reassuring allies and partners. as such, the first step of the year-long nuclear posture review was an extensive analysis determined how many nuclear vehicles and deployed warheads were needed. this in turn provided the basis for our negotiations of start. .

the defense department has established a baseline force structure to guide our plannings. one that does not require changes to current or planned basing arrangements. the department will retain 240 deployed submarine launched ballistic missiles distributed among 14 submarines, each of which will have 20 launch tubes. this is the most survival leg of the triade and reducing the number of missiles carried on each submarine from 20 to 24 will facilitate navy planning for the ohio class submarine replacement. recognizing the flexibility of the bomber leg of the try add,

we'll retain up to 60 deployed heavy bombers, including all 18 operational b-2's. at the same time we will -- we have to consider the air force's planning for a long-range strike replacement and plan to convert a number of b-52-h's to a conventional role. finally the u.s. retained up to 420 deployed head single minutemen icbm's at the current missile bases. let me state what the start treaty will not affect. first, treaty will not constrain the united states from deploying the most effective missile defense as possible, nor impose additional costs on those defenses. i'm speaking of stories in the news this morning and the last couple days. i'll be happy to discuss the article in the "new york times" this morning about the sm-3 missile. as the administration's missile defense plans make clear, we'll

continue our capability to defend ourselves, our deployed forces, and allies and partners against lipids threats. we made this clear to the russians. furthermore, the new start does not restrict our ability to develop and deploy prompt global strike prompt conventional strike capabilities that could attack targets anywhere on the globe in an hour or less. the treaty's limit of 700 deployed delivery vehicles combined with the associated ceiling 1,550 deployed warheads accommodates the limited number of conventional warheads we may need for this capability. we are also currently examining potential future long-range weapons systems for prompt global strike that would not be limited by the treaty. in my view of a key contribution of this treaty is a provision for strong verification regime. while the intelligence community will provide a detailed classified assessment, i would like to emphasize some of the

key elements of this regime. which provides a firm basis for monitoring russia's delines with its treaty obligations while also providing important insights into the size and composition of russian strategic forces. the treaty allows each party to conduct up to 18 on-site inspections each year at operating bases for icbm's ssbm's and nuclear capable heavy bombers, as well as storage facilities, test ranges, and conversion and elimination facilities. the agreement establishes a database which will be initially populated 45 days after the treaty enters into force and updated every six months thereafter. it will help provide the united states with a rolling overall picture of russia's strategic offensive forces. this picture is further supplemented by the large number of notifications required which will track the movement and changes in status of the strategic offensive arms covered by the treaty. unique identifiers, for the first time will be assigned to each icbm, and nuclear capable

heavy bomber, allowing us to track the disposition of accountable systems throughout their life cycles. the treaty provides for noninterference with national technical means verification such as reconnaissance satellites, ground stations and ships. this provides us with an independent method of gathering information that can assist in validating data declarations. while poe lemtry is not needed to verify the positions of this treaty, the terms nonetheless call for the exchange of telemetry. i'm confident the new treaty will in no way compromise america's nuclear deterrent. the primary threat to the effectiveness and considered as readibility of the american deterrent is one that we control ourselves and that is failing to invest adequately in our nation's nuclear weapons infrastructure. a point i have made a number of times in recent years. maintaining an adequate stockpile of safe, secure, and

reliable nuclear warheads requires a reinvigoration of our nuclear weapons complex, that is our infrastructure and our science, technology, and engineering base. to thend the department of defense is transferring $4.6 billion to the department of energy's national nuclear security administration through fiscal year 2015. this transfer will assist in funding critical nuclear weapons life extension programs and efforts to modernize the nuclear weapons infrastructure. the initial applications of this funding along with an additional $1.1 billion being transferred for naval nuclear reactors are reflected in the defense and energy department's f.y. 2011 budget request which i urge the congress to approve. these investments and the nuclear posture review strategy for warhead-like extension represent a credible modernization plan to sustain the nuclear infrastructure and support our nation's deterrent. i would close with a final

observation. i first began working on strategic arms control with the russians in 1970, 40 years ago. a u.s. effort that led to the first strategy arms limitation agreement with moscow two years later. the key question then and in the decades since has always been the same -- is the united states better off with a strategy arms agreement with the russians or without it? the answer for successive presidents of both parties has always been with an agreement. the u.s. senate has always agreed, approving each treaty by lopsided bipartisan margins. the same answer holds true for new start. the u.s. is better off with this treaty than without it and i'm confident it is the right agreement for today and for the future. it increases stability and predictibility, allows us to sustain a strong nuclear triadd, and preserves our flexibility to deploy the nuclear and nonnuke

lar abilities needed for deterrence. in light of all these factors i urge the senate to give its advice and consent to ratification of the new treaty. >> thank you, secretary gates. admiral mullen. >> mr. chairman, senator lugar, distinguished members of the committee, i'm pleased to add my voice in support for ratification of the new start treaty, and to do so as soon as possible as we are in our sixth month without a treaty with russia. this treaty has the full support of your uniformed military. throughout its negotiations, secretaries clinton and gates ensured that professional military perspectives were thoroughly considered. during the development of the new start treaty, i was personally involved to include two face-to-face negotiating sessions and several telephone conversations with my counterpart, the chief of the russian general staff, regarding key aspects of the treaty. the joint chiefs and i also had time to review the analytic work done in the nuclear posture review regarding the shape of

future u.s. strategic nuclear forces. its recommendations were transmitted as guidance to the negotiating team in geneva, regarding the three central limits on strategy systems and the warheads associated with them that are contained in the treaty. in short, the conclusion and implementation of the new start treaty is the right thing for us to do and we took the time too do -- to do it right. the chiefs and i believe the new start treaty achieves important and necessary balance between three critical items. it allows us to retain a strong and flexible american nuclear deterrent. it helps strengthens openness and transparency in our relationship with russia. it also demonstrates our national commitment to reducing the worldwide risk of nuclear incidents resulting from the continuing proliferation of nuclear weapons. you should know that i firmly believe that the central limits established in this treaty and the provisions that allows each side the freedom to determine

its own force mix provides us with the necessary flexibility to field the right force structure to meet the nation's needs. we plan to retain our triade of bombers, ballistic missiles submarines, and land base intercontinental ballistic missiles in sufficient diversity and numbers to assure strategic stability between ourselves and the russian federation. we will also maintain sufficient capability to deter other nuclear states. in addition, the agreement provides for an array of important verification measures that are critical to both sides in monitoring compliance with the new treaty. this treaty is also a critical element in the president's agenda for reducing nuclear risk to the united states. our allies and partners, and the wider international community. our recently concluded n.p.r. acknowledges the continuing role for nuclear weapons in the defense of america while placing additional emphasis on positive steps to prevent nuclear

terrorism and the risks from nuclear proliferation. in summary, this new start agreement is important in itself, and should also be viewed in a wider context. it makes meaningful reductions in the u.s. and russian strategic nuclear arsenals while strengthening strategic stability and u.s. national security. coupled with the administration's clear commitment to prudently invest in our aging nuclear infrastructure and nuclear warhead life extension programs, this treaty is a very meaningful step forward. i encourage the senate to fully study the treaty and i believe you'll see the wisdom of ratifying it before you today -- and i sit before you today recommending you do so. thank you, sir. >> thank you very much, admiral mullen. secretary gates, you wrote last week about the unanimous support of the nation's military for this treaty and admiral mullen you personally engaged with your counterpart a couple points in

the course of these negotiations. you just testified in the list, both of you, of the things, i was quite impressed, by the sequence of benefits that you articulated. i would like to ask each of you if you kind of summarize for us in a layperson's language for a moment just why the military has such confidence that this in fact strengthens and does not present any of the challenges that some of the critics have raised? secretary gates. >> i think that first of all this treaty like its predecessors has -- brings four benefits that we would not otherwise have. the first is transparency. knowing what the russians are doing, being able to track their systems, being able to count them, being able to observe them for the first time actually look at the warheads themselves,

having the unique tagging that we have talked about. none of this kind of transparency would be possible without this treaty. second, predictibility. this has been an important feature of strategic arms agreements with russia since the very first one in 1972. to have some idea for both sides to know the limits on the other and therefore avoiding the need to hedge against the unknown. and having sufficient verification in place to be able to have confidence in that judgment. the third benefit is strategic stability, and the way this treaty is structured adds to that strategic stability. for example, as the number of warheads -- number of delivery vehicles comes down, putting just a single one of our warheads on an icbm requires the russians to use a one for one or two for one attack mode if they were to come after our icbm's.

so they would use up a significant portion of their strategic nuclear delivery vehicles trying to take our our icbm's. all of this contributes to strategic stability. and finally this treaty for the first time gives us actual access to russian weapons and russian facilities. we have had access to facilities but not the weapons themselves before. so i think in each of these four areas the treaty brings benefits to the united states and, frankly, enhances our security in ways that would not happen in the absence of such a treaty. >> thank you, secretary. admiral? >> chairman, throughout negotiateations and the ones i participated in, certainly from the military perspective, and our ability to maintain a very strong strategic deterrent. it's my belief and the belief of the chiefs, including -- in addition to the strategic commander, that that in fact the treaty does that. particularly important was the preservation at this point in

time of the triade and the strength of that triade which has been such a critical part of our arsenal historically and also in my interaction with our service chiefs, particularly the chief of staff of the air force and chief of staff -- chief of operations in order to be able to continue to invest and sustain the infrastructure and the people, the training, kinds of things we need to sustain this over time. so the strength of that triade which has proven itself in the past is still very much there. even though some of the numbers -- the numbers are down. secondly, and to a limited degree, can i speak to this, but what we typically need those weapons for, the ability to execute military operations, should that at some point in time absolutely have to occur is that we are in very good shape

with respect to any contingencies which are out there. that was a substantial underpinning for this treaty from the military perspective. can we carry out the mission that the president of the united states has given us? i just want to assure you that we can. in the negotiateations with the russians, specifically to look at the wide array of initiatives, including verification, the size of the arsenal, what we would look to the future, and to re-emphasize what secretary clinton said, we have done this in a way that has -- continues to put us in a great position of strength while at the same time in a -- from my perspective a better position in terms of cooperation with russia. keeping our eyes wide open, but certainly cooperating with them in ways which has been a strength of this treaty not just is a strength of this treaty but historically as well. >> thank you. those were terrific summaries. secretary clinton, in the

context of your efforts with respect to a number of issues, challenges we face, particularly nonproliferation, can you similarly sort of reduce to the nub what the implications would be if not ratifying this agreement? >> well, mr. chairman, we would obviously lose all of the benefits that both secretary gates and admiral mullen discussed, and although they are benefits with respect to this treaty between the united states and the russian federation, they have many ancillary implications for our larger efforts against nonproliferation. so i would basically make five points. number one, the intense efforts we have engaged in the last year to reach this treaty has built a level of understanding between

the key decisionmakers in the united states and russia that has been very helpful in other arenas. most notably with respect to iran. i started my morning talking with sergei about finalizing the resolution and the agreement that it will be discussed later today. secondly, the impact of our resetting of a relationship that resulted in the treaty has had a very salutary effect on many of our allies and our adversaries. our allies particularly in nato, as i said, welcomed this agreement because they have been historically on the frontlines. and even our central and eastern europe -- european friends were very pleased to see this level

of cooperation between the united states and russia. and that has laid the groundwork for us to work on the strategic concept that will be introduced with respect to nato's future, to re-establish the nato-russia council and do some other confidence building measures after the very unfortunate events concerning georgia that built the feeling of alliance among our nato members. but again with a very clear view that they expect for us to continue to provide their defense. thirdly, with respect to adversaries or potential adversaries, the fact that the united states and russia are working together is not good news. they are not happy to see this level of cooperation. they are not happy that china and russia have signed off on this resolution that we plan to introduce later. this is a real setback for them.

and it has a very positive effect on our dealings with our international friends about all of these other issues. number four, having gone this far this achieve the benefits that are in this treaty, to lose them would not only undermine our strategic stability, the predictibility, the transparency, the other points that both the secretary and the add myrrh made, but -- admiral made, but it will severely impact our potential to lead on the important issue of nonproliferation. countries would wonder, well, we can't get across the finish line on this treaty, can we get across the finish line on other matters as well? and finally, i can only speak from personal experience in the many endless meetings that i go to around the world that the fact that we have reached this treaty and have fulfilled our

continuing obligations as an n.p.t. member on the three pillars which include disarmament, nonproliferation, peaceful use of nuclear weapons gives us so much more credibility on the nonproliferation agenda. >> thank you very much. appreciate it. senator lugar. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. as you have already zeroed in on specific objections that have been raised, i want to mention just again how important it will be to answer all of the questions of the senators with regard to missile defense. each one of you have categorically indicated there is no way, no way in which our missile defense will be inhibited in any way at any time. but that point still doesn't quite yet prove. we have people that are worried about something in this treaty that's going to inhibit missile defense. i ask for your continued

guidance as to how we make that point. second point is that on the stockpile, stewardship, or making certain that the warheads we now have work. that in the event we were called upon by ourselves, our allies in any way we have in fact, the background, in terms of our laboratories, the personnel, some of whom have grown old, we need young ones, all of these things so that those things we now have that are guaranteed by our treaties and we verified everybody else in the world are there for their confidence as well as our own. i mention that because we have written letters, sometimes bipartisan letters, sometimes all the republicans, others, secretary gates has been a regular recipient of cordance -- correspondentance -- correspond

ans. but the $ billion has been transferred over to meet this has been a significant commitment. but i mention that once again and will not delabe the point. then the vare -- belabor the point. then the verification procedure, very important. even senators who are not enthusiastic about arms control treaties approach, the chairman and me, said what happens now? there are no american boots on the ground. we are out of there. what about that? we have counted on this for years. that we had american boots on the ground. our verification worked. i'll make one personal point about this. on the wall of my conference room we have a chart which the department of defense has contributed data each month for the last 15 years. at the start 13,300 nuclear warheads on missiles aimed at the united states. 13,300. and testimony that any one of

those would have obliterated my entire city of indianapolis, leveled it, gone. everybody dead. that's impressive to hoosiers. i hope it's impressive to the other 49 states. and by and large they have supported anything that i could do to make certain that one by one those missiles left -- the warheads left the missiles. we worked with the russians to destroy the missiles, destroy the silos in which the missiles were located. effervesce tinge of -- every vest taje of this. -- vestage of this. it's critically important, there may be americans who have not gone to the arms control talks who don't realize what one nuclear weapon can do. there were 13,300 of them. there are still by some counts as many as 5,000, not all deployed.

but we have some distance to go. december 5 comes, no boots on the ground, no treaty, and some have always said you can't trust the russians. don't want to deal with the russians. even have some members who have said we shouldn't knock out the very first of our weapons. we need every one of them. we ought to be building more. i don't agree with that philosophy. i understand that is a way of going about this world. but i would say as a counterargument during one trip i was privileged to have with rushans, they have become especially friendly, and decided that they would like for me to go up to a base where they had the so-called typhoon submarine. the typhoons were popularized by tom clancy and "the hunt for red october." they were remarkable submarines that went up and down our eastern coast, whether we knew about it or not. for the better part of a generation. each one of them had reportedly

