debt sufficient case our economy, joblessness increasing, creating uncertainty in which small business can not survive, credit not available, increasing taxes, creeping in at every level, we now know that we cannot keep our doctor or insurance. we the people see no leadership. as the president treads water, as america looks for leadership, small businesses paralyzed with uncertainty as our elderly watch their health care rationed and fearful for their future, as our families lose their confidence in leadership, all of this poses the virtual collapse of the american dream. the refusal to acknowledge reality is causing undue human suffering, prolonging the agony of massive unemployment, creating confusion and doubt in our military and sending international messages of u.s. indecision and weakness. .

mr. griffith: it's time for action. it's time for us, the american people, to restore the american dream. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you very much. mr. speaker, i rise to express my strong support on social security. this year we celebrate 75 years of this critical program and must reaffirm our commitment not only to protect it but to ensure its continuing viability. american senior citizens have lived through wars -- they pioneer technologies in communication, transportation and industry. and these remarkable achievements demonstrate the strength and character of our older americans, underscoring the debt of gratitude that we owe to generationes that have given so much, a generation that includes my own parents who are celebrating birthdays this week and next. unfortunately, the recent recession has reminded us that economic prosperity is never a guarantee, and in times of such

uncertainty our nation's seniors need to stead -- the steadiness of social security now more than ever. mr. mcintyre: we must remember that privatizing certain aspects of social security would strengthen if, some say. i urge not. i ask my colleagues to reject privatizing social security and risk our seniors' well-being with a volatile, unpredictible market. i ask my colleagues to come together to continue the promise that was made 75 years ago for those that have given so much to our society. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. davis: nearly a year and a half after our president told our country that an $8 -- mr. roe: nearly a year and a half after our president told our country that our unemployment would be not above

8%, we are nearly at 10%. we had a net loss of jobs. now, the democrats are telling our country we need to double down on the economic policies and increase our debt and deficits to finance more spending. how does that make any sense whatsoever? if you don't have a job we want to you find one. however, we know that if congress continues irresponsible spending that will make economic growth and job creation less likely. and that's why republicans are insisting on finding spending cuts. it's time to tell the administration that they've maxed out america's credit card and asked them to start working with the american people to get our fiscal house in order. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from massachusetts rise? >> -- ms. seungas: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. tsongas: i have heard from

many of these struggling families. my u.i. benefits have just run out. the u.i. check is food and other necessary its while i drawdown savings to keep my house. from lowell, i have always had a very good job. i work hard, pay taxes and i certainly have not been living in excess. last july my company had to cut staff and my entire team was let go. i have never had a problem finding a job, but this search has been extremely difficult. unemployment benefits help me to stay on track with life's basic necessary its such as food, gas and insurance. losing them has caused desperate action on my part. from westford, pleast extend unemployment benefits -- please extend unemployment benefits for all americans. i know many solid citizens who are actively and vigorously job seeking to no avail, including my wife. help. i urge my senate colleagues to

pass this desperately needed extension. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. when the stimulus bill became law, unemployment stood at 8.2%. mr. mcclintock: today, a year and a half and hundreds of billions of dollars later, unemployment is 9.5%. this spending binge hasn't made things better. it's made things demonstrably worse because before government can put money into the economy it first takes that money out of the economy. we see the job created when government puts the money back but we don't see the jobs are lost because government first took that money out of the economy. when we borrow trillions of dollars, we crowd out the very same capital pool that would otherwise have been available for businesses to create jobs so those jobs don't get created

and the ranks of the unemployed grow. these are the same policies that turned the recession of 1929 into the depression of the 1930's. do we really want to repeat that? the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. social security is a pledge to hardworking americans that they will be able to retire with dignity they deserve. as this treasured program reaches its 75th anniversary, we have a responsibility to guarantee that it remains strong for future generations. but as we work toward improving the long-term solvency of this program, we must avoid making ill-advised changes like creating volatile private accounts that could grow millions of seniors into poverty. these are tough economic times, particularly for seniors on fixed incomes. rising health care, energy and housing costs mean too many

seniors do not have the resources they need to live comfortably. now more than ever, social security is a critical safety net for millions of americans. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work together to strengthen the social security program for current and future generations. hardworking americans deserve to look forward to a financially secure retirement. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to be able to revise and extend and -- revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. bright: mr. speaker, i -- ms. brown-waite: mr. speaker, in fact, you can't pay the rent with road signs because landlords prefer checks. that's why the americans are so confused about the obama administration and why they're

spending tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money on road signs touting the success of the stimulus. i should have said so-called success of the stimulus. president obama assured the american people that he would not waste stimulus money. in fact, he even said that he would not waste one single nickel and that he would make famous anyone who wasted the money. well, i guess i'm making the president famous then because these signs are the most obscenely wasteful and gratuitous thing we have seen out of him yet. there is a reason why the majority has lost all credibility with the american people and there's a reason you have not created any jobs. that reason is posted along the side of our roads. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> to speak for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. klein: i rise to support social security, an essential lifeline that some 130,000 seniors in my congressional district depend on every day. social security an earned benefit that american workers have paid through a lifetime of their careers. that's why it's outrageous, at least from my perspective, to hear my colleagues to cut social security as a mechanism to reduce the deficit or to pay for the war in afghanistan. this is irresponsible, short sighted and overwhelmingly reckless and i will not stand for it. social security is one of the federal programs that has a dedicated source of revenue, what we pay into that has paid for itself in full over 75 years now without contributing to the national deficit. in south florida and around the country, seniors rely on social security as a stable, guaranteed source of income in their retirement years, particularly in these tough economic times. i adamantly oppose and will work to defeat any attempt to weaken america's social

