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tv   U.S. House of Representatives  CSPAN  May 5, 2010 10:00am-1:00pm EDT

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associated with china, and now america -- it is really cute, like they are going back and forth between partners. but i have to give them credit. they loved america. they want to be a state, many of them do. it is a serious movement there, but obviously we don't take it too seriously in the united states. there are other countries, taiwan and others, who have said they want to be part of the united states. in the case of albania, it is not likely. but one that might have happened was newfoundland, which was kind of separate from canada and they wanted to be part of america, and we probably could have worked bad deal out. but the united states at that time did not want to add in newfoundland as a state.
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texas was off for a nation that became part of america, -- was a foreign nation that became part of america, hawaii the same thing. host: "lost states" is the name of the book. appreciate your time this morning. a lot of fun, a lot of interesting history. guest: thank you very much. i'm a big fan of c-span. host: we take you to the floor of the house of representatives. they have a series of suspension bills. enjoy the rest of your day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] may 5, 2010. i hereby appoint the honorable jose e. serrano to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, rabbi doug
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kleine, evanston, illinois. the chaplain: in a jewish tradition, i received principles as america's number one dad, bill cosby. several years ago he said he was the first person in his family to attend a university. but he realize that going to college does not necessarily make you all that smart and by going to college it doesn't mean he has all the answers. his grandmother said, billy, what did you study? he debated whether or not a half a cup of water was half empty or half full. his grandmother did not have a college education or high school diploma said immediately, if you are drinking, the glass is half empty. but if you're pouring the glass is half full. i thought to myself, if you are
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drinking everything is good for me. my entire focus is on myself. and because of myselfishness i am half empty. i am keeping everyone else out. if i am pouring, pouring for others, sharing and giving to others, then highly half full because i am letting others into my life. god, please continue to bless us so we are able to pour and let others into our lives. we thank good today for enabling us to serve this great country and for being able to make a difference not only in our lives, not only in the lives of our family and friends, but for allowing us to make a difference in the lives of countless americans and people throughout the world. we ask god to continue to give us the insight, the courage and the humility to serve the people of the united states. god, please bless all the members of congress and their families and most of all, god bless america. god who makes peace on the heavens and earth, let us have peace and let us all say amen.
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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 texas, congressman smith. mr. smith: would everyone remain standing and please join us in the pledge of allegiance? i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from illinois, congresswoman schakowsky, is recognized for one minute. ms. schakowsky: thank you, mr. speaker. rabbi, i think this is probably the first time that bill cosby has been part of the morning prayer. certainly the first time his grandmother has been part of the prayer. and it is with great pride that
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i rise to welcome rabbi dov kline to our nation's capital as guest chaplain. he works in my hometown of evanston, illinois, where he is a widely respected member of the community. as the district director of his temple. he has had a great impact not only on evanston but throughout the united states. he was one of the pioneers for creating hababad into the united states. because of his continued efforts, today, it is at 140 campuses throughout the united states. rabbi kleine also serves an invaluable role in our community as the senior chaplains for the evanston police department where he is called upon for crisis intervention. in fact, his work with law enforcement officers around town has earned him the
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nickname rabbi cop. for all he's done for our community, i'm honored to welcome rabbi kleine and his son, ronnie, who are in the glalry of congress, and to thank him for his wonderful work. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from pennsylvania rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. schwartz: i rise today to talk about the next generation of biofuel. as congress seeks ways to reduce our alliance on foreign oil, the cellulosic biofuel industry has enormous potential to help meet this demand, create grown jobs and bring economic benefits to rural and urban communities across our nation. american companies can be at the forefront of producing the
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next generation of biofuels developed from biomass as alternatives to fossil fuels. in my proposal of green jobs bill, it will encourage domestic creation of biofuel jobs it will reduce carbon emissions and create thousands of jobs here at home. i urge my colleagues to co-sponsor the green jobs act and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: mr. 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. mr. wilson: congress should be considering job creation policies to get the economy going again. a proven method has been the tax credit to stay competitive in the global marketplace and to keep high value research and development jobs. this tax credit is only available for certain qualified
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research performed in the united states and 70% or more of the benefits will go to workers performing u.s.-based research. in south carolina alone, more than 600 firms participate in the research and development activity, spending more than $1.3 billion a year. if congress will increase the rate from 14% to 20%, we can promote more rnd jobs in the united states and ensure that south carolina and america remain competitive for remp-intensive companies. the united states now -- research-intensive companies. the united states is not on the top of research. i urge congress to offer more support. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. baca: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. baca: in my district a
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45-year-old legal immigrant, gomez sanchez, was detained before our eyes for four years. this tragedy is further evidence that we need comprehensive immigration now. over the weekend i marched with 2,000 individuals in san bernardino, california, to oppose arizona's law, s.b. 1070, and support the passage of comprehensive immigration reform. this unconstitutional law is inspired by racism and will lead to racial profiling of hispanics and people of color. there are arizona association of chief police oppose this law because they know it it will hurt the community relations and waste valuable resources. this law will have a negative impact on schools. it will lead to increased bullying of hispanic children. i urge americans to boycott the state of arizona, show their opposition to the misguided arizona law by wearing these red, yellow and blue bracelets. the republicans and democrats
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must work together to enact comprehensive immigration reform for human rights, respects and having our families work together and work for securing our borders. the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. smith: 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. mr. smith: mr. speaker, when it comes to the subject of immigration, "the new york times" is fast losing its credibility. a "new york times" editorial says that the arizona law turns allstate criminals into suspects. of course, that's an unbelievable exaggeration. it says it will require the police officers to question anyone who looks like an illegal immigrant. actually, it it doesn't require anyone to do anything except obey the law. "the new york times" says that arizona should welcome and assimilate all newcomers making no distinction between legal and illegal immigrants. maybe from a new york city skyscraper it's hard to see the
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border violence, the human smuggling, the drug trafficking, the lost jobs and the crowded schools. much of it caused by those who break our immigration laws. the speaker pro tempore: the time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from the northern mariana islands rise? mr. sablan: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, the national high school mock trial competition is the premiere national law-related academic tournament for high school students. mock trial programs are designed to give students an inside perspective on our legal system, providing them for an understanding of the mechanism through which society -- participation in the performance-based, hands on program of this nature provides students with a practical knowledge about how our legal system operates and who the major players are in that system. mock trial programs help
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develop young citizens who can sustain by making an informed -- students have earned the right to represent the northern mariana islands in this year's competition in philadelphia. they will compete with students from around the country. the school represented the northern mariana islands in the we -- national we the people program two years in a row. mr. ryan, one of the members of this year's competition in philadelphia, just won first place in one competition. one has to admire the dedication of the students and the commitment of the teaching staff at the school for instilling the passion for debate and public speaking year after year. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: 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: mr. speaker, deputy louie was in his patrol vehicle
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in arizona patrolling the border but he was 75 miles north of the border. there's not much border patrol activity there because it's so far north but there's plenty of drug smuggling going on. he radioed for backup and began to track the group. a drug cartel paramilitary squad opened fire on him with automatic weapons. he was shot in the side by an ak-47. this is the first time that they shot a lawman that far north of phoenix. the wounded deputy radioed in and took an hour to find him. until we put armed national guard troops at the border to stop these narcoterrorists, we risk the lives of our lawmen who are outgunned, outfinanced and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise?
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>> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the home star program. the home star program will give us the tools we need to move towards energy independence while strengthening our economy and the middle class. this program encourages energy efficiency improvements during a period when people are strapped for cash. these new improvements will save money in the long run while reducing our dependence on foreign oil in the short run. it incentivizes purchases that otherwise wouldn't be made. this is exactly the way we want to go about stimulating growth in our economy. mr. murphy: in my home state of new york, approximately 78% of the homes were built before 1970. as a result, we pay a lot more for our energy needs to heat and cool our homes. i'm proud to support the home star program to help homeowners save money and to create new green energy jobs. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i ask permission to address
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the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i'm very concerned about the president's new nominee for the c.m.s., dr. donald burrick. his positions on health care represents a steps toward more government control of the doctor-patient relationship. the doctor opposes efforts to make patients more cost sensitive stating that such measures have, quote, no rational in science, ethics or evidence, end quote. but there's plenty of evidence that consumers behave differently when the cost of a product are made clear. the doctor praised the british commission responsible for rationing care as, quote, extremely effective and a conscientious, valuable and knowledgeable building system, end quote. this is the same system that routinely denies care in the name of cost savings that's led to lower cancer survival rates than the u.s. americans don't want a system of poor service and long waiting periods, but that's
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what we might expect under a c.m.s. administer who has been knighted for his service to the british national health service. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: flops the gentleman from tennessee rise? without objection, so ordered. >> mr. speaker, last weekend the people of nashville suffered the worst losses of flooding in many decades. even homes far from any body of water suffered four and five feet of water in their basements. thousands and thousands of tennessee families and businesses are facing staggering losses both personal and financial. tourist landmarks like the grand ole opry this suffered losses. fortunately just last night the president declared our area an official disaster area so federal health is on its way. the really good news is that the good local people of middle
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tennessee are banding together and volunteering in unprecedented numbers. charities are coming forth. i have never been so proud to live in the volunteer state. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> mr. speaker, the oil spill in the gulf of mexico, they claim, is going to be the largest ecological disaster in the history of the country. over three million barrels of oil have already leaked into the gulf. 200,000 gallons a day. they say they might not have a fix for another 30 days. but yet experts, numerous experts have talked to me because i'm concerned from counties that have beautiful beaches, that this couldn't happen, they had the technology, it's not possible, but yet here we are today. mr. buchanan: i can tell you we
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need to focus all our resources. there is plenty of blame to throw around. stop this now not another 30 days. this will impact a lot -- all of florida. i stand here to do everything i can with everybody else to make sure we plug the hole today. also we need to continue to fight in florida against drilling off our beaches. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from minnesota rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> mr. speaker, i rise to honor the life and service of maple wood police sergeant joseph bergeron who will be laid to rest tomorrow. last saturday morning he was killed in the line of duty while responding to a carjacking. on behalf of all minnesotans i extend our prayers and deepest sympathies to his wife and twin daughters. ms. mccollum: all extended
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family and friends. he was working to keep us safe and his heroic sacrifice will always be remembered. the officials and residents of maple wood, especially members of the police department, i extend my condolences of this time of great pain and loss. the city of maple wood an outstanding community. the loss of a devoted police officer is a tragedy felt by every resident. mr. speaker, i also want to recognize st. paul police officer, david longbren, who was seriously injured in arresting the suspect who injured the sergeant. i wish him a speedy recovery and to all the men and women who air wear a uniform. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. johnson: i'm outraged by
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the unbridled, unchecked, unaccountable, and out-of-control government championed by the democrats. the wall street rescued. the bailouts of fannie and freddie. the auto industry. cap and tax energy bill. the government takeover of health care. and court-martialing navy seals while giving terrorists rights. enough already. the complete lack of respect for the liberties espoused by our founding fathers has got to stop. that's why i'm proud to announce my participation in a new group, the 10th amendment task force, sole purpose of the caucus is to rekindle the truth and foundation of freedom like promoting personal liberties and responsibilities, championing freedom and free enterprise, restoring states' rights, and reining in government spending. it's time to roll back big government and rejuvenate respect for the constitution.
