people who live around here for the rest of the country. host: we receive calls from across the country, including california. i suspect may be proximity-wise. i cannot speak authoritatively on this subject. gainsborough, north carolina -- i am sorry. we have to let you go because we're going to the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., may 19, 2010. i hereby appoint the honorable henry cuellar to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, reverend dr. william smith, memorial baptist

church, arlington, virginia. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, we acknowledge and give thanks for the divine order of creation. we are grateful for a natural law. we are grateful for revealed law. we are grateful for this nation which we live by the rule of law to establish justice for all our people. bless this congress and all the lawmakers who serve our nation. we pray, too, for those who have the responsibility to enforce law and those charged with the duty of adjudication of law. may all of them working together make us a more perfect union. we offer ourselves and our work to you. we confess that even at our best we need your gracious providence. guide us, forgive us, sustain us. for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory

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 gentlewoman from kansas, congresswoman jenkins. ms. jenkins: please join me in the pledge. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas, congressman culberson, is recognized for one minute. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. speaker. may i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks? the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. culberson: mr. speaker and members, born in kentucky, dr.

william h. smith is pastor at the memorial baptist church in arlington, virginia, for the past 19 years. he preached his first sermon there on father's day in 1991. he and his wife, who hails from my hometown of houston, texas, are the proud parents of justin, a physician, luke, a pastor, and jason, a surgeon. his family also includes justin's wife, their precious daughter, bill and judy's first grandchild. the students at leland study call him professor. his granddaughter calls him pal. and i am proud to call him my teacher and friend. my god bless you always, bill and judy. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle.

for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri -- michigan rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. kildee: mr. speaker, i rise today in response to the chamber of commerce's recent claim that the u.s. free trade agreements have supported 5.4 million jobs. i want someone to show those jobs to me because they certainly aren't in michigan or my district. michigan has the highest unemployment in the country. in my hometown of flint, michigan, the unemployment rate is nearly 30%. at one time we had nearly 80,000 jobs. now we have about 6,000. with every free trade agreement we continue to send more jobs overseas, put american workers at a greater disadvantage. come to my district and i will show you the empty fields that used to employ thousands of american workers before nafta, which i oppose.

trade policy might help create jobs and improve the quality of life for workers in other countries but not in the united states. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. poe: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: mr. speaker, falcon lake in zapata county, texas, is one of the best bass fishing spots in the united states. the lake is an international boundary between texas and mexico. that piece of paradise has been intruded on this month by the lawlessness seeping over from the mexican border. in two separate incidents u.s. fishermen have been robbed at gun point on falcon lake by mexican pirates holding a. ar-15 -- ar-15 rifles to their head. fishermen were robbed of their boat, their money and left naked on the mexican shore. the pirates were in a

commercial fishing boat, dressed in black paramilitary garb carrying military weapons. what are they doing on falcon lake? are they moving drugs or people or worse across the water? we don't know. in the 1900 they sent the military in the mediterranean. the border war continues and that's just the way it is i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maine seek recognition? mr. michaud: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from maine is recognized for one minute. mr. michaud: the chamber of commerce's recently released report that the free trade agreement has supported 5.4 million jobs have only one thing to say, not in my district. since january of 1994, employment in manufacturing industry in maine has declined by nearly 40%.

just ask the mainers who used to work in lisbon falls or those that used to work at allen edmund shoe corporation in louiston. the department of labor recently -- lewiston. the department of labor recently released a report saying their jobs were lost because of failed trade policies. our u.strade policy might create jobs for big corporations based in washington, d.c., but it takes them away from the middle-class families in maine. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from kansas seek recognition? ms. jenkins: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one mite and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from kansas is recognized for one minute. ms. jenkins: short line railroads located in my district, including those in pittsburgh and humble, serve a critical role in transporting grain, cement products, steel

and other industrial-based products to the national freight rail network. the short line tracks in kansas and across the nation have benefited from the section 45-g short line railroad tax credit, which expired at the end of 2009. without this credit, short line railroads would lose critical resources used to upgrade infrastructure or create jobs, and rural businesses would not have the rail services they need to compete. that's why we must find a responsible way to extend the tax credit, like h.r. 1132, that would extend it to 2012. i urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation to ensure short line railroads continue to thrive and provide valuable services to main streets across america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition?

>> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. mr. gutierrez: yesterday i urged my colleagues to stop drilling leases from b.p. if congress can stop b.p. stop government leases then b.p. should stand for ban permanently. but why stop here? we must go further. today i urge my colleagues to join me to can sell all federal contracts to b.p. how much money are we talking about? in 2009 alone, the department of defense paid at least $1.5 billion to b.p. $1.5 billion with a b. in other words, big profits for them. we need to audit and stop our taxpayer dollars from going to b.p., a company pumping millions of barrels of black poison into our water and towards our shore. let's ban permanently b.p.'s

black poison and eliminate b.p.'s big profits along with their british pollution. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. guthrie: thank you, mr. speaker. about a month ago today was tax day, the day that hardworking americans sent their money to washington and sadly the president and the majority in congress continue to advocate policies that increase taxes and add more government spending, both of which are out of control. president obama has refused to renounce forcing a value added tax on the american people and his economic team has already run the numbers. the value added tax is essentially just a national sales tax that hits everyone who bice any goods which will cost -- buys any goods which will cost american families millions of dollars. it would be on top of income

taxes. it's time for congress to put the american people first. the american people know that we can't spend and tax our way back to a growing economy, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. baca: congress is elected to solve federal problems, not walk away from them year after year. the health care reform was a difficult problem with many months of debate, difficult votes but we did it. immigration reform is a difficult federal problem. at this moment families are being torn apart. children, parents live in fear of not seeing each other at the end of the day. in fact, there are cases where our own soldiers are returning from overseas only to find their spouses deported. well, in congress a short time ago the states, like arizona,

are in full speed enacting misguided laws like s.b. 1070 that are inspired by hate and racism. this bill hurts everyone who looks different, whether they are an american citizen, lawful immigrants or undocumented immigrants. it violates our civil rights. the question is now, is congress willing to work together in a bipartisan fashion to fix a system that is broken? families across america have waited long enough for immigration reform. we must deliver just like we have on health care reform. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. chairman. last week we learned that uncle sam ran up the largest deficit for april ever. equally alarming is that our deficit's being financed by countries such as china, our

biggest holder of government debt. equally important, a former chinese military official recently suggested the chinese should consider dumping u.s. treasuries in response to recent pentagon decisions to sell defensive weapon systems to taiwan. to raise awareness of the threat to our economy and national security of our exploding deficit and debt, yesterday i introduced the foreign held debt transparency and threat assessment act. this bill would require a better accounting of debt held by foreign countries and more importantly require the president to submit a plan to cut spending should either particular foreign creditor or the overall debt pose a risk to the national security interest of america. we must not let any other country hold our national and economic interest hostage. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition?

>> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for one minute to address the house. mrs. maloney: mr. speaker, the joint economic committee released a report this week that looks at how tighter credit standards have hit small businesses, especially hard. names even as big and mid-sized businesses began adding jobs once again, small businesses are struggling to expand and put americans back to work. small businesses are rightly considered to be the great engine of the american economy. 75% of all employees work for businesses with less than 250 employees. and if small businesses are the engine, then credit is the fuel that keeps that engine going. while large and mid-sized firms have multiple funding sources, including the public debt market, small businesses are -- reside almost completely on financial institutions.

improving credit availability to small businesses will help to grow our economy and create jobs. that is why the financial services committee today is working on legislation to create a small business loan fund. it's an investment in america that is truly worthy of a triple a rating. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. ehlers: to address the congress for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. ehlers: thank you, mr. speaker. it's a pleasure to be here and especially a pleasure to follow my good friend from texas, mr. johnson, who gave us an eloquent warning about what can happen in view of our mounting national debt. and the countries we owe the money to. if anyone wishes to learn more about this, i recommend you the

writings of mallry factor who has written several good pieces on that recently, and i hope to organize a one-hour discussion of that at some point. i also want to raise another affect. one of the first bills to come up today is the rewriting and revamping the america competes act. this is an act that was generated by president george w. bush. i had the pleasure of working with the white house on this bill and also with the office of management and budget and i think it's beginning to achieve its objectives and that is to strengthen american manufacturi. if we do not improve our manufacturing sector in the united states of america, we are going to continue to borrow more and more and more money from other countries. it is imperative that we pass the america competes act. if you don't like it for some reason, let's change it. but we must pass it otherwise we are going to continue to be a debtor nation over and over again. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> thank you, mr. speaker, mr. speaker, the public's trust in dwost is near an all-time low. mr. quigley: only 19% of the people say they trust the government to do what is right. this deficit of trust is not inconsequential. without the public's trust, we cannot effectively govern. but we can rebuild this loss of confidence by opening up the government and making its inner workings more transparent. i recently introduced h.r. 4983, the transparency in government act, a bill that calls for unprecedented government transparency. h.r. 4983 intreeses disclosures from lobbyists and lawmakers, creates the first centralize the earmark database, and improves oversight of federal contracts. as supreme court justice