200 nuclear missiles. chip shot of new york, philadelphia, any place they wanted to shoot all that time. we may not have known about it. we do now. i have a picture in the office russians took of me standing in front of the typhoon which is the first time our intelligence had seen a typhoon at that stage. yet their agreement was that they wanted us to help them destroy the typhoons. taken 10 years to get through three of the six. they are very complex situations. but to leave three of the six still out there is unthinkable. so if i have become dogmatic or emotional about it, it's from some experience of seeing what could hit us. and the need to have boots on the ground in terms of verification. we want to make sure we all know what the verification is and why it's at this particular level. you have done your best thus far.

without being tedious i want to submit more questions that our staff has formulated in detail so that there can be as complete a record of every nuance of this that we have. finally i would say in our own experience of these treaties has been even after the treaties come, and we have implementing legislation, threat reduction or something of this variety, there have been senators perennially who put all sorts of restrictions on all sorts of reports that were needed before any money could be spent. you were leveled in the state department or defense department with the obligations to show 15 different things before a dollar could go. one year no mat money at all was spent with regard to disarmament in russia because of so many letters that never got written and the appropriators took the money off the table. so whether we are doing a treaty or not, we have arguments every year among skeptics who somehow believe that arms control is

not, actly -- exactly their cup of tea. i would say this is so important that i ask your indulgence in sending over more and more questions and publishing all the results of those questions so that anyone who is slightly interested in this academically will will have every conceivable answer. and finally come to a gut reaction, is this something that's good for our country? you have affirmed that you believe that it is. and we appreciate that very direct testimony today. and i thank you for indulging me in an essay set of questions but they will be coming in large numbers. thank you. >> senator, the panel really appreciates that question period. let me just say from our point of view we are enormously grateful to have your expertise in this effort and i think the questions that you are going to pose are going to help the committee to put together precisely the kind of record

that's needed here. so i know the panel as well as the committee appreciates that approach. senator dodd. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. let me thank our witnesses as well here. presence here today. let me just say as far as the chairman goes this has been a long-standing issue of senator kerry's and he's done a remarkable job on it. but also worked with dick lugar, i have had the privilege of serving with for 30 years, i have a feeling when the last nuclear weapon is gone, we all hope that day will come in our world, the story of how mankind put its common good above its base or instincts the names of dick lugar and sam nunn will figure prompt nenlith -- prominently in history. i have had the privilege of serving both here. i want to thank dick lugar but also sam nunn for his work and the three of you for your effort in this regard.

this is -- you have done a remarkable job in getting it done. i have two questions. one relates to the nunn-lugar propose alleges. i wonder if any analysis has been done to update nunn-lugar in light of this new start accord. that's been a very valuable tool over the years as senator lugar has just affirmed. and the question would be, do we need to do something else regarding nunn-lugar in light of this treaty? secretary clinton or admiral mullen? >> actually, senator, i'm not sure. it's a great question. from my perspective something we should look at. >> i ask that could be done as part of the questions we have. secondly, in the sense you have answered this, madam secretary clinton, i wonder if you might just reach a little further. first of all congratulations on the news we are hearing about the chinese and the russians being supportive of the international sanctions regime

regarding iran. that's extremely important information. as you know we are in the midst here in the conference between the house and senate on the iran sanctions hill, and my other half, chairman of the banking committee, we voted unanimously on iran sanctions bill, the house has done so as well. we need to proceed with that issue. but we are very interested in seeing what happens internationally. every member of the conference committee has expressed the view that international sanctions makes more sense than unilateral. i think we all agree with that although we are not going to retreat from that unilateral sanctions effort here, but certainly in an effort on the multilateral effort would be a tremendous step forward. we commend you for that. i wonder if you might comment on the counter or reduction and counterproliferation efforts more generally that this agreement might have an effect on. i think specifically of indian and pakistan for instance. to what extent might this

agreement have a positive impact on causing other nations to begin to move in this direction? >> well, senator dodd, thank you. and thank you for all of your work on these and so many other important issues. we believe that the treaty history between the united states and russia is the bedrock of disarmament, and as senator lugar just eloquently outlined, it has certainly been in our interest over all these years. we believe that in the current environment in which we are putting forth this treaty for your consideration for ratification, it strengthens our hand in talking with other countries that have nuclear weapons. now, the fact is that as far as we know in the world, and i think we have a pretty good handle on it, the united states

and russia have more than 90% of all nuclear weapons in the world. and we want to, as we said in the non-- n.p.r., nuclear posture review, we want to explore beginning conversations with other nuclear nations starting with china and see what kind of opportunity for discussion could exist. the united states and russia have now a 30-year history of these discussions. but we need to begin similar discussions with others. we go into those with a credibility that this treaty gives us. right now as both the chairman and the ranking member have said, there is no treaty. we have no boots on the ground. we are not inspecting anything. we are not acquiring the kind of

information we think is in our national security interest. so this treaty is not only on its own merits in our interest but the fact of it gives us the credibility to go and talk with other nuclear armed countries. it also gives us the credibility to reach agreement as we now have on a resolution in the united nations with countries that are -- you are concerned about the proliferation represented by iran. so on this broad basis of how we can be more effective in making our case about what we see as the principal threat to the united states and the world, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their use by rogue regimes or networks of terrorists, this treaty gives us a lot of credibility going forward. >> thank you very much for that. mr. chairman, i have brief comments.

we have questions to be asked obviously and answered. i want to express my strong support for this treaty. and i think we need to move on this. my fervent hope is we'll get this done in the next month or so. clearly before we adjourn. i can't imagine adjourn interesting this congress and not completing this work. >> thank you very much, senator dodd. senator corker. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank each of you for your service and what you do on behalf of our country. madam secretary, what recourse do each of the countries have against each other if there is violations in the treaty? >> senator, there are several approaches. one, there is a bilateral commission that exists to iron out differences, solve problems to which each country may eke recourse if there is some kind of violation or perceived violation. >> what kind of recourse? >> well, we have had this -- we

have a long history with these treaties where presenting information that we believe might violate the spirit or the letter of the treaty leads to changes. this treaty is not a static document. it goes into effect like the previous start treaty and others, and then it begins to be implemented. if we believe under the treaty we are not getting access to what we have signed up for under the treaty, we raise that and we get the access. so it's a constant effort to make sure that both sides are complying with their agreement that's set forth in the treaty. and senator lugar is the expert in the room probably along with secretary gates, but the history of these treaties has been, i would characterize, as positive in the enforcement and implementation. the final recourse we have is to

withdraw from the treaty. we have the right to withdraw if we believe that this treaty is no longer in our security interest. >> so basically it's an understanding between two countries and they act in good faith to live up to those. should it trouble us before we get started that each of the countries have a very different opinion of what we negotiated as relates to missile defense? and should all of us not want a joint statement from both countries as to that before we begin? it's sort of troubling that we begin with two divergent views on what we agreed to as relates to missile defense. >> senator, again, there is a history here. there was a similar divergent views from the first start treaty and it didn't stop any of us from doing what we did an intended to do. it's a little bit like a political statement i might suggest. you can make an agreement -- >> loquacious? >> no.

i think you make an agreement. the agreement on the face of it, and its terms set forth the obligation, but for various reasons each side might want to characterize it a little bit differently. if you look at the statement, the unilateral statements that were made by the russians, they basically said they would have a right to withdraw if we continued on missile defense. they have a right to withdraw anyway. with the original start treaty, they set similar things about missile defense and here we are billions of dollars later. it's not a part of the treaty agreement itself. >> as it relates to their ability to launch, it's my understanding they are already below the level that the treaty stipulates and that we are above it, and -- as it relates to the ability to deliver, do we really get anything in this treaty at all? >> senator, i think significant

reduction in overall nuclear weapons was very clearly a benefit. >> but aren't they already below the level? just specifically as it relates to strategic launch ability? aren't they because of the age of their system, aren't they already below levels that we have agreed to? >> in the launching vehicles, they are, yes. >> so let me ask you a question. it seems to me their neighbors are pretty concerned about their tactical abilities. and did we miss an opportunity since they are already below on their strategic ability to deliver, they are already below that, we are the ones making cuts not them, did we miss an opportunity? i know we always monday morning quarterback and whenever we negotiate on behalf of our caucus other senators say why didn't you get this? i know that's what i'm doing now. i guess that's the purposes of

this hearing. did we miss an opportunity to get them to do some things tactically that would have made their neighbors feel slightly more safe? >> from my perspective, senator, we seized an opportunity to come together and get to this treaty. it isn't everything that everybody could have wanted, certainly we are very aware of the tactal nuclear weapons that russia has, that has been discussed with them in terms of the future, and in a broader context, i think the leadership positions that we are both in right now as a result of this from the perspective of overall nuclear weapons inventory, it is certainly something that will be addressed in the future. but it just was not a part of this negotiation. >> i would also add two things, senator. first of all what is important to our allies and particularly those on russia's periphery is our reaffirmation of article 5

of the nato treaty and the fact that nato continues to believe and attest to the fact that it has, must have a nuclear capability, the f-35 that we are going to deploy, will have a dual capability. so we have protected our right with respect to tactical nuclear weapons. there's no question that they are concerned in eastern europe. particularly about russian tactical nuclear weapons. that was not a part of this negotiation, but we have protected our own ability to do more. and just for the record, i would point out that while their strategic nuclear delivery vehicles are under the current levels, the number of warheads is above the level. so they will be reducing the number of warheads. >> i'm going to move on to something that you can address. i know these other things look backs and the treaty is what it is from you-all's standpoint. i think the modernization issue is the issue that probably concerns all of us.

i know my time's limited now. but i know the 23-page report that talks a little bit about sort of where we are. and i know it's a secure document. it focuses main-i mainly on our sub-- mainly on our sub delivery system. our labs say they don't think there's any way the amount of dollars that has been setaside adds up. you-all talk about $80 billion in investment. many us look at it and it looks like it's double counting. in other words, much of it is already that was going to be spent. all i'll say is as we move ahead, and i know i'm 13 seconds over now, i think that's an area where we are going to want a lot of clarification as to what the real commitment is, modernizationwise. i think that's important to all of us. i think all of us know we have an aged system and we know that for us to really be where we need to be, real investment in

modernization needs to take place. i don't know if you want to take a quick closing comment. i will say to all of you thank you again for your service and willingness to be here to testify. >> two quick comments. first of all, i have been trying for 3 1/2 years to get money for modernization of the nuclear infrastructure. this is the first time i think i have a chance of actually getting some. and ironically it's in connection with an arms control agreement. the previous efforts have completely failed. second, i would just quote, we will get you-all the budgetary details and everything with respect to this, but i would just quote the director of the national nuclear security administration who said in testimony that the resources we have in the president's budget are exactly what we feel is needed in order to satisfy the requirements. and he said separately, it is what is required to get the job done, but we'll give you-all the details. >> thank you. >> senator feingold. >> thank you, mr. chairman, for

holding the hearing. this treaty stands to reduce the size of our arsenal, russian arsenal, making the world a safer place without constraining the ability to defend our nation. it's ratification would also offer proof to the international community of the commitment of the united states to fulfilling our obligations under the nonproliferation treaty. which will, of course, help foster the cooperation needed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons material. however this treaty makes significant changes to the verification and inspection regime that was in place for nearly two decades under the original start treaty. we have to ensure that this treaty is verifiable and guarantees our ability to adequately monitor russian nuclear weapons. as a member of the senate select intelligence committee in the process of reviewing that. let me go to secretary gates and just follow on senator corker's questions as to modernization. i understand you were talking about funding issues. let's get at least one

clarification that i think you could provide. some of my colleagues in the senate are concerned this treaty would jeopardize our ability to modernize our arsenal. it's my understanding nothing this this treaty prohibits us from building new warheads if needed. is that correct? >> that is correct. admiral mullen on the issue of verification. this treaty's verification regime differs in several ways from the one that was in place for nearly two decades. on one hand we would no longer maintain an on-site inspection facility, on the other hand due to the change in accounting rules i understand the new treaty would permit more vigorous on-site inspections. admiral, on balance would you say this would increase or decrease our overall understanding of the russian arsenal? >> i think on balance it would increase it. and specifically with respect one of the provisions of this treaty calls for notification of every weapon that gets made there now.

notification to us, 48 hours before it comes out of the factory. specifically. i think the verification procedures in this treaty are easier. secretary gates has spoken earlier about the number of inspections. about the specifics of the inspections for the first time to be able to look into and see the number of weapons which are on top of any particular missile. we will be able to count weapons on bombers which we haven't been able to do before. we'll be able to in fact confirm facility elimination. there are very robust national technical means, provisions in this treaty and a specific provision which does not permit interference with that. the unique identifier which will be on every single weapon is a brand new provision for verification.

and as was mentioned earlier the number of launches each year which will have telemetry. but the telemetry needs of this treaty are different from the ones we had in the past. we really don't need telemetry for the kind of verification we need for this treaty we had before to include the ability to understand the weight of a missile when we didn't know what was actually inside it. i think the verification procedures for this treaty are very robust and meet the standards that we have today in the 21st century and not the ones that we needed back in previous treaties. >> i'm concerned that calls for maintaining a large arsenal are based on a misunderstanding of the potential impact of any use of nuclear weapons. independent studies indicate a so-called limited nuclear exchange of 100 warheads would have devastating consequences. has the united states government evaluated the impact of

so-called limited exchange? and is it true that such an exchange could have a devastating global impact? >> yes, sir. i think a limited exchange would have a devastating global im pact. senator lugar spoke to that earlier. a single weapon would have a devastating impact. and yet we find ourselves, i think over time, reducing the size of our arsenal, but also sustaining it at a size that preserves the deter hens aspect of it. we don't do this alone. and in a treaty with another country that has an enormous number of nuclear weapons as well. so clearly the devastation which would occur with any release of a nuclear weapon, and we were speaking earlier about the merging of terrorists with nuclear weapons, which is another big concern and has been put at the top of the list in the n.p.r. here. all those things would be

devastating. and from -- from the standpoint of the overall treaty, it's taken us in the right direction and i think it's a very, very positive step while preserving what we need in terms of our overall strength and deterrence capability in the country. >> thank you. secretary gates, i understand that verification regime under the treaty will supplement the information we gather using other intelligence gathering cape inters -- capabilities such as satellites. to the extent the new treaty scales back certain inspection activities, are we able to compensate for that loss of access through other intelligence activities? >> that certain is the judgment of the intelligence community. representatives of the d.n.i. and c.i.a. were involved in these negotiations throughout and consulted in terms of both the terms of the treaty and the verification terms. and i think what you are likely to hear from them is that they have high confidence in their

ability to monitor this treaty. until toward the end of the 10-year term when that confidence level will go to moderate. i would tell you that's what they do on all wlorm e -- long-term evaluations of their intelligence capability. the further into the future you go, the confidence level begins to decline. but there is no question in terms of the ability to verify this treaty. in fact when senator lugar was talking about having his picture taken in front of a typhoon submarine, the fact that was the first time we have seen one, i would only qualify that that's the only time we have seen one from dry land. >> admiral mullen, the director of the missile defense agency recently testified that this treaty would actually reduce the constraints on development of our missile defense program. could you just finally say a bit about that? >> the issue of missile defense has been one that obviously is very much in focus as a result of this.