security and pay down national debt on the backs of our seniors. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered, the gentleman is recognized. mr. stearns: mr. speaker, with the u.s. unemployment rates steadily hovering around 10%, americans continue to ask where are the jobs. the answer to this crisis from congressional democrats and the obama administration is higher taxes, increased government spending and more government regulation. the passage of obamacare, cap and trade in the house, and financial regulation has created an atmosphere of tremendous uncertainty. especially among small businesses which employ over half of all the private sector employees. uncertainty as we all know is the enemy of growth, investment and job creation. the way out of this recession and towards job creation is enact policies that free up

capital, reduce uncertainty and restore confidence in our economy. we cannot do this if the administration and congressional democrats continue to impose higher, costly regulations, higher taxes on job creators and create uncertainty in the marketplace. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, for 75 years social security has lift millions of seniors and disabled americans out of poverty. that is why i can't believe that republicans would cut social security benefits and make it harder for people who work all their lives to get benefits. social security is a sacred trust. it is a trust between the american government and the american people. it is a trust between parents and children, between those working and those in

retirement. it is an example of the beloved community in america. we will not allow anyone to cut social security. we will hold this sacred trust for generations yet to come. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i want to talk to you about jobs. i come into this chamber often to hear my democratic colleagues to hear how bad things were under the past administration, how much better we are under this president. well, i tell you one thing president bush gave us that this president can't give us and that's jobs. in 2003 we passed the second largest tax cuts in american history and we had 55 consecutive months of job growth in this country, the longest period of job growth in american history. mr. rogers: this president came into office and said if you give me nearly $1 trillion in a stimulus bill i'll make sure

unemployment doesn't go over 8%. well, we're at 10% and have been here most of this presidency and we see no end in sight. now we're talking about the unemployed. we have 10% of people hurting. they need unemployment benefits. we want to biff it to them. the president and speaker pelosi say the republicans are standing in the way. they're cold hearted. the problem is they can't get the democrats to vote for it because they want to borrow the money. we want to pay for them. we told the president just reach into your stimulus bill, unfunded stimulus funds and pay for it there. he doesn't want to do it because that's his political trust fund. he's using the unemployed as a political football. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. rogers: if that doesn't make you mad it ought to. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. garamendi: it's always good to go back to the district. i was there over the weekend. among those is a wedding. my 85-year-old mother came up

to me and said, john, does that republican colleague of yours want to cut social security to pay for the war? i said, i guess so, mom. no way, no how will the republicans get their way, either privatizing social security or cutting it to pay for the war. that's not going to happen. the democrats are been for social security since 75 years ago when it was first established and we remain strong to that commitment. it is there. it is the fundamental opportunity for retirees to have a foundation. no privatization and no cutting of social security despite what the republican leader might say. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. speaker, under this administration and this congress we have now seen

the largest deficits in history, the largest national debt in history, the failed stimulus plan, the health care takeover, cap and energy tax, a permanent wall street bailout, all of which has led to the loss of millions of jobs. near double-digit unemployment, the highest in a generation. so unfortunately under their policies, yes, we do need another extension of unemployment, but here's the difference. the democrats want to borrow 43 cents on the dollar, mainly from the chinese, and send the bill to our children and grandchildren. that's unacceptable. republicans say pay for it. and almost every week we come to the floor under the youcut program and offer spending reductions to do just that. the second difference is democrats actually believe more unemployment leads to more employment. the speaker of the house has said unemployment checks create jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name. mr. speaker, give me a break.

republicans know that americans want paychecks, not more unemployment checks. quit bankrupting america and pay for the unemployment insurance. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized, wowed. mr. inslee: one thing good about our country, we always look forward and not backwards and we are not going to go backwards to allow the privatization of social security. we are not going to go backwards to allow the removal of important protections against wall street, abuses of the u.s. economy. we are going to go forward, and we are not going to go backward on environmental protection. i say why this is important. this morning we were doing our investigation of the b.p. oil spill. we had to -- president bush's secretary of interior, gail norton, testifying. you know what we discovered? during the bush administration's rapid rampup of offshore drilling, they found that 50% of the blowout preventer that was supposed to be the fail-safe system that was supposed to prevent these

oil spills, 50% didn't work, but they refused to do anything about it it. they learned that they have a problem with their own investigators that the wells weren't being cremented appropriately, but they -- cemented appropriately but they refused to do anything about it. we are not going to let folks go backwards on social security, go backwards on wall street reform. this is a country that goes forward. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. frelinghuysen: mr. speaker, it's official. in late june the majority leader confirmed what we have known all along and suspected. there will be no budget this year. yet, for the first time since 1974, the house will not even consider a budget resolution that's necessary to begin the appropriation process. beginning in october 1. now, this may sound like inside baseball or congressional housekeeping, but it's much more than that. over the past month i have met with hundreds of constituents

who have the same questions, where are the jobs? my colleagues need to spend this summer working to improve our financial outlook, but create an environment for private sector job growth and opportunities. instead the majority has chosen to increase domestic spending by 84% since the president took office on inefficient programs that succeeded only in adding to the public debt. the finance spending binge, or borrowing more money from nations like china, japan, and saudi arabia, the people of new jersey and people across the nation know that we spend too much, tax too much, and we borrow too much. it's got to stop. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut rise? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. murphy: in water bury, connecticut, where unemployment today is 14.1%. everybody wants to talk about

jobs. the people of water bury have never shied away from hard work. it has a rich history of manufacturing making 24i7ks from boulder dam in colorado. today the unemployed in waterbury aren't just sitting on their hands waiting for a job to drop in their lap. unlike some on the right who try to suggest, they are not looking for a handout, either. they need help getting through this recession. outside the city limits of d.c. patience is running thin with republicans playing politics with people's ability to buy groceries and simply make ends meet during tough times. we can come out of this recession stronger than ever, but congress needs to do the right thing and extend unemployment benefits for people in waterbury and across this country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: mr. speaker, the administration says there will be spending 1,200 national guard troops to the southern border region on august 1 but they are not going to the actual border.

