let's leave aside the partisanship. i will remind some of the peekers -- speakers on the other side, i have voted with you on this issue in the past. i didn't like the policy you put forward, i thought it was very bad policy at the time, but it was worth it to me to get this issue solved because our nation's seniors, our patients, ouu doctors depend upon this. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: the gentleman says he voted with us, but he was the only one, there was no one else. you have refused on the republican side to vote for a permanent fix. instead we're stuck with this bill because we cannot get a better -- i ask for another 15 seconds. because we cannot get the votes , a single vote for a bill that is better than this in the

senate from a republican. that's why we're here today. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott. the chair: the gentleman -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: we have a unique opportunity today. i've heard from the other side, theerepublicans, who are saying they want to have a permanent fix. we on the democratic side have shown that by pushing forward. we had a $68 billion bill that went to the senate that would do that. people across this nation are crying to see thhs house of representatives work in a bipartisan way. there's no more critical or important issue to show that than on this issue. the future of our health care system rests on the ability to be able to have our physicians to be able to receive the

payments for their services. i've talked to physicians. i talked to a group of them today. and many of them not only are refusing to serve medicare patients now, but they're rusing hope in the health care system. we just passed a new health care bill that's going to bring 37 million more people onmark of them will be senior citizens. we're growing more senior citizens. let's be fair. -- let's be fair to our physicians. let's save our health care system and let us come together as democrats and republicans and come back and get a permanent fix on this issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. mr. herger: i'd like to -- mr. shimkus: i'd like to inquire how much time is left. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois has 4 1/2 minutes.

mr. shimkus: can i inquire how many speakers you have, i'm the only one, i'd like to -- i'll just reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i'm pleased -- mr. waxman: i'm pleased to yield to mr. dingell for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. dingell: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dingell: we have before us an opportunity. we can begin to solve a problem that's going to destroy our medical care system in this country. doctors are abandoning medicare patients because they can no longer afford to serve them. it's turning out we are now finding we are losing the capability of addressing one of the greatest health problems we've got, seeing to it that physicians do take care of our people and that they have the resources necessary to do it. this is a proposal which has to

be adopted today. i commend the gentleman from texas who has urged the house to work together and i commend him for having had the courage to say so. but it is something we must do. we came close to having this issue solved with a permanent fix. the law of interest, compounded interest, tells us we have a big problem. the numbers in this have grown to $210 billion. they will grow more. it is time that the house resolve this is go que so we can assure that we take care of our people we deal with their health, we preserve medicare and we do what is necessary to carry out our responsibility in a fiscally responsible way. a good part of this -- we are in a good part of this mess because of the united states senate which diligently disregards its responsibilities on all matters of this kind and regrettably, as we look to see we find this is the best thick we can do because they refuse

to do it better. they'll tell us because of theirincompetence, we must therefore bow to them and to do the things the way they only can do them. i urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation and then let us prepare to work together to try to resolve this matter because the time is wasting and the -- and the whole system is about to collapse because of our failure to properly address it. the chair: the gentleman from -- the speaker pro tempore: the %- gentleman from illinois. mr. shimkus: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield a minute to the gentleman from new york, mr. mcfadden. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcmahon: many doctors in my upstate district have started %- to turn away medicare patients

and many fear senior -- doctors will drop out of medicare all together. a doctor payment cut of this magnitude will decrease access for our seniors and sometimes with tragic results..+ seniors and their doctors should not pay the price for partisan politics. they should have the peace of mind to -- mr. ma fee: they should know that the doctor of their choice should be able to see them and will be reimbursed fairly without having to worry about cuts month after month. while it's clear the system is broken and needs to be fixed permanently, there's a need to fix it permanently. if you can't cure the patient, find a treatment. if you can't find a good treatment, stop the bleeding. this is just a band-aid, it

stops the bleeding temporarily. we have made a commitment to provide for seniors and i'll stand with our seniors and physicians. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois continues to reserve. the gentleman from california. mr. herger: i'm pleased to yield to the very important member of our committee -- mr. waxman: i'm pleased to yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. green, for one minute. mr. green: thank you. i ask unanimous consent to place my full statement in the record. to my republican colleagues, we make history on the floor of the house and we did when we passed the health care bill but you can't rewrite it. the house passed a bill, h.r. 3961, that only had one member from the republican party who voted for that bill that was the permanent fix for this doctor situation. so our doctors wouldn't be cut 21% as of last week. one vote. it was my colleague from texas, dr. burgess. that's why ttis is so important

today. we wish we could pass a better bill and a long-term fix but we can't get it through the united states senate so we're going to november. but you had a chance to step up and do it but you didn't do it. we passed that bill with only one republican vote. this legislation is so important because medicare is so important. our seniors need to be able to go to the doctor and yet we're seeing doctoos say they can't afford to treat them anymore because we didn't do the permanent fix. that's why this bill is so important today to get us through november and hopefully we'll be able to then do a permanent fix so doctors will be able to see our senior citizens. i yield back my time. the chair: the gentleman from illinois. mr. shimkus: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman michigan. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. waxman: i'm pleased to yield to the gentlelady

representing the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. christensen: this is not what we should be doing, we need a permanent fix for the problems but i do urge my colleagues to vote for this measure. as a family practitioner, i know how low the reimbursement is this cut and the one to follow would cause some physicians to close their doors to those who need help most. even when i was in practice, i was one of only a handful of doctors that saw medicare patients. it's not that doctors don't want to take care of elderly and disabled patients, it's what we went into the practice to do. the 2.2% increase is a start

but doctors need certainty and stability. the other body and our colleagues on the other side of the aisle need to support what democrats tried to do in health care reform. we need to help doctors provide the care they want to provide tour seniors. let us fix the s.g.r. once and for all, even if we have to do it as part of a supplemental. ensuring the care of some of our most vulnerable is that important and that urgent. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. mr. shimkus: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: before i do that, mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the senate amendments to h.r. 3962 the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: i'm pleased to yield to another important member of our committee, the gentleman from texas, mr. gonzalez, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one

minute. mr. gonzalez: i rise in favor of this legislation, we only have about a minute. my observation after listening to my colleaguesed on dear friends, thank god physicians don't practice medicine the way we practice enacting legislation. can you imagine, we're wheeled into the emergency room, you have five qualified physicians and they all start arguing about how we're going to save the life of this particular patient. and they don't come to any real conclusion. some say we need to do this immediately, some say we can wait six months, others say we can wait two years. it doesn't work, it doesn't work in the operating room, it shouldn't work in this chamber. we're all in agreement, we're all in agreement that it's broken. we've given the other side a chance to work with us. last year, it's already been pointed out we had something that was for an extended period of time that was going to work on a solution that would give the doctors the kind of predictability that they require to have a practice that

they can open their doors in the morning. but we only got one vote from the other side. but you know, let's put that aside today. let's start working together. it's six month, it's not long enough we acknowledge it. let us just rededicate ourselveses to make sure that doctors can practice medicine. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois continues to reserve. mr. shimkus: yes, sir. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. waxman -- waxman: i'm pleased to yield to another representative from texas, representative sheila jackson lee for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for onee minute. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i rise today to support the permanent fix for doctors. that's what we have been saying as democrats for more than a year. i want to thank the leadership that has take then calls of

members who are representing their doctors and seniors and saying we have got to do this. let me tell the doctors of america, look at what your friends look like. democrats who have been fighting over and over again, i promise physicians in my area, doctors who work in inner city neighborhoods, we were not going to leave them without help. i hope the other body and my friends on the other side of the aisle, the republicans, will really understand the facts. we have to join together. doctors help save lives. they tend to our seniors. it is important that they have the reimbursement they need. we rise today to support the six-month fix but we rise today to say the democrats have been fighting to get this right, we're going to get it right and we're going to provide for the physicians and stop this 21% cut and provide doctors for americans who are waiting for us to do our job.

physicians, your friends are us. i yield back. support the legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. mr. shimkus: i think if i can ask my colleagues on the other side, i think everyone -- if i can get confirmation they have no other speakers? mr. waxman: we have another speaker. -- i yield to the gentleman, mr. andrews, for one minute. mr. andrews: i thank my friend for yielding. a lot of america seems to have been misled that they are not going to be able to see their doctors under medicare anymore because of some legislation that came out of here. this bill today makes it emphatically clear thats that emfat cly -- emphatically not true. the bill today restores full reimbursement rate for doctors and other providers who see america's senior citizens. the majority of us wanted to

make that a permanent fix last summer. only one minority member voted for that. the majority of us wanted to extend that far beyond this, just a few weeks ago. almost no one on the minority side voted for that today i assume just about everybody is going to vote for this and i'm glad. but let the record be clear, no one here is prepared to see a day when medicare doctors turn their patients away. that's not the truth. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. mr. shimkus: i yield myself the balance of my time. thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate the comments, i was going to be cool, calm and collective, of course, as i normally am in the committee, mr. chairman, as you know. and -- but of course i'm required to respond -- respond to just a couple of points. i agree that we want to get this fixed. we want to do it now and i'm going to talk about the importance of paying for it. but the public has to understand

that, we're 39 seats in the minority. the only bipartisan vote was the no vote on the health care bill. anddfor the the pro stations that republicans, only one vote, the reality is, you can do whatever you want, but the bipartisan bill was no against the health care bill. why? $500 billion cuts in medicare. we talked about this yesterday in committee. not on medicare advantage, hospital cuts, doc cuts, across the board, tax increases, $1 trillion in new spending utcht think if you're going to spend $1 trillion more you could have fixed it. in fact, you all promised it. but because of a policy and the politics you had to accept the senate bill that really didn't do it. the promise you made to some doctor organization you could not keep. that is why we're here again. and we know the c.b.o., we know

it says, premiums are going to go up. benefits are going to be cut. our health care system is going to change because we're going to migrate away from the employer-based health care system. some of us believe that's the intent offthe law that you passed. so, there is an important part of this ebate. first of all, we have a $13.5 there will debt. now i'm not going to -- trillion debt. now i'm not going to lay that all on my colleagues' shoulders, because a lot of that is our fault. we get it. we were put in the minority because of our frivolous, reckless spending. and i think you better be very, very careful that you're going down that same path. $13.5 trillion debt makes the argument to the public today that we have to pay for things. we have to pay for the services that we think are important.

