available and perhaps you've not had the -- or taken the time to read it. but if you had, much of the misinformation that has been presented this evening, you surely would not have put before this house. because it simply is not reflected in the bill. specifically the issue of the veterans. the veterans are fully protected, fully protected in the legislation. tricare is fully protected and, by the way, by the way, gentlemen -- may i request another 30 seconds?

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from guam. ms. bordallo: i yield an extra minute to the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. garamendi: and by the way, there are about a million and a half vet rants out there that -- veterans out there that will be able to get medical insurance through the various programs that are created by this legislation. they presently are not in the veterans' administration process for many, many reasons. they'll have access to it. so on the whole, a, we've had time to read these bills, b, the corrections that are in the reconciliation process, which will be voted on along with the senate bill, have been around for some time, 72 hours minimum, and in many cases over three and four months. so, read the bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. lamborn: thank you, mr. speaker. let me highlight several sweetheart deals in the health care legislation that i think are a real problem to me, many of my colleagues an many

americans. we have the rocky top vote swap. tennessee is quite familiar with the runaway costs so muched with -- associated with government-run health care as seen with tenncare. payoffs from washington have a way of smoothing things over. so the bill includes tens of millions of extra medicaid dollars for the state of tennessee. the big sky buyoff. a special provision was inserted in the senate bill recently that provided taxpayer funded health care to only certain montana residents. yukon, as part of the original health care bill, a mysterious provision was inserted providing a whopping $100 million in a cryptically worded provision for a new medical facility. after some investigation it was discovered that connecticut was the lucky recipient of this taxpayer dollar give away. the bismarck bank job. a helpful provision was inserted in the reconciliation package. while most american banks will be cut off from subsidies for private student loans, when the

government takes over the student loan industry, which is part of the bill we'll vote on tomorrow, banks in north dakota will still see the cash rolling into their banks. phrma-ing for favors. democratic staffers were huddled behind closed doors over the last few weeks with phrma lobbyists as they crafted the final bill. coincidentally phrma has now decided it will run expensive tv ads in the districts of 38 waivering democrats. cao biocash -- cowboy cash. some states stand to get extra federal cash for their state's medicare rolls. and the louisiana purchase that we've all heard about, $300 million extra for medicaid payments to one state is still in the bill. so that's why -- that's just yet one more reason we should reject the health care bill tomorrow. at this time i would like to yield three minutes to my

colleague and friend from the state of georgia, representative kingston. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for three minutes. mr. kingston: i thank the gentleman for yielding. as a member of the defense committee who represents four military installations, someone who has gone to afghanistan and iraq five times and never without going to ram stein to visit our logistics crew over there in the hospital, to visit people in the hospital as well as to go to walter reed hospital here in washington, i feel very strongly that this amendment is a good -- this resolution is a good resolution and should be debated and voted on. i kind of tell you, only 20 minutes per side, that give a signal to veterans also what the majority thinks about veterans. but, you know, i got to say, this is a good bill and i'm going to support it. but it saddens me that this is the vehicle in which we're going to be allowed to talk about health care. but i got to say this, as i talked to the veterans of my military installations back home and the ones who retired in

those areas, they're saying, this is a horrible health care bill. i did not go to iraq, i did not go to vietnam, i did not fight in world war ii for to you take away my freedom in one piece of legislation. i got to remind my friends of what the speaker said just a week or two ago and i quote directly, speaker nancy pelosi, we need to pass this bill so you can find out what's in it. does anyone deny that's a direct quote from the speaker? that is exactly what speaker pelosi said. so, when my veterans back home are concerned, along with the middle class taxpayers, of what's in this bill, i think they have that right to have some apprehension. we do need full debate. keep in mind that health care's 1/6 of the economy, 2.4 -- $2.4 trillion. this is a major government intrusion into it. not that the government's not in it right now, not that the government should not be in it at all but we are totally changing the balance of it and we're not having a full debate.