brandeis said sunlight is the best disinfectant. we could use a bit of sunlight. i yield back and go blackhawks. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized for one minute to address the house. ms. kaptur: mr. speaker, how many millions of more jobs have to be outsourced before washington wakes up? it makes you wonder if the recently released report by the u.s. chamber of commerce is some sort of cruel joke where it claims u.s. free trade agreements have supported 5.4 million jobs? are we talking about the same countries? take ohio, since 1994, employment just in the manufacturing sector has declined by 1/3. companies like delphi, georgia pacific, g.m., champion spark plugs have moved to mexico. remember when nafta promised us

the promised land claiming we could get millions of new jobs and the standard of living would rise? what we got was the giant sucking sound. more jobs going out and accumulative trade deficit of $1 trillion to this country as a result of nafta. the deficits from nafta and nast why -- nafta-like trade agreements have caused wlfering in our nation to wither. state managed capitalism in places like mexico, china, and japan. it's time to wake up, stand up for this country, and renegotiate a -- those agreements that keep moving our jobs offshore. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> today i salute jackson northeast elementary school students. i was with them last tuesday when they presented a flowering plum tree and a plaque at the jackson police station in memory

of city police officer james bano who was shot and killed in the line of duty on march 6 while responding to a domestic call. mr. shawer -- mr. schauer: on their own these students raised $210 for this project. the students also presented hand made quilts to chief manheims for the family. jackson northeast elementary students demonstrated that every person can make a difference. no matter their age or size. they reminded my community and our nation that officers bono and mcintosh are heroes and so are all men and women in uniform who report to work every day to keep us safe. thank you, northeast elementary students, for setting an example for all of us to follow. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from california seek

recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one minute to address the house. miss -- miss wattson: research by "usa today" shows that americans are paying the lowest tax rates since the 1950's. recently on may 7, the department of labor reported that 290,000 jobs are added in april. 290,000 new american jobs were added in april, a larger than expected increase and the largest gain since march of 2006. this is the fourth consecutive month of job growth with 573,000 jobs added since december. in march, sales of new homes surged nearly 27% to 411,000 annual rate. over the last three months, we

have added an average of 187,000 jobs per month. democrats' action on jobs results in the hire act, a bipartisan bill to create 300,000 jobs with tax incentives for businesses that hire unemployed americans, and american workers business relief act has given incentives for new jobs. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i request one minute to address the house and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from ohio is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. kucinich: the creator gave us a paradise and we are appropriating the power's of nature's god are turning our planet into a smoking, glowing, oily mess through plundering mother earth of her treasures and through refusing to recognize the growing evidence our reliance on oil, coal, and

nuclear threatens our health, our security, our economy, our nation, and the world. it is not as though there are no alternatives. markets and industries have confired for years to shelf the massive introduction ever wind and solar sthrogs. thousands of barrels of oil each day billow from the ocean floor, covering nearly 20% of the gulf, heading towards the florida keys and atlantic coast. must we wait until all coastal areas are ruined? all fish, birds, animals are injured and killed before we realize that drilling presents a threat to the fragile ecology of life? we cannot afford to passively witness our destruction of the environment. written in the sands of the gulf is the degrading of all life on the planet. our world exists through fragile interconnected systems of life. our survival depends upon reconciliation with not exploitation of the natural world.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek nation? -- seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from ohio is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> thank you, mr. speaker. under the leadership of this congress my colleagues and i are working none stop to help -- nonstop to help americans that have been struggling with unemployment, failing business, and falling home prices. one of our motion important tools to ensure our country's recovery is fixing our banking system. mr. wilson: comprehensive regulation reform will protect american consumers and restore commonsense rules to help keep america's crisis like the one we faced this past year from happening again. for too long executives on wall street bent the rules and dodged the regulations and basically reforming wall street will mean a return to classic american values. if you work hard and play by the rules, you will be rewarded. we will quite simply put an end

to taxpayer funded bailouts. i have often said it's hard to play a fair game without a referee on the field. and that's just exactly what we are going to do now is put a referee on wall street. i urge my colleagues to work for the comprehensive financial reform. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed h.r. 5014, an act to clarify the health care provided by the secretary of veterans affairs that constitutes minimal essential coverage. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempo: without objection, the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> mr. speaker, fishing has been barred from 1/5 of the gulf of mexico, that's 29 million acres off limits to the american

citizens who rely upon the seafood industry to support their families. globs of oil have landed in the florida keys, a warning to the threats of the the tourism industry. the consequences of this oil spill will not be felt by democrats or but by all americans and for years to come. the oil spill cleanup could cost more than $14 billion, but today oil companies are required only to pay a measly $75 million toward those damages. for that reason it's outrageous to see legislation forcing b.p. to pay for this mess fail once again on partisan lines. most shops have a long recognized policy, you break it, you buy it. the same should ally to oil companies. mr. deutch: i urge my republican colleagues to join a bipartisan effort protecting taxpayers from a massive bailout of the oil industry. it's time to worry less about oil company profits and more

about the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from missouri is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> mr. speaker, enough is enough. my constituents in missouri have had enough excuses and delays from big banks and wall street. mr. callahan: that's why my democratic colleagues and i have been fighting for commonsense regulatory reform and consumer protections, holding big banks accountable for their actions and ensuring that the crash like we experienced in 2008 never happens again. wall street reform which has passed this house im34re789s protections for consume -- protections -- implements protection force consumers. bailouts would be a thing of the past. before and since this recession, republicans have repeatedly sided about wig banks and wall street over consumers, stable

community banks, and main street. now is the time to hold big banks accountable. no more standing in the way. now is the time for competitive financial regulatory reform with strong consumer protection. enough is enough. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one minute to address the house. miss richardson: i rise to talk -- ms. richardson: i rise to talk about the american people today. over the last two years even the most optimistic individual has been fearful. just two years ago we were losing 727,000 jobs a month. the stock market dropped 3,000 points, making 401-k plans look like 201k's. and we feared for the next generation that they would have enough money to live on. but what a difference a year makes.

the democratic congress working with the new obama administration has moved into a new direction first of all by passing the recovery act. instead of losing jobs, we have been gaining jobs. since passing the recovery act, the stock market has risen dramatically. real estate is coming back. and home sales are coming back. when you look at the job growth, it's going up again. these are the changes and these are the differences that we can see that are fact and not fiction. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. ellison: mr. speaker, consumer financial protection is not a punishment to business. it is a level playing field so that consumers and businesses who want to transact a fair deal can do so. consumer financial protection which is in the financial reform bill will allow consumers and

lenders who want to do a fair deal to get rid of the hidden fees, tricky terms that landed our economy in such an awful condition. we are climbing out. we are addressing the issues that affect the american people and we are doing it now. the fact is, is that we want to see good lenders stay good. lenders who want to have clear terms, well disclosed, underwritten to make sure consumers can pay that money back are what we want to see in this economy. and people who want to have fine terms, funny terms, hidden fees will not be able to continue to do that. our economy will be better for it. it will be stable, transparent, and clear and we will see the continued economic growth in the american economy once we pass consumer financial protection. i yield back. . 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 the postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. gordon: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5325, the american competes re-authorization act of 2010. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5325, a bill to invest in innovation through research and development, to improve the competitiveness of the united states, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. gordon, and the gentleman from texas, mr. hall, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from tennessee, mr. gordon. mr. gordon: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 5325, the bill now under

consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. gordon: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may coume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gordon: the bill before us today, h.r. 5325, is similar to the bill the house considered last week, h.r. 5116, including all 52 amendments adopted during floor consideration last week. however, the bill differs in two respects. one, it includes language from the motion to recommit, barring money from going to agency employees who were disciplined for viewing pornography at work and, two, the authorization period for all programs in the bill has been changed from five years to three years. i understand the concerns of many of my colleagues about the overall size of a five-year authorization, and this reduction is my sincere attempt to compromise on an issue that is very important to me and our country. the bill before us today includes an overall funding reduction of 50% from h.r. 5116

as introduced. i spoke at length about the background and need for this billast week, so i'm only going to give the highlights today. on october 12, 2005, in response to a bipartisan, bicameral request by the science committee and our colleagues in the senate, the national acad -- academy's report painted a scary picture and told us without action the future was bleak for our children and grandchildren. the report was without question a call to arms. congress responded by turning the gathering storm recommendation into legislative language. the final result was enactment of the american competes act of 2007 with the bipartisan support of 365 members. moreover, with the leadership of the senators alexander and bingaman, 69 senate co-sponsors

and the senate approved the conference report by unanimous consent. now, after three years, we're back to work on re-authorizing competes. since enactment of competes, the science and technology committee has held 48 hearings on areas addressed in the bill before us today. what we've heard from those hearings is that if we are to reverse the trend of the last 20 years where our country's technological age in the world has diminished we must make the necessary investments today. statistics speak for themselves. more than 50% of our economic growth since world war ii can be directly attributed to investment in research. the path is simple. research leads to innovation, innovation leads to economic development and good-paying jobs and ultimately creating good jobs is the goal of this bill. during our committee's four markups we accepted 25 amendments offered by the