and all the other things on the spending side, we didn't pay for it all. and i don't know about you and in your districts, my folks are saying, stop going into debt. stop obligating yourself to things that we cannot pay for. stop mortgaging our grandchildren's future. so that's what this is about. that's why we support this bill. because you know what? it's paid for. maybe we are getting the message. maybe we're turning the corner. maybe we realize now that if the importaat enough to have, it's important enough to pay for. this costs $6.4 billion. it is a 2.2% increase in reimbursement lefts drg levels. if the bill is not passed, medicare physicians will --

levels. if the bill is not passed, medicare physicians will face a reduction in reimbursement rates and we want them to be paid for their services. curious, it ends in november. things happen in november. december's not paid for. january's not paid for. in fact, as we went along this process, we had month extensions throughout this process. instead of addressing the issue early on. i'll be honest, mr. speaker, we'll accept a lot of our blame for the position we're in. but we're not in the majority now. and the public has changed. and they say, start paying for the services that you think are important, whether it's discretionary or it's entitlement. and that's why we support this bill, the doctors need it. i appreciate my colleagues and their support in the debate and i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i reserve the balance. i think i have the right to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 30 seconds. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, let's pass this bill and go on to fix this problem. we owe it to the seniors who were promised medicare coverage and medicare coverage means that they ought to have access to physicians who are paid for the care that they give those medicare recipients. i urge an aye vote. yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: i understand the senate is about to vote, i think has begun its vote, on the comprehensive jobs bill. helping to pay for it so that companies on't ship jobs overseas. so what we're doing now in view

of what seems inevitable in the senate, to take up one piece of that bill, the s.g.r. provision is in the bill now before the senate and that i'm afraid will be turned down. and what the fact is, we have to act, because patience -- patients, military personnel, their physicians need action. but it's the inaction of republicans in the other house that really has brought us -- is brings us to this point. -- bringing us to this point. and despite efforts by the majority leader in the senate in the other house, the finance chair in the other body, it now seems absolutely certain there won't be a single republican

vote for that comprehensive bill that has this piece in itt. what the democrats in the other body have faced is a republican failing, without a single one on the minority side willing to step up and vote for a bill that this country needs. so i serve notice. we on this side will not give up . a million and a half americans today who are out of work, who are looking for work, have lost their benefits because of the failings in the other body. there's reference to turning the corner here, no, the ajority -- the minority in the other house, as was true here, have been

turning their backs. so much is at stake. i mentioned just a few parts of that bill. the r&d tax credit, build america bonds that have helped put millions of people to work, provisions regarding housing, summer employment for 300,000 young people who want to work, who need work. so because of this among republicans in the other body as was true here we were faced with this alternative, to pass this so-called fix now. in and it's interesting, we tried some months -- and it's interesting, we tried some months ago to have a permanent resolution of this and as

mentioned, only one republican voted for it. in may we had a 19-month provision in the jobs bill and it just could not pass the senate apparently and very, very few, if any, here on the republican side supported it. so here we are, the republican failings, we're going to act on this, and i assure you, we on this side will not give up on the basic interest of the american people. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time has expired. he question is will the house is weekend the suspend the rules and concur on the senate amendment. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the senate amendments are agreed to and -- mr. shimkus: mr. speaker, i ask for a recorded vote. yeas and nays, i'm sorry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman asks for the yeas and nays.

the yeas and nays are requeste. 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 0 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to the conference report for h.r. 2194,the comprehensive iran sanctions accountability and divestment act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: an act to amend the iran sanctions act of 1996, to enhance united states diplomatic efforts with respect to iran by expanding economic sanctiins against iran. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. berman, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. berman: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five ledge dative stays -- legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. berman: i ask unanimous consent to extend the pierce of debate on this conference report by five minutes -- five mmnutes on each side equally divided between myself and the ranking member. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the request? without objection, so ordered. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i yield myself four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. berman: mr. speaker, the

conference agreement for h.r. 2194 is by far the most comprehensive iran sanctions legislation congress has ever passed. this legislation greatly strengthens our nation's overall sanctions regime regarding iran, enhances the prospect that we will be able to dissuade teran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions in blatant defiance of the international as reaffirmed once again this month in u.n. security council resolution 1929. like the house bill passed in december, the conference agreement imposes sanctions on foreign entities that sell refined petroleum to iran, assist iran with its domestic refining capacity, plugs a critical gap now sanctions rejet stream by imposing sanctions on foreign entities that sell iran goods or services to help it develop its energy sector. some believe iran has prepared itself for tougher energy sanctions by reducing its dependence on the import of

refined petroleum to ensure that our sanctions are as effective as possible, we added a potent new financial measure in conference that, if applied effectively by the administration, has the potential to be a game changer that provision sanctions foreign banks that deal with the iran's revolutionary guard corps or other blang listed iranian institutions including iranian banks in terrorism, foreign banks involved in facilitating such activities would be shut out of the u.s. financial system and u.s. banks would not be allowed to deal with them. the conference report also requires the executive branch to pursue all credible evidence of sanctionable activity. we have been profoundly unhappy over the years that successive administrations failed to implement the 1996 iran sanctions act. our bill will also put an end to the absurd practice of the u.s. government awarding contracts to companies engaged

in sanctionable activity. in addition, the legislation imposes penalties on iran's human rights abudesers, sanctions foreign entities that provide iran with the means to stifle freedom of expression. this portion of the bill will absolutely not terminate until + iran unconditionally releases all political prisoners and ends torture of citizens engaged in peaceful political activity. finally, the conference committee will help empower iran's democratic -- iran's exemption by transfering from our embargo by transferring to help them overcome this. doing nothing certainly won't work. in light of iran's rapid progress toward achieve agnew clear weapons capability, tie taye ran's repeated rejection of president obama's diplomatic

overtures, the measures in this conference agreement if implemented effectively are our best, and i believe our only, hope for a positive and peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue. the two alternatives to strong sanctions are both horrible and horrifying. either employing the military option or even worse, accepting nevittability of iran as a nuclear power. the u.s. congress needs to do everything it can to ensure we can avoid both of these miserable results. we have taken some steps in the past. we can do far more today by voting to pass the enhanced sanctions and h.r. 2194 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from -- the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: there have been many examples of states through history which were targeted by rising enemies but

failed to take action to prevent a potential threat from becoming a mortal one. this is at the crux of today's debate that congress will be sending to the president a long list of sanctions for him to implement. if they are implemented vigorously this legislation could constitute decisive action to compel the iranian regime to end its nuclear weapons pursuit to end its chemical and biological weapons and missile program, end its state sponsorship of global jihaddist and cease being a significant threat to our nation to our interests and to our important critical allies such as the democratic jewish state of israel. if, as success every u.s. administrations have done, the sanctions are ignored, we will have failed the american people. the iranian regime has been constructing the means to make nuclear weapons along with the missiles with which to strike other countries for decades. 15 years ago, the u.s. took the

lead to stop iran. the u.s. demonstrated its commitment by withdrawing from commercial activities involving this rogue state. congress then enacted the iran sanctions act hoping to use it as leverage for cooperation from our allies in preventing the iranian threat from escalating the 1996 law sought consultations first but called for the imposition of sanctions unless allied governments had, and i quote, taken specific and effective actions including as appropriate the imposition of penalties to terminate the involvement, end quote, of their nntionals in the sanctionable activities. but as the iranian threat has grown, our allies have taken very limited steps regarding iran. the international community has merely supported tepid u.n. security council resolutions that impose modest sanctions on the regime while restating the

willingtons engage in negotiations and offer concessions to tehran. some countries have actively opposed placing any punitive measures on the iranian regime, despite the fact that its violations of its international obligations have been repeatedly demonstrated by the international atomic energy agency. russia and china in particular have acted as surrogates for iran and watered down every proposed security council reeolution. there the regime in tehran has reason to be grateful for their efforts and their tireless work on their behalf. how sad. now the u.s. has chosen to reward the likes of russia by removing sanctions on entities assisting the iranian nuclear missile program and offering the russian federation a nuclear cooperation agreement on the same day that the russian president offered the

same nuclear deal to the syrian regime. we are at a defining moment, mr. speaker. the opportunity we have before us in the form of this conference report may well prove to be one of the last best hopes to force iran to end its nuclear weapons policeman and its policies that threaten our security. when appointed as a conferee for this bill was for the final product to have a comprehensive,,crippling sanction policy targeting the iranian regime. in principle, this conference report is a step forward. it expands the types of sanctions and the range of actors and activities to be sanctioned in an effort to strike at the iranian regime's key vulnerabilities, especially its dependence on refined petroleum. the most important are a set of financial measures that, if implemented, would force foreign financial institutions to choose between doing business with iran or with us

in the united states. it also increases penalties on violators, unffrpblt it contain ascii element that could significantly undercut its effectiveness. multiple exceptions and waivers for the president and executive branch officials. that means that by a stroke of a pen, substantive provisions can be transformed into mere recommendations or options. we must not allow this to happen. mr. speaker, i would like to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from illinois, mr. kirk to submit his statement into the record. mr. kirk: i thank the ranking member and i want to thank my colleague, rob anders, because we wrote the first version of this legislation in 2005. it's been five years of work, i want to commend the chairman for bringing it to the floor, i have a prepared statement i'd like to insert in the record, with one simple statement. mr. president, sign this bill and then seal off iran's gas.