throughout the negotiations there was, while we talked about it, it really was, by and large, disconnected. and the purpose of this treaty was to not get at missile defense. i see no restrictions in this treaty in terms of our development of missile defense which is a very important system as well. and i would actually hope that, in the long term, given the relationship with russia, that we would be able to see our way through to more cooperative efforts with them in terms of missile defense. and very well possibly in the future have the kind of impact that general o'reilly was talking about. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. all of you have bragged about or have talked about the verification improvements or the ability to verify this. i want to ask a couple questions. admiral mullen, you talk about the identification system on each weapon s that going to be

like a transbonder from an airplane? how with we going -- are we going to do that? >> i think some may know. i don't. it was very clear it was going to be visible and verifiable. and every single weapon would have it. there was specific criteria that were laid on for each weapon because the weapons in fact are different as well. >> would it be a technological verification versus a visible one where they have some ability -- >> i think it is visible, but it could possibly be technologically verified as well. >> if you would, i would like to have that information because that is impressive. secretary gates, thank you for being here. you talked about the submarine launched missiles and you talked about the number of inspections we'll now have which is 18, is that correct? >> yes, sir. >> how many inspections do we have under curt start's expired

six months, how many did we have under start 2? >> i honestly don't remember. >> there was a quota of 28. >> there were 28 inspections. >> now they'll have 18? >> yes, sir. >> that's less. >> yes, sir. >> that's not an improvement. >> i was just informed that the u.i.d.'s are mechanical. they are not technically detectable. secondly, i think it's important under this treaty -- under the previous treaty there were 73 facilities we inspected. under this one -- runa. under this treaty there are only 27. in fact, based on the number of inspections, 18, there are almost twice as many inspections per facility per year than under

the previous treaty. that speaks to moving this to where we are right now as opposed to where we have been in the past. >> senator, that's a really important position for us to underscore because we spent a lot of time on the inch special issue. i have to confess at first i wasn't sure what the numbers were because we go from 28 to 18. but then one of our very abled negotiators showed me a map of all the sites in the former soviet union that we were inspecting. and then thanks to senator lugar and other efforts, those sites have been closed, they have been shrunk, dismantled. it wasn't just in russia, it was in belarus and other places. so as admiral mullen says, in effect we actually have twice as many inspections because we have so many fewer sites to inspect. >> i think it would be great for an eighth grade level memo on

how less is more. because somebody will take -- that could be taken either way. i think it would be helpful to all of us. >> senator, if i could just elaborate on the answer i gave you before on the number of inspections, 18 versus 28. the 18 are divided into two categories, the first 10 are both deployed and nondeployed sites. eight are nondeployed sites. in that first category of 10, we actually carry out inspections that require two inspections under start 2. there was a separate inspection on data updates and a separate inspection on r.v.'s under start 2. under this treaty we do both in the same inspection. so for all practical purposes the number of inspections is about the same as it was under start 2. >> thank you. secretary clinton, again thank you for being here.

i seem to remember from the testimony in our previous hearing that on this issue of short-range tactical weapons they are not included in this start agreement. and it was an issue for the russians because of missile defense because their old eastern block satellite states are so close to them, is that correct? >> senator, they were not willing to negotiate on tactical nukes. and the history of these arms control agreements were always on strategic weapons. but we have said that we want to go back and begin to talk to them about tactical nukes. we would like to as soon as we get this ratified with all hope that the senate will so advise and consent, we want to do that. i had a very frank and useful discussion with our nato allies because you may know that there is a move on or there was a move

on by a number of european countries to begin to put pressure on the united states to withdraw our tactal nukes from europe. we have said very clearly, number one, that has to be a nato decision. it's not a unilateral decision. number two, we are not going to withdraw our tactal nukes unless there is an agreement for russia to similarly discuss with us withdrawal of their tactical nukes. so this is an issue that was very well vetted by our nato allies, our central and eastern european allies. they know that russia has their tactical nukes close to their boarders with our nato allies. it's one of the reasons, and this is something that either secretary gates or admiral mullen can address, it's one of the reasons why we altered our missile defense approach in europe to the face adaptive approach.

because very frankly we were looking at what kind of medium range missiles iran had. not the intercontinental. so this whole question of shorter range missiles and the tactical nukes is one that we are going to address. >> we maintain both the leverage of our existing tactical weapons that are in europe as well as proceeding with missile defense. >> yes, we do. >> and our nato partners have, i think you use the word, welcomed this treaty, is that correct? >> yes, it is. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very much. senator cardin. >> first, mr. chairman, thank you for this hearing and appreciate it very much. i want to express my appreciation to our three witnesses for their service to this nation. and i concur in the comments made by our chairman, by senator dodd, by senator lugar of the importance of moving forward on our efforts in world leadership on nonproliferation.

i see this treaty as a critical part in the relationship between russia and the united states in providing world leadership on nukewlar safety issues, on -- nuclear safety issues, on nonproliferation issues, and on responsible reductions of our nuclear stockpiles. i'm pleased that we are moving forward on this. and i hope that we will be able to act prior to the end of this congress. madam secretary, i want to follow up on a statement you made earlier. i see russia and the united states having some common interest here, particularly against the threat of nuclear arms in other countries, and you mentioned iran. put me down in the category as being very concerned about what happens with brazil and turkey with iran. i'm certain those two -- two countries may have acted in good faith but iran is not. we have been down this road before. we know that iran can change its mind at any time in regards to the nuclear material.

we also know that under this aarrange -- arrangement they would continue on their refinement and compass to the develop a nuclear weapon. i was pleased to hear your status that we are moving forward with the security council resolutions and that we have at least some cooperation from russia and china. that to me is good news. it seems to me it's bun of the byproducts of your negotiations on the start treaty. i think this all comes together. if there is further you could elaborate on now, i would appreciate it. if not, i understand the timing you are going through. >> senator, thank you. i think there's no doubt -- >> we are going to leave the remainder of this hearing with a reminder you can watch it at any time at our library at cspan.org. 17 suspension bills for programs dealing with juvenile offenders.

our chaplain, father coughlin. chaplain coughlin: you alone are the lord, our god, father of all, who is overall and works through all and is in all. all of us have been endowed by great gifts by you, o god, and when we receive these gifts according to personal measure. let us, therefore, no longer act as children wasting time and playing games with one another for our own satisfaction. allow us not to be tossed about here and there by every kind of story and rumor born of human trickery so skilled in half truths. rather, lord, hold us to the greater truth founded on a unified assessment that will provide common ground upon which we can stand together and

achieve lasting security. and as a nation give you glory both now and forever. amen. . the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from illinois, mr. gutierrez. mr. gutierrez: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute.

revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gutierrez: mr. speaker, the initials b.p. used to stand for british petroleum. but now it stands for bearing people, or bearing precious natural resources under a sea of oil. here's what a b.p. anabuser of our safety, environment, and legal system should stand for, b.p., banned permanently. today i ask my colleagues to end any and all federal oil drilling leases for b.p. and begin an people civil and criminal investigation to examine the existing leases under b.p. almost a month into one of the worse man made virmentse or economic disasters, b.p. has worked harder to minimize public understanding than to minimize destruction to the gulf of mexico. there's plenty of finger pointing from b.p. there's $62 billion in profits and their multimillion dollar team of lobbyists. what b.p. should hear from us, the american people, is simple.

b.p. stands for ban permanently. i urge my colleagues to join me in demanding the interior secretary ban permanently and tell them they have made -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i applaud the national federation of independent business, better known as nfib, for standing up to small businesses in the state of south carolina. like o.c.s. doors of buford and the sunset grill of west columbia, established by betty jackson. employees and small businesses like these all across america are concerned about the impact of the job-killing mandates of the government health care takeover. the nfib estimates the takeover will kill 1.6 million jobs. the nfib stood up for small business employees last week when they joined 20 states, including south carolina, in a

lawsuit to overturn this government monstrossity. there are health care alternatives that congress should consider like the swap act which continues to cover pre-existing conditions but will repeal the tax hikes and unaffordal mandates on individuals and small business owners. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. r what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: mr. speaker, nearly one month after the deep water oil spill began, april 20, oil continues to flow from the well and destroying our water environment. the rig activities were considered to be low risk drilling exploration. such a classification sends chills up my spine given the countless riskier ventures occurring along the coast of our grade nation. while minneapolis of americans watch the news and see the destruction of the gulf coast, environment, and economy of

that area i think of the thoughtless, faceless cavalier republican energy chants, drill, baby, drill. it ecos in the ears of the american public and anybody who cares about the gulf coast. it was a simplistic response. we have produced -- we use 25.9% of the world's oil. we have 2.2% of the world's energy reserves. you don't have to be a math scholar or nobel prize winner to know that won't work. you need to find alternative forms of energy. use america's great resource and brainpower, harness solar, harness the wind. find new ways to help us with our problems of energy and not depend on fossil fuels. not ruin our environment. not risk the flora and fauna. mr. speaker, we have to find a new direction and be like america has been in the past. innovative and creative. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina rise? ms. foxx: permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. foxx: mr. speaker, we learned last week the federal government ran up an $82.7

billion deficit in april. that's the largest april deficit in our nation's history. the federal government is spending americans' tax dollars at a record clip so it's no surprise we are facing this mountain of debt. we can fix this problem. house republicans have engaged the american people with an innovative online tool called, youcut. it's simple. each week we are giving americans an opportunity to vote on the slate of wasteful, outdated, or duplicative federal programs to cut from the budget. the top vote better will be offered up by replicans for a vote in the house. so far hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens from across the country have voted on the youcut website and made it clear they are tired of washington's one-track spending mentality. youcut is the first step toward changing the culture of all its spending and never saving here in washington. by itself it won't solve the problem but it is engaging our constituents in an important larger discussion about reining in our skyrocketing debt and

out-of-control spending. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: mr. speaker, u.s. border patrol agents have spotted yet another mexican military helicopter incursion into texas. that makes three times these helicopters have crossed the border into america this year that we know of. on saturday, another mexican military helicopter was in texas hovering near the international bridge. two other times this year mexican helicopters were photographed in starr county. these are becoming routine. what are they doing here? we don't know. has our government protested this violation of international law? no one is talking. our own government seems to be blissfully silent about these incursions. that's why i'm asking homeland security secretary napolitano for some answers. the federal government is

m.i.a. on our borders. our government ought to spend less time protesting states like arizona trying to protect their citizens from border violence and start getting some answer from mexico about their military helicopters flying into the united states. that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? >> request permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. duncan: mr. speaker, yesterday on the joe scarborough show, the chairman of the council on foreign relations, said china had been investing in its economy over the last 10 years while we have been investing in iraq and afghanistan. he proudly described himself as an elitist. well, it is the elightist like him, and organizations he heads, to help lead the rush to an unnecessary war in iraq and continues to push military and civilian spending in iraq and afghanistan that we simply cannot afford. these people apparently are not happy unless we are spending

hundreds of billions in other countries. he did not feel guilty at all when he said china had invested in its economy while we have blown a couple trillion dollars in iraq and afghanistan. it's long past time for us to bring our troops and contractors home and start investing in our own autonomy. it is time for us to start putting americans first and stop spending so much money and sending so many jobs to our countries. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> ask permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, last week our committee on energy and commerce, the subcommittee of oversight and investigations, held the first of what is likely to be many hearings into the events going on in the gulf of mexico. but so far the hearings and the investigation have been decidedly asem met trick. my committee demanded and obtained thousands of pages of documents and testimony from the four companies involved in the spill, but virtually

nothing, nothing from the administration. in fact, my committee made no document requests, asked for no testimony from the administration -- from the administration. the fedel role would appear to be an integral part of this story. we should have representatives from the department of interior and mineral management services explaining why in march of 2009 in the initial exploration plan for deepwater horizon, a blowout scenario was simply not contemplated. and why the department of the interior did not require a site specific oil response plan. why that was not required by the secretary of the deparent of interior. we have no word from the federal government and related agencies. when will the administration begin to work with congress? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. burgess: rather than against the american people. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. smith: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address

the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. smith: mr. speaker, when former president george w. bush nominated john roberts and samuel athleteo for the supreme court, the television networks reheatedly described them as conservative and used terms such as bedrock conservatives, staunch conservative, and ultraconservative. in contrast the networks rarely label president obama's supreme court nominee, elena kagan, as liberal, according to analysis by media research center. the networks called justice athleteo conservative 10 times more -- alito conservative 10 times more often than they called judge kagan liberal. perhaps that's no surprise considering the network's only political philosophy. these are the same networks who called canada obama moderate even though he had the most liberal voting record in the entire u.s. senate. the network should give

americans the facts about supreme court nominees not double standards. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from -- the chair lays before the house the foming communication. -- following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. madam, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on may 17, 2010, at 12:16 p.m. that the senate passed with amendments h.r. 2711. with best wishes i am, signed, sincere-lly, lorraine c. miller, clerk of the --

sincerely, lorraine c. miller, clerk of the house. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken up after 6:30 today. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2288, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 272, h.r. 2288, a bill to amend public law 106-392, to maintain annual based funding for the upper colorado and san juan fish recovery programs through fiscal year 2023. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, miss napolitano -- mrs. napolitano, and the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. mrs. napolitano: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that

all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks, including extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. napolitano: mr. speaker, h.r. 2288 introduced by my colleague, representative salazar, would amend public law 106-392 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2012 to 2023 to fund fish recovery programs in the upper colorado and san juan river basins. h.r. 2288 will help ensure the continued delivery of water from federal projects to irrigators and municipal and industrial contractors throughout the upper colorado river basin through fiscal year 2023. . more than 1,500 water projects will continue based on support and commitments generated through these recovery programs. these recovery programs are

nationally recognized examples of diverse stakeholders coming together to collaboratively find solutions without litigation that allow economic growth while supporting compliance with the endangered species act and the recovery of native fish species within the colorado river basin. mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues support the passage of h.r. 2288, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. mcclintock: i rise and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcclintock: this is how the endangered species act has put a gun to the west. this law is now impoverishing millions of people across the country. in california, communities has devastated the agriculture sector of our economy and it threatens us all with permanent water shortages, skyrocketing food prices and chronic unemployment. the measure before us today

roughly spends $40 billion through 2023 through management, operation, and other annual noncapital expenditures in order to keep e.f.s. litigation at bay in the upper colorado and san juan river basins. it's supported by both parties, not because it will produce a single drop of water for this region, but rather because it will forestall lawsuits. these programs already exist and only command bipartisan support because these steps are mandated by e.s.a. under threat of the region losing further access to its own water. and at some point we are going to have to consider major changes to the e.s.a. before it further depresses our economy, strangles our agriculture and depleats our treasury. let me offer one of the examples of changes that i think need to be made. the administration is now pursuing the deliberate destruction of four perfectly

good hydroelectric dams on a river that generate 155 megawatts of the cleanest and cheapest energy on the planet at the cost of ratepayers and taxpayers of nearly half a billion dollars to tear down. this is to restore fish habitat for a few hundred salmon. now, when i visited the region a few weeks ago, i said if the salmon population was in decline, why don't we have a fish hatchery? one produces 150 million salmon every year. and the answer was, we already have a fish hatchery below the dams at iron gate, but the endangered species act doesn't allow us to count the millions of fish it produces. this is insane. in this case, it's going to cost us $40 million, coorgd to the c.b.o., on a program that lacks explicit goals and is running outrageous overhead. 22% in one case. now, let me emphasize this.