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americans are just fed up and want to tell the government, get off my back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today because wall street reform needs to happen today. lehman brothers and a.i.g. collapsed over a year and a half ooling, but our regulators still lack the basic power to enforce the consumer financial protection and prevent future taxpayer bailouts of large financial firms. mr. quigley: wall street reform will safeguard against the deceptive financial products that destabilize the entire economy and cause the crisis wall street reform will establish an orderly process to shut down large failing financial firms like a.i.g. or lehman brothers at no cost to taxpayers. wall street reform will protect investors from fraudulent investments like madoff's $65
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billion ponzi scheme. wall street reform will ensure that consumers aren't steered to bad, unaffordable mortgages when they qualify for good onesing -- ones. we need wall street now to be sure we never repeat the events of the financial crisis. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. neugebauer: mr. speaker, the american people are frustrated, they don't think the bailouts, wall street spending, and debt will never stop. my colleagues across the aisle don't get it. they say they want to stop the bailouts and make sure the breakdown of the financial system won't happen again. but the financial reform limits the choices of individuals is not going to do that. they are hoping the taxpayers won't take time what the bills do. small businesses will be hurt. community banks will have to be re-- restrict credit. we'll only punish main street
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and slow down job growth. the proposal that passed the house and pending in the senate is more government takeover of all aspects of our financial systems and less empowerment where we need it the most. more than $2.7 million jobs have been lost since the president signed his so-called stimulus plan. month after month the american people still want to know, mr. president, where are those jobs? rather than creating a permanent bailout and picking winners and losers, we need real financial reform that supports main street. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to address their remarks to the chair. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from arizona rise? >> i request permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. kirkpatrick: mr. speaker, arizonans are dealing with the consequences of washington's failed border policies and the dangers are growing worse as cartel violence increasingly threatens our community.
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friday's attack on a sheriff deputy is just the latest example. our law enforcement is doing the best they can, but border security is a national problem. it is time for the federal government to start fulfilling its responsibilities. washington needs a comprehensive strategy to tighten security and they need to provide the resources to execute the plan. i introduced legislation to put more boots on the ground along the border and i firmly believe that any long-term solution must include greatly expanding the border patrol. the federal government should move forward and enlist thousands of additional agents. since that process will take time, i call on washington to immediately deploy the national guard to the border. this is a necessary step for the short-term. the risk to arizonans are too combat to -- great to allow the inaction to continue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the
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gentleman from wisconsin rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> thousands of small businesses earth day was one more -- mr. rehberg: the e.p.a. chose earth day as the deadline for the new rule, the lead rule, every contractor in montana needed to take a training correspond from a e.p.a. certified instructor to work on any older buildings that contained lead. the trouble is montana only has one teacher for all of the 147,000 square miles and the e.p.a. gave us less than one year to do it. everyone wants to make sure that lead is handled safely, but at a time when contractors are hurt interesting an economic downturn, we don't need to add federal bundling to the list of challenges. i introduced house resolution 5177 to extend e.p.a. deadline and give these small businesses room to breathe. please join me in co-sponsoring this bill. our contractors are already suffering without the e.p.a. coming after them
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the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> mr. speaker, we all know the earthquake which struck haiti in january was the worst katja lism to hit the island in two centuries. what you may not know is the role the sister city relationships has played and continue to play in the efforts to provide relief. sister city relationships which today involve nearly 700 american towns and cities are critical to the often unherled role to international cooperation with our people. a resolution i introduced today calls upon the continuation of sister city relationships as exemplified by the partnership between the city of bridge port led by the city council. for the people of haiti and all those who seek understand and peace between nations i urge my colleagues in joining me to thank sister cities an help me support them in any way they can. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas rise? mr. boozman: to address the
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house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. boozman: thank you, vehicle. i rise today to recognize professor david krieger who after 50 years of teaching at arkansas tech university gave his final lecture earlier this week. professor krieger's love of teaching turned into a lifetime of work. what is so great about his commitment to education and his students is that through all of those years he maintained the passion for teaching, earning the professor of the year award four times, in addition to being the first recipient of the arkansas tech university faculty award of excellence in teaching in 1996. i commend professor krieger for his enthusiasm and dedication, for educating our youth, and wish him success as he ends his amazing career which earned him countless honors and touched even more lives. i ask my colleagues to join me in honoring an educator whose accomplishments and devotion to arkansas tech university will be missed, but never forgotten.
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congratulations and best of luck to professor krieger. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. inslee: 40 years ago the river in ohio caught fire and congress got the message and passed a clean water bill to clean up our waters. now with this 5,000 barrel maybe plus oil spill in the gulf, congress and u.s. needs to get the message and pass a clean energy bill that will reduce our addiction, reduce our dependence on oil from any source. and we are fully capable of doing this. this fall because of a bill we have already passed, the johnson control company will open up a lithium ion battery company in michigan to power electric cars. i drove the chevy volt and look forward to driving the forward focus, an all electric car. we can reduce our dependence on
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oil. if the u.s. senate will get the message, get off the dime, and pass a clean energy bill like we have in the house to reduce our dependence on oil and reduce the threat of these horrendous oil spills. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. fleming: mr. speaker, last week i introduced h.r. 5126, the helping save americans health care choices act. this important legislation restores the popular health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts which are diminished through taxation and restrictions under obamacare. millions of americans rely on h.s.a.'s to cover key ductibles, insurance co-payments, over-the-counter medications, and a plethora of other medical expenses.
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furthermore, it is an excellent tool to cut health care costs while obamacare itself provides no such tools. -- i find it ironic that the name of the current law, the patient protection and affordable care act, betrays the fact that it drives up costs for patients and their employers. if you truly support health care port ability, i ask all of you to support h.r. 5126 which restores this valuable tool that saves costs. thank you. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. 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. >> thank you, mr. speaker. can you believe it, the united states house of representatives under democrat majority have delivered the largest tax reduction in america's hurt to middle-class families?
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that's right, 95% of american workers got a tax cut in the stimulus bill. now, the stimulus bill acted as a backstop against further job loss and helped create some jobs along the way, like what's happening in my district. one in ken is adding hundreds of jobs. mr. boccieri airy: another invested $18 million with a $2 million tax abatement that was handed out through some of our recovery acts. and now they're adding another $60 million investment. threes are real signs of economic life and prosperity right in the heartland of ohio. but, let me remind my conservative friends on the other side and the constant drumbeat that we hear from conservative talk radio that this is the record, this is the record of job losses and this is the record of job recovery that we've seen under this administration and this leadership. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the
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gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. lee: i rise to express a need to the extension of the section 35-g short line railroad tax credit which expired at the end of twire. this means that railroad such as rochester and southern in my district have had to curtail much-needed maintenance to their infrastructure. it affects nearly 500 lines across the country. originally enacted in 2004, section 45-g ensures that the lighter density freight lines can invest enough in their infrastructure, the state connected to the national rail networks. while the discontinuation of this tax credits, railways such as rochester and southern cannot do effective long-term capital planning. having run a business myself, i know how difficult a company can be to plan and invest while continued uncertainty exists and how their expenses will be
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offered. that's why we need to pass an extension of section 45-g tax credit now so we can put people back to work and provide stability for both workersers and the companies who manage -- workers and the companies who manage the nearly 500 short line rails across this country. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, very first thing i want to do is to express condolences to the 11 persons who were killed on the oil rig in the gulf. we are faced in this nation, certainly in the gulf and the atlantic coast region, with the potential for disaster of epic proportions. but the time now is for us not to get involved in blaming someone but rather doing the things that are necessary to cap this gusher and to
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accelerate attention to clean energy. yesterday, commandent, commerce secretary gary lock and interior secretary sal czar and lisa jackson and persons from noaa gave me the assurance that i hope to convey to my constituents and those of us that are concerned that they are doing everything humanly possible to stop this disaster and assuredly will continue to do the same. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. cao: mr. speaker, for the past several weeks the eyes have been directed to the oil spip on the gulf coast. people have been hoping and watching how many lives will it claim, how many barrels of oil will it leak, how many years will it set back our efforts to rebuild our delicate coastal wetlands, how many livelihoods
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of fishermen will it destroy? the federal government's response this time fortunately has been swift. as i posed napolitano and salazar as we flew over the area this weekend, we are grateful for the care, concern and compassion they are showing the gulf coast. but as we as congress must also perform our role by being vigilant and focusing on providing immediate assistance with the containment, clean up initiatives to assure the accountability of those at fault and the assurance of louisiana and mississippi's gas revenue sharing will not allow louisiana to receive money to rebuild our coast and wetlands until 2017. louisiana has taken up the cause to address the country's energy needs. it is time the country heed the call of louisiana for the money to restore our coast. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from nevada rise?
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ms. titus: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. titus: mr. speaker, today i join with people across the country to celebrate national teacher week which recognizes the exemplary and important work that teachers do in classrooms every day. research has shown that a good teacher is one of the most important factors in a student's academic success, so it's only appropriate that we take time during national teacher week to say thank you to these heroes who positively affect so many lives. we must also support teachers during these tough economic times by investing in education. i was proud to support the american recovery and reinvestment act which saved more than 1,000 jobs for teachers in southern nevada and the jobs for our main street act which passed the house and included a $23 billion jobs for education fund. with hundreds of thousands of teachers across the country facing potential pink slips because of budget and crisis at
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the local and state level, i urge my colleagues in both houses to work quickly to support education by saving vital teaching jobs throughout the country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. pence: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. pence: the oil spill in the gulf of mexico is an ongoing tragedy, and the american people deserve action to protect our gulf and they deserve answers. the american people deserve to know what happened on april 20, and congress should investigate it thoroughly. and the american people deserve to know why the administration was slow to respond, why necessary equipment was not immediately onhand in the area and why the president did not fully deploy cabinet-level federal officials until he spoke at the white house on april 28. lastly, the american people
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deserve answers for a pathway toward energy independence. there would be those in this country who would exploit this ongoing disaster to deny the american people more access to american oil that but the american people know better. the pathway toward energy independence is environmentally responsible expansion of domestic drilling for oil and natural gas, it's more wind and solar and nuclear and more conservation. republicans are determined to get the american people the answers about what happened on april 20, about the slow federal response and to give the american people answers and a pathway toward energy independence that uses all of the above. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: i rise today to encourage my colleagues to live up to a challenge that has been put before us by the people of our country, by the people of arizona, by the people of my state and that is the challenge to replace our broken immigration system with one
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that works. as i travel across my district, i haven't found a single constituent on the left or right that's happy with the state of immigration today in this country. there are over 10 million immigrants in this country who are working illegally, frequently undermining wages from families, taking jobs away from americans. we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform to ensure that this number doesn't grow to 15 million or 20 million, but in fact we have no one that resides in this country illegally, requiring region station and making people follow the -- registration and making people follow the law. i'm proud to be part of the comprehensive immigration reform bill and i call upon my colleagues in the senate to ensure once and for all that we hear the voice of the american people, come together and solve our immigration system. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? >> to address the house for one
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minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. ellison: mr. speaker, right now our unemployment rate hovers around 10%. little bit lower than that but when you think of all the people who are unjoyed in some sectors, it's twice that. in some parts of our country it's much more than that. the fact is we need a jobs bill, a real jobs bill that will put americans to work. i propose that we support a local jobs bill that will help provide not only jobs for working americans but also to provide for vitally needed services in our cities. all over america, we have districts that are looking off laying off teachers, looking at laying off firefighters, police officers, public works officials. we need these vital services to keep our cities moving properly. local officials around this country know that the federal government should be responding to these difficult shortfalls and cuts that are resulting in service cuts all over this
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nation. we have work that needs to be done and we have people ready to do it. it's time for congress to step forward with a real local jobs bill. thank you very much. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. pursuant to executive order 13121 and the order of the house of january 6, 2001, the chair announces the following members to the export council. the clerk: ms. linda t. sanchez of california, ms. schauer of michigan. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. madam, i am writing to notify you of my resignation from the house judiciary committee effective may 5, 2010. it was an honor to serve you and chairman conyers on this preestidgeous committee. i look forward to continuing to serve on the appropriations committee and the select intelligence oversight panel in the 111th congress.