that is the best way to empower diplomacy. the gasoline sanction is the only sanction that has the correct chance of working. this has overwhelming bipartisan consensus, supported by 512 members of congress to back this. i want to thank my original partner on this, congressman and druse of new jersey. ms. ros-lehtinen: we reserve the balance of our time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: i'm pleased to yield to the chairman of the armed services committee, mr. skillton, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: che gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. skelton: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman from california for yielding to me and i rise in strong support of this bill. this bill is a good will and -- bill and i urge my colleagues to support it and in my capacity as chairman of the house armed services committee, i'm very familiar with the

potential threat posed by the iranian nuclear weapons program to the united states and to our allies. an iran armed with nuclear with weapons and the means to use them and governed by fa nan gnatics would pose a great threat to the united states, our troops in the roe region and our allies, particularly israel. this administration is taking significant steps to dissuade iran from heading down the path of developing nuclear weapons. president obama pushed sanctions through the united nations security council and developed a new missile defense program in europe to show the iranian government their weapons programs cannot harm us. only themselves. the administration has made significant strides but congress can help those efforts in this billion -- and this bill would sanction those companies that sell technology services or no how to help iran

develop its energy sector. it would lock out of the united states markets any bank that deals with iranian revolutionary guard corps. the nuclear program or terrorism. it imposes penalties on those foreign entities which provide iran with the ability to stifle freedom of speech. mr. speaker, these are real sanctions, targeted in the right way to hopefully head off a real threat. sanctions are our best hope of dissuading iran from developing nuclear weapons. we've reached out to them and tried to deal with them diplomatically but they refuse to deal openly and honestly. sanctions are the right steps to take at this time and courage -- and i encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i'm proud to yield three minutes tt the gentleman from virginia, mr. cantor, the esteemed minority whip. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for

three minutes. mr. cantor: i thank the gentlelady from florida and i commend her in her leadership as well as the gentleman from california in accomplishing this momentous feat of bringing this conference report to the floor, mr. speaker. i rise in favor of this conference report. mr. speaker, winston churchill famously said that the price of greatness is responsibility. with each passing day, the ruling regime in iran defiantly moves one step closer to acquiring nuclear weapons. a prospect that everyone knows would have fatal and irremember rabble consequences across the globe. as thee the free world's unparalleled moral, economic, and military power, we have a responsibility to provide strong leadership to head off the iranian threat. it's time to see the iranian regime not for what we wish it was but for how it really is.

17 months of engagement has yielded us just one u.n. resolution defanged by countries such -- defamed by countries such as russia and china but yield ide tehran 18 critical months to ramp up uranium enrichment. today the house will vote on the most sweeping set of sanctions iran has jet to face. by penalizing international companies that enrich the iranian regime and enable the nuclear program this legislation represents our strongest hope yet to bring peaceful resolution to this crisii. mr. speaker, congress and the administration must resolve to do all we can to cut off iran's economic lifeline. once this legislation moves past congress, the ball is in the white house's court. the ability to hold international companies

accountable rests with the president. i urge him to sign the bill and immediately implement these tough sanctions. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this conference report. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: yes, mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield to the chairman of the middle east and south asia subcommittee who has been a wonderful partner on this legislation, the gentleman from new york, mr. ackerman, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. ackerman: i thank the chairman for his leadership. mr. speaker, this bill has peace, real peace, great big, nasty sharp teeth that are finally going to force businesses and banks around the world to choose between the american economy and financial system or business as usual with iran's dictatorship. this bill has real sanctions. not maybe sanctions, not sort of sanctions, but real sanctions. this bill has real sanctions

investigations requirements, not maybe we'll look at and not we'll try to get it -- to it when we can. but clear and legal requirements to investigate potential violations. in short, this is a bill that forces the question, will the world watch passively as iran crosses the nuclear arms threshold or are will we join together to compel iran to pull back from the nuclear brink? we cannot guarantee the success of these measures. ultimately the choices lie with the regime in tehran. but it should be clear that we are doing all we can to impose on iran the highest possible cost for its defines that we are demonstrating by our actions and by our efforts, the depths of our commitment to peacefully ending iran's nuclear activities. we are try diplomacy, we are trying unilateral sanctions, we are trying multilateral sanctions, we are trying our utmost to make conflict inevitable. but there should be no question about the absolute determination of the united states to prevent

iran from acquiring the capability to produce nuclear weapons. iran's illicit nuclear activities and programs must stop. above all other considerations, above all other costs, without any doubt or with uncertainty, iran's nuclear program must be stopped. it must be stopped and we begin that today. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm so pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from indiana, mr. pence, the chairman of the house republican conference, a member of the committee on foreign affairs and a house conferee on this measure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutee. mr. pence: i thank the distinguished gentlelady for yield and for her leadership on this important legislation. i also want to commend chairman berman who worked in good faith on this legislation as well. it's my honor to serve on the conference committee. and i rise in support of the iran sanctions accountability and divestment act.

i believe this legislation is urgent and it represents measurable and meaningful progress in the united states effort economically and diplomatically isolate iran in the midst of its head-long rush to obtain a usable nuclear weapon. %% it is important not only that we adopt the iran sanctions bill today, it is important that this administration forcefully implement this legislation. we know the nature of the threat. iran's made no secret of its intent to use nuclear weapons. the threat in the united states and our allies, president ahmadinejad said in 2005, and i quote, humankind shall soon experience a world without the united states and without zionism, closed quote. led by this antiamerican, antiisrael president, iran is long associated with terrorist organizations and this is the central point.

not only would this rogue regime come into possession of usable nuclear weapons, should sanctions fail, but would only be a matter of time before terrorist organizations around the world would have access to this technology. and that is unacceptable. but as we adopt these important sanctions, a word of caution. as has been noted, these sanctions include a number of waivers demanded by the obama administration. it is essential that the obama administration carry out the clear congressional intent of passing crippling sanks on the energy and financial sectors in iran. as the joint plan istory statement provides, quote, the effeetiveness of this act will depend on its forceful implementation. iran could be merely months away from acquiring nuclear weapons, they continue to test vehicles that could deliver it, now is the moment for decisive action by the congress and decisive implementation. if we act and this administration forcefully implements these sanctions, we

may yet see a future of security and peace in the middle east. but if we fail to act, or if these sanctions are not forcefully implemented, history may well judge this congress and this government in the harsh aftermath of a flash of light, a rush of wind and a second historic tragedy. let that not be the case. let us act in concert today, let us adopt these iran sanctions and, mr. president, do not waven these sanctions -- waven theee sanctions. i yield back -- waive these sanctions. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield to the chairman of the house ways andd means committee, a key member of the conference committee on this bill, a bill that has a number of areas within the jurisdiction of the ways and means committee, my friend, the gentleman from micchigan, mr. levin, for two

minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. levin: i want to congratulate mr. berman and the ranking member. this indeed is a critical achievement. not only because it send as clear and unbe a bim white house message that iran must end its pursuit of nuclear weapons, but because it provides the president with powerful tools to achieve this crucial objective. it will reinforce and enhance the administration's efforts regarding iran. it provides the administration with a renewed mandate and substantial leverage to employ against the regime of iran. toward the goal of stopping its development of weapons of mass + destruction and support of terrorism, what could be more important? it is also not only fundamentally in the national interest, but in the interest of

the international community. a nuclearized iran that supports terrorism is simply unacceptable. it is encouraging that the u.s. is not acting alone. the international community has spoken. thanks to the administration's leadership, supported by this congress, and the support of key allies, the u.n. security council adopted expansive and severe sanctions on iran. in this legislation -- and this legislation builds off the security council sanctions. diplomacy and strong multilateral sanctions have been a critical part of this -- part of this process. the more countries that participate in this mission, the more effective it will be and this bill, thanks to the leadership here, has built on this essential premise. i look forward to the passage of this legislation and i thank the administration for its

leadership on this issue and you, mr. chairman, for your tremendous work on moving this legislation forward. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from indiana, mr. burton, the ranking member on the foreign affairs subcommittee, on middle east and south asia, as well as a house conferee on this important measure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's recognized for two minutes. mr. burton: mr. speaker, if i were talking to the president right now, i would remind him that lord chamberlain flew to munich in the late 1930's and signed agreement -- an agreement with her hitler that led to 60 million people being killed in world war ii. 60 million. we were not in the nuclear age at that time but we still lost 60 million people in this world. we are now in the nuclear age and that's why this legislation is so important.

there are waivers in this bill and that really troubles me. didn't want there to be any waivers in this conference report, but they're there. the president can waive these sanctions. and i would just like to say, if i were talking to the president, look at history, mr. president. look at what happened because of a weak-kneed approach back in the late 1930's that led to 60 million people dying in woled -- world war ii. and don't let that happen now. we need to let ahmadinejad and the leaders in iran know that we mean business and that means don't waive any of the sanctions we're passing here today. you have the authority, but don't do it. they're building a nuclear weapon, everybody in the world knows it, and if a nuclear weapon is set off, millions will die. and it could lead to a con flig ration that would be worldwide -- conflagration that would be worldwide in scope. there are problems with this bill, i'd like to thank the chairman and the ranking member for the harddwork they've put into it. i wish those waivers weren't there, but they are. so we're talking now, if i were talking to the president, that's

what i would say to him. and i'd also like to say, don't let the russians get awhich with continuing to give nuclear technology and other technology to the iran ans -- iranians. with that said i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mook, i'm pleased to yield to my -- mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield to my friend from oregon, mr. blumenauer, four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. blumenauer: i thank the gentleman. i rise in reluctant opposition. but reluctant, i want to acknowledge the hard work of my friend and colleague, chairman berman, in piloting this legislation through difficult times. he made some important improvements and i appreciate his willingness to delay final action while the administration negotiated ar-reaching multinational sanctions against the iranian regime. i'm also reluctant because i understand what animates this legislation. we are all appalled at the