this program doesn't even set specific recovery goals, so there's no rational way of judging success or failure now and in the future. it is just a bureaucratic perpetual spending machine. the good thing is this program does include fish hatcheries. bow without any standard of success, the -- it becomes irrelevant to the program. we are squandering our citizens on bureaucratic paperwork and contraptions with no rational standard for success instead of investing that money for new water supplies. this bill continues a folly that our nation and our economy can no longer afford. i realize that many of the supporters feel this is the path of least resistance within the current legal framework in order to continue to use the water projects that we have already paid for. well, that may be the case. but the path of least resistance is destroying our economy and bankrupting our economy and perhaps it's time we took the path less well

traveled, the path of common sense. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from california. mrs. napolitano: thank you, mr. speaker. i won't go into other dialogue except to recognize mr. salazar for as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. salazar: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the congresswoman for moving this important bill forward. i'd like to share with you, my esteemed colleagues, the importance of the upper colorado river and san juan river basin. this program is a premiere example of how to recover endangered fish species as well as water to federal, tribal and nonfederal water projects. it has been cited as the most successful fish recovery program in the united states, and is used as a model for other recovery programs developed across the country. today, i am happy to see that

the house is passing h.r. 2288 to ensure the program can finish the restoration projects identified for complete success. this bill extends the authorization of the program until the year 2023. at that time, the fish species in concern will be fully recovered and the infrastructure will be in place to ensure continued success. the projects completed to date on the upper colorado and san juan river basins are examples of outstanding cooperation among diverse group of local, state, government agencies and environmental groups, water users, farmers, ranchers and utility consumers. people ask why they've never heard of the recovery program and that is because it's so successful. the fish identified as being under threat have been substantially maintained. this bill is critical for the continued and final success of the projects necessary for recovery of the endangered fish. i'd also like to note that when this program was enacted it was

done with the understanding that power revenues be used to pay for the cost of implementing the two fish recovery programs. under pay-go rules, it allows customers to pay part of the cost while national taxpayers cover the rest. the original program was agreed to based upon the understanding that power customers would pay for the fish recovery program, and i hope they will work with the rest of the parties to fulfill this funding obligation after 2011. mr. speaker, this is a prime example of how one ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. one of the most successful recovery programs in the entire country, and i want to thank the chairwoman and i want to thank the ranking member mr. colin to be for working with us -- mr. mcclintock for working with us on this legislation. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. mcclintock: i thank the gentleman for his kind words but i wonder how he can define

success in a program that has no standards for success. i want to correct him on one other point and that is the claim that this will provide or produce three million acre-feet of water. it does no such thing. it allows us to continue to use three million acre-feet of water that we already pro cues and that we have already -- produced and that we have already paid for without impediments without e.s.a. litigation. with that i'd inquire if the gentlelady has any additional speakers. mrs. napolitano: i yield to congressman salazar. mr. salazar: i want to remind the ranking member that the individual who actually ran against me who was the department of resources director, who implemented this program, very strong supporter, and this was done in a bipartisan way. and this is a way, and it is

modeled -- most recovery programs are actually starting to be modeled after the colorado fish recovery program. this is a way to keep endangered fish from going on the endangered species list. so i am very proud of this program. we do have goals. by the year 2023 everything should be in place. the infrastructure should be in place so we can maintain numbers of the endangered fish in the colorado river and the upper san juan. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. mcclintock: mr. speaker, i readily concede that if you put a gun to somebody's head you can get reasonable people to do unreasonable things. the e.s.a. is a gun to the head of the people of the west. it's time we did something about that. no one suggests that there's not important mission for the e.s.a. but it's gotten

completely out of control. it's breached all bounds of reaming and logic and it's time we revisited that logic rather than squander tens of millions of dollars on programs like this whose sole pump is to simply keep -- purpose is to simply keep that e.s.a. litigation at bay. i ask if the gentlelady has further speakers -- mr. salazar: i don't have a response to that. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. mrs. napolitano: i yield the gentleman for 30 seconds. mr. salazar: i want to thank the gentleman for joining us in colorado yesterday for a specific water hearing that the gentlelady held. a prime example of how we can all work together to make sure that agriculture can maintain its water rights, and so that is why we are so supportive of this program. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlelady have additional speakers? mrs. napolitano: i have no additional speakers and i

retain the balance of my time. mr. mcclintock: maci yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california. mrs. napolitano: and congressman salazar was right, we met yesterday in colorado with a lot of the stakehodders of the colorado river basin who indicated to us that the economy is at stake. they profess to us that protecting the endangered species -- the endangered species act actually helped maintain the quality of water in the rivers. so to me that's a further indication of how important this particular bill is, to continue the collaboration of all entities who have come to the table, put their differences aside and quit getting into litigation that's more costing to the taxpayer. i yield back the balance of my time by requesting that we support this 2288. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. all time has expired. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2288. those in favor will signify by saying aye.

those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed -- mr. broun: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the bill as amended. the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from guam seek recognition?

ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4491. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 273, h.r. 4491, a bill to authorize the secretary of the interior to conduct a study of alternatives for commemorating and interpreting the role of the buffalo soldiers in the early years of the national parks, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from guam, ms. bordallo, and the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from guam. ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.

ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, h.r. 4491, introduced by representative jackie speier of california, would authorize the national parks service to conduct a special resource study to determine appropriate and feasible ways to commemorate the african-american men known as the buffalo soldiers and the important role that they played in the early years of the national parks. . these soldiers played a critical role in protecting yosemite and sequoia national parks and served as the nation's first park rangers. under the proposed legislation the national park service would evaluate alternatives to commemorate and interpret the roles of the buffalo soldiers. they would also evaluate the suitability and feasibility of establishing a national historic trail along the route used by the buffalo soldiers from their post in the presidio of san francisco to the sierra nevada mountains.

representative speier is to be commended for her work to highlight this important chapter in african-american history and in the history of our national parks. mr. speaker, h.r. 4491 received broad bipartisan support in committee and i urge its adoption by the house today. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from california. mr. mcclintock: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcclintock: in my opinion the most important role of the national parks is to provide a link to our nation's proud history. i believe in american exceptionalism. the story of our nation is the story of the uniquely american principles enshrined in the declaration of independence and how they shaped and mold the what has become the most successful republic in the history of human civilization. one aspect of that story is exemplified by the buffalo soldiers. americans of african dissent

who transcended the prejudices of the post-civil war era to serve as the first peacetime army units comprised of african-americans. they took the heroism and patriotism of the famous 54th massachusetts and other civil war units and made them into a proud and permanent fixture within the american armed forces. other members included medal of honor winner louis carpenter and the first african-american member to graduate from west points. they made immeasurable contributions to the continental expansion of our nation to the protection ever our first national parks, but perhaps most important is their immortal contribution to the unification of our nation as a free people. as shakespeare said, their story should the good man teach his son. this bill will develop a plan to do that within the national park service and i urge its adoption. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves.

the gentlelady from guam. ms. bordallo: i have no additional questions for time. and would inquire of the minority whether they have any additional speakers. mr. mcclintock: we have no further speakers. if you're done i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from guam. ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, i again urge members to support the bill. 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 pass h.r. 4491. 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 bill is passed, and without objection objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house concurrent resolution 211. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 211, concurrent resolution recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the east bay regional park district in california, and for other purposes. mr. miller: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to

revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the spker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. miller, and the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: as a lifelong citizen of the county in the east bay of san francisco bay area, i have witnessed firsthand the east bay regional park district's steady drive to protect open spaces, benefiting millions of east bay residents over several generations. the east bay regional park district is today the largest regional park agency in the country. over the last 75 years, they have preserved nearly 100,000 acres of park land, established 65 regional parks, and built over 1,100 miles of trails. almost every weekend i visit the east bay regional parks on one of their trails, one of the regional park systems to walk with my family and to enjoy the

outdoors in its parks. generally it's the park near my home. i commend the east bay regional park district and the various board members throughout the past 75 years on not only this milestone but the vision they concept usize many years ago to provide this incredible asset to the residents of the san francisco bay area, specifically to the east bay of san francisco bay. i rise in strong support of this resolution commending the 75th anniversary of the east bay regional park district. i want to thank chairman rahall, chairman grijalva, chairwoman bordallo, and ranking member bishop for their work in bringing this resolution to the floor. as a resident of this area and very often talking to my neighbors and to people i represent in this area, the pride that our area has in the east bay regional parks, the support that the citizens of

this region have given the park district over the last 75 years is a testimony to a well-run system of parks throughout our area of recreational facilities, of trails, of support for families with children, for people who ride horses, people who ride bikes, people who run, people who walk, and accommodating the open spaces and historical and cultural uses of the areas within the boundaries of the east bay regional parks and counties. i don't represent this area alone. i sharthe representation of the park district with congresswoman barbara lee, congressman pete stark, congressman garamendi, and congressman mcnerney and i know all of them share the tried i do in this park system. as i stated earlier the vision that they have presented to the public and the support that it has received and the cooperation with which they

have received from farmers, from ranchers, from cities, from the counties has just been an incredible model for other areas who have to deal with the issues of preserving open space and competing the uses of that space by various governmental jurisdictions and private landowners. i also want to pay tribute to the grand old man of implementing this plan and working with all of the various landowners and the local jurisdictions and procuring these lands at a fair price to the taxpayers of our region. and that's hewlett hornbeck who for so many years thought about the implementation of that vision of the board of directors of the regional parks. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, is recognized. mr. mcclintock: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcclintock: mr. speaker, the east bay regional park district servers the people of

san francisco and the test of their satisfaction is the fact that they have continued to support it with voter approved bonds. each vote being a vote of confidence in its work and each vote backing that confidence with local funds. it used to be that local projects that benefited local communities were paid for by those local communities and the east bay regional park is an example of this bygone era. today the federal treasury's too often treated as a grab bag for local projects, literally robbing st. petersburg to pay st. paul. the success of this park district is a reminder the most successful local projects are those super intended by local voters. federalism works and we need to return to it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california, mr. miller. mr. miller: i want to thank my colleague, mr. mcclintock, for his comments and what he said is one of the reasons why this park district has such a high

level of support among its citizens. we have voted so many times to tax themselves knowing that this money was going to be widely used and they were going to get a good and fair bargain for all parties involved. with that i would like to recognize another long-time supporter and beneficiary of the east bay regional park system, congressman pete stark. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. stark: mr. speaker, i'd like to thank the distinguished chairman for recognizing the 75th anniversary of the east bay regional park district. goes back to the early grassroots day of actually the depression. when people in our district banded together under -- in that time to organize and tax themselves to create this district. these parks are owned by

everyone. in the great depression they created the district and the civilian conservation corps and the w.p.a. were the initial workers in these parks and it would be remiss for me not to wreck nies pat o'brien who worked so hard to keep these parks opened. in my district you can move from the hills of fremont to the crown park in alameda, to the hills behind oakland, and never be beyond walking distance of these marvelous parks. so it's a compliment to the chairman and i'd like to join with him in thanking him for recognizing the importance of our regional park district to

the local people in hopes that others may follow. i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. miller: i thank the gentleman. i yield myself two minutes. i also want to -- congressman stark mentioned pat o'brien. i want to thank him because he's been such a wonderful manager of this system and his entire staff and certainly all of the volunteers who come to the park which number in the thousands, all of the time to take care of these parks, to make them accessible to the public, to host special events, and the magnificent staff and rangers of the park system who live in our communities, who know the people who use the parks, and accommodate them. it's said one time i don't know if it's accurate or not, it's suggested you could get on horseback and ride for seven days and never leave the park and never use the same trails. the park hosts numerous stables that are -- the private sector

has outside of the park where again thousands of people a year use the parks on horseback. it's a great opportunity for children to get around horses and see people riding them and to learn about them from their owners. this is a remarkable, remarkable community asset. in the midst of one of the most urban areas in the united states in terms of density and clearly highly appreciated by the people. i would hope that all my colleagues in congress would join us in voting for and supporting the 75th anniversary recognition of this world class park system of the east bay regional parks. thank you. i don't know if the gentleman has any further -- mr. mcclintock: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. miller: i also 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 concurrent resolution 211. 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 concurrent resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1327. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1327, resolution honing the life, achievements, and contributions of floyd dominy. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, mrs. napolitano, and the

gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. mrs. napolitano: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. . the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. napolitano: mr. speaker, house resolution 1327 was introduced by our colleague, representative adrian smith, and myself, to recognize floyd dominy, the man who was responsible for coordinating, building many of the water projects that exist in the entire western united states today. house resolution 1327 recognizes the longest serving commissioner in the history of the bureau of reclamation, serving presidents icen hour, kennedy, johnson and nixon. mr. dominy, who until his death, liked to be referred to as mr. commissioner, rose from

the planks in nebraska to become one of the most influential water developers in the world. the legacy of mr. floyd dominy impacts nearly every person in the 17 western states. water for cities and agriculture and reservoirs for recreation along with hydropower from bureau of reclamation dams provided the west with the ability to grow. the history of the west was built on the shoulders of men and women who saw challenges and opportunities. floyd dominy built the bureau of reclamation and its engineers into a world-class organization to develop and manage limited water resources. mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues to support the passage of house resolution 1327, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock. mr. mcclintock: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcclintock: this honors the

life, achievements and contributions of floyd dominy, the longest serving commissioner in the history of the bureau of reclamation. our colleague, congressman adrian smith, introduced this bipartisan resolution because mr. dominy was a nebraskan, having been born on a farm in the western part of that state. but what mr. dominy held from nebraska is achievements -- hailed from nebraska is achievements known worldwide. a dry nebraskan farm made mr. dominy the projects -- during his tenure at the bureau of reclamation, he played a major role in the authorization and construction of numerous federal multipurpose dams and water projects in the united states, including the glen canyon in arizona, flaming gorge in utah, the san luis unit in arizona, the trinity division of the central valley project in northern california. to this day, these projects

have created some of the most productive farmland in the world. they have provided water to a growing population in the arid west and they have generated clean, renewable and emissions-free hydropower. his contribution to the nation's water power and food supply, its recreation and its environment stand as monumental examples of how visionaries like mr. dominy have made this country the beacon of freedom and opportunity and prosperity. this resolution honors that legacy. but more than a legacy, it is a lesson for our nation. floyd dominy stood as a giant in an era when the central objective of our federal water and power policy was to provide an abundance of both. the great dams and hydroelectric projects of that era of which floyd dominy was a driving force produced the water and electricity that made possible the prosperity of our nation. imagine an era when water and

power was so scarce that many communities didn't bother to measure the stuff. but in the 1970's an idea seeped into our water and power policy. this ideology rejecked abundance as our principle objective and replaced it with the rationing of shortages that have been caused by our abandoning abundance as our principle objective. the great builders like floyd dominy was cast aside and forgotten even as we continued to rely on the great public works that they had produced. we've now lived a generation under this ideology and the results chronic shortages of water and power, skyrocketing prices for electricity, withering agriculture and declining prosperity. floyd dominy is an american hero. he deserves so much more than a resolution, but in a sense he has it. the great water and hydroelect trick projects that he produced -- hydroelectric projects that

he produced stand as a road map to this nation when we get ready to deal with the chronic shortages that the current generation of policymakers produced. i ask my colleagues to support this bipartisan measure, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from california. mrs. napolitano: thank you, mr. speaker. indeed, mr. dominy was a u.s. hero, if nothing else. he left a great legacy for the world, not just the united states, and we are exceedingly proud. he passed away four months ago at the age of 100 years old plus four months. our condolences to his family. mr. speaker, with that i yield back the balance of my time and request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. does the gentleman from california yield back? mr. mcclintock: 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 1327. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mrs. napolitano: i request the yeas and nays, mr. speaker. 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.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? mr. scott: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1514. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1514, a bill to amend the omnibus crime control and safe streets act of 1968 to re-authorize the juvenile accountability block grants program through fiscal year 2014. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: mr. speaker, this bill re-authorizes the juvenile accountability block grants program re-authorization for an additional three year. i worked with my republican colleagues in 1997 to develop and pass the legislation tha

created this important initiative. this program directs the department of justice to make grants to states and units of local government to strengthen the juvenile justice systems. the program allows funds to be used for a broad range of purposes that help reduce juvenile crimes such as establishing programs to assess the needs of juvenile offenders in order to facilitate comprehensive services, establishing programs to reduce recidivism amongst juveniles, hiring juvenile court judges, advocates and graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders. the juvenile accountable block grant has been an important part of the juvenile of justice programs. when we worked together in a bipartisan basis, members recognized that preventing juvenile crime and reducing recidivism by juvenile offenders requires something other than tough slogans and sound bites.