we're not -- why not -- why not have just several hours but weeks? you can say to me with a straight face that would be unreasonable? we need to have hours and hours of debate. the republican party has offered 99 amendments and how many will be accepted? zero. no ideas from the republican party and shutting out the republican party might be great democrat politics but you're shutting out the people that we represent and i'll point out, as you know, you don't need one single republican vote. if this bill is so good, why did you not pass it in august? you didn't pass it because you didn't have the democrat vote. the reason we're here on a weekend is because you don't have the democrat vote. i don't know what the president was here today doing, i don't know what he gave away, we know about the louisiana purchase, we know about the hospital in connecticut, we know about the gatorade for florida, we know about the cornhusker kickback in

nebraska, and we found out now that student loans are being put in the health care bill. how did that get in there? the federalization of student loans now in the health care bill. that doesn't make sense at all. and it doesn't make sense that in north dakota they're exempted from the law of the federal government taking over it. >> i yield an additional minute to the gentleman from georgia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kings spon in georgia, they're not comfortable with this program. the health care bill does put tricare on the chopping block. they might be ok with the fig leaf amendment we passed today, but that's what happens when you ram something through. the $523 billion in medicare cuts. how does that affect the seniors? i think it's worth more than 72

hours to debate if this is such a great bill and it's going to last for such a long time, why not give it more time to debate. the impact of hiring 16,000 new i.r.s. agents, i don't think the democrats like the inch r.s. any more than me the republicans. we agree the i.r.s. is necessary, they do do a vital job but 16,000 new i.r.s. agents is all kinds of new powers to look into the businesses and households of america? that scares me. that's why we plead, let us have time. we don't need to do this on a sunday afternoon. i thank the gentleman. i want to thank my friend for yielding time to me a minute ago. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from guam is recognized. ms. bordallo: i yield three minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: i want to thank the gentlelady from guam for doing such an excellent job in honoring our veterans and

honoring our soldiers by managing legislation that truly deserves our honor and respect to the cold war veterans, many of whom are unsung heroes, i offer my greatest tribute as we honor the aviators and those marines who sacrificed their life as well. it is interesting when there is nothing good to say about something that is good, then my friends on the other side of the aisle begin to engage in misrepresentations and fairy tales and exaggeration. so i'm reminded of the words of thomas ed son that many of life's failures are peoplepeople who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. that's what they want us to do to give up. i appreciate the breadth and depth of the representation and the interest that is appearing

on the east steps of the capitol. this is a democracy, this is america. when i see words like socialized medicine and obama care, lethal injection, it is important to realize that people have been so provoked because of misrepresentation and untruths. they don't understand there will be a $1.3 trillion in cupting the budget. that small businesses will get tax incentives and subsidies to help ensure those the maul -- to help insure the americans who work for small business the engine of our economy. our college students, our graduate student the best of america's future, suffer without health insurance, like a young woman i know who is between jobs and cannot get health insurance because she's over the age of college and can't be on her parents' insurance. what were doing if we are not investing in our children? all the chatter and confusion

says nothing about the very of the bill. all the misrepresentation of special interests, how much that have is helping americans. it's helping states who are donor states, helping the state whors suffering from devastating disaster like hurricane katrina. what is wrong with america standing up for those who cannot speak for themselvess? it is important to note, they want us to give up. as was recounted by one of our major leaders in the congress, comparing this to a basketball game, when the clock has run out and people are continuously trying to file the winning team, putting obstruction in the winning team's place. but you know what we're going to do in this march month, we're going to keep on dunking that ball as this great leader has said, we're going to put that ball in the basketball hoop and we're going to win that game we've got to stand up for those on the front steps and stand up for the veterans who understand that tricare

will be preserved and what a miserable collapse the health care system was when we had to come to the floor and fight. can i have an additional minute? ms. bordallo: i yield one extra minute to the gentlelady. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: when we had to recognize the veterans by shoring up the system and the vote an -- thetveth rans with come to my office that need help to get their benefits so don't use their argument about the tricare, we're protecting the tricare system. the veterans' families and extended family members who are unsnurd or the 45,000 who die because they have no health insurance. s the toughest health insurance reform we've ever been able to do and i can tell you, health insurance companies need to be -- you need to be tough with them because all they can see is the dollar and the up and up