they'll be far behind the lines guarding computers. and the national guard will be unarmed while they are guarding the computers. the border patrol well covepls the national guard at the border, they appreciate the help, but the border patrol agents made it real clear, they need armed national guard to help them stop the criminal cartels at the border. further the border patrol will need to guard the national guard. how does that make sense? mr. speaker, we have 15 million unemployed americans already. we could hire some of those 15 million unemployed to do the technical work behind the lines and the national guard should be armed and on the frontlines of the border doing what they are trained to do, protect the country. we need the national guard with boots on the ground on the border, not rebooting computers somewhere behind the border. that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? without objection, the gentleman is recognized.

mr. hall: thank you, mr. speaker. republicans in congress are talking about dismantling our social security system. they want to privatize this important program, raise the retirement age, and make our seniors pay for the wars in iraq and afghanistan. this simply unacceptable. 75 years ago our nation made a promise to our seniors, we promised to help them through their golden years. this promise has served our nation well. allowing those who built this great country an opportunity to enjoy the flutes of their hard work. -- fruits of their hard work. social security is one of the most important successful programs in the united states history and a valuable program that helps more than 50 million seniors and disabled americans. our seniors depend on their monthly checks to put food on the table and roof over their heads. without this critical help, many of them would fall into poverty. social security should not be privatized and must remain intact for america's future generations. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise?

without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. olson: mr. speaker, as americans ask, where are the jobs, we see the job creation of one family at risk thanks to the president's ill-conceived offshore drilling moratorium. steamworks corporation was founded 32 years ago by frank and mary. while frank ran the shop, mary served as secretary an a truck driver to help out. their children grew up sweeping the floors and learning the business. working their way up in a company that today employs 70 people in the district i represent. the president's moratorium will cause them to lay off people soon if production doesn't restart quickly. jobs have already -- are already headed overseas as two rigs have left the gulf. the c.e.o. apologized for the quote, loss of u.s. jobs,

unquote, because of the moratorium. mr. speaker, this -- we must lift this job killing moratorium now. americans are tired of asking, where are the jobs? yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. baca: the american people know that we cannot go back to the failed policies of the bush administration and the republicans in congress. their lack of accountability and oversight costs eight million americans to lose their jobs. and led to the worst economic conditions since the great depression. thankfully president obama has led our efforts to rebuild a strong economic for the middle class and expand new jobs. with this leadership we have enacted laws, created millions of jobs and given 98% of the working families a tax break. increased health programs and

made student loans more affordable. jump started the auto industry with the cash for cluppingers. provided health insurance to 32 millions previously uninsured. the truth of the matter president obama and congressional democrats continue to move in the right direction. i ask my colleagues, where would we be right now if we were still stuck with the same republican policies of the past? i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. across this country and certainly throughout florida people have been asking and speaking out but leaders in washington have not been listening. with the new health care law to a national energy tax, americans have repeatedly said no to what this congress has had to offer. i have been listening and i heard loud and clear that my constituents like most americans are tired of new taxes, new spending, and record breaking deficits.

that's why the house republicans have launched americans speaking out.com. a new form where people across the country can share and discuss their ideas on a wide range of critical issues. we plan to offer a new set of policy solutions grounded in the principles of smaller, more accountable government and we want to engage the american people directly in building those solutions together from the start. changing course in washington will require americans to speak out. and congress to start listening. please visit americaspeaking out .com. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. social security benefits make a significant contribution to the well-being of many americans. today 83,545 persons in the seventh district of illinois

rely upon these payments to sustain their monthly living expenses. 59% of them are elderly and 11% are children. these persons receive an average monthly benefit of $996 a month, but the cost of living for rent and utilities in illinois being $957 per month, equating to 96% of their social security income. while we celebrate social security for the last 75 years, the american aged, disabled, and survivor population and their children, i encourage my colleagues to make sure these funds are sustained without further impact on the economic well-being of our most challenged population. thank you social security. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman.

on monday i introduce add resolution honoring a.t.f. special agent william g. clark of rochester, new york. one morning in 2008 while stationed in the united states virgin islands special agent clark witnessed a domestic dispute between his neighbor and her boyfriend who was drunk and on drugs. his neighbor was seen threatened and pleaded for his assistance and special agent clark did what his training taught him to do, he helped someone in need. while attempting to protect this female neighbor from being beaten, special agent clark was charged by her boyfriend who was swinging a large metal flashlight after retrieving a gun. he fired in self-defense. the man subsequently died from his injuries and special agent clark is now being charged with second degree murder. a justice department incident review panel has cleared special agent clark who remains on active duty. the panel unanimously found that special agent clark was enacting within the scope of employment and authority and there was no evidence of misconduct or

inappropriate action on the part of special agent clark. a.t.f. special agent william g. clark is a hero who was protecting a battered woman and congress should recognize his act. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i want to join all of you in wishing social security a happy 75th birthday. mr. neal: social security and medicare are two of the most successful legislative accomplishments in the history of the world. but not everyone in this body is celebrating social security's overwhelming success. there are many in this body on the other side who would like to privatize social security. remember the bush plan to tie social security to the fluctuation of the stock market. this is a gamble we should not take. it is an extraordinary american success story.

for those who are simultaneously trying to educate college-aged children and the thought of caring for elderly parents, let me give you the actuarial reality. it's impossible. simply put, the reason that mom and dad are not living in your attic is because of social security and medicare. it is the greatest achievement in legislative history domestically for all of the american families. happy birthday, social security. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. members are reminded not to traffic the well while someone is speaking. for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, on a happier note this weekend i had the great honor of participating in the 2010 special olympics national game opening ceremony in my hometown of lincoln, nebraska.