there is more and more information available providing the information -- the information available, showing that we need to approach this problem based on evidence and we know that that evidence shows what works and what doesn't work. those studies show that comprehensive prevention and early intervention programs directed towards youth at risk of involvement or those already involved in the juvenile justice system will significantly reduce crime. for example, we've seen in this program that this program serves at-risk youth. in ohio the program funded a system of graduated sanctions that provided alternatives to secured attention for preadjudicated youth. these are two examples of how the program successfully provides juvenile justice professionals with alternatives they need so there is not a

one-size-fits-all system of sanctions regardless of the needs and situation of each juvenile. and we extend and strengthen grants to ensure more accountability for juvenile crime and so we need to make sure that these principles are kept in mind and we do more to help communities prevent juvenile crime from occurring in the first place. i'm pleased that this program continues to have bipartisan support. this bill is co-sponsored by the chairman of the judiciary committee, the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers, the ranking member of the judiciary committee, the gentleman from texas, mr. smith, and the crime subcommittee ranking member, the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert. i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. rooney: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i support h.r. 15 14, the juvenile accountability block

grants program re-authorization act of 2009. i'm encouraged that the judiciary committee devoted their time to such an important piece of legislation. this bipartisan legislation is sponsored by crime subcommittee chairman, mr. bobby scott, other notable co-sponsors include judiciary committee chairman and ranking member, john conyers and lamar smith. and crime subcommittee ranking member louie gohmert. crimes created by children strike at the very core of our communities. our children are the promise of a very brighter tomorrow and hope for future generations. reducing juvenile crime and improving the juvenile justice system is a vital step in preserving and protecting the future of our children. h.r. 1514 amends the omnibus crime control and safe streets act of 1968 to extend through fiscal year 2014. the authorization of appropriations for the juvenile accountable block grant program. the goal of the juvenile accountability block grant program is to equip communities with the financial resources to

reduce juvenile delinquency and increase the accountability of juvenile offenders in the justice system. the juvenile accountability block grant program awards federal block grants to the 50 states, the district of columbia and the five u.s. territories, puerto rico, the u.s. virgin islands, guam, american samoa and the northern mariana islands. grants from this program helped provided communities with rest rated justice programs, police and probation partnerships, drug and teen courts and other programs which facilitate the successful re-entry of juvenile offenders from custody back into the community. in 2009, the juvenile accountable block grant program provided local communities in my home state of florida with over $2 million to assist them in their tofertse make our families and neighborhoods safer. these federal grants were used to combat gang violence, curb

juvenile drug use and provide mediation services to juvenile offenders and their victims. meeting the challenge of juvenile crime extend bond the judicial system. it it provides a comprehensive approach to ensure that juveniles not only receive punishment proportional to their crime, but also receive the support they need to get on the right track. the juvenile accountability block grant program is an essential tool to communities across the country. i support the re-authorization of its program and urge my colleagues to support this legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for his

support. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time for debated has been yielded back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1514. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. scott: mr. chairman. i ask for a recorded vote. i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays have been requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise. 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 gentleman from virginia rise? mr. scott: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1325 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1325, resolution recognizing national missing children's day. the speaker pro tempore:

pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is are recognized. mr. scott: this resolution recognizes tuesday, may 25, as national missing children's tai. we hope it will continue to raise awareness about the problem of missing and abducted children. i thank the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney, and his colleague from florida, mr. hastings, for introducing this resolution. may 25, 1979, was the day that 6-year-old eden paths disappeared from new york city while he was on his way to school. the media attention and massive search efforts that followed his disappearance focused the

nation's attention on the problem of missing children. two years later, 6-year-old adam walsh disappeared from a shopping small. -- mall. his parents turned to law enforcement to find their son. they realized there was no coordinated effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the search ofor their son. and in 1981, there were no organizations to assist them in their search. the momentum for a national movement to keep children safe from preddors -- predators began with the disappearance of these two children. as a result of this movement, the national center for missing and exploited children was established in 1984. over the past 25 years, it's assisted law enforcement with more than 165,000 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 151,000 children. though the national center has done a remarkable job helping to find missing children and

raising public aware nks about the problem of child abduction and exploitation, the department of justice reports that far too many children go missing every year. we hope that may 25, the national missing children's day we hope that on that that date, everyone's thoughts will be with the family who was missing children and will rededicate our efforts to protect children from predators. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i support h.r. 1325 which i sponsompled this recognizes may 25, 2010, as the 28th annual missing children's day. this day was first reck -- recognized in 1983 when president reagan announced that

may 25 was national missing children's day. the proclamation followed a series of high profile missing children's cases that drew headlines across the country. the first involved the disappearance of ethan paths off the -- pats off the street on his way to school. the national search and media attention that followed focused the nation's attention on the problem of child abduction and the lack of coordinated plans to address it. the second incident was the missing and murdered child tragedy in atlanta, georgia. during this episode, the bodies of 29 young boys and girl were discovered in a three-year period in the late 1970's and early 1980's. a suspect was identified and convicted in 1981 and he is serving a life sentence in

prison. also in my home state of florida in 1981, adam walsh disappeared from a shopping mall. his parents turned to law enforcement agencies to find their son. to their disappointment, there was little coordinated effort between law enforcement agencies to search for adam. these tragedies led to the recognition of the dearth of coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and the lack of a national response system to help our families search for missing children. since that time our country has made great strides in this area. national missing children's day serves as an annual reminder to our nation to renew efforts to reunite missing children and their families and make child protection a national priority. national missing children's day is a reminder to parents and

guardians to take and keep high quality photographs of their children for use in case of emergency. we should also use this day to remind all americans of the importance of paying close attention to the posters and photographs of missing children. the resolution also recognizes the vital role of law enforcement officials in preventing kidnappings and abductions of children while also leading efforts to locate the missing this should remind people across the country not to forget the children still missing and not to waver in the efforts to reunite these children with their families. i support this resolution and urge my colleagues to adopt it. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i'm prepared to close, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: i would like to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from texas, a member of the

judiciary committee, mr. poe. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: as a former prosecutor and judge in texas and now the founder and co-chair a long with mr. costa of california of the national victim's rights caucus, i rise in support of this resolution. this day is the anniversary of the disappearance of ethan pats. it ultimately led to the national movement we have today. as my friend from florida mentioned, the other notorious case was the disappearance of adam walsh when he was 6 when he was with his mother at a shopping mall and then kidnapped. he was later found in the gulf of mexico. his father, john walsh, started the program "america's most wanted" on television that sought to capture criminals throughout the united states, a program that's been very

successful. in 1983, president reagan proclaimed may 25 as national missing children's day this day serves as a reminder to parents to have high quality photographs of their kids handy and a reminder to us in congress that the safety of those children should be a national priority of all members of congress. every year, thousands of children are reported missing. while progress has been made in linking federal and state law enforcement effort, these numbers remind us we must always be vigilant in our efforts to reunite missing children with their families and of course to step up our prosecution of those that harm them and to make child protection a national priority. i am thankful for the work of the national center for missing and exploited children. it provides a national hub and clearing-house of information about missing children and their efforts have been great leading to the capture and prosecution of hundreds of

predators and also the recovery of numerous children. mr. speaker, this resolution in honor of national missing children's day is also a timely one. in 2005, we had a string of notorious kidnappings of children throughout the country that were sexually assaulted and then murdered. one of those young victims was jessica lunsford, another child from florida who at the age of 9 was asleep in her own bed in her own room and was kidnapped in the middle of the night by a man named john couey a sexual predator of the state of georgia. he committed several crimes against her and eventually buried her alive. because of her and other victims that year, the national child safety act was passed by this congress and signed into law, an effort to track sexual predators when they cross state lines. yesterday, the supreme court of the united states upheld a provision of the adam walsh

child safety act when the supreme court ruled that sex offenders can be held behind bars indefinitely if they are determined to be sexually dangerous to the community. sexual predators are among the most dangerous people on earth to our children. the supreme court has reinforced the role of the federal government in protecting children from those that wish him harm. i want to thank mr. rooney for bringing this legislation to the floor and i urge my colleagues to give it their full-hearted support. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: i'd like to yield as much time as he may consume, the gentleman from florida, mr. mica. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mica: may i inquire as to the remaining time? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 13 1/2 minutes.

mr. mica: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank mr. rooney for introducing this resolution. i urge my colleagues to support the resolution and i thank you for remembering today the missing children's law passed some 28 years ago. it's hard to believe time passes by and sometimes some of the details of how laws were important to changes in our legal system and our approach to issues like missing children , how things happen. i thought it would be good to come out to the floor this afternoon and again thank you for paying attention to the missing children law and again, it's hard to believe that it's almost 2003 three decades since it was passed. i heard some of the speakers

speak about the law. i think it's important that we remember today as we recognize the missing children's law and this anniversary how it all came about. if you're here long enough in congress you find that certain people get dedicated to a proposition or to an effort or cause and they spearhead that cause. in 1981, i had the great honor to be selected as chief of staff for united states senator paula hawkins, probably the first woman elected to the united states senate in her own right, she had no husband or family ties, she was just popularly elected to the u.s. senate. she had a different set of agendas. it was wonder to feel work with her and learn from her. i knew her as a determined woman who shook up the public

service commission, and everything she got hold of she went after sort of like one of those pit bulldogs. as chief of staff, and i remember calls from a gentleman by the name of john walsh who had lost his son, and he and his wife were very distraught, trying to fin that child and senator hawkins became aware of their plight and she took hold of that issue and their search for their lost, missing son adam and she never stopped. i heard other references to children that were lost or murdered before that, but i can tell you there would not be

today, or not have been in 1982, a law passed relating to missing children if it wasn't for senator hawkins. i distinctly remember one policy meeting we had with a newly-elected senator. she had some interesting advisors, one is well known, national advisor, charlie black a good friend of min. -- mine. another is a good friend, dick morris. we were in a meeting room in her senate office in the district and -- in winter park, florida, after adam was missing and john and mrs. walsh asked the senator to help find their son. they sat in this policy meeting and at the time they talked about national issues, social security, national defense, and what the senator's priorities should be. i'll never forget at that

meeting, senator hawkins interjected after each national issue at that time was brought up, and we have to do something about missing children. time and time again she she brought it up. she never stopped after that until she passed the law. she guided it through the senate, through this body and made it become law because of her determination to make certain, and i remember her saying this, and i want this in the record. if we can find a missing refrigerator or we can find a missing automobile, why shouldn't we be able to have a law to help us find missing children. so it was her determination that made this law possible some 28 years ago. it was her determination that helps create the center for missing and exploiting children.

now she doesn't hear this praise because she passed away lastecember and during her many testimonials, pitch wares, was written that she was the author of the missing -- obituaries, was written that she was the author of the missing children's law that president reagan signed into law and that, my friends, my colleagues, is the rest of the story. this law, nearly three decades later is the result of a very determined woman who thought children should be a national priority and missing children, we should have a law that assisted when a child is lost and a national -- at a -- and a national center to carry on that work. they have dobe a great job. john walsh and his wife have turned unbelievable human tragedy into something positive in their effort, the loss of

adam, great, great loss, you can't imagine parents losing their child and i was with the walshes in new york city when they were notified of their child's remains being found. it's something you cannot even possibly imagine as a parent. again, out of that tragedy came a law that's helped us find, reclaim and account for thousands, literally thousands of missing children. so as you pass this resolution today, i commend you. i urge my colleagues to adopt it and just wanted to provide a little background for the history and congressional record of how this law came about. pleased to yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia.

mr. scott: mr. chairman, mr. speaker, i'm prepared to cse and i'll reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers and i'm prepared to close. i support this resolution recognizing national missing children's day. i want to thank chairman scott, mr. conyers, mr. mica, mr. poe, and i urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'd like to thank all of our colleagues who made comments today, particularly the gentleman from florida for his leadership on this legislation and the leadership of the judiciary committee. i thank them for their concern and leadership on the issue of missing children. i urge my colleagues to support the resolution, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1325 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair --

mr. scott: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yanse will rise and remain standing until counted. -- yanse will rise and remain standing until counted. -- 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 gentleman from michigan rise? mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1362. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1362, resolution celebrating the life and achievements of lena mary calhoun horne and honoring her for her triumphs against racial discrimination and her steadfeast commitment

to the civil rights of all people. -- steadfast commitment to the civil rights of all people. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers, and the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. conyers: and i ask that all all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. conyers: leader -- lena horne has left us but she's been known around the world as an outstanding actress, singer and civil rights advocate. this resolution shows her commitment to advancing the civil rights and human rights of all people. i also ask unanimous consent that my colleague from brooklyn, new york, yvette

clarke lewis be able to put her statement in the record at this point. the speaker pro tempore: it will be recognized under general leave. mr. conyers: she went on to break numerous racial barriers as a beautiful, talented, gifted artist and everyone -- there are very few people that don't remember her. she received four grammy awards , a tony award, the highest honor of the national association for the advancement of colored people in 1984, the kennedy center honor, and she was a star at m.g.m. studios.