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signed, sincerely, debbie wasserman schultz, members of congress. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resignation is accepted. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. recorded votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. levin: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to h.r. 5160. the speaker pro tempore: clorpped title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5160, the haiti economic lift program act of 2010. the speaker pro tempore:
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pursuant to the rule the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, and the gentleman, mr. camp, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. and to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. levin: i want to first yield myself such time as i may consume and then yield more time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: i want to yield to the lead sponsor of this bill, mr. rangel, our colleague, charles rangel, has devoted his life to fighting for underdogs wherever they are in this country and beyond. and he has devoted so much time to the people of hatey. ess eight lead sponsor and it's my privilege and i think all of us join in this to move such time as he shall take to charles rangel of new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york, mr. rangel, is recognized. mr. rangel: thank you, chairman levin. thank you, mr. speaker. it's good to be here with my
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friend, dave camp. this is a good day for americans, especially for those of us in the united states congress. as we listen to the partisanship as it relates to the capture of terrorists, the partnership with oil spills, the partisanship as it relates to trying to repair our economic work on wall street, it just seems to me that if we all took a deep breath we'd recognize that as a people we're more than republicans and democrats. we are americans, and we do recognize that when there is a crisis, the whole world looks to us, not just for goods and services, but for leadership and compassion. there's an unlimited number of people that we could thank for coming to the floor today. one has to be dave camp. that you don't have to say what
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the problem is, that when you say what can we do to help, it's just a question of members and staff coming together seeing what they can do to be of some assistance to people that have tried so hard to rebuild their country, their families and indeed their government. when we had initially the hope legislation, there was some opposition because what did it mean? it meant that a country that had a very bad infrastructure, poor education, lack of opportunities in employment, was able to get their act together, to hope, to dream, to bring their families together and to pro douse textiles and america said -- produce textiles and america said, hey, we'll open up the doors to your goods and services and further than that, we think it's such a good deal that our president, our secretary of state, our secretary of commerce will
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encourage other people to invest in haiti so that one day she can share a prominent response in terms of democratic countries that believe in hard work. and then what happened? and then what happened? just when the production was doubling she was struck by an earthquake. haitians still went to the factories hoping and dreaming, many were killed and, of course, people made economic decisions that haiti wasn't the place to invest a lot of money. . again the world spoppeded.resin responded. former president clinton said what small thing can we do? we got to work, staff i want to publicly thank, found out ways, all we said was we have to do more. and more was done by this bill and our committee under the leadership of sandy levin,
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republicans, democrats got together to do what? to do more to give hope to these people and more than their share of economic despair and this is the poorest country that we have in the hemisphere. but with our help, our leadership, our encouragement to investors and to have haitians to know that, sure, this has been a tremendous setback with the earthquake, but america will once again provide the leadership to make certain that people don't give up, don't give in, and certainly don't give out. so it's with a great deal of honor that i reserve the balance of my time thanking once again sandy levin who is always there when people, no matter what country in trouble, you can depend on his leadership. i personally and politically appreciate it. i'd like to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i
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may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: thank you. i want to thank the distinguished gentleman from new york for his comments and also for his effort and leadership on this legislation, as well as my colleague from michigan. i want to echo those comments and also place in the record a letter that we each received from both president clinton and president bush supporting this effort today. if there's no objection. i rise in support of this legislation. the images of the devastation caused by the jan earthquake that ravaged haiti and its people were difficult for all of us to watch. while those stories may no longer be splashed across the evening news, we know the haitians continue to need help in rebuilding. the legislation before us today is the example of how the process should work, bipartisan, bicameral cooperation and working closely with all stakeholders has allowed us to craft a bill that provides meaningful assistance
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to haiti. these benefits will encourage the long-term investment in haiti that they desperately need for economic recovery and future stability. i am convinced that the bill will promote trade and investment in the region and to create a strong hemispheric partnership with u.s. interests. this legislation builds on the short-term assistance that congress provided earlier this year to accelerate the tax benefits for charitable donations to the haiti relief effort. i'm pleased to have participated in both these bipartisan efforts. this legislation also supports u.s. textile manufacturers and their workers by providing a long-term extension of the caribbean basin trade partnership act. the cbtpa program provides strong incentives to our trading partners throughout the region to use fabric and inputs produced in the united states supporting american ex-- exports and american jobs. i have a letter from the american manufacturing trade action coalition that i would ask to be inserted into the
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report wowed objection supporting this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. camp: the success of this bill also demonstrates the benefits of tayloring our -- tailoring our programs to a specific region. congress is able to provide these expanded benefits to haiti because they are customized to its specific needs and limit any negative impact on the u.s. textile industry. the careful balance of interest this legislation represents is unique to haiti and wouldn't be possible if we tried to expand it all of our reference programs in a one-size-fits-all approach. i hope we can build on this bipartisan success and continue this policy of economic integration by working together to find a path that will enable congress to bring pending trade agreements with panama to the floor. like the legislation before us today, these agreements will promote economic development both here at home and our trading partners as well. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. 7 the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized.
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mr. levin: it's now my privilege to yield two minutes to my colleague on ways and means, mr. neal of pass pass. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for two minutes. mr. neal: i want to thank the gentleman for jackson leing this time. mr. speaker, we have had an opportunity over the course of the last many months to witness the unprecedented goodness and kindness of the american people. time and again in rising above the petty differences that frequently keep us in dispute within this institution, we have at no question of political party or affiliation, we have watched former presidents of the united states who sharply might disagree on a host of issues, to lead an effort to hetch the people of -- help the people of haiti. to get through this difficult time caused by the consequences of this dweff stating earthquake.
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-- devastating earthquake. throughout all of these measures, you are struck by detocqueville's notion of what set america apart from the rest of the world. and detocqueville as you know in finding it challenging to describe what it was that differentiated america from the rest of the world, he simply described it as a had been bit of the heart. and today i think this institution with this proposal that's in front of us embraces, again, that american notion of the decency of habits of our heart. this haiti help act provides crucial additional trade preferences to help out our haitian friends, to rebuild their economy, and lives in the wake of this devastating earthquake. i want to particularly commend the trade staff and industry for quickly collaborating on this legislation which also
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provides important protections for sensitive domestic products while improving existing preference provisions. it also provides a long-term extension for the caribbean basin and hope programs that are key boosters to the caribbean-u.s. relationship. 7 mr. speaker, this legislation de -- mr. speaker, this legislation deserves our support. i look forward to improving the cultural ties with haiti. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: at this time i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from north carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for two minutes. mr. mchenry: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank mr. camp for his leadership and yielding time this morning. as we well know we have seen the devastation of the earthquake in haiti. the loss of life, the suffering , it's tragic.
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and certainly the american people rally to the haitian people. but what we have before us today is not just about haiti. it's about jobs in the united states. and unfortunately there's a provision here within the bill that will hurt jobs here in the united states. this legislation will allow for duty-free access to yarns and fabrics produced in other third world countries, and haiti will simply be more of a location for shipment than other nations. bad trade deals like this one have devastated my district in north carolina and manufacturing in the united states. counties in my district have an unemployment rate of up to 16%. some that my colleagues here can relate to in their regions of the country, but certainly devastating in western north carolina. and at the time when our people need jobs, our families are hurting, and this bill is simply giffing away -- giving away some of those jobs. at a time when we should help small businesses this is
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hurting them. specifically in my district. in the past haiti has had tremendous success producing apparel using u.s. yarns and fabrics. we should be strengthening that partnership not turning it into a stopping out point for more shipment for goods from asia and around the globe. our government should represent its people and best interest of its people. unfortunately this congress is not. this leadership is not. and unfortunately this bill with this provision is not. charity's one thing, but giving away our jobs is a completely different matter. with that i would oppose this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. heffin, is recognized. mr. levin: i now yield two minutes to the very distinguished gentlewoman from california, barbara lee, who's been so actively involved in this legislation and related efforts. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much,
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mr. speaker. let me first thank chairman levin for your support for haiti and for your leadership on this issue and so many issues. the haiti economic lift program, help act of 2010, is critical in haiti's recovery and reconstruction. let me thank chairman rangel as chair of the congressional black caucus for your vision in crafting this legislation as one of the founders of the congressional black caucus, you have been a long time leader on issues related to haiti. chairman rangel has been a strong ally of the haitian people throughout his career and we want to once again thank you for your consist tent work on behalf of the c.b.c. and entire congress. the c.b.c. does have a very long history of working with haiti, the haitian people, and haitian american community. and many of us have traveled to the country several times. i was there just over a month ago and saw firsthand the
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extent of the devastation and challenges of moving forward. and many people asked about this bill, chairman rangel. during the current crisis, the c.b.c. has and will continue to work closely with the obama administration, our speaker, chairman levin, our n.g.o.'s to provide whatever assistance we can to provide for support, relief, reconstruction, and recovery efforts. i'd also like to thank chairman levin and also ranking member camp for their bipartisan work in bringing this bill to the floor today and for their commitment to supporting the people of haiti as they rebuild their lives and their nation. this is not a partisan issue. and i'm glad to see the commitment to the haitian people within this congress. that commitment as many of us know cannot and it should not be limited to foreign aid. emergency assistance is vital to any humanitarian operation. however, it cannot form the sole backbone of a long-term recovery strategy for promoting reconstruction and development. it is about many, many
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initiatives, including debt relief which another member of the congressional black caucus, congresswoman maxine waters, so valiantly championed. the gentlelady yielded an additional minute. ms. lee: such strategies must take a whole government approach to foster homegrown economic growth. that is exactly what the help act aims to do. it expands upon the successes of existing trade preferences to empower the private sector to take the mantle of rebuilding along with the government. the trade preferences provided in this legislation are certainly not a cure-all but they offer powerful incentives to spur significant job creation, one of the surest ways to promote development. i ask all of my colleagues to join chairman levin, chairman rangel, ranking member camp to support this measure and to express our steadfast
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solidarity once again and our continued partnership with the resilient people of haiti. thank you again. thanks for the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: at this time we have no further speakers. so i'll reserve and be prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: i come forth and i want to say a few words about the nature of this legislation. i want to start off by saluting the bipartisanship in this house. i want to salute the work of our staffs working with ustr, i would like also, i think others would join me in this, in sleuthing presidents -- saluting presidents clinton and bush, who have devoted their
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energy and time to the needs to the people of haiti, especially on behalf of all of us that there is a mutuality in terms of the response to the horrible, horrible events and the earthquake. i also want to salute industry and the labor movement. we have tried in these last months with our leadership to begin to craft a new trade policy. a trade policy that takes into account the needs of this country to try to make sure that trade is two way. to try to make sure that it's mutually beneficial. to be very sensitive to the impact of trade agreements on american industry and american workers. .