minority. in addition, many additional changes have been made at the suggestion of the minority. i believe this is a good bill, both on substance and on inclusive procedure, and is a better bill because of the contributions of our members. i specifically want to thank my friend, ralph hall, for the cooperation and the spirit with which this bill has been brought before us and the way it was handled within our committee, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hall: i rise today to speak on h.r. 5325, a bill re-authorizing the america competes act. i believe long-term investment in science and technology, coupled with policies that reduce tax burdens, streamline federal regulations and balance the federal government are very vital for our nation to remain

competitive in the global marketplace. however, we must put our fiscal house in order to make sure we're not leveraging the future of our children and grandchildren. while i remain committed to the underlying goals of the america competes act, the bill before us today continues to take us in a much more costly direction and authorizes a number of new programs which have little to do with prioritizing investments in basic science, technology, engineering and math research and development. on may 12 and 13, the bill was considered by the full house of representatives. republican attempts to offer amendments to reduce the spending levels in the bill and reduce the length of the authorization from five years to three years were denind. our attempt to ensure schools serving the disabled and disabled veterans was also denied. because republicans were denied the opportunity to even offer these amendments on the house floor have a -- house floor,

have a meaningful dialogue about them, we tried to help this through our motion to recommit. our motion, as you well know, encouraged education opportunities for the disabled and disabled veterans, language to reduce the authorization to levels from three years to five. the motion also included provisions to eliminate programs. overall spending levels were reduced to around $47 billion and the motion to recommit must still remain above the $24 billion in the house-passed 2007 version of competes. in addition to the reductions in spending, the motion was addressed concerns about federal employee's misuse of time and government property. when given the opportunity to

consider these issues, the house of representatives supported them overwhelmingly by a vote of 292 to 126. -- 292-126. i believe these changes made the bill better. the spending levels reported by the motion showed that we could be fiscally responsible while still supporting important investments in scoins and technology. it was disappointing when the majority made a decision to pull this improved bill for full consideration by the whole house of representatives. i'm glad that this bill includes a few provisions in the motion to recommit. such as reduction in the authorized length from five years to three years. as well as a prohibition on paying the salaries of workers who misused government time and property. these were sensible, good government provisions. unfortunately, the bill before us today contains new and duplicative programs, including some that were added in floor

consideration last week. it includes language establishing energy innovation hubs at d.o.e. which are duplicative of those already at d.o.e. there's also a new program to pursue commercialization of clean energy technology, which is duplicative of the hubs program. several of these new programs fund activities beyond basic science research and development and will divert money away from basic research. at a time when government spending is out of control, we need to be streamlining the prioritizing programs. any public university receiving funds under this bill would be required to maintain an information policy wherein failure to respond within 15 days would result in the threat of losing federal funding. this places federal agencies awarding funding in the role of

administering state labor laws. this is an inappropriate provision that will place added burdening on our university system and certainly does nothing to advance e main goals of the competes legislation. also i remain concern of the overall funding in this bill. at almost $48 billion, the bill represents $9.5 billion above the f.y. 2010 baseline extended out three years. it's also important to note that the core agencies in this bill received an additional $5 billion in the american recovery and reinvestment act already. given the current state of our national economy and our budget deficit has increased 50% since the last authorization three years ago, we must be mindful of our spending if america is to continue to compete globally. finally, i'm dess appointed that the compromise -- i'm disappointed that the compromised language of disabled veterans contained in the motion to recommit is not in this bill. this is the second time that

disabled veterans language was overwhelmingly accepted by both sides of the aisle and it is the second time it's been stripped out of the bill. every one of us will run into these fine young men and women back in our districts in about 10 days when we speak to them on memorial day. i think we ought to be telling these wounded warriors who are returning to civilian life after making life-altering sacrifices in defense of our freedom that we just ensured that the colleges and universities they attend will get the same special consideration as other -- as other schools that are afforded special consideration so they, too, can take advantage of stem opportunities and contribute to the competitiveness of this great nation that they so ablely defended. unfortunately, this is no longer the case. in my opinion, this is really shameful. if we were denied this small opportunity to show our appreciation, not only to them but to the schools that are reaching out to them.

mr. speaker, i yield -- i certainly rise today to urge us to not to approve the present bill and i urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation and the language they all agreed to and agreed to include by a vote of 292-126 to put back in this bill the will of the house and the members should be as followed. i as a veteran of world war ii would hate to go back 10 days from now and look in the faces of those that we are addressing on memorial day at a time when we should be remembering them that we do stop here and pray for them and drop our heads for a minute and i think that's a wonderful thing for the speaker to do, but i think today is a day for us to raise our heads, lift up our thoughts and remember them. if we can spend this kind of money and ignore the needs of a very dedicated few, i think we'd be making a dreadful mistake. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee.

mr. gordon: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gordon: i will take the time a little bit later to try to respond to some of mr. hall's concerns, but i want to get to the veterans right now. i want to assure mr. hall when he goes home for memorial day day he can look at -- for memorial day he can look at those veterans and say i fought for you. i will read the language so there will be no mi the bill. for purposes of the activities and programs supported by this act and the amendments made by this act, institutions of higher education offering stem research and education activities and programs that serve veterans with disabilities shall receive special consideration in the review of any proposals by these institutions for funding under research and education programs authorized in this act. so let's be sure that we know

that has been addressed. now, let me also point out that there's 435 members of congress. and if we each wrote the bill we would probably write it a little bit differently. this is a matter of trying to bring folks together, develop consensus and that is what we did with 49 different hearings, a bipartisan vote through four different markups. so i think that we've addressed that. i will address other issues later, but i'd like to now yield two minutes to my friend from wisconsin, mr. kind. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for two minutes. mr. kind: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my good friend and colleague from tennessee for recognizing me. and, mr. speaker, as one of the co-chairs in the new democratic coalition and as a co-chair, along with representative rush holt, heading up the innovation task force, i rise in proud support of the america competes

act. and i do commend our chairman, bart gordon, on the science committee for the work he's put into this bipartisan bill. we may be losing him to retirement, but he's leaving a legacy and that is to ensure strong and robust job growth in the short term, the mid term and the long term. that's what this job is about. this job is about making crucial investments to ensure our nation remains the most innovative nation in the world on the cutting edge of medical and technological discoveries. we do that in investing the tem fields of study, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, where the growth is going to be occurring. by investing in basic and applied research in both the private and public sector. by creating innovation clusters around the nation so that we can partner with the private sector to create the jobs of the future. and ensuring that all americans ful participates in the 21st century global economy. that's what the america competes act is all about.

and i would encourage my colleagues on the other side who may be playing this political got you game to stop. stop playing the game and do the right thing and support this underlying bill. if you think that we ought to be prohibiting federal dollars to be used for lobbying purpose, that's in the bill. so support it. if you believe that veterans should be full participants of the programs being offered in the bill, including the stem education programs, that's in the bill. . if you believe we should prohibit federal funds from paying child rapists, that's in the bill. if you think we should fire any federal employee who was looking at pornography on their computer, that's in this bill. what's in the political gotcha games that delayed passage of this bill, i hope it's not something that's going to come up on the floor today, because this is the right thing to do for the future of our economy. it's the right thing to do for the american people. let's make sure that we remain the most innovative nation in the world.

that's what the american competes act that should pass with wide bipartisan majorities as the first authorization of this bill did a couple years ago with roughly 360 members supporting it. they should support it again today. i urge its passage and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas, mr. hall. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hall: i recognize that we all write language differently, however once the house has voted on and passed that language, i think it ought to be included in the bill that the house has considered. and that's happened not once but a couple times. regretfully i disagree with chairman -- with the chairman, there is no assurance that an underlying bill that a single institution helping disabled veterans would benefit. let me say this. i don't say that the gentleman from tennessee doesn't support disabled veterans or anybody on

this floor. i think we are all mindful of the debt we owe those people. it's a matter of trying to get together on something that really gives them that that we are intending that we indicate that we are giving them. and they just d't receive that under the language that's proposed in this bill, but it can be fixed. i worked with the chairman. the honorable, decent, very good chairman, a good friend, and has worked hard and has improved this bill. and improved it. he knocked it down from five years to three. and that knocked off down to almost $47 billion the cost of this bill. still $11 billion at least too excessive. but he has made an effort. and we are so close. the language that he just read to youif we can change two words in it. and sit it on the sixth sentence of what the current bill is that we are looking at today, they put -- that they serve veterans, change that available to

veterans. we are that close to settling this and probably giving at least the veterans something. not giving them everything they need. i just think that we ought to give some special consideration to schools that are chartered for disabled students and those serving disabled veterans. it's not a consideration that's consistent with other schools with underrepresented populations today. i say based on that creating yet another tier or class of institution versus playing them on the same and putting them on the same equal playing field is just not quite enough. i yield back my time, sir -- i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee, mr. gordon. mr. gordon: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gordon: we have all heard the story of two people seeing the same accident and with their best intentions viewing it differently. i think this is what we have here today. this really has become something

of a red herring on a much bigger bill. let me once againddress this veterans issue. mr. hall said he wants to make these programs available to the veterans. i want to require it. we require it. so let me read the language again. for the purpose of the activities and programs supported by this act, and the amendments made by this act, institutions of higher education offering stem research, education activities, and programs that serve veterans with disabilities shall receive not made available, shall receive special consideration and review of any proposals by these institutions for funding under research and education programs authorizing act. shall receive not made available, shall receive. i yield back my time -- i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance

of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: i yield to dr. ehlers two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. mr. ehlers: i want to thank chairman gordon and ranking member hall for all their hard work on this legislation. it is a complex bill. it has been from the start beginning in 2006. when president george w. bush developed the idea the american competitiveness initiative which is a three-pronged approach as strengthening research at n.s.f. and nist. we must continue that effort. we heard a speech this morning during the one-minute segment from the gentleman from texas, mr. johnson, about his concern about our debt to the chinese. it's going to get worse and worse unless we generate more wealth in this country.