repressive behavior of the regime towards itt own people, the destabilizing effort it has in the international arena and we all recoil at the prospect of nuclear weapons falling in the hands of this regime. the problem is, the legislation is not likely to accomplish these ends and poses problems for this, indeed, any administration to be able to conduct the foreign policy of the united states. i would also oppose restrictions of this nature on the clinton administration or the bush administration. the irony is that congress seeks to impose its will as exactly the time the obama administration has secured significant diplomatic success. i'm concerned that enacting the legislation cuts our credibility going forward. as long as the global economy runs on oil, iran's massive reserves continue to make them a player. the world will buy their oil and the world will sell them refined oil products. even with additional sanctions, the question is not will it work, but who is profittng and

how? it stands likely that the revolutionary guard in countries like china will benefit and not one member of the iran an elite will lack for gasoline while ordinary iranians will go without. this is particularly counterproductive when one notes by all accounts that every day iranians -- everyday iranians still like americans. yet this legislation allows the regime to rally support by blaming the united states for hardships. they will use this as an opportunity to end their current unsustainable subsidies for petroleum products which they would have been forced to do anyway, only now they get to blame america. this approach has been a failure in the past, notably with cuba, where our unyielding, aggressive sanctions policy, if anything, has propped up a regime that would have fallen into the dust bin of history years ago. they didn't stop north korea from nuclear weapons. the sanctions policy against iraq produced suffering for the

people but made no difference to saddam hussein. most recently, years of harsh sanctions in gaza, much easier to enforce than against iran, did not topple hamas, but strengthened it. while it created a very difficult humanitarian situation. this legislation will, undoubtedly, pass. while it makes some people feel better to seem like they're doing something, i strongly suspect it will have little constructive result on iranian behavior, perhaps undercut support of the iranian people for the united states and our principles, and is setting a precedent for congress seeking to direct the conduct of american foreign policy. this goes beyond republicans and democrats, beyond the obama administration. it's a path think a think we should all be reluctant to take and it is why i am voting no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida.

ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i yield 2 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. ed royce, the ranking member on the foreign affairs subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade and a house conferee on this measure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. royce: i thank the gentlelady for yield diagnose, yielding and in response to the previous speaker, i remind my colleagues that sanctions did work in south africa and that south africa gave up its atomic weapons program. the threat, my friends, in iran is crystal clear. and its regime closes in on a nuclear weapon. so a crystal clear response by us is urgent. while i support this bill, much of this legislation unfortunately is a muddle. good sanctions, good sanctions in this bill are weakened by delays and by the possibility of

waiver after waiver. for this, the obama administration gets the main blame. from the beginning it has insisted on excessive leeway to implement new sanctions. it doesn't want to be forced into dramatic actton. so, yes, we do provide the tools with this bill, they're in there. but there's little guarantee that those tools will be used. for example, the house bill aimed to target iran's energy sector. yet with this conference report, a foreign oil company could avoid even the investigation required to sanction it for at least one year. the many companies from china and elsewhere rapidly building iran's energy facilities today will be surely exempted from these sanctions. this reports aggressive financial sanctions that likely aim at iran's revolutionary

guard corps. while while important, they too can be waived. the so called mandatory financial sanctions aren't even mandatory. this report does require a barrage of reports, certifications and other executive branch paper, meanwhile in the real world, iran marches on. i.d. be less critical -- i'd be less critical if the obama administration or if previous administrations had applied a single sanction using existing iran sanctions legislation. instead, it has naively -- the obama administration has naively given iran time with its engagement policy. i'll be supporting this bill because it does give the administration the tools should it wish to use those tools. more likely, it will have to be pressured into action. mr. speaker, either -- even

thorough bust sanctions may not deter iran, we need to strengthen our missile defense, target iran's human rights abusers and bolster its oppositton movement. the clock is ticking. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. >> mr. speaker, i'd like to recognize myself for 30 seconds. my friend from california raises, as others have, the issue of waivers. i just want to remind the body, this legislation has increased the standard of her waivers. tightened the situation and waivers can be given. mr. berman: remember, we're talking about a process i hope will be rarely used and i think we have to push that notion. we're not talking about ahmadinejad giving the waivers or the supreme leaders giving the waivers, the violating company giving the waivers. we're talking about a president of the united states hopefully utilizing the enhanced standard waiver authority, a president who has spent more time

diplomatically and in every other way trying to stop iran from achieving this goal than any other president in the history of this country has ever done. i'll stand with this legislation, with this authority, with this president as the toughest, most comprehensive sanctions ever on the iran nuclear weapons program. and now i would like to yield two minutes to the the gentleman from new york, a key supporter of this legislation, the chairman of the western hemisphere subcommittee, elliot engel. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. rangel: i thank chairman berman for letting me speak and i strongly support this act. i'm a proud co-sponsor of the bill. this is a bipartisan bill, as you can hear, and should be passed. last fall, the world learned of a secret iranian nuclear enrichment facility. if there was ever any doubt that iran was trying to build nuclear

weapons, this revolution dispeled any shred of our doufment we need strong sanctions on iran to halt the development of nuclear weapons. iran must not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb. i commend president obama and secretary clinton for achieving the strong fourth round of u.n. sanctions against iran and for bringing russia and china onboard. the chairman of the western hem fear subcommittee, i'd like to call attention that venezuelan president hugo chavez at one time agreed to provide 20,000 barrels per day of refined gasoline to iran and to invest in the iranian natural gas sector. iran is an importer of refined gas and this bill will hit them where it hurts, in the energy and financial sectors. i'd liie to also support my support for section 110 of the bill which requires a report on other energy imports into iran. the u.s. and brazil are the world's largest ethanol producers and i'm glad to hear from brazil's private ethanol producers that they have no plan to supply ethanol to iran, bbending it to gasoline, as they

prefer to build a global export market an cord by the u.s. and european markets. that's why this bill is so important. we must continue to monitor this area, the ethanol imports could undermine energy sanctions on iran. it has been recognized that a nuclear armed iran would be a danger not only to israel but also to the entire middle east and the nuclear non-proliferation regime and is sun acceptable, when ahmadinejad says he wants to wipe israel off the face of the earth, he means it. when he calls the u.s. the great state, he means it. we need this bill to hit them where it hurts and i urge my colleagues to vote for this bill today. i yield back. ms. ros-lehtinen: thankkyou, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i'm proud to yield to mr. garrett, the ranking member on government sponsored enterprises as well as a house conferee on this measure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognizeded for two minutes.

mr. garrett: i thank the gentlelady. many have urged me to ensure congress enacts strong sanctions. we are all too well aware of the existential threat that a nuclear powered iran would be. but today we are about to pass a conference report that was supposed to protect americans and our allies. if that was our goal, i believe we only have partial success. as a conferee representative, i do admit that the sanctions themselves have been approved. i was pleased to see the legislation would cut off the connections between the u.s. financial sector and foreign financial institutions that do business with iran. yet the conference report, ye it does add additional types of sanctions and extends the range of current sanctions. but i remind my colleagues that these punishths are hardly crippling. they're hardly tough. they're hardly sweeping or even expanded if they're never enforced. now, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim that this time they'll work. but let me remind them a little bit of history. in 1996, congress passed the

original iran sanction legislation, but in the last 14 years, no president has imposed sanctions even though he has had the authority from congress to do so. in fact, only one investigation was ever initiated. i'd say this this report is really only a half measure, a half bill, because 50% of it depends on who? on president obama's willingness to implement the sanctions quickly. this legislation does in fact have seven separate waivers with the president and many votes. there are three different waiver thresholds. the end result is that the president has the option of enforcing most of the punitive measures outlined in the report. multiple democrats have attempted to reassure me. they'd say that they will now pressure the president to implement the sanctions outlined in this legislation. we've been hearing that for 16 months. we've been told that the president's attempts to engage the u.n. about iran would produce diplomatic gains. really, the past resolution was hardly that significant of a

success. further more, president obama himself recognized two weeks ago that iran canceled a nuclear enrichment facility, b, it violated its own obligation, it's enriching uranium up to 20%. mr. berman: i'm very pleased to yield one minute to mr. crowley. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. crowley: i was proud to meet with the committee that negotiated the sanctions disability act. i will strongly support the passage of this agreement. this tough set of sanctions that is said that the government of the united states will not stand by idly as iran threatens its

neighbors. en under this measure, my company doing business with iran will undergo serious scrutiny and could be subject to tough penalties. the sanction's measures will also ensure that we expose those that have committed serious acts of abuse against iranians who are struggling for democracy and free do. right now iran is being led by ahmadinejad. his authority is not only illegitimate because of how iran's elections were conducted but because of his blatant disregard for the community. he has now pressed ahead with uranium enrichment and bothed that the new sanctions are nothing but, and i quote, worthless paper. he stands in clear and stark defiance of the national atomic agency and the entire world's nuclear non-proliferation efforts. we must act now. we're going to show ahmadinejad that the u.n. sanctions and these we are about to pass today are not worthless paper. he is about to be proven very, very wrong that the days of the united states turns a blind eye

are now officially over. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i'm proud to yield one minute to the gentleman from nebraska, mr. fortenberry, a member of our committee on foreign affairs. the speaker pro tempore: jise for one minute. mr. fortenberry: mr. speaker, the time to stop iran's nuclear drive is running very short. unless the community of responsible nations takes decisive actions, the world will soon awake to the headline iran has a nuclear bomb. a nuclear-armed iran will pose a very real threat to civilization itself, increasing the dangers of a destabilizing nuclear arms race in the world's most volatile region. iran clearly doubts the collective resolve of world powers. it's not difficult to see why. while some european leaders vacillate, european corporations continue to do business with iran. and russia and china as well

continue to exploit international hesitancy for their own geopolitical and financial gain. the community of responsible nations must prevail upon iran to abandon its dangerous nuclear ambitionn and forge a new path to security and stability for itself. we all look forward to the day when iran is governed by leaders who fully respect the right to their own people and faithfully observe the obligations of international law. today iran's sanctions legislation represents an intermediate yet important step in that sustained effort. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california? mr. berman: please to recognize the the gentleman from new york, mr. mcmahon, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mcmahon: i am proud with this conference report our country will be at the forefront of protecting israel and the entire international community against a growing threat of