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we very much took that into account as we designed this legislation, and it succeeded. it has that muteality -- mutuality, and that's why the two main textile companies in this country who have the continued sake -- stake in this country, sent, as mr. camp indicated, a letter. i want to read a few lines so it's clear. i want to quote from amtec. after lengthy negotiations with your staffs, we are pleased that we were able to reach an acceptable compromise on this legislation. while the bill provides a path
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forward for long-term economic recovery in the wake of its devastating earthquake, it also takes into account various sensitivities from the perspective of the u.s. tax tile industry. -- textile industry. for these reasons we are encouraging our congressional members that represent the nearly 500,000 u.s. textile and apparel workers to approve this legislation in an expeditious manner under suspension of the rules in the house and by unanimous consent in the senate, end of quote. i'd also like to salute the workers and also the american labor movement. in the original legislation -- and it's very much continued in this legislation -- we have been very sensitive to the needs for haiti to abide by the
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international rights of workers . in 2009, the i.l.o. established a monitoring program required under the hope ii legislation. it was certified by ustr. under the program, the i.l.o. has a country director and staff in haiti committed to conducting unannounced factory level inspections as to whether factory are meeting core labor standards. these are international basic standards. issuing biannual public reports, naming factories that are not in compliance, and helping the factories remedy any problems. the i.l.o. has conducted its first round of factory inspections. it had already done so at the time of the january 12 earthquake and was set to issue its first report on april 21. however, the collapse of the u.n. headquarters in which the i.l.o. was located and the
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subsequent evacuation of i.l.o. personnel in haiti disdisrupted the process. all i.l.o. personnel are now back in haiti and expect to produce the first public report regarding factory conditions shortly. so we've taken into account the needs here and tried to find ways to respond to the needs in haiti, and i think we've succeeded. and so i close with this -- i think all of us want to salute the people of haiti. the earthquake was unprecedented. the damage was hard to imagine. the sacrifice that are being -- the sacrifice that's being made by the people of haiti under these circumstances are really hard to describe. this is an effort in a mutual
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way for us to respond. we did this carefully. we did it, also, with a sense of purpose, and i urge all of us to unite to support this important legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: thank you, mr. speaker. i just want to say that there is and has been strong bipartisan support for this legislation, and this legislation certainly deserves that report -- that support. i do want to note that i think it's important as we move forward that we mott seek to establish a trade -- not seek to establish a trade policy framework that requires standards for other countries that could exceed our own u.s. law and that this legislation in that respect not be a precedent for other preferences
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as we move forward. but this legislation, i think, is important. it will help a devastated country through investment, begin to create more economic activity, and i urge my colleagues to build on this success from this legislation to work together in a bipartisan fashion, to take the steps necessary, to further the economic benefits that come from increasing u.s. exports to our partners, not only in this hemisphere, but in other hemispheres as well, by bringing the trade agreements with panama and colombia to the floor for a successful vote. with that i urge members to vote yes on this legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: thank you. i'll close very, very briefly. there needs to be a general framework for trade policy, and we have been working to spell
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that out. a trade policy as we expand trade as we must does so in ways that are mutually beneficial, that expand the benefits of trade. within that framework, each trade agreement must stand on its own feet, and this trade agreement does -- or this trade bill does exactly that. it responds to needs. it does so in a way that takes into account the very crucial needs within haiti, and also the needs of american industry and workers. it achieves not a compromise, really, but a balance, the kind of balance that should be a hallmark of our approach to trade. i very much urge that we support this bill. it's excellent both in its
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letter and in its spirit. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5160 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1320 as amended.
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the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1320, resolution expressing support for the vigilance and prompt response of the citizens and law enforcement agencies in new york and connecticut to the attempted terrorist attack in times square on may 1, 2010, their exceptional professionalism and investigative work -- the -- the federal bureau of investigation, the united states customs and border patrol, the department of homeland security, the department of justice, the new york joint terrorism task force, the bridgeport police department detective bureau, patrol derision and other law enforcement agencies in connecticut to the attempted terrorist attack in times square on may 1, 2010, their exceptional professional and investigative work following the attempted attack and their consistent commitment to preparedness for and collective response to terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell, and the gentleman
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from pennsylvania, mr. dent, will each control 0 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pascrell: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pascrell: mr. speaker, i rise in support of this resolution, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pascrell: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this resolution with my very good friend from pennsylvania, mr. dent, for honoring and expressing support for the vigilance and prompt response of the citizens and the law enforcement agencies in new york and connecticut as well as all the federal authorities and agencies to the attempted
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terrorist attack in times square on may 1, 2010. their exceptional professionalism and investigative work following the attempted attack and their consistent commitment to preparedness for and collective response to terrorism. mr. speaker, i've long said that real homeland security starts on our streets, not in the halls of washington, d.c. that's never been a truer statement than today. this shows yet again why we need to support our local first responders. police, fire, e.m. e.t.'s. another example, they were first to respond before any federal agency got involved, and that's how it usually always is. be it a manmade catastrophe or a natural catastrophe.
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these are the individuals who are the first on the scene long before those federal authorities show up. these are the people who are the eyes and ears of our national security. 53 hours and 17 minutes, that is what it took, mr. speaker, for the federal law enforcement agencies, including the department of homeland security , to identify and find and apprehend faisal shahzad, the prime suspect for this attempted act of terror on american citizens. in these 53 hours and 17 minutes, the new york police department, working with federal and state law enforcement agencies, including the federal bureau of investigation, and others
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unravelled the tangling webb that eventually -- unrafbled the tangling web that eventually led to shahzad's arrest. we acknowledge a few people, however, and groups. first, the alertness and awareness of mr. lance orton and mr. duane jackson for seeing something on the streets of new york which were out of order, for saying something to law enforcement and not hesitating to do so. if it were not for these men, many others could have been hurt and that sflad may not have been ap -- shahzad may not have been apprehended. think about it. this is the kind of vigilance which is vital to homeland security efforts. we were seconds away from an ignition, a fireball.
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who really knows the measure of death and destruction if that insendary would have been ignited? who really knows to this day? i want to thank the citizens of new york for helping and cooperating with law enforcement during the precautionary evacuations in the vicinity of times square. i want to acknowledge new yorkers and their resilient nature and ability to return to life as normal. and perhaps i cannot do justice to it as my brother, mr. king, would do, but you have to accept me for now because he's not here. i want to express my deep appreciation for the professionalism and collective response of the following law enforcement agencies -- the new york city police department, always there. always on duty.
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always knowing that their city is a target. always looking to find out information to prevent anything from happening to their citizens. how about police officer wayne radigan of the mounted unit troop b? the fire department of new york , the new york police department bomb squad. look, they put their lives on the line. . they could have gone much slower. that's not their job. that, no one knew, could have been a deep bomb explosion. they put themselves on the line. we respect them rather than simply pat them on the back. we must commit ourselves, both sides of the aisle, to make sure that we are always there for our first responders and
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not simply be there to say thank you. but beforehand give them the resources that they need to defend america and its neighborhoods. the new york police department bomb squad, bond the regular day of duty. -- beyond the regular day of duty. led by lieutenant mark tory and other first responders. the federal bureau of investigation, united states customs and border protection. we know he was finally corraled at an airport on a plane. the transportation security administration, t.s.a., united states attorneys office for the southern district of new york, the department of homeland security, the department of justice, the new york joint terrorism task force which has been a model for the rest of this country. the bridgeport police
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department who did so much work in cooperation with federal authorities to go to the home, former home of the perpetrator, the alleged perpetrator, whichever you desire. the detective bureau, the patrol division up in bridgeport, and other law enforcement agencies in connecticut. finally i want to thank our private sector partners, too. emirates airlines had not complied -- if they did not comply with federal procedures, we might not have apprehended mr. shahzad as he was fleeing the country. mr. speaker, while i know others may say we just got lucky, i say that they are missing the point. our post9/11 efforts -- pose-9/11 efforts to force greater vigil lance from our citizens and preparedness among
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our first responders and law enforcement paid off. we stayed true to our cherished constitutional principles at the same time. we initiated this wide scale collective response to terror. simply put, mr. speaker, the time for identifying and apprehending the suspect, 53 hours and 17 minutes is impressive, it is the continued vigil lance and demonstrated commitment to working together to keep our country secure, which is really, really impressive and in awe it leaves us. thank you. i yield back my time. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i'd like to certainly associate myself with the comments of my good friend from new jersey, mr. pascrell, on this occasion. mr. deal: i rise today as do many others in this chamber in support of house resolution 1320, which commends the vigil lens of the--vigilance of the
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many individuals and organizations that helped prevent what could have been a catastrophic attack. we should be extraordinarily thankful that alert street vendors saw something out of place and promptly alerted authorities who took immediate action to secure the scene and ensure the safety of the many people who are in and around times square, which has been called the crossroads of the world. this incident is only the most recent in a string of attempted attacks on new york city. this attack in recent plots that left the new york city subway trains and pipelines at j.f.k. airport which had also been discorrupted showed the islamic terrorists have their sites set squarely on new york city. this whole notion of homegrown radicalization is something that we are all deeply concerned about. there is the radical cleric in yemen who has been involved with many of the attacks or attempted attacks including
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major hassan at fort hood, texas. or the christmas day attack. we have others out there, too, who are homegrown radicals and there is increasing concern, now most recent of which the radicalization we have seen here is mr. shahzad. these plots are -- should serve to reinforce our efforts to secure new york city and every other city in america from devastating terrorist attacks. the administration, unfortunately, has proposed cutting funding for or eliminating critical homeland security initiatives in new york and elsewhere. there are many initiatives that need to be addressed immediately such as the securing the cities program, which is a successful state and local partnership to help prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism in and around new york. the house has passed legislation to authorize funding for this important initiative for which the administration has proposed eliminating. the administration has also
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proposed the u.s. coast guard new york city base maritime safety and security team which strengthens maritime security around the city. these reductions are being proposed at the same time that the administration has pursued trying alleged 9/11 master mind muhammad in civilian court just blocks away from where the world trade center once stood. we should be more concerned about properly funding counterterrorism initiatives and funding everyone possible to make sure new york and our country are secure as possible. instead of bringing terrorists to america and granting them rights to which they are not entitlemented. we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to the new york police department, to the fire department in new york, the f.b.i., customs and border protection, and alert citizens who saw something and said something to help us dodge a potentially very deadly bullet. i hope that congress and the administration get serious about properly funding important initiatives that will
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strengthen the security of new york city and our entire country because we may not be so lucky the next time new york or any other city comes under attack. again i want to commend everybody involved with helping to derail this attempted attack, again especially the police department of new york and the f.b.i. and everybody else who was involved. i commend mr. mcmahon for bringing this legislation to the floor. at this time i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pascrell: how much time do we have on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey has 12 minutes. the gentleman from pennsylvania has 16 minutes. mr. pascrell: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to mr. hall from new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. mr. hall: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise today in support of h.res. 1320 honoring the brave americans who acted quickly and professionally to keep the attempted bombing at times
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square last saturday from becoming a tragedy. the people of new york city, new york police and fire departments, bomb squad, and others worked to identify the attack and defuse the device. in particular i would like to call the attention to the actions of dwayne jackson and lance or theon, both disabled vietnam veterans who work as street vendors in times square. i had the honor of representing mr. jackson who lives in westchester county. his thinking turned what could have been a tragedy into an example of american heroism. all new yorkers and americans owe them a debt of gratitude that there were no greefing families on saturday night. -- grieving families on saturday night. they once again served their country and showed the character of the men and women who wear the uniform and continue to serve long after they take that uniform off. these events were calculated to strike fear in our hearts however they fail because we are surrounded by everyday
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heroes like lance and wayne. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. dent: i reserve at this time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pascrell: at this time, mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlelady, the speaker of the house of representatives, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. the speaker:: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. and thank him for bringing this resolution to the floor so that we can all rise and sing the praises of those in new york whose vigilance and sense of community, whose courage, the courage of our first responders, professionalism, commitment, and determination of our local, state, and federal law enforcement officers and the people of new york. we salute them. they were prepared. they were ready to act. they calmly did what was necessary. and because of what -- their action the people of new york and entire nation remain safe.
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i thank congressman mcmahon, congressman mcmay hon and all of our colleagues who have sponsored this resolution recognizing the bravery and vigilance of individuals and officers in new york and connecticut, as well as the leadership of the f.b.i., department of homeland security, and department of justice, and the obama administration. in the wake of this foiled terrorist plot we are inspired by the true character of the american people. we call -- recall that the country's spirit can be found in the deeds of its citizens people like lance and dwayne. two alert citizens, and aren't we fortunate for this, as this resolution calls them. who notified an nypd of a suspicious vehicle in times square. the whole country learned of their vigilance, their sense of community.
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our country's resolve rests with police officers such as wayne radigan of nypd who responded immediately to the scene and with his fellow officers and men and women of the new york fire department thwarted the detonation of the car bomb. our country's strength remains with first responders who run into danger when others run out. who safely and promptly evacuated times square, protecting those in harm's way. our country's determination lies with law enforcement, local, state, and federal levels who work together, pursue leads, detain the bomber, and within two days of the attempted attack never resting until the job was done. at moments like this congress reaffirms our responsibility as we do each day, mr. speaker, as we pledge to protect and defend the constitution of the united states from all enemies foreign and domestic. that responsibility is to the -- protect the american people as well.