and any economist will tell you that one of the best ways to generate wealth in this nation is through manufacturing. we must restore our manufacturing operations in this nation, we must work together to put our country in a more stable fiscal basis. we must stop overspending. and we have to restore manufacturing and other wealth building mechanisms such as mining and farming. this bill goes a long way to do that and i support this bill. it's not everything i wanted. none of us ever get everything we want, but at least we can move it over to the senate and at the very least we can go in the conference with the senate and try to resolve the issues such as the veterans issue. i believe we are in total agreement on what we want to achieve. i just encourage us to pass this bill, get it into conversation where all the viewpoints can be heard and debated. i hope my colleagues from both

sides of the aisle will support the bill before us today. national association of manufacturers supports it, all others who are involved in wealth generation through manufacturing support it. we absolutely have to restore our manufacturing sector and the president we have now is trying to do that through the department of commerce and to the council he has appointed in nist. we have our work cut out for us but i think we can come together and continue the work with the senate and finally develop a really good bill we can all vote for. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. gordon: mr. chairman, i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for two minutes, ms. johnson. ms. johnson: thank you, mr.

speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 5325, the american competes re-authorization act of 2010. it was once said when the lord says, give up, hope whispers. try it one more time. america cannot afford to give up on science, education, and innovation, i want to applaud my colleagues, and leadership on science and technology for their hard work on this legislation. our nation is being outpaced by our competitors and graduating with scientists and engineers. it is so important to invest wisely in programs that truly make a difference in achieving -- in the achievement of our young people. america competes is about our future. it's about ensuring we are taking the right steps towards increasing american competitiveness and innovation. it is also about strengthening diversity in our nation's scientific enterprise so that all americans can compete in the 21st century.

we have an obligation to the future of our nation to ensure every segment of our population has equal access and opportunities to perform these careers in stem. the bill was put together in a bipartisan fashion and represents a concerted effort to create a more competitive science and engineering work force. this is the goal of america competes and i am pleased that the provisions are in this bill for all americans. i will fight for innovation, justice, parity, and equality for all americans as long as i can. i thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. hall, is recognized. mr. hall: i thank professor ehlers for his good explanation, his position on the bill. that's been his position from the word go and there were others on the republican side in

committee who differed with those of us that were addressing the bill. and we all have a right to disagree. i respect that. this bill got better, it didn't get better out of rules because it didn't give us a rule, didn't give us a shot at it, but it got a better as it had the vote yesterday, it's a little better as the chairman brought it to us today. i must say this that the chairman has improved the availability for the veterans to benefit and we are very close. the chairman has said he wants to continue to work on this. and along three or four paragraphs we are two words away from it. i certainly take bart gordon at his word and will work with him. i think we should have the words available to instead of that serve those to veterans. what's available to them is very

important. we'd like to have that in the bill. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. gordon: as my friend from texas says, we have worked together long and hard on many issues and we are certainly -- we are going to continue to work to try to get this language exactly where both parties are seeking it in good faith can agree. to me it seems shall receive is better than make available but we are going to work to get that together. i yield two minutes to the chairman of the research and science education committee, dr. lipinski. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lipinski: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of this bill. as chairman of the research and

science education subcommittee, i want to thank dr. ehlers not only for his support of the competes act, but also all the work that he has done as the ranking republican on the subcommittee in all the years he has put in on these issues in congress. i firmly believe that this bill is critical to maintaining america's global competitiveness. i thank chairman gordon for all his hard work on this bill and also his work through the years on these issues. passage of this bill will help produce a brighter future for our nation. and our nation's workers. simply put, this bill creates jobs. as a former college professor, eng near -- engineer, i want to focus on the national science foundation title. this act keeps funding for the n.s.f. on its doubling path and it significantly increases support for basic research,

graduate education, stem education, and turning research into jobs. america is at risk of falling behind in all these areas. we cannot stand still while our competitors move forward. if we do, we will see the jobs created on their soil not here in america. this bill also contains a number of critical programs to support innovation and manufacturing. these provisions could not reverse the outsourcing of american jobs. in addition, the competes act also includes provisions to address the serious deterioration in the state of our research infrastructure which threatens america's competitiveness. our competitors, especially china, are stealing scientists from our country. i hear that all the time because they are offering better opportunities, better research infrastructure for the scientists. this means they will create the innovation, they will create the jobs over in their countries.

the competes re-authorization act takes a proactive bipartisan approach to securing america's position in 21st century global economy and putting americans to work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional 30 seconds. mr. lipinski: with no investment , we have no gain. it's as simple as that. we cannot lose the race of competition to other nations. america's future depends on that. we must have the jobs. people are asking where are the jobs going to come from? they are going to come from innovations that come from americans and this bill will help create the environment that will allow that to be done and provide a better future for our nation. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas, mr. hall. mr. hall: mr. speaker, at this time i yield two minutes to dr. ehlers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is

recognized for two minutes. mr. ehlers: i thank the gentleman from texas, the ranking member of the committee, for being generous with his time again. i wanted to point out two additional things in the bill that are going to be of very great importance to our country. i've already mentioned that we must become more competitive and that we have to develop a better approach in this nation to competing with other nations if we are going to regain our retain the leadership that we've had for several centuries. but there's something else as well that's very important and that is innovation. america has not only led through manufacturing but also through innovation and the products made. we have begun to slip in that category and that is why it's so important to continue our research efforts at the national science foundation, national institute of standards and technology and the department of energy. i'm pleased this measure before us today focuses on the challenges faced by our

nation's manufacturers and it will broaden and strengthening manufacturing and stem services that will help corporations become more productive and innovative and it will help it through research and development. i hope my colleagues will help me support the bill which will be wonderful for our nation and our financial status if we will be more creative. and this bill provides an opportunity to do that. so i once again say let's resolve the difficulties we have, let's get them resolved as quickly as possible so we can pass this bill and begin breathing new life into manufacturing in this nation. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: we are concerned with other parts of this program. we are concerned about the

duplicative programs in the bill that are waste of government resources and a waste of taxpayer dollars and a time when we have scarce resources we had should be thinking about spending money on other things like research and not spending them on the same programs. one of this is the energy innovation hubs program which duplicates a number of programs that is already available at the department of energy. so let me say to the chairman and this congress and anybody who would hear us, this bill has been improved. the chairman has been ameanable to working together and making suggestions. he has listened to us. he hasn't always minded me but he's listened. i think that's unusual and kind of my friend from tennessee. he's changed this bill from a $86 billion to $47 billion, from five years to three years so we feel we've made comfortable progress. and i think any bill from $86

billion to $47 billion, with that type of money, that -- disabled veterans want a small piece of it. i think as we go along and i hope we can work this out, i hope that we oppose this bill, have a vote today that's going to take 2/3 to pass it. perhaps the chairman has the votes. but if not i think in the next 48 hours we can improve it substantially. and once again be more proud of a bill that we've been from the word go we've been for the thrust of the bill. we just objected to the cost. and to duplicate so many of these processes. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee, mr. gordon. mr. gordon: mr. chairman, how much time do we have left?