and up of the premiums. i want to say enough is enough. this is not a lethal injection. this is a lifeline. this is a rope being thrown into the water to drag those out who are drowning because they can't get any health insurance. and this is not socialized medicine, nor was it with medicaid or medicare or the veterans system, it's helping americans using their tax dollar nass wise way. we need to move forward on health care reform. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. lamborn: republicans believe we can have health reform and should without government takeover of 1/6 of our nation's economy. republicans have introduced over 70 bills that offer free market solutions to health care reform and one of those is h.r. 3400. h.r. 3400, a bill i co-sponsored is the empowering patients first act. it gives access to coverage for all americans, it does this in large part by ex-tanding the tax deduction which right now

unfairly only goes to corporate employees and says everyone american can have this tax deduction. that unless you have your insurance and not be dependent on your job to provide it for you. that way you can take it with you. it becomes portable. you have less to fear from pre-existing conditions. coverage will be truly owned by the patient under h.r. 3400. the individual market has expanded. things like pooling mechanisms where national associations can form together, use national economies of scale to form membership plans and accounts to pool across state lines. right now, that's not aloud under law. -- not allowed under law. an reining in out of control costs. we can do this through the medical liability system. the bills we may vote on tomorrow do nothing about medical tort reform. that's a huge drive over defensive medicine and needless cost in our health care system.

but if we, for instance, established administrative health care tribunals known as health care in each state, added provider established best practice measures and encourage the speedy resolution of claim, we would do thicks to cut down on the cost of defensive medicine. republicans have solutions that unfortunately have not been allowed to come to this floor for a vote. we also have about 100 votes being heard as we speak over in the rules committee and i doubt that a single one of those rules will be labeled in order for voting on the floor tomorrow. let me conclude by reading some lines out of today's "wall street journal." they have summed it up better than anyone can. this is the lead editorial in today's "wall street journal." a self-governing democracy, it concludes, can of course decide what it wants, that it wants to become this kind of super

welfare state. but if the year-long debate over obamacare has proven anything, it's that americans want no such thing. there is no polling majority or any bipartisan support, much less a rough national consensus for this expansion of government power. the election of scott brown in massachusetts for ted kennedy's seat, of all thing, was as direct a referendum as you could have. if the health bill passes in the house, it will only do so the way it did in the senate. with a narrow, partisan majority. abetted by political bribery and intimidation, budget gimmicks and procedural deceptions. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expire the gentlelady from guam is recognized. ms. bordallo: does the gentleman yield back? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. ms. bordallo: would the chair

give me the time we have left? the speaker pro tempore: two minutes remaining for the gentlelady from guam. ms. bordallo: i yield back the balance of my time and again i'd like to state for the record, house resolution 1119 states that we should honor our armed services with a moment of silence and i hope that my colleagues will see fit to support this very fine resolution. i would also like to go on record to thank mr. lamb born of colorado for managing the bills and resolutions this afternoon with me. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from guam yields back the balance of her time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1119 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are su -- ms. bordallo: mr. speaker. i request the yeas and nays on

this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. the chair will entertain requests for one minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, the -- in his introduction to the epic "the ten commandments," cecil b. demill asked the question are

men the property of the state or are they free souls under god? congress will authoritatively address this question tomorrow. will the federal government order americans to purchase products the government thinks they should buy and fine or imprison them if they refuse? will it empower a new health czar to make decisions over the most minute details of every american's health care? will it set loose 16,000 new i.r.s. agents to enforce its edicts this vote transcends any questions of health care. it introduces a proposition that will fundamentally alter the relationship between the government and the people for all time. i pray that my democratic colleagues, drunk as they may be with power, will consider care pli the implications of the action they're about to take. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut

rise? are there further one minute requests? for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address this house, let's rhett their remarks and include therein extraneous material. mr. franks for today, mr. duncan for today, mr. goodlatte for today, mr. cassidy for today and march 21. and mr. mccotter for march 21. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut rise? mr. himes: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes, to revise and extends their remarks and include therein extraneous material. mr. himes of connecticut for five minutes, mrs. woolsey of california for five minutes, mr. mcdermott of washington for five