she used her own resources to travel during world war ii to entertain troops. she did refuse at that time to sing before any segregated officers -- segregated audiences. she marched with medgar evers in mississippi, and she was honored to know and work with eleanor roosevelt. what a legend, what a life and what a great contribution to this country she made. i'll reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i support house resolution 1362, commemorating the life of lena horne, who died earlier this month on sunday, may 9, 2010. ms. horne's performanses

enriched countless lives -- performances enriched countless lives. she also contributed in significant ways to the civil rights movement, as mr. conyers just stated. ms. horne was born in brooklyn, new york, in 1917. sher father left the family when she was 3, and her mother was a travel actress. at the age of 5 she was sent to live in georgia with her grandparents. after returning to new york, she joined the chorus at the famed cotton club in harlem in 1933. in the late 1930's and early 1940's, she was primarily a nightclub performer but she also was in a few movies. during the nightclub performance in hollywood in 1943 she gained the attention of some local talent scouts for the movies. she became the first black performer to sign a long-term contract with a major hollywood

studio. she performed in a number of movie-musicals throughout the 1940's, including the m.g.m. musical, "cabin in the sky." from the late 1950's to the 1960's, ms. horne appeared on many television variety shows, including the ed sullivan show and the dean martin show. in the 1970's and 1980's, she continued to perform in television shows, including "the muppet show," "sesame street" and "the cosby show." lena horne, the lady and her music ran through more than 300 performances on broadway. she also received two grammy awards for the cast recording of her show. ms. horne again one grammy awards in 1989 honoring her lifentime achievement in 1995 when she was almost 80 for best jazz vocal performance.

throughout her illustrious career ms. horne devoted her time to the civil rights movement. in 1963 she spoke and performed on behalf of the naacp and the national council of negro women at the famous march on washington. i support this resolution's commemoration of lena horne's many contributions to music, television, theater and civil rights. she brought grace and graciousness to every aspect of her work, 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 reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. korn conn -- mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i yield to danny davis, our dear friend from chicago, illinois, as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. davis: thank you very much, mr. chairman. first of all, i want to thank chairman conyers for yielding time, and i also want to thank him for his historical memories

of the life of lena horne. some people are fortunate to read about her, but i believe that chairman conyers is old enough to remember her during her hay day. as a matter of fact, i am also and i never shall forget my sister and i having the opportunity to go and watch "cabin in the sky" when we were little kids. as a matter of fact, chris and i talked about that experience with each other all the way up until the time that she died a few years ago. i mean, for us, that was the most memorable thing that we had ever seen, that we had ever done, that we had never been able to do. we didn't know much about civil rights at that time. as a matter of fact, i guess we

were a little young to know much about civil rights, but we did know that we just revered this lady, lena horne. and then later on as we got older and we were able to apprecte her in different kinds of roles is not only an entertainer, not only a great performer, also one who had a tremendous amount of spirit and relationship to what it is that she taught. she taught that you didn't really have to take certain roles if you didn't want them. and if you didn't see yourself that way. that it didn't matter what anybody called you, but what really mattered is what you answered to.

and so lena horne, who was ageless, priceless, we never knew what her age was because we could never tell. when she was 60 i guess she might of liked like 30 or maybe 25. so somehow or another she found the fountain of youth, but she contributed greatly to the development of this country and to the world in which we live. so, again, i want to thank chairman conyers for introducing this resolution along with representative clarke and other co-sponsors, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i'd like to inquire whether or not the majority has more speakers. mr. conyers: we do not, sir. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: mr. speaker, we have no further requests for speakers. i know that there will be many members that will be inserting their own statements in the record, and we return the balance of our time as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1362. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the -- mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent -- i ask that there be a record vote and ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? mr. conyers: i do. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays have been requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass senate bill 1782. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 1782, an act to provide improvements for the operations of the federal -- of the federal courts, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson, and the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney, each will control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. johnson: and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. johnson: the federal judiciary administrative improvements act of 2010 makes a number of changes to increase the efficient soif the federal courts. the house passed a substantially similar version of this legislation last october. h r. 3632, which i introduced, was co-sponsored by chairman john conyers, ranking member smith, and the ranking member of the subcommittee on courts and competition policy, which i also chair. by howard coble, the ranking member. s. 1782 would make a number of

modest changes to the law and to the administrative operations of the federal judiciary. first it will take a -- it will fix a minor conflict in the law and make clear that senior judges with a reduced work load are permitted to participate in the selection of magistrate judges. second, the bill incorp. rated a proposal supported by my friend and colleague from north dakota, earl pomeroy, to place north dakota in a single judicial district. this will allow for a more even distribution of the work loads of the federal courts in north dakota. third, the bill makes some minor adjustments for criminal matters. it requires separating the statement of reason from other information in the case, enabling confidential information to be more carefully controlled and protect. the bill also clarifies the

scope and authority of federal pretrial service officers to supervise and assist juveniles awaiting delinquency disposition in federal court as an alternative to incarceration. further, the bill adjusts the deadline for both state and federal judges to file their wiretap totals with the court, so that the annual wiretap report to congress is accurate and does not require a later addendum. finally, the bill increases the statutory amount to be paid for experts before requiring aprufle of the judge. it raises the threshold to accurately impact the impact of inflation. while i strongly support passage of the senate bill, i note that some provisions in the house bill are not included. for example, the house bill would have adjusted the disability requirement and cost

of living annuity of four territorial judges, reducing inequities between them and other judges such as magistrate and bankruptcy judges. the house bill would have changed the annual leave limit for the judicial branch and adjusted the pay scale. finally the house bill would have allowed four division directors to receive a salary commensurate with their responsibilities and on par with similar a.o. personnel. i intend to introduce new legislation that will include these provisions from my version of the federal judiciary administrative improvements act but let me be clear that passage of the legislation before us today is an important step to improving our federal judiciary and helping it function in the most efficient way. this legislation is bipartisan and noncontroversial.

it passed the senate under annapolis consent and has the full backing of the judicial conference. i ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rooney: the purpose of this is to make noncontroversial changes believed to be necessary to provide justice for the american people. the bill retains most of the content of h.r. 3632, which we passed in october of 2009. the judicial conference is the policymaking body of the federal judiciary and through its committee system evaluates court operations. the conference endorses all the provisions in this bill. s. 1782 affects a wide range of judicial branch programs and

operations, including those pertaining to financial administration, process improvements and personnel administration. the bill incorporates five separate items. first, it clarifies that senior judges must satisfy minimum work thresholds to participate in minimum work matters, second the bill eliminates references to divisions and counties in the statutory description of the judicial district of north dakota which enables the court to better distribute the workload between two active distct judges and reduce travel for litigants in the northern central area of the district. third, it authorizes statements of reasons that judges must issue on sentencing to be filed separately with the court. current law requires it to be bundled with other information in the case file distributed to the sentencing commission, where it can be difficult to maintain a seal related to confidential information.

fourth, it specifies the federal pretrial service officers can provide the same services to juveniles as adult offenders, such as drug treatment. finally, it applies the inflationary index -- an infligsnary -- inflationary index to the threshold amount applied to the chief judge and conducting investigation for indigent defendants. the thresholds are statutorily fixed and erode over time this means chief justice must use greater time to approve what are not genuine high-dollar requests. s. 1782 is necessary to improve the functioning of the u.s. courts which will ultimately benefit the american people. this is a noncontroversial bill and i urge my colleagues to support it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: may i inquire as

to how many more speakers my friend, mr. roon nee -- mr. rooney, may i inquire how many speakers you have left, sir? mr. rooney: we have no further speakers. mr. jackson: mr. speaker, i have no other witnesses, or no other speakers. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back. the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate bill 1782. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative,

the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. johnson: i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1364. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1364, resolution honoring the historic and community significance of the chatham county courthouse and expressing condolences to chatham county and the town of pittsboro for the fire damage sustained by the courthouse on march 25, 2010. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson, and the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on

the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. johnson: i yield myself such time as may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. jn: this resolution honors the chatham county courthouse in pittsboro, north carolina. this historic courthouse was recently destroyed by fire on march 10, 2010. it took more than 100 courageous fire fighters to put out the blaze. the town of pittsboro, population around 3,000, has many important historical attractions. these include numerous 19th century buildings and old -- an old-fashioned soda shop on the main street and a number of antique stores. for over 100 year, chatham county courthouse stood in the middle of town. the courthouse was originally built in 1881 and was restored in 1991 to its original appearance.

local residents regarded the residence as the -- the courthouse as the heart of the county and a symbol of their community. this resolution expresses our con low -- condolences to the town of pittsboro and all of chatham county, north carolina, for their los of this significant building. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rooney: i support house resolution 1364, which honors the significance of the chatham county courthouse and expresses condolences to chatham county and the town of pittsboro for the fire damage sustained by the courthouse on march 25, 20 10. the courthouse was completed in 1881. -- 1882. for nearly 100 years justice and the rule of law preserved

this courthouse. it stood as a central landmark and gathering place for pittsboro and chatham county. on march 15, 2010, the chatham county courthouse was partially destroyed a tragic fire. firefighters and emergency responders fought courageously to save the structure and the historic archives within it. they protected the public and surrounding buildings from damage. state, county, and city officials have worked to ensure the administration of justice continues in chatham county. they also plan to restore the courthouse this resolution expresses condolences to the people of chatham county and the town of pittsboro for their historic loss. they commend the work of the firefighters and first responders and recognizes the significance of the courthouse to the community and the administration of justice for more than a severage rhythm i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution

and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: i yield to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. price, for as much time as he consumes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. price: i thank my colleague for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in support of h. rest 1364, reck -- of h.res. 1364, recognizing and remembering the chatham county courthouse in pittsboro, north carolina. at 4:15 p.m. on march 25 of this year, the upper poorgs of the courthouse caught fire. the blaze eventually destroyed much of the building, taking wit 130 years of history and a source of pride for chatham county residents and visitors. the county the courthouse serves is divided between the second and fourth congressional

districts. i'm proud to join with my colleagues today in lamenting the los of this courthouse. it dates back to 1881 when members of columbus lodge 102 laid its cornerstone at the cent over the town of pittsboro. the building, known for his two-story portico and a three-stage cupola was designed . the building was completed less than one year later on independence day of 1882. it has served as a landmark to visitors and residents along and a symbol of constancy to the broader community. though the building will be rebuilt in time and many of the records lost will be recreated, i agree with the chat -- i grieve with the chatham county today for the loss of this courthouse. county courthouses are the

cornerstones of justice and the rule of law in our communities. they atine a -- they attain a greater significance, larger than their day-to-day role. i would also like to recognize the local first responders who responded to the fire for their heroic action in controlling the braise and -- blaze and ensuring the safety of court personnel. thanks to their efforts and a working fire alarm system, there were no injuries or fatalities as a result of this fire. i also commend the north carolina administrative officer of the courts and the chatham county and town of pittsboro governments which worked tirelessly to ensure the continuity of operations and developed a plan to restore the courthouse. mr. speaker, i want tohank my colleague, mr. etheridge who represents the town of pittsboro and the majority of chatham county and congress for his leadership on this resolution. i extend -- i join with him in

extending condolences to the community and expressing our hope and expectation that efforts to rebuild the portions of the building that were destroyed and to restore the archives will be swift and successful. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: may i inquire if there are any more speakers in the majority? mr. johnson: i have no additional speakers. mr. rooney: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back, the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: 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.res. 1364. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is passed and -- mr. johnson: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i

make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman makes a point of order. 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 gentleman from georgia rise? mr. johnson: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4614 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4614, a bill to amend part e of title i of the omnibus crime control and safe streets act of 1968 to provide for incentive payments under the edward byrne memorial justice assistance grant program for states to implement minimum and enhanced d.n.a. collection processes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson, and the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney, each will control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill -- on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. johnson: and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. johnson: mr. speaker, the katie acceptic enhanced d.n.a. -- sepich enhanced d.n.a. collection act of 2010, otherwise known as katie's law, will help exonerate the innocent, give our police access to cutting edge forensic techniques, and reduce the cost of criminal investigations. more importantly, katie's law will help victims of violent crime and their families get answers and the closure that they need. katie's law encourages the states to adopt the effective d.n.a. collection procedures. states that meet the minimum

standards set by the bill are entitled to a 5% bonus in byrne funding for state and local law enforcement. in states that adopt enhanced standards are entitled to a 10% bonus. these funds are in addition to funds awarded through byrne jag. states that do not adopt collection procedures that meet the new federal standards are not penalized in any way. katie's law also directs the attorney general to report to congress once a year on the progress made by the states in adopting new collection procedures. katie's law is named for katie sepich who is remembered as a vibrant young woman and graduate stumet at new mexico state university -- student at new mexico state university. in the summer of 2003, katie was brutally raped and murdered just outside her home. katie's parents, jayann and

dave sepich, waited for three long years afters the investigation continued without producing any strong leads. in january, 2006, thanks to the efforts of the sepich family, the new mexico state legislature passed a measure to require the collection of d.n.a. evidence in the investigation of certain felonies. months later, investigators linked a d.n.a. sample from katie's attacker to a sample taken from a repeat violent offender who had been in and out of police custody for years. confronted with the evidence, the suspect pled guilty to the crime and is now serving 69 years in prison without parole. mr. speaker, i commend the law enforcement officers who solved this crime but consider the fact that katie's assailant was arrested for aggravated burglary just weeks after attacking katie. if a d.n.a. sample from that

individual had matched evidence from the crime scene, the case might have been solved years earlier. police officers could have saved the thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours, and katie's family might not have spent three painful years in investigatory limbo. katie's law provides the resources necessary to solve crimes sooner. this measure passed the house with overwhelming support last congress and has co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. i commend my colleagues, harry teague and adam schiff, for their tireless work on this issue. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to pass 4614, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i rise

in support of h.r. 4614, which i'm proud to be a co-sponsor, the katie sepich enhanced d.n.a. collection act authorizes ensent advises grants to states to collect d.n.a. samples from felony arrestees. d.n.a. arrestee programs provides law enforcement tools. it can also prevent crime by linking suspects to crimes practice and locking them up before they strike again. katie sepich's case clearly demonstrates the value of collecting d.n.a. from felony arrestees. just three months after brutally raping and murdering katie in 2003, gabery -- gabriel avila was absconded from his sentencing and was apprehended again in 2005. his d.n.a. was finally taken and matched to katie's case, a match that could have been

attained years earlier. new mexico's d.n.a. arrestee law was passed in 2006. 21 other states now have similar laws, including my home state of florida. florida's d.n.a. arrestee program solved the 25-year-old murder when the suspect was arrested last may, and his d.n.a. collected on felony drug charges. in new york, d.n.a. collected following a drunk driving arrest linked the suspect to three rape-homicides dating back 12 years. uploading them to a national d.n.a. database or codis, states can empower police and investigators not only to solve cold cases but hopfully apprehend violent criminals before other people are victimized and precious lives are lost. h.r. 4614 provides incentive grants to states that implement and use d.n.a. arrestee