the pomp and passenger entry. official ceremony appropriately welcomed a very enthusiastic and excited audience of more than 3,000 athletes, 1,000 coaches, and 13,000 fans gathered at the university of nebraska. as i marched in with nebraska's delegation to the games, i was struck by how inspiring the moment was as the community loudly gathered to celebrate these very special athletes. the special olympics have grown tremendously. both in the number of participants but also in the heart of our nation. the special olympics oath is, quote, let me win, but if i cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. mr. speaker, to all of these brave and special athletes in lincoln's 2010 special olympic national games, i wish to extend a heartfelt congratulations. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california

rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. speier: thank you, mr. speaker. thomas curry and his family are my constituents. republicans are shamelessly blocking the extension of unemployment insurance. the republicans argue that people like thomas are lazy and would rather collect unemployment than work. well, let me tell you about thomas courier. he's 62. he he's worked his entire life and at one time owned his own business. after 25 years in the i.t. field he was laid off in august of 2008 and last month he finally lost his unemployment insurance. his wife needs surgery they can't afford, his daughter dropped out of college because they can't pay her tuition. not only has mr. courier lost his income, but as a result of the g.o.p. opposition, he's lost his dignity. i urge my republican colleagues in the senate to drop their indefensible rejection of dropping unemployment insurance and provide needed relief to

people like thomas courier. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. duncan: last week there were headlines saying that leaders on both sides of the aisle agree that we need to raise the social security retirement age to 70. before we do that we need to stop spending hundreds of billions we do not have on very unnecessary foreign wars, but we also need to revise the entire federal retirement system, both civilian and military. we cannot change the retirement systems for those already in the system. the political opposition would just be too strong. but we need to inform new federal hires and new military recruits that we can no longer allow healthy, able bodied people for people to retire in their late 30's or even 40's or 50's. local police fight street crime. almost no law enforcement is physical in nature. most can no longer be

justified. being a waiter is more physically demanding for most federal agencies. with a national debt, we cannot give relatively young people lavish retirement. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: wowed, the gentleman is recognized. -- without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. crowley: this past sunday on "meet the press," let the truth be known. as the republicans take power in congress he said, quote, we need to impback to the exact same agenda, unquote. the exact same agenda. the one that lost eight million manufacturing jobs in this country, the one that tried to privatize social security, the one that drove our country into a ditch. yep, that same agenda. what does privatization really

-- of social security really mean? it means taking your money and letting wall street play with it. we saw how well that worked over the past few years when the republicans controlled this house. retirement lost one third of their value during the republican majority. they want to return to the exact same agenda of the bush republican years. america, make sure congress knows social security is your money. you earned it, you paid for it, it is your future. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from hawaii rise? mr. djou: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. djou: mr. speaker, how can this happen when this congress has no plan, no man for a budget, no plan to create jobs, no plan to turn around our economy other than to spend, spend and spend some more of

the people's money? we spent more than $1 trillion to create jobs, but as of yet unemployment rates still languishing over 9.5%. our nation's plagued with debt and not creating a budget further amplifies the problem. mr. speaker, we are spending too much money, even worse, we are spending too much money on programs that do not work and even worse than that, we have no plan to pay any of this money back. and this problem is further compounded by this house's refusal to pass a budget. it's time we cut spending and act real meaningful tax relief and put more money in the hands of the american people. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from pennsylvania rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. dahlkemper: mr. speaker, most people understand that we have a real tangible need for the safety net of social security and medicare. the hard lessons of history compelled us to create

protections for our seniors who deserve security in their golden years. but washington republicans just don't get it. they want to privatize social security and put seniors' retirement at the mercy of the stock market. they want to repeal the benefits we provided through medicare. if republicans had their way, they'd reopen the doughnut hole. they'd make -- they'd take away free preventative health care under medicare and they'd played roulette with our seniors' retirement, their access to doctors and their prescription drugs. washington republicans have turned their backs on our seniors. i'm proud to stand by our seniors and ensure they have quality, affordable health care, safety and security in retirement and peace of mind that these benefits are here to stay. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. garrett: mr. speaker, it's a little over 18 months since

president obama signed the so-called economic stimulus bill into law. saying this stimulus was somehow a success. that's really an insult to the millions of americans who are now unemployed and continue to look for work. you know, we've heard repeatedly from our business leaders and economists that one of the biggest impediments to job creation is what this congress has been doing here every day. i mean, how can businesses be expected to invest and to create jobs when they read in the paper that such things as that our government is expected to run trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, that banks will now have to conform to 243 new regulations because of that 2,300-page dodd-frank bill we passed, and that we will have the largest tax increase in american history, and also that energy prices, energy prices may skyrocket because of the house-passed cap and trade bill and that health insurance premiums that were promised to go down, well,

they're going to increase because of the recently passed health care bill? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. garrett: mr. speaker, thank goodness of the august recess. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> ms. matsui: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. matsui: i rise in support of social security. social security is a pillar of a society, based on the premise that if you work hard and play by the rules you will have the stability and security of guaranteed income as you get older. and the reality is social security provides nearly all of the retirement income for six out of 10 seniors in this country. mr. speaker, for 75 years social security has never been a day late or a dollar short. and as we approach this historic achievement, we must commit ourselves to strengthening social security, not privatizing it.

we must continue to provide the foundation for americans' retirement security for generations and generations to come. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina rise? ms. foxx: i ask permission to address the house for one minute, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. one business organization after another has made it clear that policies of this president and this democrat-controlled congress are creating uncertainty all throughout the private sector whether it's the chamber of commerce or the national federation of independent businesses, the message is the same. washington is giving them no reason for confidence in the economy. all across this country, business owners are looking at higher costs for health care, the potential for higher energy costs, the threat of more taxes and the reality of government regulation. it's no wonder that the private sector that's hiring. the only sector that's growing is government. the annual deficit spending in washington is expanding government and sucking the life

out of the private sector. this has to stop. house republicans have commonsense solutions. we need to rein in out-of-control spending, cut taxes and get a massive federal government off the back of free enter price -- prise -- enterprise. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from district of columbia rise? ms. norton: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. norton: mr. speaker, for the first time in speaker the other body has to wait for a new member tore sworn in today to take up -- to be sworn in today to take up unemployment insurance. there's always been bipartisan support for unemployment benefits. ask the average american, give us your definition of emergency spending, unemployment benefits, paid for in part from employee paychecks, or more tax cuts for the wealthy? the question answers itself.