nuclear-related terrorism and an arms race in the middle east. this sanction package takes a firm stand against an active state sponsored terror of iran by broadening the categories of the islamic republic sanctionable activities well beyond the realm of refined petroleum. further more with increased global cooperation on the sanctions effort and measures to isolate ahmadinejad's thugs from raping, murdering, and censoring their own people, these sanctions would not be complete. for this reason, i aplalled the in-- applaud the inclusion of the mcmahon requirement and my bill h.r. 4647 the iran human sanctions act into this bill. i know that americans will rest much more comfortably knowing that the criminals of ahmadinejad's regime now cannot step foot on u.s. soil. this bill is necessary to the security of our ally israel, to our nation, and to the world. i therefore urge all of my colleagues to vote for it, and i i yield back the balance of my

time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to mr. roskam, an esteemed member of the ways and means committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. roskam: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. history is incredibly helpful for us at a time like this. aagust 13, 1961, there was an order given to move forward and put up the berlin wall. at first, it was just barbed wire that morning. and over a period of time, as we know, it moved from barbed wire to concrete, and ultimately to the wall, and really the edifice that was the sim bomb of an -- symbol of an impressive rejeesm i think we're wise to be measured and sobered by those acts in history. this legislation is a step toward dealing with the incrementalist vision that ahmadinejad in iran has. it's been said there are weaknesses in the bill. the weakness is putting a lot of

trust frankly in an administration that has underperformed in in area. my hope and expectation is that the administration will use this tool, recognize the serious threat, and recognize the type of tool that they're able to use to go after this regime. this is an important piece of legislation. i'm pleased to support it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: could i ask how much time there is remaining on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california has 7 1/2 minutes, and the gentlelady from california has 6 1/2 minutes. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to the speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker is recognized for one minute. the speaker: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i thank him for his great leadershhp in bringing this very

important legislation to the floor and i want to commend leader hoyer and whip cantor for the bipartisan spirit with which this bill was brought to the floor. the leadership of the committee, mr. berman, ranking member russ leighton, thank you to both of you for your leadership. bringing us together around this very important issue. i'm proud to rise in strong support of the comprehensive iran sanctions accountability and divestment act, which will provide the president with more tools to address the looming nuclear threat from iran. . all members of congress agree that a nuclear iran is unacceptable. it is a threat to the region, the united states and our allies across the globe. the regime has demonstrated its refusal to work in good faith to eliminate the threat of nuclear

weapons in the middle east and around the world. iran has concealed major nuclear facilities, repeatedly blocked u.n. inspectors from doing their jobs and wants to wipe israel off the face of the map. these actions are a clear record of defiance. and iran must be a peafl partner in the international community and we must use all the tools at our disposal to stop iran's march towards nuclear capability. this month under president obama's leadership, the u.n. security council passed its far-reaching set of sanctions targeting its nuclear program and financial system. today with the passage of this legislation and when it goes to

the president's desk to be signed, we will give the president new tools to impose sanctions against companies that sell iran technology so this the materials for its energy and petroleum sector and offer foreign banks a choice, they can deal with institutions that support weapons of mass destruction and terrorist activities or do business with the united states. this is the strongest iran sanctions legislation ever passed by the congress. my colleagues, no discussion of iran at this time is possible without condemning the actions of the iran ran regime when they responded to public protests with deadly force. the american people stand for peace and security for the people of iran. we look forward to a lip with them. we look forward to a day when iran is a productive partner for

us, its neighbors and the world. until that day, we must ensure that iran is prevented from obtaining the nuclear weapons that would threaten global and regional security. again, i thank our distinguished chairman, mr. berman, ranking member, ms. ros-lehtinen, mr. hoyer and mr. cantor for giving us this opportunity in a strong bipartisan way to support the comprehensive iran sanctions accountability and divestment act and hope we can have a unanimous vote today. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from arizona, mr. franks, the chairman of the national security working group of the republican study committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for onn minute. mr. franks: i rise in strong support as a co-sponsor of this bill. mr. speaker, we live in a moment in history when the terrorist state of iran is on the brink of developing nuclear weapons. if that occurs, all other issues will be wiped from the table and whatever challenges we have in dealing with iran today will

pale in comparison in dealing with an iran that has nuclear weapons. the obama administration has pretended to pursue effective u.n. and u.s. sanctions against iran and mr. obama hasn't enforced the sanctions that exist in the law against one company doing business with iran. the question is, will the president enforce the new sanctions we are about to pass or will he waive them like he has all the others. ppmr. speaker, the last window will ever have to stop iran from gaining nuclear weapons is rapidly closing. i pray the obama administration will wake up in time to prevent iran from becoming a nuclear armed nation and bringing nuclear terrorism to this and future generations. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california mr. berman: i yield one minute to our distinguished member from the conference committee, the

chairman -- vice chair of the foreign affairs subcommittee on nuclear nonproliferation, ppterrorism and international trade, my friend from georgia, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: thank you very much, chairman berman and i commend you for the excellent leadership you provided on this extraordinarily critical issue. ladies and gentlemen of the congress, on the bleached bones of many great past civilizations are written those words, too late. they moved too late. and let us hope and let us pray that we're not moving too late here on this measure. ppthis is a critical piece of legislation. the iranian regime without any question is after securing a nuclear weapon. the iranian regime has already declared that they want to wwpe

israel off the face of the earth. this, quite honestly, is our last best chance to avoid the only other way we will be able to prevent iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and that is through the use of military action. the only necessity for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. well, we're here today as good people and we're doing something very important bypassing this strong sanctions bill. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from kansas, mr. moran. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. moran: today we have before us the toughest most comprehensive iran sanctions ever considered by congress and i pray that we're not too late.

iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism funding and arming hezbollah and hamas and has produced enough low-enriched uranium to produce two nuclear weapons and has been converting low-enriched uranium to 20% which represents 85% of the work necessary to provide weapons-grade fuel. this bill imposes sanctions that if implemented makes iran think twice about continuing their illegal nuclear program. and there is a plan to all of this. our efforts have been half hearted. our determination to stop iran froo acquiring nuclear weapons capability must exceed iran's determination to get a bomb. president obama must immediately enforce these sanctions. we cannot and must not allow iran to have nuclear weapon capability. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california.

mr. berman: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield to my friend from california, a member of the committee and member of the conference committee, mr. costa, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. costa: thank you very much mr. chairman and mr. berman. i stand in strong support of the conference report h.r. 2194 that iran sanctions accountability and divestment act of 2010. as a conference committee member, i know this piece legislation represents a monumental step forward in the fight against iran's nuclear arms quest. these sanctions are a dramatic improvement. these tough new petroleum and financial sanctions will put further restrictions on the ability of the iranian regime to continue their nuclear aspirations and their oppression of the iranian people that has

been well documented before and since the elections a year ago. these sanctions will send a strong signal that our nation will not stand for the development of this regime's nuclear arms program. especially with such violent threats against israel and others in the region. this legislation is an important part of the solution as we keep all our options onnthe table for our long-standing concerns about the prospect of a nuclear iran. i encourage my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from texas, judge poe, a member of our committee on foreign affairs. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. our quarrel is not with the people of iran but with the government of iran and its consistent philosophy to did he instruct israel and also to the

violations of human rights that it commits against its own people. the people of iran have spoken out against their government and because of that, they have been brutalized, jailed, shot and they have been imprisoned for a long time all because of freedom of speech. the sanctions in this resolution go against those in the government of iran who deny human rights to their own people. and that is one aspect of this resolution that is very important to make sure that the people of iran, the good folks in iran who want to replace the government have the ability -- human rights and especially that ability of freedom of speech, freedom to speak out against their illegitimate government that seeks to destroy not only the state of israel, but the entire west. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: yes, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that we extend the time for debate by 10

minutes divided equally between the chair and the ranking member. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? the chair hears objection. mr. berman: i yield one minute to the majority leader of the house, a tough task master on this issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. hoyer: i want to thank the chairman for yielding and i want to thank ms. ros-lehtinen for their leadership. she continues to show on a repeated basis on this issue and so many other issues. i thank mr. berman. i very much wanted to get this to the floor to move this this week. he has done that. i want to thank senator dodd as well for his work and i thank ault the members of the subcommittee -- all the members of the subcommittee. and i want to thank rob andrews of new jersey who is so vital to the central idea of how we can

put appropriate pressure on this. i want to say to my republican friends who have been talking about the obama administration. frankly, the bush administration and the obama administration both have been working towards trying to resolve this issue with iran. frankly, the obama administration has for the first time gotten a strong resolution through the security council. we had the opportunity to meet with the president of russia, ranking member ros-lehtinen and speaker and i and others, mr. berman and he said it was a tough thing to do, but he worked very closely with president obama and they were able to get it done. so this is not a time for pointing fingers. we're united on this. %% this is not a difference but a unity, a unity of purpose and commitment. every one of us understands the

deep danger of a nuclear iran. that danger includes a new nuclear arms race as iran's rivals scramble to build arsenals indivisible with liberty and justice for all.ing the world into proliferation. no one wants that. the danger includes a nuclear umbrella for terrorist groups like hamas and hezbollah to surge more than -- more braisen and deadly attacks especially on israel, but not exclusively. there are 250,000 americans as we speak in harm's way from iran as we speak. and the danger includes on a more basic level a new era of fear in range of iran's missiles. all of those consequences will be felt even if iran's missiles remained on the launch pad. or if the nuclear weapons remain

buried. could we imagine those weapons being used. we would be foolish not to. as long as those weapons are in the hands of a regime whose president denies the holocaust, stokes hatred and openly threatens iran's neighbors. even so, our administration has pursued a dual-track strategy with respect to iran. on the one side is the administration's policy of engagement. i support that policy. john kennedy said that we should never fear to negotiate, but we ought never to negotiate out of fear. i think he was correct. jim baker, in the days before we went into kuwait was talking to saddam hussein to see if the matter could be resolved. on the one side, as i said, is that policy of engagement.