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that is our first responsibility. as this resolution states, we urge all americans to remain vigil ant -- vigilant about suspicious activity in their community. we must follow the example of the people of new york as president obama has said have reminded us once again how to live with their heads held high. mr. hall in his closing remarks said that the attempt by this terrorist tried to ill still fear. the goal of terrorists is to instill fear. the cage is -- damage is one thing to them but the fear is really their goal. in that way they both parts of their attempt, the attempt, it was thwarted. violent attack was thwarted but
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also as the president said we will not be intimidated. this past weekend everyday americans join our police officers, firefighters, first responders, f.b.i. agents, and other law enforcement personnel as heroes, they are all heroes and we salute them as such on the floor of the house. their efforts represent the best in america. their response is an inspiration to us all to stay prepared and do everything we can to keep our great country safe. again i thank mr. pascrell for bringing this resolution to the floor and joining in a bipartisan way in saluting the heroes of new york. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. dent: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i have no further speakers. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pascrell: how much time do we have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey has 10 minutes remaining. mr. pascrell: thank you.
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i yield two minutes to the gentleman from connecticut, mr. himes, a member of the homeland security committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from connecticut is recognized for two minutes. mr. himes: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for taking up this very important recognition for some ii riskly vigilant and important people. mr. speaker, i rise today to commend the citizens and law enforcement officials of new york city and connecticut whose efforts resulted in bringing shahzad into custody a mere 53 hours after his failed bomb attempt in times square. from the alertness of lance and dwayne noticing a suspicious vehicle in midtown manhattan on saturday to the response of the nypd to this report to the arrest of mr. shahzad late monday evening to the ongoing investigation into how the bombing happened, local, state, and federal law enforcement officials have led a coordinated effort that will bring the facts forward, allow us to learn and improve, and bring the terrorist to justice. without this interagency
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communication, this incident could have escalate food a far more serious and dangerous incident. we must continue to work with state and local partners to bolster preparedness and terrorism prevention efforts. to my constituents in connecticut, i know the discovery of the suspect in the times square bombing attempt has been living in fairfield county is a jarring reminder due to our proximity to new york city we face special and uncertain security concerns. . fairfield county was impacted by 9/11 and it serves as a reminder we must be reflective. i want to thank the captain and members of the detective bureau as well as the bridgeport police department patrol division and members of the f.b.i. task force supervised by juan valdez, jr., for their role in the last few days. thank you to all who helped
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avert a catastrophe. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. dent: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pascrell: mr. speaker, i have no more speakers. if the gentleman from pennsylvania has no more speakers, then i'm prepared to close after the gentleman closes. mr. dent: at this time -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. dent: mr. speaker, at this time i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pascrell: mr. speaker, i wonder what would have happened if officer radigan was not on the scene. to be alerted by the two citizens i mentioned before. and that's why we need to fund our first responders based on
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security needs. we need no or brooment. -- barometer. america's intelligence agencies , law enforcement agencies are critical to our task of protecting our citizens and our neighborhoods. but also on duty every day is our first responders. that local responder was the first. 9/11, they were the first to respond. and a few days ago they were the first to respond after being alerted by our citizens, our citizens of new york. keep this in mind every day when we see the e.m.t.'s and the firefighters of our local towns and our police officers on duty.
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we need more than a pat on the back. they need more than our encouragement. they need our votes to make sure we sustain the resources necessary for them to protect all of america. and i know when these things happen we rise up and then a few days later with you just might forget but we cannot forget. mr. speaker, i yield -- no more time left. i want to say that i'm honored to have presented this resolution today along with mr. dent, my friend from pennsylvania. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1320. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative --
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mr. pascrell: mr. speaker, i request the yeas and nays on this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1272. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1272, resolution commemorating the 40th anniversary of the may 4, 1970, kent state university shootings. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu, and the gentleman from utah, mr. bishop, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on house resolution 1272 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. chu: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i rise today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the kent state university shootings. on may 4, 1970, members of the
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ohio national guard fired into a crowd of unarmed student demonstrators killing four and wounding nine students. anti-war protests broke out on college campuses nationwide on friday, may 1, following the announcement of the u.s. invasion of cambodia as part of the vietnam war. at kent state university, students assembled in protest throughout the weekend. on may 4, the number of protesters grew in size until approximately 3,000 demonstrators and spectators were gathered on the common area of the university. ohio national guardmen, who were brought in as the protest grew, began firing in their direction. those who were lost that day were allison krause, a 19-year-old freshman honor student, jeffrey miller, a 20-year-old student who had recently transferred to the school, sandra scheuer, also 20, was simply walking to class with a friend when she came in the line of a bullet fired.
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and william schroeder, who was not part of the protest and also on his way to class, died with schoolwork in his hands. in addition to those who perished, nine students were injured. alan canfora, john cleary, thomas grace, dean kahler, joseph lewis, donald mackenzie, james russell, robert stamps and douglas wrentmore. all survived but their lives were forever changed. the site of the tragic campus shootings that happened 40 years ago was recently entered in the national historic -- register of historic places. in order to preserve the memory of the may 4 shootings and encourage inquiry, learning and reflection, kent state has established a may 4 memorial as well as individual student memorial markers and scholarships in memory of the four students who lost their lives that day. the university has also begun
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steps in the development of a may 4 visitor's center which will serve as a central place where individuals can explore and better understand the shootings that took place on that terrible day. mr. speaker, once again, i express my support for house resolution 1272 and the development of the may 4 visitor's center as an additional primary resource to preserve and communicate the history of the may 4 shootings, its larger ethical, society impact and our meaning for our democratic nation. i thank representive ryan for bringing this bill forward, and i urge my colleagues to support this measure. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bishop: thank you, mr. speaker. house resolution 1272 commemorates the 40th
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anniversary of the may 4, 1970, kent state university shootings. on may 4, 1970, people gathered at kent state university in kent, ohio, protesting american involvement in vietnam. hostilities escalated and four students, allison krause, jeffrey miller, sandra scheuer and william schroeder were shot and nine others were injured. this year, 2010, marks the 40th anniversary of this tragic event. the event will always be remembered and has been commemorated in several ways. the site of the shooting has been entered in the national registry of historic places. scholarships in memory of the students, a collegiate course on the events and an annual commemoration. kent state has also begun design a visitor's center. deaths and injuries, the as a result from the may 4 injuries, kent state university shooting has been tragic. the shootings has far-reaching effects. it's important we commemorate
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those students who were at kent state university that day, and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah reserves. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to recognize the gentleman from ohio, mr. ryan, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio, mr. ryan, is recognized for two minutes. mr. ryan: i thank the gentlelady. 40 years ago, may 4, yesterday, may 4, 1970, national gartsmen opened fire on students at kent state university who were protesting the war on cambodia and the ongoing war on vietnam. allison, jeffrey, sandra and william were killed. nine others, alan, john, thomas, dean, joseph, donald, james, robert, douglas were injured at the noontime rally. these students were exercising their right guaranteed by the u.s. constitution to freely
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assemble and descent from their government. the kent state shootings were followed 10 days later by the shootings of two students protesting at jackson state college in mississippi. the tragedy at kent state has had a broad residence in american history. richard nixon's former chief of staff wrote in his books that the kent state shootings began the slide into the watergate crisis, eventually dooming the nixon presidency. the shootings led to an uptick in student protests across the country which prompted richard nixon to push for a series of unconstitutional moves to target his political enemies. these culminated in the watergate break in and two years later the kent state university. they have a number of resources to honor the students shot on may 4, 1970. the university has established the may 4 memorial, the marker,
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individual student markers and cholarships in honor of allison, jeffrey, sandra and william. archives now rededicated for the center of applied conflict management. an experimental college course entitled may 4, 1970, and its aftermath, an annual symposium on democracy, annual commemoration sponsored by the may 4 task force -- i ask for an additional 30 seconds. ms. chu: i ask for an additional 4030 seconds. mr. ryan: and recognize significance of the site on the national register of historic places. we were honored, mr. speaker, several nights ago to have our colleague, john lewis, attend an serve as the key note speaker of the 40th anniversary of the may 4 shootings and he delivered a passionate, inciteful speech, key note
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address which the people of kent state university and the city of kent enjoyed. but as we were milling around after, there's always been this tension between what happened at kent state that day and the community and the students. and one person said this brought healing to kent and kent state. and that's what john lewis has done for us, and i hope this resolution in some way helps to continue that healing process. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: might i inquire if there are other speakers? ms. chu: i urge passage of house resolution 1272 -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman inquires as to other speakers? ms. chu: there are no other speakers. mr. bishop: then i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: i urge passage of house resolution 1272, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to
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house resolution 1272. those in favor say aye. those in favor say aye. -- those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- ms. chu: on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. chu: i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1157 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1157, resolution congratulating the national urban league on its 100th year of service to the united states. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu, and the gentleman from
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utah, mr. bishop, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on house resolution 1157 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. chu: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. chu: mr. speaker, it is with great honor and privilege that i rise in support of house resolution 1157 in commemoration and recognition of the national urban league's 100th anniversary and their pursuit of civil rights and economic empowerment for all people. founded in 1910 and headquartered in new york city, the national urban league is a preeminent voice for the civil rights of african-americans and for improving the quality of life in our urban communities. . through their proms they provide direct services to more than two million people nationwide through more than 100 local affiliates, 36 states
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and the district of columbia. with the 100th anniversary they commemorate a rich history of service and advocacy. what started as a grassroots movement for equality, they provided crucial support to african-americans moving to urban centers in the early 1900's. the league works tirelessly to reduce the discrimination and pervasive inequality in our nation's cities. the league grew in size and influence with our nation's civil rights movement in the 1960's. they expanded their advocacy operations and established social service initiatives in housing, health, education, and minority business development. this national organization exemplifies the ideals of service and outreach and has been a tremendous force in enhancing opportunities for education, economic empowerment, health and quality of life, civic engagement, civil rights, and social justice. i would like to extend my
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congratulations and appreciation to the national urban league for their 100 years of exceptional dedication and service and i wish this organization continued success in the great work that they do for years to come. i would also like to thank and congratulate the countless volunteers and staff of the national urban league for their commitment to furthering the organization's mission of equality and i join with them in celebrating the historic milestone. i thank representative hastings for introducing this resolution and i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bishop: i rise today also in support of house resolution 1157, congratulating the national urban league on its 100th year of service to the united states, and i appreciate the gentleman from florida for having introduced this piece of legislation. the national urban league is a nonpartisan civil rights
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organization based in new york city that advocates on behalf of fringe froms and racial discrimination in the united states. it is the oldest and largest community based organization of its kind in this nation. founded in new york city in september 29, 1910, by ruth baldwin and george heans, emerged for the committee to improve the working conditions in new york. and the protection for colored women and renamed the national urban league on commission. the national urban league helped train black social workers and worked in various other ways to bring educational and employment opportunities for blacks. its research into the problems facing employment opportunities, health and sanitation education spurred the league's quick growth. by the end of world war i they had 81 staff members working in 30 cities. in 1920 it took its present name. today this organization remains committed to improving the lives of americans. there are more than 100 local
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affiliates and 36 states in the district of columbia providing direct service that impacts the lives of more than two million people nationwide. we congratulate them on you their 100 years of service to the nation. i ask my colleagues to support the resolution. i reserve the balance. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to recognize the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, is recognized for five minutes. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the distinguished lady from california. my good friend, al green, who i'm pleased to serve with in the house of representatives, and i introduced this legislation to congratulate the national urban league on celebrating its 100th anniversary. i believe he and i also speak not only for substantial numbers of house members, but certainly for all of the members of the congressional black caucus in this
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congratulatory remarks. as was said in the fouppeding in 1910 by george heans and ruth baldwin, this organization has grown from one small housing department into a comprehensive national organization. i'm immensely proud of my own affiliation with the urban league going back over 35 years now. in 1974 i was one of the founding members of the national urban league of broward county, the 104th affiliate chapter in the united states. our goal then was to help alleviate some of the racial tensions felt throughout the community during desegregation. i went on to serve on the original board of directors on the tremendous executive director named leonard gainey,
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for the local chapter, and we worked to empower the community, incracy educational opportunities for our children, and change lives through strong advocacy for essential public services. the league is made -- has made great advances in the realm of civil rights. i knew whitney young who has no peer in this area who worked closely with leaders such as a. phillip randolph and martin luther king. the league assisted in planning the 1963 march on washington and carried on the hard work of advocating for a quality and opportunity in that tumultuous with us -- tumultuous era. the right to an equal education for black americans has developed into a program aimed
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at helping these students use their education to propel themselves into leadership roles in their respective communities. through workshops, summer programs, hands on learning opportunities, and other endeavors, the league enriches the quality of life of black americans of all ages and by that enriches our country. with over 100 offices around the country, league leaders are pillars of their community helping to organize campaigns to in the league's own words, i quote, enable african-americans to secure economic self-relines -- self reliance, parity, power, and civil rights. under the outstanding guidance of extraordinary leaders and everyday men and women, the national urban league has been at the forefront of the great social efforts of the last
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century. i would be terribly remiss if i did not mention the leadership of vernon jordan who was a classmate of mine in law school, and percy lee who was a classmate of mine in high school. and willard fair who i was not a classmate with but learned from and loved through the years, as well as john jacobs who i do share fraternity membership with and good friendship. as the new leader now, mark moreal as well. although we can take great pride in the many exceptional accomplishments of the national urban league, its work is far from over. with 100 years of experience behind them, the hardworking and dedicated men and women of the national urban league are well poised to carry forth its important mission through the next century of progress. mr. speaker, i urge my
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colleagues to support this important resolution congratulating the national urban league for its 100th out-- 100 outstanding years of service to our great nation. i again thank the gentlelady from california for the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from utah is recognized. the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to recognize the gentleman from texas, mr. green. three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentlelady for the time. and i want to thank the honorable alcee hastings, a most respected member of this house. i'm honored that he would present this resolution honoring a most respected organization in this country, the national urban league.