minutes, mr. defazio of oregon for five minutes, ms. kaptur of ohio for five minutes, ms. jackson lee of texas for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the chair lays before the house the following personal requests -- personal request. the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. latourette of ohio for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is granted. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. himes of connecticut is recognized for five minutes. mr. himes: thank you, mr. speaker. here we are a day away from a very big vote. the bill has been read, the details have been debated, the amendments have been offered,

the fights have been fought, the misinformation has been pedaled. but now we're left with the facts. we're left with the facts that the bill we are voting on tomorrow will, according to the congressional budget office, reduce the deficit of this nation by over $100 billion in the first 10 years of its existence and by over $1 trillion in the second 10 years of its existence. this bill contains every reasonable and good idea that has been offered by credible health care economists for how to bring down the cost of our health care. is there risk? of course there's risk. this body may choose not to do some of the things that it has said it will do. some ideas will work, some will fail. there is risk. but to try -- to do nothing is the biggest risk of all. we have spent so much time on

the economics and the cost and now i think, as we reflect on the last day, that we return to the moral question associated with health care reform, at the core of the moral question, to my way of thinking, is the fact that this nation protects its own, that we look after each other, that we won't let you die. i need to tell but my friend dave roberson. good, close friend, fellow parishioner at first bress about a teern church, a volunteer, an activist, a former nasa engineer, a kind, thoughtful, smart man. who lost his job at nasa six years ago and with that loss of his job, he lost his health insurance. dave had a heart condition. he didn't see a doctor for six years. he got no advice, he got no help

and two weeks ago, driving home, he lost consciousness for reasons that they believe have to do with his heart condition and drove his car into a wall and was killed. we buried dave roberson today, a good, fine man who we did not stand for, who the health care system failed. dave worked his career so that his nation could explore space, but his nation, our country, couldn't do what was needed to keep dave on earth. and by the way, dave is no loan individual -- lone individual. 123 people will die every single day because they don't have adequate health care coverage. 123 americans every day. like dave roberson. we don't do this, if our enemies attack, we spend billions to send men, women, equipment to dehe fend the lives and the

values of this nation. if your house is on fire we send men, women and equipment to put out that fire. if you're assaulted, if an intruder enters your home, we don't ask, we send police, equipment, the resources to save your life. but if you get breast cancer, if you have diabetes, if you get leukemia, which don't make that same promise. we might help you if you have a job and can keep that job. if you're not too old, if you're not maybe a woman with a history of domestic violence, we might help you. but we didn't help dave roberson and we don't help the 123 americans who do i every year because we do not live true to the promise that we look out after each other. on this we can do better. and it's not just the democrats who think so. it is 250 organizations, including the aarp, the american medical association, the

american college of physicians, the catholic health association, the consumers union, the league of women voters, the list goes on and on of organizations who say, we can do better, we can live more true to the values of this nation. i hope that each and every one of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, when the vote comes tomorrow, will say, we'll send the military, we'll send the fire, we'll send the police to save your life and now being true to the values of this nation we will save your life if you get sick. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. burton from indiana is recognized for five minutes. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to take mr. burton's time and speak for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. the constitution of the united

states of america was written by our founding fathers to limit the size of government. the constitution sets limits on what the government can do for us and what the government can do to us. the people decide what is best for themselves and our country, not the all-seeing eye of the federal government. james monroe said in 1798 at the virginia convention to ratify the united states constitution, how prone all human institutions have been to decay, how difficult it has been for mankind in the ages and countries to preserve their dear strife and best privileges, impeled as they were by an irresistible fate of tyranny. now the tyrannical all-seeing eye of the federal government is trying to take care of us. the government doesn't think we know how to take care of ourselves so it must come in and