this engagement reveesed years of diplomatic silence during which iran's nuclear program grew. it showed the world our patience, tested iran's willingness to negotiate in good faith and built international support for sanctions. sadly, the time limit for engagement has come and gone. it is time to pursue the second prong, pressure. the international atomic energy agency tells us that iran has now enough low-enriched uranium for two bombs. iran has attempted to hide nuclear facilities and refused to cooperate with the demands of the national atomic energy agency and the u.n. security council to suspend enrichment. let's be clear, iran has defied the will of the international community. this is unacceptable. that is not a partisan position, it is an almost unanimous

position of the administration and of this congress. that is why this is the right time to bring strong economic pressure to bear on the iranian regime. i rise in strong support of this resolution. i urge its support. and i again thank mr. berman and ms. ros-lehtinen for their leadership in bringing this critical resolution to the floor. and i join my colleagues as well in saying that enforcement of the resolutions that iran has adopted, that our european colleagues have adopted and this resolution will be critical and the understanding that is to be enforced, needs to be understood by iran and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i yield myself the remaining time. . the sanctions of 1996 have never been imposed on a single

individual or a company. only once has a company even been found to be in violation of its provisions, the sanctions were immediately waived by the clinton administration due to the protests by russians, french, and malaysian governments, which did not want their companies penalized for doing business with iran. it should be noted that the same companies, reash, france, malaysia, are still providing the iranian regime a vital economic lifeline through energy-related investments. i and other members of the conference committee had hoped that this bill before us would avoid repeatinggpast mistakes, that is avoid undermining its effectiveness by giving the president an option of doing + nothing. this was not to be. the result is that the president has authorized to waive not only the opposition of sanctions for refined petroleum sanctions or investment in an energy sector and aid to iran's weapons of mass destruction, missiles and advanced conventional weapons, but even basic investigations

and determinations of some sanctionable activities. with respect to the inclusion of financial sanctions and a visa ban against those committing serious homeland securities abuses -- human rights abuses against the iranian people, not only can the president waive the sanctions, he can waive the requirements by listing them publicly. some will argue that this bill goes further than any before enforcing the president to act. however, it is disingenuous to make such a claim, given that the president could have issued an executive order to implement a wide array of additional iran sanctions, but he didn't. the version passed by the house prohibited the entry to force of a nuclear agreement of any country assissing iranian proliferation. its purpose was to prevent a company that is undermining u.s. efforts to stop iran's nuclear weapons program from being rewarded with a lucrative nuclear cop ration agreement. that prohibition is not included

in the conference report. the text before us does include the prohibition in the house passed bill on transfers of u.s. nuclear technology to a country that has jurisdiction over entities that have assisted iran's proliferation programs. however, it provides the president with what amounts to a waiver to approve such transfers on a case by case basis and if the president deems it to be in the vital national security interests. it also wipes the slate clean regarding any proliferation violations that took place before the date that this bill is enacted. some of us view this to be a copout for russia. mr. speaker, at long last the time has come for us to act. the time is now. we should support the conference report and ensure that the sanctions are vigorously enforced. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: gentlewoman yields back.

the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, could you tell me the remaining time on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 3 1/2 minutes. the minority has yielded back the time. mr. berman: i am very pleased to yield to my neighbor from california, ms. holland. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. >> i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: i'm pleased to yield to the the gentleman from colorado for unanimous consent. >> i rise today to submit my statement in support of the act of iran developing nuclear weapons. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: i'm pleased to yield to the the gentlelady from texas, a valued member of our

committee, ms. sheila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i rise, mr. speaker, in strong support of h.r. 2194 and i ask unanimous consent to submit my statement to avoid the nuclear attack that iran represents to the world and to israel. i rise to give strong support to h.r. 2194 and ask my colleagues to support it. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, -- the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield unfortunately only one minute to really the author of the procurement -- mandatory procurement sanctions in this legislation, the gentleman from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to support the act. i am proud the final bill includes my amendment requiring companies that are applying for contracts within the united states government to affirmatively certify they do not conduct business with iran.

mr. kline: this legislation gives -- mr. klein: we cannot allow iran to continue to its pursuit of nuclear weapons. not on our watch and certainly not on our dime. as a conferee, i'm proud the final bill also takes into account new developments. iran is attempting to circumvent global sanctions and this bill seeks to cut off their strategies such as uranium investments with companies like b.p. in joint ventures outside of iran. i would also like to thank chairman berman and ranking member ros-lehtinen for their leadership and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, for unanimous consent request, i'm pleased to yield to the gentleman from florida, mr. deutsche, the author of the country's first state iran

disinvestment legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. deutsche deutsche -- mr. deutsche: i ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: i'm very pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, the first member as was mentioned earlier, the first member on our side to come up with a concept of sanctions on refined petroleum, the former head of the iran working group, mr. andrews for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. i'd like to thank my friend for his leadership. this is what bipartisan looks like. the risk that we're working against today is not simply a missile striking innocent people halfway around the world. it would be a nuclear i.e.d. striking people around the

corner. make no mistake about it. one of the risks that we confront is a nuclear weapon iran that can make highly enriched uranium might well share that highly enriched uranium with a terrorist group, and the next s.u.v. that's parked in times square might have a nuclear i.e.d. in it. iran could very well be the source of such an attack. we must stop that. and this legislation today goes in that direction. for those who say that the iranians don't fear sanctions, then why did they try to strike this deal with brazil and turkey on the eve of the u.n. sanctions? the people that say that energy sanctions won't work, then why have the iranians tried to embark on a crash course to replace gasoline with natural gas? this is the right move at the right time. i thank my chairman for authoring it and urge a yes vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: i am pleased to

yield to a member of our committee who has been a great supporter of this legislation, the gentlelady from nevada, 55 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for 55 seconds. >> thank you, mr. chairman. he has done a remarkable job on this legislation. i rise today in strong support of this legislation. iran's nuclear program represents as much of a threat to the united states, to europe, to the arab world, as it does to israel. ms. berkley: it's absolutely essential that we stop this terrorist supporting and financing, murder rist, anti-semitic, holocaust denying regime. it seeks to destroy israel, dominate the entire middle east, and to do that by acquiring nuclear weapons. what this bill does today is it says not on our watch. we will not be intiiidated. we will not be fooled. we will not allow iran to acquire nuclear weapons.

if iran acquires nuclear weapons, it will unleash a dangerous and uuprecedented arms race throughout the middle east, the likes of which the world has never seen. introducing nuclear weapons in the middle east can only add to the destabilization of an already unstable part of the world. what a frightening thought. i urge support for this bill and i yield back the balance of my 55 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker,,i yield myself the remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 35 seconds. mr. berman: i want to thank all my colleagues who played a pivotal role. i would like to thank chris dodd , staff, my ranking member, ms. ros-lehtinen, mr. hoyer, and mr. cantor, all the conferees. the staff director for the minority, he drives a hard

bargain. and the wonderful staff on our side led by rick kasler, mr. daniel silverbuug, ed rice, and robert marcus. and with that, i urge all my colleagues to suppprt the legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. those in favor say aye. those opposed no. the rules suspended. the conference report is agreed to. without objection the motion -- mr. berman: mr. speaker, may i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman asks for the yeas and nays. all those in favor, those remain standing. sufficient number having risen, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, a motion to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. motion to suspend the rules by the yeas and nays. motion to suspend the rules on the conference report of h.r. 2194 by the yeas and nays. the first elect tronic vote will be conducted, it's a 15-minute vote. the second vote will be conductee as a five-minute vote. the unfinished business, gentleman michigan, mr. levin, to suspend the rules to h.r. 3962 on which the yeas and nays are reported. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: an act to provide affordable quality health care for all americans and reduce the growth and health care spending and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules. the members will record their vote by electronic device. this will be a 15-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 yeas are 415, the nays are one. 2/3 being in the affirmative. the senate amendments are agreed.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 417. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the amendments are agreed to.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 417. the nays are one. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. the senate amendments are agreed to, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unffnished business is a vote on the motion of the gentleman from california mr. berman to suspend the rules and adopt a conference report on h.r. 2194 in which the yeas and nays were reported. + the clerk will report the title. the clerk: an act to amend the iran sanctions act of 1996, to enhance united states diplomatic efforts with respect to iran by expanding economic sanctions against iran. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and adopt the

conference report. 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 408, the nays are eight. one recorded as present. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the

conference report is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair lays before the house an enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 3962, an act to provide a physician payment update to provide penks -- pension funding relief and for other purposes.

the speaker pro tempore: the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1373 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution 1373, resolution expressing support for designation of the week beginning may 2, 2010, as national fiscal education and support week. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed say no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1359 as amended which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution

1359, resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of israeli soldier ga lad shalit held captive by hamas and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: he question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. 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 resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from california, r. costa, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1457 on which the yeas and nays are orderrd. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1457, resolution expressing the sense of the house of representatives on the one-year anniversary of the government of iran's fraudulent manipulation of iranian elections, the

government of iran's continued denial of human rights and democracy to the people of iran, and the government of iran's %% continued pursuit of a nuclear weapon's capability.%% the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. if the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is

agreed to and withouttobjection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow and further when the houss adjourns on that day it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p.m. on monday next for morning hour debate and further when the house adjourns on that day it adjourn to meet at 10uck30 a.m. on tuesday, june 29 -- 10:30 a.m., on tuesday, june 29, 2010, for morning hour debate and noon for business. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chaar will entertain requests for one-minute speeches.