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the honorable alcee hastings has been a part of the avant-garde when it comes to human rights and civil rights and protecting those who among the least, the last, and lost in society. which is what the urban league seeks to do. 100 years of service to the united states of america and indirectly to the planet earth because indirectly what you do for one you do for all. i'm honored to mention that the honorable mark murreal has continued the great leadership established in the urban league. he's the current president and c.e.o. in houston we have the honorable judson robinson who is the president and c.e.o. of the houston area urban league and he has done a stellar job as well. the urban league is now and has always been an intergrated organization. founded by two persons of
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different hughs -- hues and continues that legacy, hair stage if you will -- heritage if you will, of representing all persons but making sure that those who have been left behind have the opportunity to catch up. i'm honored to tell you that the urban league has this goal of self-reliance and it percent the goal of self-reliance by way of political parity, by way of making great and noble american ideal expressed in baker vs. carr, one person, one vote. the urban league seeks to call those who were locked out of the process to have the opportunity to not only participate but have their votes mean something. the urban league seeks to have self-reliance through economic empowerment. the notion that equality of opportunity ought to exist for all within this great country. equality of opportunity, not
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give me something for nothing. but give the opportunity to succeed on merits or fail on demerit. the opportunity to participate in the process. 100 years of service, 100 years of combating poverty and equality and social injustice. and i close with this reminder, a cliche, a phrase, if you will, that's worn out and it's worn because of a good reason. because it means something. that phrase is this, if we did not have the national urban league, we would surely have to create it. i thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: may i inquire if there are other speakers for the other side? ms. chu: we have one more speaker. mr. bishop: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: i'm pleased to recognize the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. sutton, for two
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minutes. the chair: the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. ms. sutton: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentlelady for her time and loweredship she's displaying here and on so many issues. i also want to thank my friend, representative alcee hastings, for his leadership in bringing this very appropriate resolution to the floor. i rise today in support of house resolution 1157, to honor and congratulate the national urban league on their 100th year of giving back to our community. i want to thank the leaders in our communities of the urban league, burnett williams who has the leadership of the akron urban league, and fred wright leader of the lorraine county urban league. each of these affiliates has stood tall and served as a pillar in our community through the difficulty times that many have faced over the past years. this year the akron urban league will celebrate its 85th
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anniversary of serving the community. fighting to eliminate the disparities that african-americans face and helping others who face disadvantages in our community. the akron urban league has set out on an aggressive list of programs for adults. one which focuses on career training and pairs each student with a mentor from the local corporate community. the laraine county urban league has served the county for 30 years. empowering african-americans and the kiss advantaged -- disadvantaged. they offer opportunities such as the youth empowerment programs, a program designed to give our young people the preparation and skills that they need for the 21st century careers through education and community service. both the akron and laraine county urban league affiliates mean a great deal to northeast ohio and to our country. putting people back to work remains my top priority in congress and the national urban league and its affiliates in laraine county and akron are
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steadfastly dedicated to this mission. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time of the the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: i urge once again support of this resolution and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back the balance of his time of the the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: there are no further speakers. i urge passage of house resolution 1157 and i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1157 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the reconsider is laid on the table.
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the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. chu: i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1312 as aminded. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1312, recognizing the roles and contributions to -- of america's teachers to enhancing our civic, cultural and economic well being. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu and the gentleman from utah, mr. bishop, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: i ask for five legislative days in which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. chu: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: ms. speaker, i rise today to recognize the important role teachers play in
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the education of our nation. this week, may 3 through may 7, we celebrate national teacher appreciation week. the national p.t.a. created this week in 1984 to show gratitude to the approximately 3.2 million teachers in the united states and to thank them for contributing to the civic, cultural and economic well-being of our nation. this national teacher appreciation week is a chance for us to recognize the selflessness and dedication that teachers show to our children every day. we know that having teachers is integral to the education outcomes of our nation's youth. research tells us that teacher quality accounts for the majority of variance in student achievement. highly qualified teachers serve as excellent role models and instill a love for knowledge and life-long learning in our students. they also shape tomorrow's leaders and prepare america's diverse student population with the skills it needs to compete in the 21st century work forest.
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teaching is a skilled practice. teachers reflect on their lessons and modify instructions to reach the broad range of needs of their students in their classrooms. quality teachers hone their skills and are experts not only in their subject matter but also at connecting with young people and making learning come alive. teaching is a dynamic profession and educators must continuously engage in quality, professional development in order to sharpen their techniques and increase their own knowledge. unfortunately, research shazz shown us the negative effects of teacher shortages. with the economic downturn, we've seen too many states turn to teacher layoffs to address budget deficits. additionally, over the next four years, more than 1/3 of the nation's 3.2 million teachers may retire. it is imperative that schools and communities continue to support our teachers if we are to educate our children to not only compete, but to lead and
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innovate in the 21st century economy. i would like to extend my congratulations to the 2010 national teacher of the year, ms. sara brown westling, an english teacher in johnston high school in johnston, iowa. she teaches 10th through 12th graders at johnston high and is recognized for her innovative, learner-centered teaching method and passion for quality instruction. we recognize her hard work and the example she sets for our nation's teachers. ms. speaker, once again i express my support for national teacher appreciation week. i encourage everyone take a moment and reflect on a motivational teacher that helped you realize your potential and reach your dreams. i want to thank representative graves for bringing this resolution to the floor and i urge passage of the resolution. i reserve the balance of my
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time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: thank you, madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: i rise in support of h.r. 1312 and mention a conflict of interest since i spent 28 years as a public schoolteacher before i joined this august body here this recognizes the roles and contributions of our nation's teachers in shaping our economic and civic well being. teachers provide one of the greatest services to our youth which is education. educators bear the responsibility of teaching the next generation and apart from parents are one of the primary sources of knowledge and values for our kids. in today's challenging learning virmente, teachers provide more than academic leadership. they plan and organize stuent activities, understood the basic -- understand the basic needs of students, encourage them to improve they work
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closely with parents they motivate students and encourage them to participate in extracurricular activities. showing teachers appreciation is a terrific act of gratitude that reminds us of how important teach erts are and reminds us of what an integral role they play in our lives. teachers today devote much time to professional development, class preparation outside the classroom. most teachers spend much longer than the official school day to meet the needs of their students. today we also recognize the importance of having a well-trained, dedicated, and skilled teachers in schools. we honor all teachers who have made a difference by preparing tomorrow's leaders. i want to thank my colleague, mr. graves of missouri, for introducing this resolution, unfortunately seven years after i retired, but introducing it
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nonetheless. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: i'm pleased to recognize the gentlewoman from california, ms. sanchez, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognize. ms. sanchez: thank you. id rise in preeshyigse of -- i rise in appreciation of national teacher appreciation week. teachers fill many roles. they inspire students to set and reach goals. they are role models, motivators and mentors. most importantly they help students develop the knowledge and skills they need to understand the world and become a productive part of it. they work with limited resources to ensure that our students receive a quality education. there are so many teachers in my district who work hard to open students' minds to ideas, knowledge, and dreams. today i want to mention just three. julie wright, who teaches first grade at garden hill elementary school in la marada.
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recently she was nominated teacher of the year. she participates in the p.t.a. and the girl scouts. patty is a special day class teacher at ada nelson elementary school. because of her patience and dedication to her special needs students, she was selected as the teacher of the year for 2009 and 2010. a sixth grade teacher who was honored for service to agriculture because of his commitment to increasing student knowledge about agriculture, horticulture and nutrition. i encourage everyone take a moment to let a special teacher know how much they touched your live. -- your life. thank you for the time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized.
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ms. chu: there are no further speakers, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah. mr. bishop: i am under the impression that the sponsor of this resolution is on his way down to speak toward this particular resolution, if i might, say just a couple more words about this particular one. obviously -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah yields himself as much time as me may consume. mr. bishop: i don't want that much time but we'll see how long it takes. this is an issue very dear to my heart. i know full well how dedicated teachers are in putting in of their own time and effort to make -- to make their classrooms a success. it is one of those particular areas in which they need to be recognized. it would be nice if we could recognize them in other ways that are more monetarily satisfying. but to recognize that teachers give of themselves in an effort to try to deal and work with the future generations, that is
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one of those things that cannot be ever underestimated or underidentified. so i appreciate -- i appreciate the fact that this time which is called national teacher appreciation week, an entity started by the p.t.a. is indeed one of those elements that we should take the time to recognize as -- as a significant factor a significant effort for all the teachers in our public schools and our private schools as well and indeed, you can probably expand this to extend to those who are teaching at home, which means our parents are teachers in and of themselves. they need to be recognize nerd commitment they make to our students. it is an important effort. it is an important entity. madam speaker, -- madam speaker, i'm going to reserve right now and see if the gentlelady from california has anything more she wants to add
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to this. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah reserves. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: as a teacher who was in the classroom for 20 years myself, i deeply appreciate this resolution. it is a very timely one, especially as we go into re-authorization of the elementary and secondary education act. and i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: -- i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves her time. the gentleman from utah. mr. bishop: how about that. madam speaker, since i understand that the gentleman is indeed on his way and should be here any moment, if i could just inquire how much time i need to tread before i can -- before we do anything else. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah has 16 minutes remaining.
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mr. bishop: great. well, madam speaker, seldom have we spent this much time on resolutions on the floor on suspension. and indeed, i think that the gentleman from missouri, he gets here before i have to yield back, owes me big time. but at any rate, once again, this is one of those areas in which we can -- we have talked a lot in other particular areas, those of us who worked in the education system know the significance of this and the importance of it. and madam speaker, if i could indulge you for just one moment, let me stand here and control the time and see if we have the ability of mr. graves to come in here within the next to come in here within the next few minutes.