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee has 7 1/2 minutes. the gentleman from texas has three. mr. gordon: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee, mr. gordon, is recognized. mr. gordon: i'd first say to my friend from texas that i probably minded him more than his kids minded him but probably less than his grandkids have minded him. we have tried to cooperate in a lot of ways. let me address a couple of things. as i said earlier, mr. hall has said and rightfully so that everyone here is supportive of our veterans and our disabled veterans. so what i would suggest is that we use a suspenders and a belt. let's make sure. and so, mr. hall, i want to assure you that we are going to include your language and then -- but we can also keep our strong language of shall. so this is what we'd have.

institutions of higher education offering stem education -- excuse me -- stem education, research and activities and programs rather than that serve -- we'll use your language that are available to veterans with disabilities and then we'll continue to say shall receive special consideration. so i think this can be a suspenders and belt to do what we all want and that is to make sure that our disabled veterans are taken care of. let me also mention, there's a discussion about duplicative programs. you know, i guess sometimes that could happen. in the last bill that 365 members of the congress voted for, we found there were nine programs that didn't serve well sothose programs were taken out of this bill. regardless of whether we can have disagreements of whether a program is duplicative or not, but it's still the funding doesn't go up. and so that is the good news

there. let me also point out on page 195, section 502, and i quote, coordination and nonduplication to the maximum extent program, the secretary shall ensure that programs coordinated with and do not duplicate the efforts of other loan guarantee programs in the federal government. so there is an effort to be sure that we do not have this kind of duplication. once again, this is a bill that authorization has been cut by 50% from what 365 members of this house voted for just three years ago and that was unanimously approved by the other body. and i yield two minutes to my friend, dr. rush holt. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. holt: mr. speaker, i thank

the chair for yielding, and i rise in strong support of the america competes re-authorization act. our investments in scientific research and education underwrite our national prosperity and success. yet, for decades we have underinvested in our nation's tools for advancing innovation and competitiveness. the america competes re-authorization act will build on the successes of the original america competes act and the american recovery and reinvestment act by authorizing funding levels that will continue to double the budgets of our basic research agencies, nist, n.s.f., d.o.e.'s office of science. i would have preferred the stability of a five-year re-authorization, and some of my colleagues on the other side decided to play politics with science and have made that impossible. still, the three years of investment authorized by this bill -- investments authorized by this bill will pay big

dividends, lead to new industries that will keep our nation competitive. i'm pleased that despite objections by some in the minority, the bill also provides assistance for small businesses and manufacturers to strengthen stem education, enhances the participation of underrepresented groups in technical field and supports research in pursuit of clean energy in the united states. i am pleased that the bill includes a provision that i wrote to require the administration to develop national competitiveness and innovation strategy. i commend chairman gordon and the s&t committee, and i urge my colleagues to support it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i just want to reiterate that republican motions to recommit eliminated the new programs in the bill.

new programs in the bill shift an emphasis away from basic research toward technology commercialization activities that could potentially divert money away from basic research and could lead to inappropriate market intervention. keeping the language in the bill would reduce authorization levels in the bill by $1.3 billion. the republican motion to recommit kept all existing programs at f.y. 2010 appropriated levels. given our nation's debt is $13 billion and our nation's budget deficit has increased 50% in three years, it's prudeent to put the -- prudent to put the brakes on significant increases in years to come. this bill is better than the bill was introdoused. it is not as good as when it left the committee that first considered it. it's not as good a bill when they accepted and voted yes republicans and democrats alike on the motion to recommit. so we've made some

improvements. i'm not discouraged. i still like the thrust of the bill. i look forward to working with the chairman from this day forward. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. gordon: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gordon: let me make this suggestion. if you want to wait for the absolutely perfect bill that you agree with every word, then you shouldn't vote for this bill because this bill is a bipartisan compromise that was the result of 49 hearings, four bipartisan markups. and so we had to work together. so if you want the perfect bill that is just what exactly what you want regardless of what anybody else might want, then this may not be your bill. but if you want a bill that is

going to take america forward, if you want a bill that is supported by the u.s. chamber of commerce, by the national association of manufacturers, by the information and technology industry association, by the aerospace industry association, by the business roundtable, by the counsel on competitiveness, by the national of venture capitalist association, by tech america, by technet, by the telecommunication industry association, by the energy science coalition, by the biotech industry organization, by the university -- by the american council of education, by the association of american colleges and universities, by the association of american universities, by the association of public and land grant colleges and on and on and on and on, then this is the bill for you. now, do they agree with every word in it? no. i'm sure they don't. but do they understand that 50% of the growth in our g.d.p. in

this country since world war ii is the direct result of the r&d investment and the result of that r&d investment? yes, they understand that. so today we have a chance to cast a vote for our kids, for our grandkids. we have a chance to cast a vote for energy independence in this country, and when i say energy independence, i don't mean just independence from foreign oil. i mean energy independence from foreign technology also. this is a good bill. i request everyone to take a look at it, see it it and i think they'll see it on the -- see it and i think they'll see it's a good bill that helps our disabled veterans. it was very specific in that. and, mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i will use the amount of time that i

may consume subject to my limitation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hall: yes, mr. chairman, i'd like a perfect. all of us would like a perfect bill. and i always pit the taxpayers union, who opposes this bill, against the chamber of commerce, who supports this bill, but i do seek perfection. i don't think we have a perfect bill. i doubt that we could ever get a perfect bill. but we can have a better bill. we've got a better bill than when we introduced it. we have a better bill than it was in committee. i don't seek perfection, but i like as good a bill, treat veterans the way they ought to be treated and not spending money that's needed for other matters, certainly. i urge a no vote, 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 tennessee. mr. gordon: and i ask how much time do i have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee has one minute. mr. gordon: mr. chairman, i yield myself that final minute. let me point out to my friend from texas that the nacks taxpayers union did oppose -- national taxpayers union did oppose the previous bill. we just checked their website. if you have something different we'd be glad to see it because this bill is different than the last bill. this bill cuts the authorization by 50 brs. so we have a different bill here today. so, again -- this bill cuts the authorization by 50%. so we have a different bill here today. there are 6.5 billion people in the world. half of those working make less than $2 a day. that's not the kind of way we want to compete in this country. we have to work at a higher technological level to be more productive. this bill will help us get there. i think once again -- i thank

once again the republican and democratic members that worked together on this bipartisan bill. i think the minority and majority for working together, to bring us this good bill, and i urge passage. and since my friend has yielded back the balance of his time, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5325. . save. --those 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 -- the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: i ask for a recorded vote is ordereded vote. 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.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and agree to h.r. 5220 as amnded. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5220, a bill to re-authorize the special owe limb picks empowerment act of 2004 to provide assistance to best buddies to support the expansion and development of mentoring programs, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on h.r. 5220 in the

record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge, is recognized. ms. fudge: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 5220, the eunice kennedy shave act of 2010 which will provide important resources and services to people with intellectual disabilities. this bill will re-authorize the special olympics sports and empowerment act of 2004, provide assistance to best buddies, to support the expansion and development of mentoring programs, and establish the eunice kennedy shriver institute for sports and social impact. special olympics and the best buddies program would not be where they are today or mean so much to so many people without eunice kennedy shriver. she dedicated her life to the goal of a fully inclusive and supportive society for people with intellectual disabilities.

mrs. shriver founded special olympics and was a long-time supporter and board member of best buddies. she knew that all too often people with intellectual disabilities are subject to social isolation because of their different abilities. she fought hard to ensure that children and adults with intellectual disabilities were not subject to stigmaization and prejudice. this bill makes sure that children and adults can fully participate and engage in education, social activities, and community opportunity. with this bill we will move closer toward the goal of increased participation and in clues siffity in society for people with intellectual disabilities. for more than 40 years special olympics has provided sports training and competitive opportunities to more than three million athletes with intellectual disabilities. special olympics has enhanced the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities,

improving their health and physical well-being, building their confidence and self-esteem, and giving them a voice to become active and productive members of their communities. since 1989, best buddies has worked with 1,300 middle school, high school, and college campuses to create inclusive communities for people with intellectual disabilities through a medium of friendship. over 700,000 people have benefited from the best buddies one to one pier matches -- peer matches. citizen programs for adults, and jobs programs that promote integration in the workplace. finally this bill establishes the eunice kennedy shriver institute for sports and social impact. the institute will support research on effective means for inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities, provide technical assistance to promote inclusion, foster collaboration among people and organizations working toward effective inclusion, and commemorate mrs. shriver's dedication to this cause. as many of you recall, mrs.

shriver passed away last august just before her brother, the late senator ted kennedy, also a champion of people with disabilities. this bill is fittingly named the eunice kennedy shriver act of 2010 and honors her vision of a world where people with intellectual disabilities are successfully integrated into our schools, our workplaces, and our general communities. i share that vision and support the activities authorized by this bill. once again i express my support for h.r. 5220 and thank representative hoyer for introducing this important legislation. i also want to thank chairman berman of the foreign affairs committee and chairman waxman of the energy and commerce committee for working with the education and labor committee on allowing this bill to move expeditiously to the floor. i ask unanimous consent that an exchange of letters dated may 7, may 10, and may 14, 2010 between these chairmen and chairman

miller be included in the record. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. -- the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri. mr. petri: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. petri: i rise in support of the bill before us, h.r. 5220, the eunice kennedy shriver act. eunice kennedy shriver was the founder and honorary chairperson of special olympics and leader in the worldwide effort to improve the lives and understanding of individuals with intellectual disabilities. for more than three centuries -- excuse me for more than three decades through her work with the joseph k. kennedy jr. foundation and special olympics, she worked tirelessly to seek the prevention of intellectual disabilities by identifying its causes and improving theeans by which society deals with citizens who have intellectual disabilities.