for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? mr. gingrey: address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. gingrey: mr. speaker, i would like to congratulate the city of georgia for being recognized as an all-american city in the recent contest sponsored by the national civic league. acworth of part of georgia's 11th congressional district, the district that i am privileged to represent. and after spending a good bit of time around town, i can tell you that ackworth truly embodies what's best about america. the city recently raised $1 million to build a special needs field which will give kids with disabilities a chance to play sports. ackworth's police department and citizens ran the bases of one of these fields for 24 hours as part of a fundraiser to build

the facilitt. the finalists in the all-american contest traveled to kansas city to give presentations on their efforts. ackworth sent 40 members of their delegation along with 25 of these special needs children and indeed no surprise finished in the top 10. mr. speaker, i want to offer my congratulations to the ackworth community, as i am very proud to represent this city in congress. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: are there further one-minute requests? for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas rise? >> i ask to address the house, revise and extend my remarks for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. johnson: -- ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is right. will members please take their

conversations off the floor. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, we have had a good week and i'm very grateful that we had the opportunity today to say to the doctors of america that we are committed to your practice, your medicine and your caring for our seniors. in addition we were able to say to iran, who has called for the extinction of israel, has caused the existence of a camp in iraq, and literally tried to destroy disdepartments and resisters -- dissidents and resisters for democracy, that we will not tolerate an iran that's nuclear armed. and so i'm glad that we passed iran sanctions act. but we have more to do and i'm grateful that the president saw fit to change command in afghanistan. it was unfortunate that the command of the commander in chief was not respected. but we know that this is a civilian government and the

military respects a civilian leadership that must be. but now we must turn to estaalishing a pathway out of afghanistan. we must go after the terrorists that threaten us. but we must recognize that smart power, political power, diplomatic power, empowwring the people, providing for education is the way we will solve the afghanistan problem, not 30,000 soldiers that are engaged in war. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: are there further one-minute requests? for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska stand? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house, revise and extend their remarks and include therein extraneous material. mr. poe, july 1, for five minutes, mr. jones, july 1, for

five minutes. mr. burton, june 28, 29 and 30, july 1, for five minutes. ms. foxx, today, for five minutes, mr. mack today for five minutes, and mr. fortenberry today for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentlelady from pennsylvania rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes, to revise and extend their remarks and include therein extraneous material. mrs. dahlkemper: mr. towns from new york, ms. woolsey from california, mrs. dahlkemper from california, ms. kaptur from ohio and mr. defazio from oregon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and previous order of the house, the

following members are recognized for five minutes each. moran, kansas, town, new york. without oojection, the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for five minutes. mr. fortenberry: mr. speaker, on tuesday morning, under the beautiful prairie sky, u.s. army specialist blaine edward reding was laid to rest in an old and is he convenient platts moth, nebrassa, cemetery. specialist reding was a 22-year-old newly wed, married just 10 weeks to nicky, before a roadside bomb took his life in afghanistan on june 7. he died along with four other soldiers, two of whom were his ccose friends. blaine reding followed a tradition, a family tradition,

of service to our nation. in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, heeding the call to duty was also important to blaine's younger brother, private logan reding, who was also serving in afghanistan in the 101st airborne just 15 miles away. upon learning of his brother's death, private reding dutyfully escorted blaine's flag-draped coffin back to doven air force base to meet their parents, as well as nicky. mr. speaker, at the funeral, dozens of patriot guard riders, children with their mothers with their hands over their hearts, saluting veterans, local officials and hundreds of citizens lined the streets, reverendly bearing american flags to honor specialist reding's sacrifice. a hand-painted sign said, thank you, blaine. also in attendance were sali

allen and monica alexander, two mothers from nearby towns whose sons were killed during their service in iraq. they simply came just to show their support. by the many heartwarming accounts i heard from his loved ones on tuesday, he was a beloved son, friend and husband. he cared deeply about his family and this country. he had served before in iraq and volunteered for another tour of duty in afghanistan. mr. speaker, my heart is heavy from the loss of specialist reding. i am deeply humbled by his service and his sacrifice and i wish god's blessing upon him and his family during this difficult time. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. >> i ask permission to take his time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from pennsylvania may proceed for five minutes. mrs. dahlkemper: mr. speaker, it is with a heavy heart that i rise today to honor the lives of two fallen heroes from western pennsylvania, sergeant first class robert psych of con yetville, and staff sergeant brian hoover of lindora, pennsylvania, made the ultimate sacrifice while defending our nation in afghanistan. on june 11, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the bazaar in southern afghanistan.

sergeant first class fike, 38 years old, and his friend, staff sergeant hoover, 29 years old, were on foot patrol. both of these brave men were killed in the explosion. they were members of the pennsylvania army national guard's company c, first battalion, 110th infantry based in pennsylvania. they shared a passion for service to our country. they were patriots, soldiers, and good men. robert fike and bryan hoover were friends who fought and ultrapatly sacrificed side by side. robert fike was the third generation of his family to be a member of the armed forces. he joined the pennsylvania national guard in 1993 after earning a degree in organic chemistry in 1992. during his law and military career, he served two tours

overseas in saudi arabia from 2002 to 2003 and in iraq from 2011 to 2008. protecting his community and his country was a way of life for robert. every month, he drove the two hours from his home in crawford county to johnstown for specializee drills with the 20th military police company. robert also worked as a prison guard at the state correctional institute. he was a loving son and father. roberttis survived by his parents james and christine and his 12-year-old daughter mackenzie. he was a father figure to chelsea and a beloved friend to many. for his brave service and sacrifice, sergeant first class robert fike was awarded the purple heart, the army commendation medal, the army achievement medal, the armed forces reserve medal, the global war or -- on terrorism, and the

iraq campaign med dasm staff sergeant bryannhoover dreamt of being in the army even as a child. he enlisted in the army national guard in 2005 and previously served in the marines. bryan served a total of four tours overseas. two in afghanistan, one in iraq, and one in kuwait. he truly lived to serve our nation. to his fellow soldiers, he was one of them. but to the students of elizabeth forward high school in elizabeth, pennsylvania, he was known as coach hoover. bryan was the assistant cross-country and track coach at his alma mater where he had graduated in 2000. bryan loved sports and was a talented athlete himself who particularly enjoyed hockey. he earned a degree in sports management from california university of pennsylvania. for his bravery in the field, sergeant first class bryan

hoover was awarded the purple heart. bryan is survived by his father melvin hoover, his brothers richard and ben, his sister samantha, his grandfather ray bradford, his stepmother, and his fiancee ashley tack. his mother deborah jean preceded bryan in death. it is my sad duty to enter the names of sergeant first class robert fike and staff sergeant bryan hoover in the record of the united states house of representatives for their service, sacrifice, and commitment to our country and to our freedom. while we struggle to express our sorrow over this loss, we can certainly take pride in the examples robert and bryan set as soldiers and friends. today and always, they will be remembered as true american heroes, and we cherish their legacies. may god grant strength and peace to all those who mourn and may

god be withhall of you as i know he is with robert and bryan. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jones. the gentlelady from california, ms. woolsey. the gentlelady from indiana, -- the gentleman indiana, mr. burtoon. the gentlelady from ohio, ms. captor. the gentleman from virginia, mr. foshes. -- forbes. the gentleman from ork mr. defazio. gentlelady florida, ms. ros-lehtinen.

the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert. the gentleman from minnesota, mr. paulson. the gentlelady from north carolina, ms. fox. the gentleman from florida, mr. mack. the gentleman from arizona, mr. fraaks. under the speaker's annouuced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentleman from georgia, mr. gingrey, is recognized for six minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. gingrey: mr. speaker, i

thank you, and i thank my leadership on the republican side, leader boehner and our leadership team to give me the opportunity this evening before this packed house chamber. of course, mr. speaker, with the exception of those few names that you just read off. but on this occasion of the three-month anniversary, if you will, the three-month anniversary of the signage into law of the health care reform bill better known as patient protection and affordaale care act of 2010, sometimes referred to with no disrespect as obama care. not unlike hilary care of 1993, which never became law. mr. speaker, indeed when i say

obama care, i do not mean any disrespect, although i consistently, along with my colleagues on this side of the aisle, voted against the passage of that legislation. i would hope -- mr. speaker, i would hope when we on my side of the aisle on behalf of the american people who overwhelmingly continue three months after passage of this bill, continue in all polls taken oppose this legislation, so when my republican colleagues and i, mr. speaker, regain the majority and control this chamber and we repeal obama care and we replace it with legislation that i'm going to talk a little bit about tonight,

i would not be offended in the least, mr. speaker, if they called it gingrey care. or maybe even better, dr. gingrey care. i would be very proud of that. mr. speaker, the concerns i think of the american people and their continued opposition to this reform is not that they are opposed to certain health insurance industry reforms, no, not at all. nor are we in the loyal minority . things like the rescission of a policy after the fact. so many of our colleagues in their own families or maybe their distant relatives, extended families have seen situations like that where

health insurance, industry abuse directly affected their families . i have a grand niece who went in to the hospital, mr. speaker, to have a gallbladder removed. it was an emergency situation. and after the fact, she was told that the health insurance that they had had for a number of years, her family, of course, her mom and dad that covered the children, was not going to cover, would not be applicable because somewhere in filling out that policy, eight, 10, 12, 14 pages worth of minutia, they failed to dot one i or cross one t. fortunately, as a member f congress, and this is what we do in regard to helping not just our constituents but our family

members as well, we were able to get the insurance company to pay that claim. but people across the country are rightly outraged about health insurance abuse, and we need to change that. we need indeed to make sure that people with preexisting conditions have a way to be able to get affordable health insurance, and certainly that can be done and is being done even before this bill, mr. speaker, in a number of states where they have these high-riss pools, and the health insurance companies that are licensed to sell their product in those specific states like my state of georgia, are required to participate in these high-risk pools. they are not allowed to charge, say an arm and a leg, that really gets medical, doesn't it? but you know what i mean, my colleagues. way and above four or five times

what a standard policy premium would be. well, that's a de facto denial of coverage. and so we all agree that that needed to be changed, and the american people would like to see that changed. of course they would. but their concern -- and i see this, mr. speaker, every time i go back home, and i go home, as most my colleagues do, as soon as we get out of here we head to the airport so we can get back in our districts and have those town hall meetings and go to see folks at senior centers and church and rotary clubs, and wherever our constituents are, ballparks with their children on saturdays. and we talk to them about these things, and more importantly, we listen to them. what i have heard from day one, mr. speaker, i'm talking about a year and a half ago, was why are

we doing this? why are we doing this when 15 million of us are out of work. the unemployment rate in georgia is 10%, a little higher in my 11th congressional district of northwest georgia. we need to go back to work. wwy are you men and women in congress -- democratic majority, republican minority, why aren't y'all working together in a bipartisan way to stimulate this economy and to put us back to work? many of us have been out of work for six months or more, and we don't have health insurance, but you know what? we don't havv a job either. and we will take our old job back even if we don't have health insurance. eventually we'll be concerned about that, but right now, we can't put groceries on the table. we can't clothe our children.