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mr. bishop: with that, madam speaker, perhaps -- madam speaker, let me deal with it this way so we can move along here, i don't have to deal with it. i was willing to actually yield some time in the next bill that comes up, but i don't think i have to do that right now. since i do have this time with the permission of the -- of you, madam speaker, i would like to yield such time as he may consume that is remaining to the sponsor of this particular resolution, who did have to hustle very quickly to get over here. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. graves: madam speaker. i couldn't hear you, sorry. the speaker pro tempore: you've been recognized. mr. graves: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in strong support of h.res. 1312, a resolution recognizing the significant contributions of our nation's teachers. i want to thank chairman miller and ranking member klein for
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allowing this to come to the floor today. i want to thank representative guthrie and many others who have joined me as original co-sponsors in moving forward this important tribute. the goal of h.res. 1312 is to honor teaching and those who enter into it. there are other jobs with better pay, shorter hours and less hassle than teaching. however, each year thousands of college graduates choose teaching as a profession. in no small part as a result of the impact their own teachers had on them. in addition, i urge my colleagues to take part in national teacher appreciation week held from may 3 through may 7. it is designed to provide means for students, parents, and the entire community to come together and participate in events and activities and show our appreciation for teachers. in closing, i once again thank my colleagues for taking the time to recognize the profession of teaching and encourage the strong support of this resolution. i would yield back the balance
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of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. mr. chu: does the gentleman -- seeing that the other side yields back -- the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman from utah? mr. bishop: i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: i urge passage of resolution 1312 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: all time has been yielded back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1312 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. chu: i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1149. the speaker pro tempore: the
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clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1149, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of national charter school week, to be held may 2 through may 8, 2010. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu, and the gentleman from utah, mr. bishop, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: madam speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and i sert -- insert extraneous material on house resolution 1149 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of house resolution 1149, a resolution in support of the goals and ideals of national charter school week from may 2 through may 8, 2010. and to recognize the growing charter school movement in our nation. since their inception in 1991, charter schools have offered a
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competitive education to many of our nation's public school students and helped drive school reforms across the country. charter schools across the united states support diverse and innovative instruction and learning models. with autonomy and flexibility, charter schools can make timely decisions about how to structure the school day, which curriculum suits the needs of their students, and which types of staff will enrich the school community. additionally quality charter schools form an important fartherer inship with parents and the surrounding community. this week parter schools across the country will celebrate the 11th annual national charter schools week, and it is a great time to highlight the role these schools serve in driving education innovation and reform. today there are almost 5,000 public charter schools operating in 39 states and the district of columbia. they serve more than 1.5 million students with many more students on waiting lists.
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to address this demand, many states and districts are welcoming charters to their neighborhoods. with the start of the school year over 400 new public charter schools opened their dools to nearly 170,000 new students. the growing charter school movement is also providing opportunities for many historically underserved communities. nationally charter schools serve a high percentage of minority and low-income students. in fact, 58% of charter school students are minorities and 35% qualify for free and reduced price lunch. quality charter schools are often able to achieve impressive academic results. mr. speaker, once again i express my support for national charter schools week and recognize the charter schools movement and its 18-year history of promoting a high quality public educational option, an option that is innovative, flexible, and
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responsive to community needs. i thank representative bishop for introducing this resolution and urge my colleagues to support this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah. mr. bishop: it is very difficult for me without moving my hand at any given time. i again rise to support house resolution 1149 supporting the goals and ideals of the national charter school week which is held now, actually runs from may 2 through may 8 of this year. this week has been designated as the 11th annual charter school week. charter schools are innovative public schools that have unique freedoms and responsibilities. they explore new educational approaches and free from some rules and regulations governing traditional public schools, in exchange charter schools are held to a higher level of accountability than a traditional school. they must demonstrate the success of their student's
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academic achievement to parents. many charter schools have met and exceeded in this challenge. most charter schools meet necessary student achievement and accountability requirements and often set high individual goals to ensure they are of high quality and accountable to the public. however despite these reports, parental satisfaction, charter schools face unique obstacles in creating and replicating successful schools. one are caps that limit their growth. 26 states and the district of columbia have some type of limit or cap on charter school growth. most caps restrict the number of schools aloud, others the number of students, these caps prohibit effective charter schools from being created and thereby serving students in need. it is essential that congress continues to support public charter school programs and recognize unique attributes of charter schools. they provide support for the development of charter schools
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and these programs have helped to create a public charter school system across this country. schools that work to improve academic achievement oftentimes for low-income students. it is important that the charter community is able to continue to provide a high quality option based on innovation, freedom from red tape, partnership with parents and educators, and continue to give hope, oftentimes to disadvantaged and at-risk students across this nation. it is indeed one of those goods things we are doing in our school system and i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: does the gentleman from utah have any further speakers? mr. bishop: i do, fit he is not here and that's too bad. i don't have any more. madam speaker, if i might i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah yields back. the gentlewoman from california. ms. chu: i urge passage of house resolution 1149. i yield back.
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the speaker pro tempore: all time has been yielded back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1149. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the reconsider is laid upon the table.
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the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2421 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2421, a bill to
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require the secretary of the treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of 340er's -- mother's day. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. meeks, and the gentlewoman from west virginia, mrs. capito, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. meeks: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. meeks: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. serve the gentleman from new york. mr. meeks: madam speaker, on sunday we'll be celebrating mother's day. and on may 9, 2014, we'll be
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celebrating the 100th anniversary of the declaration by president wilson of mother's day. being the second sunday in may. and i speak in strong support of the bill that mrs. capito also worked on and drafted and fought so hard to have a commemorative coin done on -- for that day in honor of mother's day. as you know, anna jarvis, who is considered to be the found irof the modern mother's day was born in webster, west virginia, on may 1, 1864, and she loved her mother. so much so that when her mother passed the governor of the west
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virginia and others came around and said, what a great idea it is to celebrate mothers. and i don't know of a person in this house, in this nation who does not appreciate the value of their mothers. and the greatness that mother's day has represented, bringing us together to celebrate mothers. so what a brilliant idea 100 years ago. by the president, following the lead of west virginia, to determine that we are going to officially call this -- have this day of celebration for mothers. and what better thing for us to do than to have a commemorative coin established that would also raise money for two very important organizations. one half of funds that would be received from the surcharges of
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$10 per coin profits to the benefit of women causes, including to the susan k. komen for the cure for the purpose of furthering research funded by the organization. and another half to the national i.c.o. poreous foundation for that foundation. madam speaker, i stand here today in strong support and passage of the commemorative coin to celebrate the 100th anniversary, the centennial, of mother's day being declared by president winson -- president wilson. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentlelady from west virginia is recognized. mrs. capito: thank you, madam speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from new york for not only his support of the bill but also his eloquent statement in support of not just the coin but mothers in general. i want to thank him for yielding the time to me. as he said this sunday families across the nation will gather
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to honor their mothers and grandmothers and by the way, i'm a new grandmother, i have to put that in, by showing their gratitude for the contributions these women have made not only to their immediate families but also to the communities at large. the tradition of honoring our mothers on the second sunday in may goes back almost a century. it is a very interesting and quite simple history. the tradition of mother's day began in the mountains of applachia when a woman named anna jarvis thought a more formal way to honor her mother. who had passed away in 1905. his jarvis, a native of webster county in the wilds of west virginia began working with the andrews meth dis episcopal church of graphton, west varks, to honor her mother and contributions to the community. in 1908 the church officially proclaimed the third
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anniversary of anna's passing to be mother's day. she was not to be deterred. she continued her efforts to honor mothers across the state and in 1910 was successful in lobbying and encouraging the governor of west virginia to issue the first mother's day proclamation, encouraging all west virginians to attend church and wear a white carnation in honor of their mother. she built upon her success at home and began a nationwide effort to have federal recognition of mother's day. after fours year -- four years of hard work and dedication, president woodrow wilson issued a presidential proclamation in 1914 encouraging all americans to fly the american flag at their homes on the second sunday of may as a public expression of the love and reverence for mothers of our nation. . west virginians are proud of our heritage and the role our state played in the creation and founding of mother's day.
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i called for this resolution for minting this coin to commemorate mother's day. it will be minted in 2014. and the proceeds will go to the susan g. komen foundation and the national osteoporosis foundation. i wanted to pick foundations i knew were dedicated to women's health that will be, the money will be used for research and development to help mothers of the future cope with tragic consequences of osteoporosis or cancer. as an aside, i would like to wish my mother, shelley riley moore, a happy and wonderful mother's day this sunday. she's been a special person in my life and the life of my entire family. while that's a personal aside, i know we all feel the same way about our mothers and taking the time to tell them, i would
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encourage everyone do that. i would like to thank the 291 members in this house who joined me in this effort allowing the bill to be considered today. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from new york. >> we have no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from west virginia is recognized. mrs. capito: i thought we had another speaker, but i think he's gotten tied up in another activity. i encourage passage of this bill and encourage the recognition of the place that the mothers of america and really across the world play in the lives of all of us here today and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognize. mr. meeks: let me thank the gentlelady from west virginia for her hard work on bringing this bill. i think there's no more appropriate thing to do than to
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celebrate mothers as we will this sunday and celebrate the 100th anniversary of mother's day as we would in 2014. as well as raising money for those causes that will help women. let me likewise say i would not be standing here today in the well of the house of representatives if it wasn't for many lessons that was taught to me by my mother and though she's no longer with us, there's not a day that gos by that she's not in my thoughts and my heart and i don't hear her. i close on the other mother i must say on a personal note that i must give a special thanks to is my wife. and what she does on a daily basis mothering our children. with that, madam speaker, i have no further speakers and i will yield back the balance of my time.
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the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2421 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the reconsider is laid on the table.
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the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition? >> good afternoon, madam speaker. i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1295. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: house resolution -- the speaker pro tempore: excuse me, mr. clerk. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1295, resolution celebrating the role of motherses in the united states and supporting the goals and ideals of mother's day. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. lynch and the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. lynch: thank you, madam speaker. i ask annapolis consent that all members have five -- i ask annapolis consent that all members have -- unanimous consent that all members have
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five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. lynch: i yield myself such time as i may consume. on behalf of the committee on government and oversight reform, i'm pleased to present house resolution 1295 for consideration. this celebrates the role of mothers in the united states and supporting the goals and ideals of mother's day. introduced by my friend, representative fortenberry, on april 24, 2010, it has the support of other 60 members of congress and i've gone out on a limb and become one of those co-sponsors. i'd like to thank the gentleman frommen for introducing the resolution and i'd like to thank chairman towns and mr. chaffetz my colleague on the house committee on government and oversight reform for bringing the resolution to the floor today. on sunday, may 9, 2010, we'll celebrate the 102nd anniversary of the first official mother's day, which was celebrated on
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may 10, 1908, in grafton, west virginia, and philadelphia, pennsylvania. it may come as a surprise to some, particularly our own mother that it took nearly 130 year for our country to officially designate a day praising motherhood. thankfully in 1908, senator elmer burkett of nebraska had the good sense to propose making mother's day into a national holiday. since 1910, congress has recognized the second sunday in may to recognize the contributions mothers have deadmead to our great nation generalry. i would not presume to speak on behalf of america's 82 million mothers. instead i simply recognize their importance in shaping our society and our future. many of our greatest national heroes attribute their own successes to the guidance of their moms. while examples abound, i'll
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quote president abraham lincoln who said of his own mother, i remember my mother's prayers. they have always followed me, they have clung to me all of my life. i'm sure that similar thanks and praise are appropriate for mothers of every american. madam speaker, although i think you would agree that it is completely inadequate to spend just one day a year celebrating the contributions of america's mothers, my wife regularly reminds me that in our house, every day is mother's day, as a small token of our appreciation, i urge this body to join its 63 co-sponsors and agree to house resolution 1295 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah. mr. chaffetz: i rise in support of house resolution 1295. this is something i can get excited about and proud of the body for taking up. the celebration of mothers in
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the united states and supporting the goals and until yls of mother's day is something i think we can agree on. this sunday, americans will pay tribute to the the 82 million mothers in america and their part in building successful communities throughout our country. the first mother's day was celebrated in grafton, west virginia, on may 10, 1908. the custom caught on and was celebrated in other states. in 1914, president wilson declared the first national mother's day to celebrate the woman's role in the family and as a day for citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons have died in world. this celebration has come to include all mothers and is now celebrated in many countries across teleglobe. mothers have traditionally celebrated the strength of families. their nurturing spirit
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transcends cultures as they nurture, guide, and protech their children. as washington irindividual said, quote, a mother is the truest friend we have, when adversity takes the place of prosperity, when friends who rejoice with us in sunshine desert us, when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness and cause peace to return to our hearts, end quote. it is with joy in our hearts that once again we honor the woman who most of us hold dear to recognize the steadfast las vegas and support of our mothers who help shape us throughout our lives. on a personal note, i miss my mother. she passed away some years ago. i love her and i miss her. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. lynch: we have no further speakers, i continue to
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reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah. mr. chaffetz: at this time i yield two minutes to my distinguished colleague from the state of alabama, mr. baucus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. bachus: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, i wish to speak on this bill and also on the coin bill. there is a bond between mothers and children that words cannot describe. for the lucky ones among us, the more fortunate ones, a mother, our mother, or someone else's mother, or a mother figure such as a grandmother, has made all the difference in the world in our lives. of the tend -- the tender care, the unending support and the unconditional love of a mother truly are life's greatest blessings for a child. every year on the second sunday in may this nation honors its mothers.