for all except my republican friends in this house. they've gone further and insulted the unemployed by offering us an excuse that benefits keep people from looking for and taking jobs. the bush recession left one job for every five job seekers. it's cruel to blame the unemployed for not finding work in the midst of the great recession. it is worse to deny them food to put on the table. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin rise? mr. petrie: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. petri: americans are asking, where are the jobs? why aren't businesses hiring? in a word, uncertainty. we've seen a government in the past two years with enormous

budget deficits, the takeover of car companies, mandatory national health care, misguided financial regulation and more. still, president obama and the congressional leadership have additional disruptive plans on tap including big tax increases and cap and trade legislation. not only are businesses being burdened with new taxes and other requirements, they also know that further afflictions are coming, but the form and extent of those afflictions are still a mystery. business people plan to succeed, but when the government is making major burdens and unspecified changes, it's difficult to plan. rather than hiring and investing, many are waiting and seeing. the american people are the victim of this administration and this congress' inaction. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida rise? ms. wasserman schultz: to

address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise in support of social security as it approaches its 75 anniversary. when f.d.r. signed this historic legislation into law, he understood that the whims of wall street were sweeping many hardworking americans into financial ruin. at the time more than half of america's seniors lacked the financial to be supportive. social security changed all that. indeed, today in my home state of florida, 53% of seniors would be below the poverty line without social security. that hasn't stopped republicans from wanting to end the guarantee of social security. in 2005 president bush proposed privatizing social security which would have cut benefits for 70% of retired americans. well, it's deja vu all over again. while president bush may be gone, his plans live on. house republicans are once again calling to privatize social security and medicare for good measure. we simply cannot risk tossing millions of seniors into poverty. let us rededicate ourselves into roosevelt's vision and not

throw our seniors out in the cold. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, the people of louisiana have suffered a lot of catastrophes, the b.p. explosion, fishing industry down, the tourism industry is down. now, to add insult to injury, we have the moratorium which is costing thousands of jobs in louisiana. what's the result? three deepwater drilling rigs to be moved site of cameroon parish. first rig sailed away over drilling ban to egypt. brazil sees silver lining in b.p. spill. more rigs. mr. speaker, where are the jobs? well, in the deepwater drilling they're going to be moved to

other nations. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. towns: you know, sometimes when i listen to debate, you would think that president obama inherited a large surplus and growing jobs. mr. meeks: no. what my republican friends forget, that's not what president obama inherited, that's what george bush inherited and lost in eight years. why are we in this problem? it's the eight years of bad economic principles that george bush put forward. obama inherited deficits and loss of jobs, 750,000 of them a year, and now we are here again of trying to privatize social security. well, democrats and the american people rejected that idea during the failed policies of the eight years of george w. bush, and we reject that policy

again because we understand the significance and the importance that social security brings to our families, it brings to children and those who are retired who without social security would be in poverty. but social security brings a sense of pride to those who have worked hard all of their lives so they can have something at the end. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from tennessee rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. speaker. my home state of tennessee has an employment rate of over 10%. the tennesseans i know are very frustrated with washington. they have lost faith that this chamber can or will do anything meaningful about jobs this year. they look at washington and see us living out that maxim if at first you don't succeed, spend, spend again. they look at us and say where are the jobs? tennessee's governor and state legislature have made some very

different choices. instead of expanding the size of government, they held it back. instead of increasing taxes, they offered incentives for investment. many in this chamber say those are policies of the past. in tennessee those choices have worked. they attracted over $4 billion of investment in the past 18 months. it is investment that creates sustainable growth and good solid paying jobs. by contrast the stimulus program we hear so much about in this chamber has spent just over $1 billion to the state of tennessee. 10% of unemployment, what tennesseeans have to show for those dollars? no jobs and a lot of expensive road signs. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? without objection, so ordered. >> if you are one of those folks that have one of those new modern tv's with the what the heck are they talking about, you are going to need it for this side of the aisle?

it is insane for them to wrap the arms around idea that deficits are growing and booming, then get this, they want to offer tax breaks to billionaires this year. mr. weiner: millionaires and billionaires. you know how they are going to pay for it? they don't say. they want to add to the deficit. but there is one moment of clarity we saw recently that i got to tell you my 12 years in washington is refreshing. the republican head of the budget committee, their ranking member, came up with a proposal to privatize social security. you know what? that's not some absecure member. i like the guy. i commend him for being honest. finally the republicans have come out and said what they have said for 75 years. they want to eliminate social security. not actually eliminate it, invest it in the stock market. boy, talk about lessons unlearned. the democrats who created social security are here to celebrate 75 years of keeping it strong and another, god willing, 75 years. the republicans want to privatize it, invest it in the stock market. you decide for yourself what the right policy is. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise?

>> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. last week the department of justice filed a lawsuit challenging the state of arizona's recently enacted immigration law. d.o.j. based this lawsuit on supremacy clause, preemption, and commerce clause. d.o.d. officials should take note and maybe read the bill, for that matter, that the new arizona law mirrors federal law which already requires aliens to register and carry the documents with them. the law simply states violating federal law is a state crime as well. because illegal immigrants are by definition in violation of federal immigration law, under the new provisions they can now be arrested by local law enforcement in arizona. mr. miller: d.o.j. informations have stepped up their attack by stating they might file another lawsuit if it leads to racial profiling. read the bill, arizona's law explicitly prohibits racial profiling four separate times. all in all the lawsuit reveals the obama administration's

contempt for immigration law, the people of arizona, and majority of the american people who support arizona's efforts to reduce human smuggling, drug trafficking, and illegal immigration. arizona takes responsibility and constitutional approach to defending themselves. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from the virgin islands rise? >> talk to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. kay to the floor to reassure the seniors about social security a proaches it's 75th anniversary. i must raise about special agent clark. we don't know what happened when he shot and killed. he did come to the aid of a lady who was being verbalally assaulted by a victim and he had a flashlight in his hand. but the investigation laid questions about the level of this threat and the reaction was excessive. given the information received

by witnesses, as well as medical examiner and police investigation, our attorney general acted responsibly by charging the agent. agent clark has and will continue to have a fair hearing in our courts and congress should thot do anything to interfere with the judicial process. we wish the incident did not happen. in the meantime we are working with federal law enforcement to make sure that the authority under which they carry out their duties will be clear. we respect their work and we ask that they respect virgin islands' law enforcement in return. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. reichert: i was home again this weekend. guess what the american people are still tyke and tired of this broken government and business as usual and so am i. they said the new government leaders promised them change and that's what they got. that's what they still get when they stick their hand in their pocket. a handful of change. the new government said we'll pay for everything we do.

they call it pay-as-you-go. the people i talk to say what we got instead was tax to the max, borrow like there is no tomorrow, and spend to the end. spend to the end of american ingenuity. spend in the end of american innovation. spend in the end of our children's future. the end of a great american experiment. the end of our freedom. and third, building our country on the word change, get america back on track, build it on words like responsibility, accountability, god, family, country. mr. speaker, how about faith? a little faith in the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlelady is recognized. >> thank you. mr. speaker for 75 years social security has been a promise. mr. davis: an investment in the future of our nation's work force. an estimated 159 million

americans are eligible for social security benefits and they have earned them. it is their money. but many worry that these benefits won't be around when they need them. these workers can rest assured that my democratic colleagues and i intend to preserve and strengthen social security for generations to come. social security is a major income source for retired americans. and workers should receive back what they have paid to the social security over the years. our children and grandchildren also deserve to have social security available to them upon their retirement. we can and we will protect the core values of the social security system. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> ask to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

mr. gohmert: i keep hearing our friends across the aisle end up talking about george w. bush. they keep forgetting that got them in the majority in november of 2006. my friends across the aisle have been in charge ever since 2006. time to do something besides blame people who are not in office. take responsibility. that's a good thing. then we hear our administration, our friends want to give 500 million more dollars to pakistan because we are not worried. we have already given them a billion bucks. i have the new result from last year. they voted against it at the u.n. 87.5% of the time. you don't have to pay people to hate, they'll do it for free. let's gets the money where it will do good instead of helping our enemies. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise?

>> request permission to address the house for one minute, mr. speaker, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. green: i rise today to speak in support of the most successful program in the united states government has ever created -- social security. since its inception in 1935, social security has become the great promise that each generation will take care of those who came before it. in our district in texas, nearly 65,000 recipients receive over $61 million monthly from social security administration. it's a blue collar district. thousands of hardworking families who have overcome wars, natural disasters, and becoming the backbone of the american economy. the national average benefit for retiree is $14,000 a year. a majority of income for six out of 10 seniors. this modest amount guarantees that tens of millions of parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors can retire with dignity. i believe it's important we consider what would have happened if congress had followed on the plans of then president george w. bush in 2005

to partially privatize social security and make social security subject to the stock market. or consider what can happen congress follows along the plans of some of my colleagues across the aisle in cutting social security, reduce the national debt. i believe in cutting social security is irresponsible and wrong as we approach the 75th anniversary of social security. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. lungren: the polls show the democrats are in trouble. because every time that happens social security is pulled out of the back pocket. republicans are going to destroy social security. this party is the only party that saves social security. democrats must be behind in the polls because they are pulling up george w. bush. i have looked all over the campus, i can't find him. i went down to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. he left. maybe you folks didn't notice. president obama is there. i want -- what a real shame it

is that current democrats are running away from the democratic party of j.f.k. he told us, forget about class warfare. a rising tide lifts all boats. maybe you ought to listen to some of those on your side who didn't talk about fear but talked about hope. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, next month marks the 75th anniversary of social security which has been there for generations of americans and will be for generations to come. mr. altmire: social security is a promise to all americans. you have paid into the system, the money is yours, and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to guarantee that it will be there for you when you retire. that's why we are so fortunate our friends on the other side of the aisle were unsuccessful in their attempt to privatize social security at exactly the

time the american financial markets were nearing collapse. 401-k's and i.r.a.'s lost 1/3 of their value of the stock market plunge in 2008 and 2009. imagine what would have happened to those retiree income if their social security earnings had also been gambled away in the stock market. mr. speaker, rather than risk a lifetime of savings, social security will continue to be the stable, reliable safety net it was created to be 75 years ago. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this friday i was in my district , voted the number one rural county in america. i was at the chamber of commerce and sat at a round table with business leaders. people who own franchises. mr. guthrie: their concerns about getting the economy moving again didn't have to do with

george w. bush or win when the majority took over in 2006. their concern was this congress. the debt from the stimulus bill that didn't keep unemployment from going above 8%. they were concerned about the energy cost that could have greatly affected the great commonwealth of kentucky. and also we are going to talk about how they are going to implement the health care bill. those are the concerns. if we got back to our belief of limited government and unemploymented faith in the american people that we will get this economy moving again. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from maine rise? ms. pingree: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. pingree: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, 75 years ago francis perkins, a wonderful woman from a long line of maine farmers and craftsmen, addressed the nation as the secretary of labor. in addition to being the first woman cabinet maker in our nation's history, she was also the person president roosevelt put in charge of creating this

social security system. in her address he talked about creating a system to provide saved guards which cannot be wholly eliminated. nearly 300,000 people in my state now receiving benefits are living proof that for 75 years social security has been just what francis perkins hoped for, assuring a deep and standard of living in good times and bad for seniors and countless others. from disability insurance and survivors benefits to providing a cushion during retirement, social security has allowed americans to attain their independence and dignity. it must be preserved. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, we must end this culture of uncertainty that is delaying our economic recovery. businesses are unwilling to

hire new workers because they do not know what new taxes and legislation -- and regulations that washington will enact on them. mr. marchant: obama's chilling effect on hiring new jobs was just the beginning. the cap and trade bill will further hurt our economic recovery if it is enacted. as a result of policies adopted by this administration, businesses are sitting on huge stockpiles of cash to brace themselves for further interference from the government. economist larry kudlow said they're sitting on $2 trillion worth of cash. if allowed to be injected in our economy, this could have a stimulus to our economy. the government-run stimulus has failed. we now need to get government out of the way of the private sector to let it save our economy. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise?