we can't pay our taxes. we cannot pay the mortgage on our home. we're going to lose the roof over our head, and you guys are spending a year and a half trying to figure out how to come up with a trillion dollars -- you know how you're doing it. you're doing it by slashing the medicare program to the bone. $500 billion worth. and you're raising taxes, $575 billion worth. how is that going to create jobs? so, mr. speaker, that's what -- that's why the people were opposed to this. that's why the people in the commonwealth of massachusetts, the bay state, elected scott brown to replace teddy kennedy. a senate seat i guess held by the kennedy family going back to our former president, j.f.k.

all those years, and not really -- the whole delegation in massachusetts is totally democrat. but the people in the bay state -- when scott brown was campaigning, mr. speaker, what was his main point to make on behalf of his candidacy? i am going to go to washington if you give me this opportunity, a decent candidate in her own right. you give me this opportunity, and i am going to be the 41st vote in the united states senate, and you know what that means, that means that stops this bill dead in its tracks under regular order, under normal operating procedures.

and the people of massachusetts understood that, understood that very clearly. they were, mr. speaker, very concerned, weren't they, about commonwealth care. they had had about two, 2 1/2, three years of that, and they knew, that the cost of health insurance with that kind of approach, those premiums didn't go down, they went up. they wanted no more of that. they wanted the honorable senator scott brown now to go to washington and be that 41st vote so that cloture could not be invoked, the filibuster could not be overridden and this bill could be stopped dead in its tracks. and it would have been, mr. speaker. it would have been. except for smoke and mirrors, hook or by crook, promising everything, anything you have to to get a vote and then this

arcane strange stuff called reconciliation. and really, mr. speaker, and my colleagues, what was done here three months ago, we're celebrating the three-month anniversary, a bill, a massive 2,500-page bill was crammed down the throats of the american people. now, they ain't done, they ain't done. i will say this, mr. speaker, it ain't over, it isn't over. it isn't over until the people win. it isn't over until the people win. and i tell them, i tell them in georgia and my colleagues tell them all across the country, you resist, you resist, you continue to resist. don't roll over and say, it's

done, itts passed, there's nothing we can do about it. yes, there is. yes, there is. we can resist, we can resist, we can resist right up until november 2 and then we can make some changes, we can't change hearts so we change faces. and then we repeal. and then we start over. and then we start over. and we do this in the right way. we do it indeed by making sure that health insurance companies don't continue to literally abuse their clients by rescission of policies, by denying coverage, all of these things we can take care of and we can do that probably in six or eight pages worth of legislation. it doesn't take 2,500. it doesn't take the creation of 130 new bureaucracies.

it doesn't take 15,000 new i.r.s. agents to go over with a fine toothed comb everybody's return to make sure that they not only have a health insurance policy but the one the government dictates to them. and lo and behold if they don't, they get to pay a fine, eventually up to something like $695 and if they don't pay the fine, mr. speaker, john q. public gets to go to jail, spend a little time in the cross bar hotel, as my father used to call it. cross bar hotel. can you imagine, can you imagine in this country that that could happen? under the ruse of the commerce clause? indeed, what does the commerce clause of our constitution say? i know i've got it here somewhere in my pocket. i try to keep that with me all

the time. in fact, i tell folks in my district, if you catch me with -- without it, first person that catches me, i'll have a $5 bill in my pocket to hand to ttem. but when you look at the commerce clause, it doesn't mandate commerce, it regulates commerce. and that's so important, mr. speaker, for our colleagues to remember. you can't mandate to someone that they engage in commerce. that they buy something against their will. if they're involved in commerce and it's interstate and i realize most commerce is interstate, then the government's heavy hand is always involved, tooregulate. but to mandate? to tell a young man or woman who has just graduated from college or maybe had a nice job opportunity straight out of high

school and they're, you know, making less than $25,000 a year, they take care of themselves, they're healthy, they were an athlete in high school or college, they don't smoke, they don't drink, they're not obese, they don't have a family history of heart disease or cancer, indeed their families seem to have a good gene, grandparents are in their late 90's, those people that decide, even though maybe their employer offers health insurance, and pays 60% of the premium or 50% of the premium but they've got to pay the other half and they can't afford it, they just can't afford it, so they opt to take a chance and hope that that healthy living will serve them well and it will be many years before they'll have a need to spend a great deal of money on

health insurance. you tell me, mr. speaker, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, you tell me this that they should not be allowed to do that in this country? to continue to forever be able to make that choice? i'm not, as a physician member, going to stand up here and say that that's what i would advise them to do, no, i mean, i'd be glad to do a public service announcement if somebody would pay for it, saying, folks, you know, don't take that chance now. you know it's kind of like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. might look cool and your side burns are flapping in the breeze but there's a tree up ahead or somebody's going to run a stop sign and you don't have much protection. i would encourage them to, you know, to try to economize and maybe have a health insurance policy that has a very low monthly premium and a high deductible, that deductible let's say is $3,000 or $4,000,

in other words, they're going to have to pay the first $3,000 or $4,000 each and every year of health care expenditures out of their own pocket. but in return for that, their monthly premium is low, very affordable, and it gives them catastrophic coverage. so that if they do hit that tree on ma motorcycle without hat helmet and they have a massive head injury and they're not dead but they're in a coma for a long, long time, that they're not financially totally wiped out, forced into bankruptcy. they had that kind of protection. well, that's called a health savings account, combined with that low monthly premium, high deductible with catastrophic coverage. those plans, mr. speaker, have gotten so popular, they were limited by teddy kennedy back

when they were first proposed a number of years ago, but since then they have been expanded and are very popular with young people. so many of these folks that are so-called uninsured, they're really not uninsured. they have some coverage. and it is good coverage. but under this bill, under this bill, now i know people say, well, that doesn't kick in until 2014, 2013, hey, mr. speaker, it seemed like yesterday when i walked off the campus of a high school, in augusta, georgia, in 1960. and i thought i was done learning and grown up and, you know, and it seemed like that was yesterday. and by golly the been 50 years ago. so the time flies. it will be like a blink of an eye will be at 2014, 2013, and

all these horrendous requirements ii this bill, obamacare, will kick in like the requirement under penalty of law, with those i.r.s. agents, 15,000 of them, looking over your returns. ah, we caught another one. i don't know, maybe they get a bonus every time they catch some poor young individual who's not poor enough to be eligible for medicaid or schip, that's taken a chance and even those that have the insurance but it's not adequate because the federal government said, oh, that's not good enough, we want first dollar coverage, we'll cut this deal with the insurance company for them to go along with obamacare and we're going to require first dollar coverage. that's the kind of thing that really, mr. speaker, is appalling to me as a physician member. i am honored to be co-chair of

the g.o.p. doctors caucus, along where my good friend from pennsylvania, psychologist tim murphy, child psychologist, author of several books, now lieutenant commander in the naval reserves. these are the kind of folks on my side of the aisle, there are about 15 of us, most are m.d.'s, probably 375 years worth of clinical experience. the whole spectrum of specialties, whether it's ob-gyn, my specialty, or family practice, the specialty of dr. john fleming, gastrointerology, the specialty of dr. bill cassidy, psychologist, the specialty of tim murphy, ob-gyn, again the specialty of mike burgess and phil roe, orthopedic

surgery, the specialty of my colleague from georgia, tom price, family practice, indeed house call medicine, the specialty of my colleague, again, from georgia, dr. paul broun. i could go on and on. these are members on our side of the aisle who are just begging, calling, writing letters to the white house, let us participate. let us -- we know, we know about that sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. we know what rationing will do and the fear that our seniors have of being rationed because they're too old to have taxpayer dollars spent on their hip replacement. so you just say, no, take a couple ofed a vill and we'll buy you a -- of advil, we'll buy you a walker, maybe even a

wheelchair, although that's debatable as well. and, mr. speaker, you know, to compound this problem, obamacare, now our president has named the new director of medicare, c.m.s., committee on medicare and medicaid services, there's now a new director, dr. donald bearwick. he may be a fine human being, i'm sure he is, mr. speaker, i don't know him personally, but i have read quotes and i know that he's written a book and one of those quotes, and i'm not going to be able to give it never bait am, but, basically, -- verbatim, but basically, mr. speaker, it says, it's not if we need to ration, it's that we need to

ration with our eyes wide open. it's not if we need to ration care, but that we ration with our eyes wide open. i'm looking forward to, as a member of the energy and commerce committee, and the health subcommittee, to having dr. bearwick soon after his appointment as director of c.m.s. to come before the committee and explain to us just what he means by that. so that the seniors who are relying on medicare, like my mom, my 92-year-old mom, is she going to be able, as she did last year, to have her knee operated on? or is she just going to get a walker and a bottle of advil and

told, you're just too old? you know, we can't afford it. we're going to ration care. well, this is, again, this is what people are concerned about and, mr. speaker, i'll tell you, when half of the paid for, the trillion dollars, to be able to get what? an additional $15 -- 15 million or 20 million people into some kind of a health care coverage, whether it's these state exchanges or eventually i'm convinced that the real plan is to go to a u.k.-type system, canadian-type system and have national health insurance, national health insurance. federal government to take over 1/6 of our economy, 1/6 of our entire gross domestic product.