programs. the amended version of this bill before us today makes several important improvements to the bill. first, it removes the provision that would have penalized states that do not have arrestee program by direct -- deducting 5% of their grants. i hope this will provide greater flectibility to states receiving those grants. third, the amended bill places a cap on the authorization level, limiting it to 10% of the amount of the appropriated for the byrne jag grant program. i support these improvements to the bill. however, i also recognize there are other areas where the bill could also be improved. a significant hurdle to the states implementing arrestee programs is the cost. in georgia, for instance, where legislation was introduced earlier this year to require d.n.a. collection from arrestees, it would cost as much as $7 million a year to

operate the program. unfortunately, georgia will not be eligible for an incentive grant under h.r. 4614 until it fully implements a d.n.a. arrestee process. a possible solution would be to allow states such as georgia to use grant funding to implement their d.n.a. arrestee law where the costs are arguely their highest. h.r. 4614 awards incentive grants to states with arrestee programs, not just once, but year after year after year. perhaps the emphasis should be on those states that have not yet enacted or implemented a d.n.a. arrestee program. because this grant increase is compulsary under this bill, the justice department will be required to administer the additional bonus to states even if congress does not appropriate additional funds to the program. there is concern that this may ultimately result in depleting

byrne jag funds from certain states, thus creating a penalty to states without the d.n.a. arrestee law. i hope to work with all concerned parties in helping resolve lingering issues as this legislation moves forward. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: mr. speaker, i now yield to the co-sponsor -- the sponsor of this bill, mr. teague, as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new mexico is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. teague: mr. speaker, i rise in support of katie sepich enhanced d.n.a. collection act, or katie's law. i want to thank those who helped me work on this important legislation. most importantly, i want to thank you jayann and dave

sepich, constituents of mine from carlsbad, new mexico, for bringing this to my attention and help pass the d.n.a. laws nationwide. this bill is named for their daughter, katie sepich, who was brutally raped and murdered in las cruces, new mexico, in 2003, at the age of 22. jayann and dave have taken this devastating and horrific circumstance that most people, including myself, could never imagine and have turned it into something that can save lives and help families across the country. if this law had been on the books in new mexico at the time of katie's murder, her case would have been solved three months after her death when her killer was arrested for breaking into the home of two women after watching them through a window. instead, casey's killer was not identified until three years after her murder and was left

to roam the streets after that time. since katie's murder in twee, new mexico has passed state law to allow law enforcement to collect d.n.a. for those arrested for certain felonies. 22 other states, as well as the federal government, have passed similar laws. i have introduced my version of katie's law at the federal level to make sure that this life-saving law that is in effect in my home state of new mexico and 22 others is the standard for every state. the katie's law i have introduced will incentivize states at the very least match certain arrestees to the national d.n.a. bank. the combined d.n.a. information system, or codis, by providing to comply with a 5% increase in their byrne j.a.g. funds. there is no require of retention of the d.n.a. record after it is checked against codis. katie's law will further

incentivize those states which not only match arrestees but also contribute to the codis with a 10% increase in byrne j.a.g. funds. not only do these incentives encourage states to implement arrestee d.n.a. laws but they provide much-needed support to local law enforcement as they work to keep our streets safe. d.n.a. has rightly been called the fingerprint of the 21st century. by simply swabbing a person's cheek and then coding d.n.a. with only 13 indicators, law enforcement can accurately identify perpetrators of crime without regard to race or criminal history. this practice protects the privacy of arrestees since any identifying -- is not coded by use by law enforcement. in addition, my bill contains an expungement clause to make sure that d.n.a. will be

removed from codis should a person not be convicted of the crime for which they were arrested. the full potential of d.n.a. as a crime-solving tool cannot be realized if we are not collecting d.n.a. from those arrestees for certain violent crimes. statistics show that 70% of america's crimes are committed by 6% of america's criminals. this means many of those who have committed some of the most heinous crimes in our society are repeat offenders. one study conducted in chicago tracked a known criminal activity of eight individuals and determined that 60 violent crimes, including 53 murders, would have been prevented if the eight individuals' d.n.a. had been taken on their first felony arrest. similarly, a serial killer and rapist from california, named chester turner, raped and murdered at least 12 women

between 1987 and 1998 during which time he was also arrested a total of 18 times. had turner been swabbed for d.n.a. when he was arrested on january 26 of 1987, he would have been linked to his first victim and 11 women would still be alive today. . david turner was wrongfully convicted and served 11 years in prison before finally absolved. concerning the potential for false identification and the number of repeat offenders in our criminal justice system, it's only common sense that if someone is arrested for a crime like rape, murder or kidnapping, we make sure we

identify them fully before we release them back onto the streets. we use fingerprints for this very purpose and we should use the modern equipment, junk d.n.a. katie's law will treat d.n.a. evidence left at the scene of the crime as they do fingerprints. the point is science has advanced and we should allow law enforcement to use all of the technology available to them, including the fingerprints of the 21st century. . and keep those who commit violent crimes from walking the streets. jan and dave have experienced something that no parent should ever have to, the loss of a child. we have the power to advanced d.n.a. collection to make one less parent grieve for a child,

one less husband grieve for a wife and one less child lose a parent. thank you. and i ask that you support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? mr. rooney: i would like to yield as much time as he will consume from the gentleman from washington and former sheriff and co-sponsor of this legislation, mr. reichert. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. reichert: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, i'm proud to rise today to join with mr. teague and mr. schiff to fight for katie's law. think about what i just said. katie's law. we have a build named after a 22-year-old woman whose life was ripped away from her. so we name a law and her name

will live on. katie sepich from new mexico, 22 years old. her life ripped away from her by a monster. i think most of the members of congress know that i had a full career as a police officer, sheriff's deputy homicide detective, hostage negotiator and a street cop for 33 years and finally as the sheriff before i left the sheriff's office. for 19 years, i know this firsthand what d.n.a. does. in 1982, i was a 31-year-old homicide decttive standing by the riverside collecting the bodies of three young women. 16 years old, dead.

no d.n.a. then. all we had was blood typing. but we were fortunate, though, we had bodily samples that we could take that we froze and saved for 19 years. in 1987, the team of detectives that were together on that case had an opportunity to search the home of a success pent and take -- suspect and take samples from him, chewed on a gauze and put it in a test tube and froze that. 1987, c.s.i. had not been heard of. but we were still using science, biology, forensic pathology, et cetera. no computers, no d.n.a. still blood typing.

in 1999, the first d.n.a. really , 1998, 1999, it became known to law enforcement. so we sent our sample to the only two labs that were dealing with d.n.a. at that time. said the samples were too fragile, too small. might have to destroy them if we tested them further, so come back in a couple of years. in 2001, we submitted the samples and came back with a d.n.a. match on three of the bodies. we solved with that d.n.a. match out of 40,000 tip sheets, 10,000 items of evidence, we solved 48 murders. we closed 50 cases. he pled guilty to 48 murders. that's because of d.n.a. i can't tell you how important katie's law is.

to save lives. that person who committed these 48 crimes and many, many more, took the death of these young women and ended their lives tragically and ruined the lives of their families for the rest of their lives. there can never be closure for those families and never be closure for their friends. there can only be answers to some questions, who killed my daughter? who took her life and why? that's what d.n.a. does. but it also protects the innocent, as most of you know. there have been some over the past several years that have actually been released from prison because they found the guilty person. so there's all kinds of reasons why this law needs to be passed

today. and i hope every memberotes yes to pass katie's law in honor of the tragedy, the loss of katie's life and in honor of all those who have been taken so senselessly. and i appreciate the time. and thank you, madam speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? mr. johnson: may i inquire as to how many more speakers the floor manager has remaining? mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. mr. speaker, i'm sorry. i do have the need to yield some additional time to mr. schiff as much as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for the time that he

may consume. mr. schiff: i thank the gentleman for yielding. d.n.a. is perhaps the most powerful and most reliable tool at the disposable of investigators today. as a former federal prosecutor, i have seen firsthand the power of d.n.a. to prove the guilt or innocence of a suspect. in 2008, i proposed an amendment to the debbie smith act, reauthorization that would have put in place 10% bonus for states to collect d.n.a. provide files for anyone arrested for serious felonies. it passed the house but the clock ran out in the senate. i could not be more pleased that congressman teague has taken up the banner in this issue. i hope this year we can get it across the finish line. you have heard the tragic story for katie for whom this bill was named. she was murdered in 2003. police were able to extract the

d.n.a. profile from her fingernails but got no match. when they they did get a hit, they discovered that the murderer had been arrested repeatedly for burglaries after 2003 but because he was never convicted, he was not required to submit the d.n.a. sample to the data base. had new mexico had arresting testing at the time, katie's killer would have been taken off the streets years earlier. 23 states including california, have now adopted d.n.a. collection upon arrest or indictment for at least some violent felonies. by doing so, these states increase the power of the national data base to soe crimes. the bonus in federal law enforcement grants provided by katie's law will encourage additional states to adopt this law. it requires the f.b.i. and the states to ex punk the d.n.a. of

suspects acquitted. we know the power of this technology and the costs of delay, the cost of inadequate data base and it is simply this, that as we wait to run these samples or miss the opportunity to test the samples of those arrested for violent felonies, we know with a statistical certainty that people we could take off the street, people that have committed rape or committed murder, we owe in the interim between the time we do take the sample or the time we erase the backlog will go on to murder others, rape others. and what a tragedy it is when we have this tool not to utilize it to its full extent. and i thank my colleagues for their leadership on this issue. congressman teague has been a great champion and we are

indeaded and it will help law enforcement use d.n.a. to solve crimes and will keep in place existing civil liberties protections. so hats off to representatives teague and reichert for their leadership on this issue and chairman conyers and chairman scott for their support as well. i urge its adoption and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida. mr. rooney: i want to thank mr. teague from new mexico and mr. reichert from washington for their leadership on this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: madam speaker, 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. 4614 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the

motion to reconsider is laid on the table. >> i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida has requested the yeas and nays. 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, yeas and nays are ordered. and pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? mr. davis: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass bill h.r. 5099. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5099, a bill to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 15 south main street in sharon, massachusetts, as the michael c. rothberg post office. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis and the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from from illinois. mr. davis: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. mr. davis: madam speaker, i now yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. davis: on behalf of the house committee on oversight and government reform, i rise in support of h.r. 5099. this will designate the united states postal building located at 15 south main street in sharon, massachusetts, as the michael c. rothberg pofse office building. michael rothberg was a victim of the terrorist attacks on the world trade center in new york city, new york. he worked for cantor fitzgerald as a director of programs. inspired by those who knew him as independent, he had a knack for the high technology used in bond trading. yet, he was still able to clearly explain complicated

concepts to his clients. michael liked to be the leader of a team. he enjoyed the freedom to make one's own decision, encouraged his subordinates colleagues, as he called them, to have similar aspirations. michael rothberg was a member of the sharon high school class of 19808 and a graduate of -- 1980. he was an active supporter of dana fasher jimmy fund, multiple scler owes cyst foundation and funds against cancer. he is survived by his parents as well as his sister. the michael c. rothberg scholarship was set up for students at sharon high school.

the memorial race is also held each ear in michael's honor. h.r. 5099 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from massachusetts, representative barney frank, on april 21, 2010. the measure was referred to the committee on oversight and government reform, which ordered it reported by unanimous consent on may 6, 2010. the measure has the support of the entire new york house delegation. i thank the gentleman from massachusetts for introducing this measure. and i also would like to thank chairman towns and ranking member issa for their support for the bill. i urge my colleagues to support this measure and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from georgia. for what purpose? mr. broun: thank you, madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for what time he may consume. mr. broun: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 5099, designating the facility of the united states postal service located at 15 south main street in sharon, massachusetts, as the michael c. rothberg post office. a native of sharon, massachusetts, michael graduated from sharon high school and went on to receive his bachelors and masters degrees from mcgill university. his family and friends described him as kind, generous and selfless. it was michael who encouraged and financed his sister, rhonda, to start her own business. michael was known to work hard, excelling in his position on wall street, rising to the 104th floor of the world trade center where he worked for cantor fitzgerald. he made friends with many clients and associates he worked with, helping them both in and out of the office. his mother, iris, tells of a time a friend found out she had cancer and michael immediately

went to his staff and raised money for the jimmy fund. she also tells of a time a client needed surgery and michael sent a car for her and waited during the procedure to take her home. on september 11, 2001, the united states was attacked by radical islamic jihadists. for what america considers good and just. behind the devastating number of deaths were the individuals each having family and friends that they left behind. one of these victims was michael c. rothberg. he was 39 years old. to honor michael's dedication to his community, the michael c. rothberg september 11 memorial scholarship was organized by former classmates, friends and family. the scholarship is awarded to students at sharon high school who show qualities of academic integrity, ethical commitment and service to the community. today we honor michael whose

short life was dedicated selflessly to his friends and family. to celebrate and preserve his legacy, i ask all members to join in supporting h.r. 5099. thank you, madam speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: thank you, madam speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: i yield back the balance of my time, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure and yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois yields back his time and the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5099. 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 --

mr. davis: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has requested the yeas and nays. 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 gentleman from illinois seek recognition? mr. davis: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.res. 1256. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1256, resolution congratulating phil mickelson on winning the 2010 masters golf tournament. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from illinois, mr.

davis, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, will each control 20 minutes. the chair will now recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. mr. davis: now, madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for the time he may consume. mr. davis: i rise to congratulate professional golfer phil mickelson on his stunning victory in the 2010 masters golf tournament. on april 11, 2010, in augusta, georgia, golfer phil mickelson sinked his last birdie of the game to clench his third masters golf tournament victory. this was his fourth career championship victory. he finished with the score of 16 under par, the best score in the masters tournament since 2001. i'd also like to recognize the courage and the tenacity of two

extraordinary women who were at mr. mickelson's side during his great victory. amy mickelson, his wife, and mary mickelson, his mother. both recently have been diagnosed with breast cancer. the mickelson family has shown amazing bravery in the face of these difficult circumstances. we wish them the very best in the challenges that lie ahead and let us keep them in our thoughts and prayers. h.r. -- h.res. 1256 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from georgia, representative paul broun, on april 15, 2010, and was referred to the committee on oversight and government reform . the committee reported the measure by unanimous consent on may 6, 2010. the measure enjoys the support of over 70 members of the

house, and i want to thank the gentleman from georgia for introducing this measure. i'd also like to thank chairman towns and ranking member issa for their support of the bill. i ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating mr. mickelson on his success in the tournament by supporting this resolution, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois reserves his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for the time that he may consume. mr. broun: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of house resolution 1256, which congratulates phil mickelson on winning the 2010 masters golf tournament in augusta, georgia. his strong performance in the tournament and his exemplary community involvement throughout his clear is an example of not only for millions of golf fans but for all americans.

mickelson's victory was his third masters title and his fourth major championship of his stellar career. despite the loud buzz surrounding this year's tournament, mickelson quietly and consistently played each hole very well. he did not shoot above par on a single hole in the final round. and he won the tournament by three strokes. espn wrote that, "the signature moment came on the 13th, a hole mickelson has dominated like no other in augusta. with a two-shot lead, he was struck between two georgia pines and at just 200 yards to the hole, he never considered anything but a shot at the green." mickelson took the risky shot as he said, "it came off perfect,." mickelson ended the day on

hitting a birdie on the 18th hole by increasing the lead to three. even though mickelson has 40 other tournament wins, this masters victory may have meant the most to him because of all that he has been through in the last year. both his wife and his mother were diagnosed with cancer in the past year. the masters was the first tournament that amy was -- his wife -- was able to attend in months since diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago. she was so tired that she did not think she could attend on sunday to watch the final round. however, she found the strength to go to the 18th hole and watch her husband win. all of the fans at the tournament and golf fans around the world cheered as mickelson embraced his wife. it's a very touching moment.