mrs. shriver passed away on august 11, 2009, but her work to ensure that individuals with intellectual disabilities are able to lead independent lives in their communities will live on. an estimated seven million individuals, 2% of the population of the united states, have intellectual disabilities which impair daily living skills needed to live and work in the local communities as productive citizens the three major known causes of intellectual disabilities are down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, and fragile x. the eunice kennedy shriver act will assist individuals with intellectual disabilities by continuing the federal government's supportive programs that provide early intervention, effective education, research, and proacht support for individuals with intellectual disabilities so they can reach adulthood and become contributing members to our society. first, the bill re-authorizes a

special olympics sport and empowerment act of 2004. special olympics was established in 1968 and provides year-round sports training and competitive opportunities to more than three million athletes with intellectual disabilities in 26 sports. but it does so much more. it dispells negative stereotypes about people with intellectual disabilities, builds community engagement, increases the participation of people with intellectual disabilities and community of life, and provides education and health screenings for individuals with intellectual disabilities. second, the bill authorizes support for best buddies, a nonprofit organization that provides mentors and friends to individuals with intellectual disabilities to increase their social relationships. best buddies was founded in 1989 by anthony kennedy shriver as the first national, social, and recreational program for people with intellectual disabilities. since that time it's grown from

one chapter to more than 1,400 middle school, high school, and college campuses all around the country. finally the bill establishes eunice kennedy shriver institute for sports and social impact. through this effort institutions will conduct research, collect data, and evaluate evidence-based best practices with the goal of improving the quality of life and further the social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. mr. speaker, once again i want to recognize the life and accomplishments of eunice kennedy shriver, her dedication to improving the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities is awe inspiring and i hope that this bill will serve as the legacy to her efforts. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: i am pleased to recognize the gentleman from rhode island, mr. kennedy, for as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island, mr.

kennedy, is recognized. mr. rendy: i thank the lady -- mr. kennedy: i thank the laid why from ohio and i thank the gentleman, mr. petri, for his wonderful words about my aunt eunice. and i want to acknowledge my good friend and colleague, representative blunt, from the minority side, for his support for this bill. i want to especially thank our majority leader, representative hoyer, for his leadership on this issue. it's been steadfast and long appreciated by my family and all those in the special olympics family. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the house resolution 5220, the eunice kennedy shriver act. this bipartisan bill seeks to re-authorize the special olympics sport and empowerment act of 2004 and to advance the development of best buddies mentoring and employment programs across this country. my aunt, eunice kennedy shriver, founded the special olympics in 1968. she did so in order to help

foster a society that would celebrate and enhance the lives of those with intellectual disabilities. she had seen those afflicted with intellectual disabilities, including her own sister rosemary, my aunt rosemary, and saw they were being shut out from fundamental opportunities that life had to offer. she had seen that this entire segment of our population was being denied the basic right to live a fulfilling life because of the stigma, because of the misunderstandings that pervaded our society about people with cognitive disorders. in witnessing these injustices, my aunt sought nothing less than to change our society's perceptions and approach to intellectual disabilities. over the 40 years since the inception of special olympics, it has done just that. by encouraging involvement in sports, in education, in health

programs special olympics has given rise to an entire generation of volunteers, parents, individuals, all encouraging those with intellectual disabilities to embrace their lives and their ability and for those who have been involved in special olympics you know that it's not the disabilities it's the abilities and it's not just the special olympians who benefit from special olympics. it's the volunteers. it's anybody who has witnessed a special olympics event. this message of understanding and compassion has led special olympics to develop an international organization, and today that organization represents three million athletes in 44,000 countries and events across the country. 44,000 events and 170 countries now have teams for the international games. i want to commend my cousin, tim shriver, who carries on his

mother's legacy of being c.e.o. of special olympics, and my cousin, anthony shriver, who runs best buddies. i want to say that if i have the chance to look back on my family's legacy and if all of my family who held public office today we are all here on the floor thinking about all of the public service in public office, if my cousin, kathleen, who was here, lieutenant governor, my cousin mark, who is in the general assembly, my cousin joe who was here in congress. if my father, who served in the united states senate for nearly five decades, who often said to be one of the greatest senators ever to serve in this congress, if my uncle bobby who was not only a senator but attorney general, my uncle, president kennedy was here, all of them would say if there was a greater legacy in my family, it was probably none other than someone who never served in public

office in my family and that was the legacy of my aunt, eunice shriver, when she started the special olympics. it's going to be the most enduring legacy that my family ever had a part of, and it's something that all of us are very proud to be part of in the special olympics family. everybody can be part of the special olympics and i encourage everybody to go to a special olympics event and in doing so be part of the special olympic spirit. it's something to behold. let's pass the eunice kennedy shriver act. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from ohio reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: i yield to the gentleman from the state of michigan, vern ehlers, a member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ehlers: i thank the gentleman for yielding. after that stirring speech which we just heard reminds of why this is important.

let me just also read a few passages from the bill which really struck me. in which congress finds the following -- special olympics celebrates the possibilities of the world where everybody matters, everybody counts and every person contributes. the government and the people of the united states recognizes the dignity and value of the giftedness of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. the government and the people of the united states recognize that children and adults with intellectual disabilities experience significant health disparities including lack of access to primary care services and difficulties in accessing community based prevention and treatment programs for chronic diseases. the government and the people of the united states are determined to end the isolation

and stigmatyization of people with intellectual disabilities and ensure that people have equaled opportunities for continued participation, access to proper health care and education and experience life in a nondiscriminatory manner. i will stop at that point and simply say i'm very pleased to be one of the early co-sponsors of this bill. i have attended a special olympics event, and i can tell you they are more stirring and more of a blessing to the soul of the spectators than any other sporting event you could possibly go to. the children -- it a primarily for children, but adults often participate too -- they struggle so hard and they succeed. they succeed admirably in achieving their goals and it just stirs your heart to be

involved and help special olympics, to watch the special olympics and to share the joy of the participants when they successfully complete the particular activity they're engaged in. this is a wonderful bill. it's a wonderful opportunity. i had the pleasure of meeting eunice shriver last year and discussing it with her shortly before her death. and this is a major contribution she has made to the children of this country, and i strongly urge that we pass this bill. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to recognize the majority leader, the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. mr. hoyer: i thank the

gentlelady from ohio, congresswoman fudge, for yielding. i thank her for her leadership and bringing this bill to the floor. i thank my friend, mr. petri, for his work on this legislation. and i am once again and too infrequently nowaddais, glad to join one of my best friends in the house of representatives, roye blunt from missouri, who has -- roy blunt from missouri, who has worked with me for many years on this issue with the shriver and kennedy families. i'm pleased that patrick kennedy is on the floor with us, my good friend and wonderful member of congress who has done a wonderful representing rhode island and our country and who eunice shriver i know is very proud of as she watches his commitment to those who have confronted disabilities and medical challenges. patrick kennedy has been a

giant in raising the voice and showed extraordinary courage. to that extent that is consistent with the kennedy legacy, courage in the face of adversity. patrick, thank you very much. i met patrick's aunt in 1962, long before many people here were born. it was at a young democrats' convention at the washingtonian motel on route 70. sergeant shriver was the speaker at that convention. judy and i was at that convention. i was 22, 23 years of age and i was, of course, properly awe stck by sergeant shriver and eunice shriver and got into politics because of john kennedy's call for young people to become enganged. -- engaged. patrick is correct in many ways

. certainly one of if not the giant of the family was eunice kennedy shriver who through her relationship with her sister understood firsthand the discrimination, the isolation, the prejudice that can be directed at somebody with a disability. or at least with somebody who didn't have the same ability that others had. and not only did she lament that, but she lived her life to reverse that. that's what patrick was talking about. compellingly. and that's why roy blunt and i have joined together over the years to support this legislation. we had the privilege to working with tim shriver and anthony shriver who carry on the legacy . what a wonderful family from generation to generation, passing the torch of service

from one generation to the next. i've had the privilege of being a close friend of, as i said, patrick and his father, with whom i worked very closely over the years, and so many other members of his family. this legislation is named in honor of eunice kennedy shriver who dedicated her long life to public service. not in elected office, but like so many more of us that serve in elected office, millions and millions of americans who saw a challenge and sought to meet it. especially committed to the inclusion of those with intellectual disability in the mainstream of our society. i was proud to call her a friend, i was proud to be at n.i.h. the day we named a center for eunice kennedy shriver. more importantly, she was a friend to millions of people

around the world. many of whom never knew her name and will not realize now her the beneficiaries of her leadership and her commitment. we have eunice kennedy shriver to thank in large part for the special olympics and for better understanding of the challenges and potential of people with intellectual disabilities. this bill carries her legacy of inclusion and public service. it re-authorizes -- it re-authorizes the special olympics act which continues grant funding for a remarkable movement that has promoted athletic competition and health for more than four decades. it emphasizes the importance of competition and competing and participating. yes, winning is nice, but in the competition itself is the victory, the victory of spirit, the victory of courage, the