take care of us. we are to be made subjects incapable of taking care of our own health. nowhere in the constitution is the federal government give be any authority to control the people's health. not one place. george washington didn't fight the red coats so people would be the subjects of the new untrustworthy federal bureaucracy. the clon nists didn't die so a health care czar could rule over us. the government takeover of health care is unconstitutional and if this bill passes, the texas attorney general and 30 other state attorney generals are prepared to sue the federal government for an exercise of unconstitutional action. because this bill is unconstitutional. it forces americans to buy health insurance against their will and if people don't buy the insurance they will face fines or go to jail. and on top of that it forces people to buy

government-approved health insurance. that means the feds tell people they have to buy the federal approved insurance and it tells them what insurance they must buy. that's not allowed under any stretch of the law or manage nation. that is unconstitutional -- imagination. that is unconstitutional. and of course in this bill they're hiring 16,000 new i.r.s. health care police to enforce that dictate. the i.r.s. health care police will verify that american citizens have acceptable health care insurance every month. i say american citizens because illegals are exempt from paying health care fines and taxes although illegals can receive coverage in this bill. the health care bill also violates the people's right to privacy. people's most secret, private, intimate medical records will become the property of the u.s. government. health care busy-body bureaucrats will go through private medical records and

decide what medical care people are allowed to have. health care bureaucrats will stick their nose into the private banking accounts and their records to decide how much people have to pay for that health insurance. they'll be able to seize tax refunds, bank accounts, garnished wages all in the name of forcing people to buy insurance for their own good. and of course this is in the bill. this power grab is not about health and it's certainly not about care. it's about liberty. it's about federal government control over people's lives against their will. the federal government has no right to dictate the -- to the people their health care needs. and in my opinion it's unconstitutional. most of the american people oppose the government plan to take over this health care. there were thousands of people here today making their voices known that they are opposed to this bill. it costs too much, it borrows too much, it taxes too much, it's inefficient and it gives government bureaucrats the control of our medical decisions.

even thomas jefferson talked about government-run health care. he said, if people let government decide what foods they eat, what medicines they take, their bodies will be in the soriest state of their souls as those who live under tyranny. mr. speaker, government-run health care is unconstitutional and it's unhealthy for everyone. we must remember the constitution says and begins with, we the people, not, we the subjects. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. ms. woolsey of california. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to take her time. to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i rise today to tell the story of an 11-year-old boy from washington state who visited

congress last week to lobby for health care reform. his name is macelis owens and he lost his uninsured mother to pulmonary hypertension which could have been treated. he shared his story with senator patty murray and then presented to an audience of 100 people at a hearing, telling them that he thought, quote, health care should be for everyone. he was an articulate and bright young man and his story exemplifies why we desperately need health care are he form. so, in one of the clearest signs of republican deck la -- desperation, others took to the airwaves to tear marcelis apart. mr. limb by a calm -- limbaugh said, i would say this to the boy, well, your mother would have died anyway because obamacare doesn't kick in until 2014. fox news came in a close second with a column entitled,

"desperate dens cling to human kiddy shield." perhaps the only accurate word was desperation. but she used it to describe the wrong party. in all my years of public service i can't remember the last time i saw such a cheap and disgraceful campaign. republican determination to derail reform at any cost is reprehensible and i cannot find words to describe how shameful i think it is to direct at an 11-year-old boy who lost his mother. on my way to work this morning i saw a group of teabaggers. and i'm happy they'll be in washington to witness congress pass the historic health care bill tomorrow. when i got to the office i did a little research on my own and found the website of a teabagger group called the 912 project. which includes a page which they call the nine principles. number seven reads, i work hard for what i have and i won't

share it with who i want to. government cannot force me to be charitable. that reminds me of another glen beck -- what he said on his show last week, when he started criticizing a new poverty measure that would help us understand what better it means to be poor in this country. he said that if it were implemented he would be considered poor. glen beck reportedly made $23 million last year which means that in one work day he earns the equivalent of what four families earn in poverty over a whole year. government cannot force me to be charitable. i've always been a little confused about what would motivate someone to get up in the morning to attack an 11-year-old boy who lost his mom. or compel someone to drive 500 miles to protest reform that helps millions of americans. but i'm finally beginning to understand the mentality behind the tea party