mr. etheridge: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. etheridge: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to call on congress to defend social security. for many years, i've had the primpling of working to bring commonsense policies and i was proud to help lead against president bush's misguided effort to privatize social security. and to cut benefits. we won that fight but now some washington politicians are threatening social security again with risky wall street schemes. during this current economic crisis, more than 50 million americans depend on social security to make ends meet. without social security one out of every two american seniors would fall into poverty. dismantling social security would eliminate the safety net for millions of disabled americans and survivors and many of their children. no politician in washington, d.c., has the right to threaten

an american institution of social security. as we approach the 75th anniversary of social security act, i call on this congress to defend the proposals and defeat the proposals to cut social security. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. broun: thank you, mr. speaker. over the last serve weeks i've done numerous america speaking out town halls across the 10th congressional district in georgia, and what i hear from my constituents, the most liberal communities all the way to the most conservative ones is people in my district are asking, where are the jobs? they understand that our economy is suffering and they understand that the stimulus bill has been an abject failure. they want to say, where are the jobs? and that's what they're saying to americaspeakingout.com. we need to leave dollars in the

hands of small business as well as consumers so we can create jobs in the private sector. but that's not what our colleagues on the other side are doing. they're creating bigger government and creating more jobs in washington, d.c., not in georgia or any other state around this country. only a few jobs are being created other than here. i encourage people to go on americaspeakingout.com and speak, what should we be doing here in congress today, what we should be focusing on. what i'm hearing, the american people are saying, where are the jobs? we are trying to answer that question. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the distinguished gentleman from connecticut rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute, mr. larson. mr. larson: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to talk about social security. i rise because our colleagues on the other side of the aisle in this past weekend alone have said they want to return, they

want to return to the bush years, they want to return to privatizing social security, they want to do so so they can help balance the deficit by cutting social security. can you imagine had the bush tax cuts gone through, had the bush proposal for social security gone through what would happen to so many of our citizens during this great recession? people who rely solely on social security would not have anywhere to turn to. the concept and the idea we often criticize our colleagues for saying they have no plan but in fact they do. they want to privatize social security. yeah, they want to privatize social security, they want to voucher medicare, they want to block grant medicaid and then they rant to turn around and take your health benefits and treat them as ordinary income

and tax them. ladies and gentlemen, members of the democratic caucus, stand firmly behind social security and its benefits to all of the american people. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. diaz-balart: the world and especially the press and the media in the united states continue to treat the political prisoners in the gulags of the cuban dictatorship as nonpersons. the most well-known and respected political prisoner in cuba is dr. bisette. he's been in the gulags of the castros for decades, due to his work inside that enslaved island. dr. bisette is the mandela of cuba. today is his 49th birthday. i wish him god speed and freedom and freedom for cuba.

to the press i ask, how long do the heroes of cuba have to suffer before you acknowledge their existence? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has yielded back. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. it's been interesting listening to the discussions this morning and this afternoon. mr. cohen: social security is 75 years old. it came about because of franklin roosevelt, a great democratic president and a democratic congress evolving out of a depression caused by republican herbert hoover and now 75 years later we look at a situation where another republican president, a hoover george bush caused another financial crisis and the republicans talk about privatizing social security. social security is money that needs to be there to preserve people's standards of living when republicans who left the -- let the economy out of hand

let it happen. this is the most foolish thought i've ever seen. if we didn't learn from september of 2008 that the market is a gamble and comes up and down it's not social security, it's social insecurity. and people have gotten up here and said, you haven't in the that bush is gone? it's all they can say is bush is gone. nobody can defend him. rated the second worst president in the history of the united states. given tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires and fighting a war based on lies to rise great deficits and now all they can say he's gone. thank goddess' gone. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: -- thank god he's gone. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady is recognized rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. brown: i rise to recognize one who was one of the greatest advocates for senior citizens in the history of this body,

and i ride today in his memory to talk about the importance of social security to maintain the safety net for all americans. as we celebrate 75 years of social security being the safety net for seniors. and i have some breaking news for everyone. social security is not the cause of the deficit. let me repeat. social security is not the cause of the deficit, and the republicans plan to privatize social security is going to be dead on arrival. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. are there further requests for one minutes? pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the urt chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or on which the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the district of columbia seek recognition? ms. norton: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5266, the national commission on children and disasters re-authorization act of 2010. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 313, h.r. 5266, a bill to extend the final report deadline and otherwise re-authorize the national commission on children and disasters. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, ms. norton, and the gentleman from louisiana, mr. cao, each will control 20 minutes. the chair how recognizes the gentlewoman from the district of columbia. ms. norton: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 5266, and i also ask unanimous consent to insert into the record an exchange of

letters between the committees of transportation and infrastructure and the committee on homeland security. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. norton: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: gentlelady. ms. norton: i rise to support h.r. 5266 and ask the support of the house. a bill to re-authorize the national commission on children and disasters sponsored by my colleague from florida, representative corrine brown. the national commission on children and disasters was created as a result of the lessons of hurricane katrina and the effects that disaster -- that that disaster had on children. the commission was authorized by the committee on transportation and infrastructure and the kids in disasters well-being act of 2007, which was also sponsored by chairwoman brown. the commission's work has been well received and many of its recommendations have been implemented, especially those

related to the federal emergency management agency. i'm pleased to -- i was pleased to chair a hearing of the subcommittee on economic development, public buildings and emergency management that received testimony from mark shriver, the chair of the commission on its interim report when it was issued last october. the commission has just issued a progress report may 11, and i recently had a talk with chairman shriver about that report. while fema has made good progress on many of the recommendations, other agencies have not and, therefore, the commission's work remains incomplete. the subcommittee will continue to work with the commission on implementation of its recommendations. h.r. 5266, the national commission on children and disasters act of 2010, re-authorizes the commission by extending the deadline for its final report until december 31,