victory of self-satisfaction. today, the special olympics reaches more than three million athletes in more than 150 countries. for those athletes, the special olympics means the joy of competition and the joy of pushing themselves to be their very best. and for the rest of us, the special olympics has increased respect for people with disabilities. from time to time, those of us who have participated in the special olympics, particularly sometime ago, when huggers were allowed, we were huggers and huggers simply meant congratulations, well done, keep on keeping on. this bill also re-authorizes grants to expand the successful best buddies program, which is dedicated to the social integration of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. again, eunice shriver and john kennedy, robert kennedy, other kennedy siblings saw rosemary

and they saw the isolation to which she was subjected. i had the opportunity to visit anthony in florida and rosemary was at his house and the love and care extended to rosemary was extraordinary. this was something they lived, not just thought. its volunteers gain valuable leadership opportunities, and its participants with disabilities learn they are valuable members of our communities. it is a valuable part of eunice kennedy shriver's legacy, one that has found its way to more than 1,000 schools and workplaces, and it deserves, and i'm sure will get, our support. as mrs. shriver has said about the athletes this competition she supported for so many years, and i quote, special olympic athletes are spokespersons for freedom itself. they ask for the freedom to live, the freedom to belong, the freedom to contribute, the

freedom to have a chance. that should be the goal for every american with a disability, and indeed it should be golet of us all. this bill brings it a little closer to realization. i again want to thank my good friend, roy blunt, for who has been so deeply involved in this effort. it has been, as always, a privilege to be his partner in this effort. and i urge its overwhelming adoption and, again, thank congresswoman fudge and congressman petri for their efforts, and i yb. -- yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from ohio reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: mr. speaker, i yield as much time as he may consume, coauthor of the bill before us, d co-author of the bill before us, roy blunt from missouri. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is

recognized. mr. blunt: i am honored to be here on the floor with my good friend, mr. hoyer. we first brought this concept of healthy athletes to the floor six years ago when for the first time the federal government said we can add something to special olympics that doesn't change special olympics but just simply adds to it. to doesn't change the character of volunteers. it doesn't change the character of charitable contributions. it doesn't change the character of competition. it adds a component to special olympics that helps athletes who have many challenges discover some challenges in health that maybe no one has discovered yet. and today this bill would simply authorize that program that i will talk about in some detail for another five years. and i hope that we continue to see the kind of things that mr. hoyer and i have been able to watch as a result of this decision by the congress six

years ago. as has already been said, it passes a bill that the congress already passed, a bill mr. hoyer and i sponsored last year, that will provide a new level of to best buddies, a program where adults who work with other adults who have mental challenges become the friend, the mentor, the person who brings that person more deeply into society than they otherwise would be. it also authorizes a new competitive grant program called the eunice kennedy shriver institute for sport and social impact. to fund organizations that demonstrate commitment to the vision of special needs kids. earlier this year, leanna came in to see me, a special olympian from missouri, and along with her family, she reminded me the importance of special olympics and its healthy athletes program which really focuses in healthy

athletes on seven disciplines. opening eyes, special smiles, healthy hearing, fun fitness, health promotion, fit feet and med fest so that those medical things that might not otherwise get checked get checked. . patrick ken at this as come to the floor as have others, including mr. hoyer, and talked about the significant contribution eunice kennedy shriver made to the world and america in so many ways, but special olympics and bes buddies were two of them. she grew up, of course, in a family of competitors. but her older sister, rosemary, was mentally challenged and couldn't keep up. i had the opportunity a few years ago to meet rosemary and learn every christmas and every august, no matter where rosemary was, she came to be wherever eunice shriver was, and i was

honored to meet her and honored to speak on the floor when her life was ended about a contribution that life had made because of what her sister and family decided to do. in 1962 mrs. shriver started the special olympics in her big backyard. it was a backyard but it was a backyard. a competition that now attracts three million athletes from 160 countries around the world. in august of last year, a card with this challenge was parts of eunice kennedy shriver's memorial service. talking about best buddies and talking about special olympians, this card read, the right to play on any playing field. you have earned it. the right to study in any school, you have earned it. the right to hold a job, you have earned it.

the right to be anyone's neighbor, you have earned it. these programs make a difference in people's lives. in missouri and just one of the last five years, 1,029 athletes went through the healthy athletes screening free of charge. families with many challenges often miss one. and this was something that took me a while to figure out because these are families who go to doctors, go to eventses, do lots of things, but they are dealing with lots of challenges. maybe the one challenge they don't know they are dealing with is this individual also can't see as well as they thought they could or can't hear. and we find that out in these screenings. in fact, in healthy hearing 18% of the missourians in this year i'm talking about required follow-up care when they had their hearing test. health promotion, almost one in five were obese and got advice on healthy choices, on tobacco

cessation, on sun safety. opening eyes, 230 athletes were screened in missouri in 2007. almost half, 45% of the people screened, needed prescription eyewear and didn't have it. special smiles, 23%of the 334 athletes screened were in urgent need of follow-up care. one young man, i was told by someone who runs the missouri special olympics program, one young man was looking at the treat tops with his new glasses, later on in the day after he had gotten them, and he said, i have always heard the birds but i never saw the birds. one young woman said about her glasses that now her glasses meant there was only one ball to catch instead of trying to figure out which of the two balls that had always been coming at her before was the real ball and which one she just saw. let's extend these programs.

let's pass this bill. let's encourage these athletes. and again to all my friends who have come to the floor who have worked to make this a program where the government makes some difference but still understands as others have said that anybody can volunteer, everybody is touched by being part of this program, watch a walk-on at your state special olympics, go to a local competition, see what it means when that card is handed out that said you have earned it. these special olympians and best buddies have. i urge us to pass the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, does the gentleman from wisconsin have any further speakers? mr. petri: actually, i urge all my colleagues to support the bill before us, the eunice kennedy shriver act and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i as well would ask that my colleagues support h.r. 5220.

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from ohio yields back the balance of her time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5220 as amended. snave. -- so many as are in favor say aye. ose 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 the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? ms. fudge: mr. speaker, move that the house suspend the rules and agree to h.r. 2136. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2136, a bill to establish the honorable stephanie tubbs jones fire suppression demonstration incentive program within the department of education to promote installation of fire sprinkler systems or other fire suppression or prevention

technologies in qualified student housing and dormitories, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on h.r. 2136 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 2136. i would like to thank chairman miller, ranking member kleine, members of the education and labor committee, and 70 members on both sides of the aisle who co-sponsored this important legislation. the honorable stephanie tubbs jones college fire prevention act. during the last eight years of her career in congress, the honorable stephanie tubbs jones tirelessly advocated for the passage of this bill. she believed as i do that college students must be safeguarded against house fires.

when i was elected to congress last fall i promised myself and the people of the 11th congressional district of ohio i would use my vote to support policies to provide practical and lasting solutions for the district. this bill does just that. h.r. 2136, the honorable stephanie tubbs jones college fire prevention act, supports the installation and management of fire suppression or fire prevention technology in student housing, including fraternal housing. the act directs the secretary of education to make competitive grants for up to half of installing fire sprinkler system or other fire suppression or prevention technology. the funding would be disbursed to dormitories and institutions of higher education, as well as fraternity and sorority houses. college students deserve safe housing with fire prevention systems, regardless of whether they live in nontraditional student housing, a sorority fraternity house, or

dormitories. fraternal organization vs. long played a leading role in cultivating the social, and intellectual well-being of our college students. we must ensure that these organizations have access to the necessary resources to protect our youth. so far this year there have been six steps attributed to student housing fires. since the year, 2000, ohio alone has suffered 13 student deaths and 36 related campus incidents due to student housing fires, according to campus fire watch. when fire prevention and sprinkler systems are present, students survival rates increase by 97%, and property damage is lowered by 35%. assistant vice president of facilities at john carroll university, which is in my district, stresses the importance of fire safety measures. john carroll is currently planning the implementation of firefighting technologies which cost $500,000 per each

residents' home. these grants can help defray the cost of safeguarding our students. once again i would like to thank the education and labor committee, the many supporters of this important legislation, and college students across the nation for working tirelessly to move this legislation forward. finally, i am grateful for the vision and compassion of my friends, the late congresswoman stephanie tubbs jones. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from ohio reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. petri: i rise in support of the bill before us, h.r. 2136, the honorable stephanie tubbs jones college fire prevention act. today we have an opportunity to discuss the need to bolster safety on college campuses, specifically fire safety. the name of this bill is appropriate because there was no member of this body more concerned about protecting our college students from the dangers of fires than the late representative stephanie tubbs jones. this bill would honor

representative tubbs jones by naming a demonstration program in her honor. our nation's college students should be able to live on campus with the could have dense that they'll be safe in their dorms, apartments, or other housing. this measure will take a step for allowing colleges to ensure their buildings are properly equipped with the latest fire safety measures. specifically, this bill will allow colleges and universities hoping to participate in the demonstration program to apply for funds that can be used to install fire sprinkler systems or other fire suppression or prevention technologies on campuses or in buildings controlled by the university. this measure combined with the provisions enacted by congress in the higher education opportunity act, will encrease campus fire safety on colleges and universities, the provisions included in the higher education opportunity act require colleges to provide a fire safety report to the secretary of education.