afterwards, mickelson said, "in the last year we've been through a lot and it's been tough, and to be on the other end and feel this kind of jubilation is incredible." what a gentleman, what a role model is phil mickelson. madam speaker, i urge all my colleagues to support this resolution that recognizes phil mickelson's performance and great character during this masters tournament and also augusta national for hosting another outstanding tournament. thank you. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i again urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this

measure, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois yields back the balance of his time. and the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1256. 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 -- mr. broun: madam speaker, i -- mr. salazar: madam speaker, i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? mr. salazar: i ask for 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 gentleman from illinois seek recognition? mr. davis:, i move that the house suspend the rules -- mr. davis: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.res. 403 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 403, resolution expressing the sense of the house of representatives that there should be established a national teacher day to honor and celebrate teachers in the united states. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. davis: now, madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for the

amount of time he may consume. mr. davis: madam speaker, i rise in support of h.res. 403, a resolution that supports the goals and ideals of national teacher day, to honor and celebrate teachers in the united states of america. every day in schools across the country, teachers work tirelessly to educate our country's most precious resource, our children. oftentimes, they work long hours under difficult conditions and don't receive the recognition and appreciation they deserve. the least we can do is designate a day where the teachers of america know that they are appreciated and that they are in our thoughts. most of us can think back to that one special teacher who influenced or changed our lives. the math teacher that took extra time out of their overloaded schedule to help us understand, -- understand that

one difficult algentleman bra teacher. and the spanish teacher that helped us with verb conjewcation. and the history teacher that made the american revolution come alive off the page of a textbook. teachers are the glue that holds our education together. they ensure that our young people become successful adults by providing the knowledge and skills for them to thrive. . teachers help children find their path along to adulthood. they give life lessons as well. i often remember and talk about my favorite teacher, a woman, ms. king, who taught in a one-room school that i attended

as a young person. she taught eighth grade plus what we call the little primer and big primer all at the same time. and oftentimes when i talk, i use sayings and comments. most of them i remember from her that would use these illustrations to try and teach us how to behave. for example, she used to tell us that a wise old owl sat on an oak, the more he heard, the less he spoke, the more he spoke, the less he heard. now i want you boys to be like that wise old bird. and of course, if we didn't comply, she had other methods and techniques that she would use to get her message across. and to this very day, that's

been a long, long time ago. i never forget poems that she taught us, because by the time i graduated high school, she had become the english teacher and the literature teacher. and she taught without thinking about her compensation. as a matter of fact, some days she would walk in the rain six to eight miles herself to get to school. other times, if the weather was just too bad, her husband would drive her in his wagon. lots of people can't remember times like those, but that was some time ago. we still have many dedicated teachers all over america. teachers who give of themselves

in such a way that others can experience and have the opportunity to grow and develop to become whatever it is that their talent, a.m. bishon -- ambition, combine to make them. that is the role of teachers. that is the premise of america. so we absolute teachers on this -- so we salute teachers on this day. on whose shoulders the rest of society stands. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. broun: i rise today in support of house resolution 403, expressing the sense of the house of representatives, should establish a national teachers' day to honor and celebrate the teachers in the united states. every day, thousands of men and women in this country wake up in the morning with a tremendous responsibility, stressful and daunting task of educating our nation's youth. we entrust these special people with our most precious gift, our children. education requires commitment and hard work from both students and teachers. most of us can point to the one or two exceptional educators, as mr. davis was talking about his teacher, whose impact allowed us to get where we are today. teachers have guided children throughout history, instilling the principles of good citizenship, hard work and reward of doing one's personal

best. across all borders and around the world, teachers are a key factor in engaging the minds of their students and imparting knowledge for a life tive time. through thear dedication, they bridge the gap between resources available and vital need for a strong education. they provide the tools necessary for success and their sacrifice deserves national recognition. madam speaker, i ask all members to join me in supporting this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for the time that he may consume. mr. davis: this resolution was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from florida, representative ron klein on april 22, 2010 and was referred to the committee on oversight

and government reform. the committee reported the measure by unanimous consent on may 6, 2010. the measure enjoys the support of over 70 members of the house. and so i thank the members from florida for introducing this measure. and i also would like to thank chairman towns and ranking member issa for that support. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting our nation's teachers by voting in favor of this measure. and i resevere. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. broun: teachers around this country are overworked, they're underpaid. they have the future of our nation in their hands. and they deserve the recognition that this resolution so dualy gives them.

and i urge support of this resolution and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back. the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. davis: to close, we have noted lately strong conversation about perhaps some school districts having to lay off teachers, not having all of the resources that are needed or the resources that are necessary to keep them engaged and keep them employed. i urge my colleagues not only to support this resolution, but i urge this congress, i urge state legislate yourself, i urge state -- legislate turs to make absolutely certain that we find the resources necessary to make our education system the very

best in the world and to live up to the idea that our teachers deserve all of the support we could possibly provide. and i yield back. mr. broun: would the gentleman yield? i associate myself with the gentleman's remarks. we need to focus on teachers and not administrators. and there are people in our education system today. teachers should be the primary focus. in my state of georgia, we are laying off teachers and it's a crying shame. teachers don't get the recognition they deserve and don't get the pay they are did he serving of. they are hamstrung with paperwork and struggling very ha in education. many times they pay for supplies

for kids in their own room. that's a crying shame, isn't it? it shouldn't be that way. this is a simple token but i hope a tremendous token to honor the teachers that affect all of us and affect the nation's future. so i wanted to associate myself with mr. davis' words because he's very, very correct in what he said. these people need the much deserved recognition that this resolution gives them. and i yield back and i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. davis: i thank the gentleman from georgia for his comments and i join with him. and i yield back the balance of our 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 403 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 -- mr. davis: madam speaker, i would request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois has requested the yeas and nays. 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, yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8, rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? mr. davis: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. res. 1297. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1297, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of american craft beer week. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from illinois, mr.

davis and the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, each will control 20 minutes and the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. so ordered. mr. davis: now i yield myself such time as i my consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized is -- for the time he may consume. mr. davis: i'm pleased to present h. res. 1297 for consideration. this measure supports the goals and ideals of american craft beer week. h. res. 1297 was introduced by our colleague, the gentlewoman from colorado, congresswoman markey. it was referred to the committee on government reform, which ordered it reported favorably by unanimous consent on may 6,

2010. the measure enjoys the support of over 60 members of the house. madam speaker, american craft brewers make up a small but fast growing part of the american beer industry. creating a wide variety of beers in flavors, colors and aromas and alcohol strength. many craft brewers began as hobbyists. learning about beer by brewing at home. the trade of craft brewing dates back to colonial america and even george washington and thomas jefferson were known to have produced their own beer. there are now more than 1,500 craft brewries across the united states. they employ full and part-time employees and generate over $3 billion in wages and benefits

annually. the industry supports american agriculture by purchasing ingredients grown, processed and distributed right here in the united states. they make up only a small percentage of the nation's beer industry, about 6.9% of the sales' share in dollars. but craft brewers are growing rapidly in market share with 10.3% increase in sales last year, despite a recession. they are a shining example of independent american businesses, reaching great levels by creating and selling unique, high quality products. this industry does much more than simply good business. craft brewers are often fixtures in local communities. participating in community events and philanthropic works.

they promote responsible alcohol consumption and raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol abuse. so, madam speaker, i thank the the gentlewoman from colorado for introducing this measure. and i also thank chairman towns and ranking member issa for their support for the bill. i urge my colleagues to join me in commending our country's craft brewers by supporting this measure. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for that time which he may consume. mr. broun: i rise today in support of house resolution 1297, recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of american craft beer week. the small and independent american craft brewing industry is making an increasingly valuable contribution to the

american economy. the industry provides an estimated 100,000 jobs and craft brew eries are located in every state of the union. not only are they responsible for providing a variety of local jobs, they're responsible for increased enjoyment and pleasure of craft beers, while customers discover the aroma, color and body and other variables in the beverage that makes it plerble to drink. these -- pleasureable to drink. they purchase barrelly, hops and malt that are grown processed in the united states. craft brewers are in the forefront of educating people about responsible drinking and the prevention of alcohol abuse as well as supporting programs created to prevent underaged drinking. if ben franklin was here, perhaps he would revise his

famous statement when he said, beer is living proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy. he might preface it with the words, american craft. i ask my colleagues to support this fine example of american entrepreneurship. and i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: and the gentleman from georgia yields back his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: thank you, madam speaker. and it looks like george washington, thomas jefferson, ben frankl all had something in common in addition to being the founders of our country. they also liked their beer. i would urge support of this resolution and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois yields back his time. and the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1297.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? mr. davis: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.res. 792 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 792, resolution honoring robert kelly slater for his outstanding and unprecedented achievements in the world of surf and for being an ambassador of the sport and excellent role model. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. davis: now, madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for the amount of time he may consume. mr. davis: madam speaker, on behalf of the committee on oversight and government reform , i am pleased to present h.res. 792 for consideration. this resolution honors robert kelly slater for his outstanding achievement in the world of surfing. h.res. 792 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from florida, representative bill posey, on october 1, 2009. it was referred to the committee on oversight and government reform which ordered it to be reported favorably by unanimous consent on may 6, 2010.

this measure enjoys the support of 60 co-sponsors. madam speaker, mr. slater has accomplished a great deal in the world of amateur and professional surfing. as a teenager, he won six have you ever -- surf association titles. at the age of 20, he was the youngest surfer to win the association of surfing world championship. he has won that title nine times in his career, another record. this year he won the rip curl championship for the fourth time, earning him yet another international title. he is in fact the all-time leader in career event wins. but his accomplishments are not limited to tackling big waves. in 2007, he founded the kelly

slater foundation, an organization dedicated to raise awareness and financial support for a number of environmental and other charities. madam speaker, mr. slater has achieved much in the world of professional surfing. today, we have the opportunity to congratulate him for his success and to commend him for his charityible works. i thank -- charitable works. i thank the gentleman from florida for introducing this measure and also thank chairman towns and ranking member issa for their support for the bill. i urge my colleagues to support its passage and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for the time that he might consume. mr. broun: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of house resolution 792, honoring

robert kelly slater for his outstanding and unprecedented achievements in the world of surfing. a native of cocoa beach, florida, he's been a dominant surfer since learning how to surf in his childhood. he quickly went in the spotlight winning six eastern surfing association and four national titles. in the 1990's, he was already a household name. in 1992 he won his first professionals world championship when he was only 20 years of age, making him the youngest person ever to win the title. from 1994 to 1998, slater continued to rack up world titles. he won the world championship title five times in a row for combined nine championships. he won more championships than any other surfer. and in 2002, he became a member of the vur ofers hall of fame. in addition -- surfers hall of

fame. in addition to surfing, he's been in commercial and television shows as well as having a wide variety of surfing sponsorships. throughout his entire career, kelly slater has continued to make surfing more popular as more people across the globe become aware of his expertise in the sport. he also created the kelly slater foundation to raise money for major charities such as the cystic fibrosis foundation, the skin cancer foundation. madam speaker, kelly slater is honored throughout the world. i ask my colleagues to support this resolution, to honor kelly slater's work. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois reserves his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: madam speaker, i yield as much time as he may

consume to the distinguished gentleman from florida, mr. posey, and i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. posey: i rise to honor the surfing achievements of kelly slater. he's the world championship of surfing. he became the rip curl championship for the fourth time adding to the 42 international championships he's won. he's unmatched, unparalleled in the world of surfing. obviously he's an inspiration to many. robert kelly slater grew up in cocoa beach, florida. born there on february 11, 1972. he learned to surf on cocoa beach with his brother, sean and stephen. he routinely won amateur championships in the 19850es and six eastern surfing association championships and four national titles. in 1992, at the age of 20,

kelly slater was the youngest surfer ever to win the association of surfing professionals world championship. he's a six-time winner of the billabong pipeline masters. that's 1992 to 2008. the billabong pipeline masters is a competition held annually at the banzai pipeline in oahu, hawaii. 45 of the top ranked surfers ranked by the surfing professionals association compete. again, kelly slater's achievements there are unprecedented. he won five consecutive association of surfing professional titles between the year of 1994 and 1998. in 1995 and 1998 kelly slater won the surfing triple crown. the reef hawaiian pro at haleiwa ali'i beach park, the o'neill world cup of surfing at

sunset beach, and the billabong pipeline masters at the banzai pipeline. in 2002, he won the quicksilver in memory of eddie aikau in oahu, hawaii. competition occurs there only when the surfing conditions have waves that are at least 20 feet high. he was the first surfer ever to be awarded two perfect scores under the association of surfing professionals, two-wave during the tahiti competition. in 2005, kelly slater won a world title seven years after his previous win in 1998. in 2008, he was the oldest surfer at age 36 to win the association of surfing professionals world championship title. kelly slater has 39 championship victories.

he holds the mothse association of surfing professionals world championships, a total of nine. he's surfing all-time leader's in surfing events and was inducked in the hall of fame in 2002. as was mentioned, he's established the kelly slater foundation. he did that in 2007. and its purpose is to raise money for and awareness for existing social causes, as were previously mentioned, and also environmentally conscious charities. just a few words about florida surfing. florida has 1,350 miles of coastline suitable for surfing. 40% of east coast surfing occurs in florida. there are over dozen surfing areas in florida's 15th district. ron john surf shop was opened

in 1963. now, there are three such stores in florida, south carolina and canada. the cocoa beach location is the largest surfing store in the world. kelly slater is florida's first surfing champion and obviously one of the greatest surfers of all-time. for those who may not be familiar with surfing as an industry, it is an important part of our economy. according to the surfing manufacturers association, even during recession and economic challenges, the surfing industry remains resilient. it has $7.22 billion in sales in 2008 and considerable growth in the past several years. ron john's surf shop in cocoa beach was named one of the best independent retailers by "businessweek." he employs 500 people and has over $50 million in annual

revenues. in conclusion, i state again that kelly slater's achievements are unprecedented. in passing this resolution we are acknowledging his many wonderful achievements. i want to again thank mazie hirono in hawaii and over 60 other co-sponsors that we have for participating in this resolution, and i urge my colleagues, each and every one, to support its passage. i thank the gentleman from georgia for yielding again and, madam chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: madam speaker, i want to thank representative posey for bringing surfing and for bringing mr. slater to our attention, both just unbelievable, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois reserves his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my

time. the speaker pro tempore: and the gentleman from georgia yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: thank you very much, madam speaker. it's been a pleasure sharing the floor with the gentleman from georgia this afternoon, representative broun. i want to thank him for his comments and urge passage of this resolution and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois yields back his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 792 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 and the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. without objection, the title is amended. pursuant to clause 12a ole