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it'll do so again this sunday. we seek to acknowledge their tireless support and their enduring love. a few of us -- few of us realize how the tradition began. as mrs. capito said, it began through the efforts of one lady in 1868 at the end of the civil war. her name was anna jarvis and she dreamed of an annual mother's day. she didn't live to see that, but her daughter did. on may 9, 1907, the second anniversary of ms. jarvi s's death, her daughter organized a group of friends and within a year they began having church services on the second sunday of may throughout west virginia. it spread to philadelphia and then in 1910 the governor of west virginia, governor william
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glascock, issued a mother's day proclamation. the next year, mother's day services were held in all the states and later that year, president woodrow wilson, responding to a jonalt resolution of congress, issued a proclamation setting aside the second sunday of each may for showing the american flag in love and reverence of the mothers of our country. today that celebration has spread throughout the world. it began in west virginia and here in the united states, another thing we as americans can be proud of is we honor our mothers this sunday. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. lynch: we continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i yield three minutes to my distinguished colleague from the state of georgia, mr. gingrey. the speaker pro tempore: the
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gentleman from georgia is recognized for three minutes. mr. gingrey: i thank my friend for yielding. i rise today as a proud supporter of house resolution 1295. celebrating the role of mothers in the united states and supporting the goals and ideals of mother's day. mothers are the foundation of the family and their care and love of children continue to nurture the future leaders of this nation. each day, i'm overwhelmed by the wonderful mothers in my life, my family, from my mom, to my wife to my daughters, represents three generations of commitment to strong families and successful youth. these women and so many like them are the back bone of america. madam speaker, today i thank my mother for instilling in my brothers and me the hard work, good education, personal responsibility, respect for the diversity of others, love of family and country, but most importantly, love of god.
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i must also take a moment to honor my wife for her undying love and devotion to our four children and now as of monday, 10 grandchildren. my wife billie has, and forever will be, an example for all mothers on how to raise a strong and beautiful family. i'm proud of all mothers in the 11th district of georgia who are dedicated to family values and compassion for their children. while passing on the ideals and strengths that they have instilled into each child they rear, america's mothers are responsible for raising the next generation of mature adults. therefore, madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this resolution, as i know they will, honoring all blessed mothers for their commitment to protecting our nation's greatest treasure, the american family. with that, madam speaker, i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields barks the. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. lynch: i yield.
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the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from utah: mr. chaffetz: i yield to the gentleman, mr. for then berry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. for then berry: as we know this sunday millions of americans will celebrate the 102nd mother's day. the dedication, the grace, and the love of our mothers are written on all of our charts and the history of our nation and i think they can be rightly said that the great character of america is due to the collective visionary might of the american mother. president abraham lincoln elucidated this very well and i quote, all i am or hope to be i owe to my angel mother. i remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. they have clung to me all of my life. across time, traditions, and cultures mothers have long been recognized and uplifted for their irreplaceable contributions to the family and
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society. but it wasn't until a woman as we heard earlier from graphton, west virginia, named anna jarvis, held an observe advance in her mother's honor, that the modern america's mother's day first began. the quest for the official recognition of mother's day, however, began in my own home state of nebraska. miss jarvis and the young men's christian association urged the junior senator from nebraska to bring the celebration before congress for a vote in 1908. it didn't pass then, but it took until 1914 but they got it done, congress eventually declared, quote, that the service rendered the united states by the american mother is the greatest source of the country's strength and inspiration. since that time our society has undergone vast transformations. but it is a testament to the enduring role of the family as the true foundation of america that mother's day still stands
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strong even amid the nuances. mothers have sustained our nation through every generation and their compassionate leadership in the family and their communities has remained a constant, even through turbulent times. each day mothers are called to carry on the essential challenge of nurturing and fortifying our world. building a better future for their, for our children. the strength of the nation ultimately is determined by the strength of our families and communities and mothers shape that strength through their unique and integral role. madam speaker, in times here we have become mired in bitter policy disputes. i believe it is refreshing to come together as a body now to honor the women who have literally given us the breath to stand on this floor, defend our convictions, and maybe to try to affect some good in this world. we join with millions of
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americans echoing the father of our country, george washington, who said, all i am i owe to my mother. i attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education i received from her. madam speaker, i appreciate the time and i urge my colleagues to support this timeless resolution. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. lynch: madam speaker, i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i simply want to say this. the foundation, the future of our country is rooted in our families. that starts with mothers. the mother of our children, my wife, i can't thank her enough for what she does and for what literally millions and millions of mothers do and sacrifice every day for the sake of their children. i urge passage of this resolution. and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. lynch: thank you, madam
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speaker. in closing i just want to thank the gentleman from nebraska, mr. for then berry -- fortenberry for his foresight and proposing this resolution. in closing i want to wish all the moms in massachusetts and across america happy mother's day, including my own mom, and my mother-in-law and my wife. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time has been yielded back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1295. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the gentleman from massachusetts virginia tech. mr. lynch: i request the call of the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered.
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pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition? mr. lynch: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1247. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1247, resolution expressing the sense of the house of representatives that public servants should be commended for their dedication and continued service to the nation during public service recognition week, may 3 through 9, 2010, and throughout the year. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. lynch, and the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts.
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mr. lynch: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous materials. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. lynch: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. lynch: thank you. madam speaker, as chairman of the house committee with jurisdiction over the federal work force, postal service, and the district of columbia, i'm pleased to presented house resolution 1247 for consideration. this legislation expresses the sense of the house of representatives that public servants should be commended for their dedication, continued service to the nation during public service recognition week and throughout the year. as the original sponsor of the resolution along with my friend and colleague, mr. chaffetz of utah, i'm proud to say that house resolution 1247 has the support of 60 members of congress. i'd like to take this opportunity to thank mr. chaffetz for jointly introducing the resolution with me and for his work on bringing
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this to the floor today. i'd also like to thank the partnership for public service for their role in organizing this annual celebration week as well as for their superior work promoting careers in the public sector. madam speaker, this week marks the 27th anniversary of public service recognition week. from may 3 through may 9, 2010, public service recognition week is designed to commemorate the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice made by our nation's federal, state, and local government employees. it's highly appropriate we take a moment each year to fully appreciate the extraordinary needs that are performed by public employees throughout our country and abroad. among other things public servants enforce our laws, they teach in our schools and libraries, they defend our nation, and protect the environment and our national parks. these individuals deserve our highest praise although too often they are criticized and undervalued. there are millions of individuals who work in government, services in every
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city, county, and state across america. and hundreds of cities abroad. we all benefit enormously from the hard work of these dedicate the individuals and i would like to take this opportunity to highlight a terrific example from my own district of a good federal employee who performs on a daily basis tasks that are viletal to a lot of people that we -- vital to a lot of people we worry about. that is within the veterans' affairs boston health care system. the v.a. system is a consolidation of facilities which delivers high quality patient care to our nation's veterans in areas such as mental health services, occupational therapy, and women's veterans homeless programs. the employees of all of these centers help to ensure that our nation's heroes receive the health care they deserve. in particular cecilia mcveigh at v.a. boston who began her federal career in 1972 and continues to be recognized as a
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leader of the boston v.a. health care system. madam speaker, our public servants are being recognized this week and i just want to talk about a few of them. very, very briefly. for example, pius works for the field office of the u.s. citizen and immigration service. he has worked tirelessly and selflessly proveeding assistance to haitian orphans in the aftermath of the january, 2010 earthquake. sergeant kimberly d. munley and sergeant mark a. todd senior both civilian employees, members of the american federation of government employees, who responded to the shooting at fort hood. these are civilian employees but they confronted an armed gunman and also mass chaos. the two police department
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officers brought an end to the tragic rampage of fort hood that killed 13 people and wounded 43 others. also sara bloom, an employee, attorney at the u.s. attorney's office in my own district in massachusetts. sara led the legal case against one of the major drug manufacturers and recovered $2.3 billion on behalf of the american people in fines and penalties, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the united states. jamie, an intelligence analyst at the f.b.i. he provided vital he are sources in the fight against commercial and sexual exploitation of children which has resulted in the conviction of more than 500 individuals and predtors and the rescue of more than 1,000 child victims. also carl w. pike and the project team they led the largest strike against the la
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famillea mexican drug cartel resulting in more than 1,000 arrests plus the seizure of 1.5 tons of methamphetamines and $32 million in cash. lastly terry glass and the army medical support team that developed the state-of-the-art medical evacuation kit to provide lifesaving treatment and emergency transportation to soldiers severely wounded by roadside bombs. and lastly, r.j. simons, robert j. simons, who dedicated his 20-year career to fighting the global h.i.v. ---hiv-aids epidemic advising policymakers on the creation of lifesaving programs and working in developing nations to ensure those families receive those services. those are just a handful of the public servants that we recognize this week. they are wonderful reflection of what a lot of people do every day, madam speaker. our public servants' hard work and dedication contribute
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significantly to the greatness and prosperity of our nation. it is for this reason that with the help of the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz, i introduced this resolution and i urge its cooperation. public servants improve our lives on a daily basis and i hope this congress will take the time to honor all of those who have dedicated their lives to our country by voting in favor of house resolution 1247. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah. mr. chaffetz: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in strong support of house resolution 1247 commending public servants for their service and dedication to our nation during public service recognition week. every day millions of hardworking and highly talented americans serve their country and help make the united states even stronger. as a nation we owe public servants everywhere our gratitude for the work they do. americans rely on public employees to keep it safe. every day men and women in uniform worldwide protect our
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freedom and allow us to live our lives in peace and security. when we have an emergency we depend on firefighters and police officer who tep us -- to help us out. only a few days ago we witnessed the heroic actions of the coast guard in coming to the rescue of over 100 oil workers trapped on the deepwater horizon oil rig in the gulf of mexico. the dedicated members of the national guard leave their own families and help people in their communities to recover and rebuild in times of peril. on normal days all american lives are enriched by public employees whether the postal employee who delivers the mail or the public school teacher whose constant enthusiasm enspires our children to succeed in school. we enjoy the benefits of the work of public servants give us constantly. much of the work of public employees we take or granted and do not realize there are people in every corner of this country who step up and do the right thing. from time to time, we hear aboutb

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