the report must include statistics showing the number of fires and injuries resulting from fires on campus over the past year. it will also require colleges to report on the type of fire prevention technologies and their utilizing any plans the college may have to improve their fire' preengs -- prevention and protection technologies. the bill before us today will help colleges think creatively about fire safety and ensure they have the funds to move forward with their plans. today we have the opportunity to provide a commitment to the safety of college students and pass the measure that will help colleges keep our young people safe from devastating firings. i urge -- fires. i urge my colleagues to support the bill before us. i understand the majority has no further requests for time so i yield such time as she may consume to my colleague from west virginia, the honorable representative shelly moore capito. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from west virginia is recognized. mrs. capito: thank you, mr.

speaker. i want to thank the gentleman and gentlewoman for bringing this bill forward. i stand today in support of h.r. 2136, the stephanie tubbs jones college fire prevention act. i had the pleasure of serving with congresswoman tubbs jones. she was a wonderful, effervesceant member of our house. and she was -- she was a very strong advocate for campus fire prevention and she is greatly missed but we are thinking about her today. every parent expects when they send their child off to college that they would be sending them to be protected and to be safe. for most parts that is true but unfortunately that's not always the case. in 2007 a fire broke out in a 64 -unit apartment building which was privately owned near marshall university in hundredington, west virginia, that housed a number of students from marshall. nine people were killed in that fire including one student who attended the university and two

siblings visiting him there. i was astonished to learn there was no sprinkler system in the building and several of the apartments didn't have smoke detectors. each year unfortunately colleges and university students on and off campus experience hundreds of fire emergencies. overall most college related fires are due to a general lack of knowledge about fire safety and prevention and also the lack of updating fire prevention equipment into the buildings. a lot of the buildings are oler and were not equipped with sprinklers and other fire detection methods. and this bill goes a great way, i think, to try to help solve that problem. the great majority of students' fire deaths occur in offcampus housing with insufficient exits, missing or inoperative smoke alarms, or automatic fire sprinklers. these are deaths that can and should be prevented and that's what this bill, h.r. 2136, would extend.

it would extend stephanie tubbs jones' legacy of providing grants to institutions of higher education, fraternities and soar roarities, to cover up to half the cost of installing fire sprinkler systems and other prevention throlings in student housing and dormitories. with that i would like to thank the sponsors of the bill and i urge the passage of this legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. petri: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin yield back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my colleagues for their support. i urge support of h.r. 2136. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2136. 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 the motion

to reconsider is laid upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? ms. fudge: madam speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1292 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1292, resolution congratulating the emporia state university lady hor innocence women's basketball team for winning the 2010 ncaa division ii national

championship. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge and the gentleman from -- mr. petri, each will control 20 minutes. the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: i ask unanimous consent that members may have five legislative days to revise and extend and insert extraneous material into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise today to congratulate the emporia state women's basketball team for winning the 2010 ncaa division ii national championship. they defeated the fort lewis skyhawks in an exciting game. the lady hornets took home the school's first ever women's basketball national title. it was also their first championship win in any sport

since 1984. this lady hornets basketball team season marked coach brandon schneider's 10th season with emporia state university. coach schneider and his assistant coaches guided the lady hornets to a final record of 30 wins, only five losses. sensational junior senior and elite eight most outstanding player allie volken led them to their victy ry with 16 points and five rebounds in the game. a back-and-forth night throughout most of the game, the lady hornets started to pulmoaway in the second half thanks to a 10-0 run. rachel scored 15 points 57bd was a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc. the alumni, faculty, and staff of emporia state university have much to be proud of. once again, i congratulate the lady hornets on winning their

ncaa division ii women's basketball national championship and thank mr. moran for bringing this bill forward. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. petri: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. petri: i rise in support of house resolution 1292, congratulating the emporia state university lady hornets for winning the 2010 ncaa division ii national championship. on march 26, 2010, the emporia state university hornets ke feeted the fort lewis skyhawks 65-43 in the ncaa division ii ncaa women's basketball championship and captured the first ever women's title and the university's first national title since 1964. the hornets' success was due in large part to allie wilkins,

who was the most outstanding player of the tournament and recorded 16 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in the championship game alone. while this player was recognized for her outstanding play, the entire team is responsible for the success of the team as ncaa division i national champions. the accolades bestowed on the team can only be attributed to the head coach and the assistant coaches. the success is what brings us here today. emporia state is also known for its excellent academics. emporia state university aims to provide a dynamic and progressive learning community that fosters academic exrens, community and global involvement and the pursuit of personal and professional fulfillment. emporia state university is located in the heart of the

flint hills, kansas, area. the university serves 6,500 students in four different colleges. founded in 1863, e.s.u. is noted today for their programs in business, library and information management, and liberal arts and sciences. i extend my congratulations to the head coach, ban don schneider and his -- brandon schneider and his entire staff, the players, and the fans. i urge the house to support this measure. i understand there are no requests for time on the majority side so i yield to mr. moran of kansas as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. moran: i rise with my colleagues to honor a group of young women from kansas who exemplify teamwork.

teams in my home state of kansas and across the plains know emporia state university lady hornets all too well. under the direction of head coach brandon schneider, the lady hornets have developed into a power house of women's college basketball from the mid-america intercollegiate athletic association, the miaa. heading into the 2009-2010 season, coach schneider had led the lady hornets to 10 ncaa championship appearances, four ncaa south central regional championships and two ncaa division ii final four appearances. moreover, at the conclusion of this season, emporia state university had been ranked as the ncaa division ii top 25 for the last 13 seasons and has been ranked in the top 10 bookly polls for 125 weeks, since 1998, more than any other program in the country.

so what's the secret to success with this program? ask anybody at emporia state university and they will point out that the young women are more than just a collection of basketball players. at the 2009-2010 -- as the 2009-2010 basketball media guide explains, being part of a women's basketball team is special because not only do they come together to win games on the court but they come together as a family off the court. even while players are selected to the all-miaa team and even the division ii all american team, being a part of the lady hornets is not about the individual accolades. it's about teamwork. and team work has been their recipe for success. expectations were high for the 2010 season and the lady hornets did not disappoint. they began the season by winning 19 of their first 20 games and were ranked as high as number four in the national polls.

however, they lost three of their last five games, including the second round upset in the miaa tournament in kansas city. their season seemed to be heading offtrack. most teams with such high hopes and high expectations would have easily lost that hope but the lady hornets were determined to overcome these setbacks and never let their dream of becoming a national championship team die. after a quiet trip home from kansas city to emporia following the loss and a little time together, they refocused and traveled to canyon, texas, for a tournament. they left with a ticket to the elite eight where they met some of the fiercest competition of the year. after wins against the technological university huskies and the gannon university lady knights, they headed to the championship game thism defeated the fort lewis skyhawks by a score of 65-53 to

capture their first ever women's basketball championship. emporia state university athletics, coaches, student, alumni, faculty, and fans have much to be proud of after a season of hard work and dedication. after appearances in six national championship games,s the first national championship in any sport being crowned the 1984 niaa women's softball champions. this victory is special because it's a testament to the teamwork, the power of teamwork. good teams are able to overcome adversity and that's what the 25010 emporia state university lady hornets managed to do en route to a national championship. congratulations to the lady hornets team, cassandra boston, softie leonard, ashley ferrell, kayla kruger and britney miller and freshman rich ale hahn,

jocelyn cummings and chelsea newman. congratulations to the head coaches and the assistant coaches, and e.s.u. athletic director kent wiser and e.s.u. president mike layne -- mike lane deserve credit too. finally, congratulates to the emporja state fans, some of the most dedicated in basketball, who have waited a long time for this accomplishment. this is a truly great team of players who knows there's no i in team. please join me in supporting h. resolution 1292 today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from hi. ms. fudge: does the gentleman from wisconsin have further speakers? mr. petri: i have no further requests for time and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin yields back the remainder of his time.

the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized. ms. fudge: i urge support of h.res. 1292 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1292 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 uh is spended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? ms. fudge: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on

motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. h.r. 1514, h.r. 5325, house resolution 1325, and house resolution 1362. in each case by the yeas and nays. the remaining postponed votes will be taken at a later time. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conducted as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion from the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1514 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. 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 accountability block grants program through fiscal year

the speaker pro tempore: house resolution 1325, resolution recognizing national missing children's day. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspendnd the rulesnd agree to the resolution as amended. members will record their votes

by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 4.

the nays are zero. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreedto, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion from the gentleman fromichigan, mr. conyers, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1362 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. e clerk: house resolution 1362. resolution celebrating the life and achievements of lena mary calhoun, horn and honoring for her triumphs against racial discrimination a her steadfast commitment to the civil rights of all people. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device.