2012, and requires annual interim reports from the commission. the commission will sunset 180 days after the date of its final report. h.r. 5266 authorizes appropriations of $1.5 million in fiscal year 2011 and 2012 and $1 million in fiscal year 2013, the final year of the commission. the bill also rectifies the problem the commission experienced at the outset when it took nearly five months for all members of the commission to be apointed. the bill requires vacancies to be filled in 90 days which should help minimize any delays in the commission's work in the event of a vacancy. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 5266. and, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. for what purpose does the

gentleman from louisiana rise? mr. cao: madam speaker, i stand to support h.r. 5266, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cao: thank you very much, madam speaker. and, madam speaker, in 2007 congress created the national commission on children and disasters to examine the need of children in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters. one lesson we learned from hurricane katrina is that we must ensure our preparation for and response to disasters incorporate the unique needs of children. during work in katrina, many children were separated from their families and schools and childcare facilities were destroyed. i had a personal experience of that as it took me about two weeks after hurricane katrina to find a childcare facility for my daughters who at that

time were 3 years old and the other was around 9 months. it became clear that focused attention to children is critical to helping families through a major disaster and in the recovery process. the national commission on children and disasters was created to ensure there is focused attention on the needs of children in disasters. the commission submitted an interim report last year and under current law a final report is due in october, 2010. however, additional time is needed to allow proper review of the issues and to ensure full complementation of the commission's interim recommendations -- implementation of the commission's interim recommendations. it would provide them additional time to complete this important work. h.r. 5266 will ensure the needs of children are properly incorporated in our preparation for and response to disasters. .

i support passage of this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from the district of columbia. ms. norton: madam speaker, i yield to the sponsor of the bill such time as she may consume, the gentlelady from florida, ms. brown. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida is recognized. ms. brown: thank you, madam chair. i rise today to urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5266, the national commission of children and disaster re-authorization act. i would like to thank chairman oberstar and subcommittee chairwoman norton for their hard work and assistance in bringing this bill forward. i would also like to thank the commissioner's chair for your work and dedication to children. you-all have provided crucial support in the creation of the national commission on children and disaster and continue to do and advance the important work allowing the commission to

continue its important work. the passing of h.r. 5266, the national commission on children and disaster re-authorization act of 2010 is an extremely important to our nation's efforts to protect our nation's children before, during, a disaster. in the aftermath of hurricane katrina and rita, i offered the kids wish act to for local disaster preparation response and recovery efforts for children who make up 25% of our population but needs are overlooked in disaster. children are not -- children's needs are unique and cannot be inferred from disaster planning preparation only for adults. the commission delivered its interim report in october of 2009 which identified numerous gaps and made recommendations related to disaster management and recovery.

mental health, education, childcare, child welfare, juvenile justice, emergency shelters, housing, evacuation, and family reunification. as president obama administration has taken states. the commission is playing a vital role in forcing communication and cooperation among agencies in implementing the representation. while they are encouraging signs that the unique needs of children are receiving greater attention, there is still a great deal of important work for the commission beyond the crew shall fiscal year. just recently the commission released a report which tracked progress toward implementation of the recommendation of this interim report issued eight months ago. and although the commission found a federal agencies have taken some initial positive steps, many crucial recommendations remain unaddressed. leaving children vulnerable in disaster.

therefore i hope it brings that more work is needed to be done to bring about sweeping and permanent changes in the national disaster planning and management which still heavily favor abled bodied adults. i yield back the balance of my time. and encourage all of my colleagues to support our nation's children and vote yes on this bill. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. the gentleman from louisiana. mr. cao: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from the district of columbia. ms. norton: i have no further speakers. does the gentleman yield? mr. cao: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. ms. norton: madam speaker, i want to join the chairwoman, miss corrine brown -- ms. corrine brown, and join her in asking the house to pass this bill but to commend her. the chairwoman discovered this

issue and acted on it. she discovered it in florida when there were refugees from katrina. she was moved by it. she decided to do in fact work on the ground in florida for these children and others who were caught in katrina and she followed up with legislation and never let up until this very day . i know she won't let up until the other body can pass the bill. i want to commend her for discovery of a vital issue that my own committee which has jurisdiction over fema had not noted with nearly as much attention as the gentlelady from florida. i want to also to note the work of mark shriver, the work on the

commission went far beyond his chairmanship. he took the cause unto his own, pressed it with all that he had, and deserves great credit for making sure that we got to the day when we would pass the bill. madam speaker, with that unless there are any more who want to speak, i am pleased to yield the balance of my time and ask that the bill be passed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady has yielded bag her time -- back her time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5266. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the the

gentlewoman from the district of columbia seek recognition? ms. norton: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5545 to deauthorize a portion of the project for navigation, potomac river, washington channel, district of columbia, under the jurisdiction of the corps of engineers. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 309, h.r. 5545. a bill to deauthorize a portion of the project for navigation, potomac river, washington channel, district of columbia, under the jurisdiction of the corps of engineers. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, ms. norton, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lobiondo, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the district of columbia. ms. norton: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 5545. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.

ms. norton: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise to support h.r. 5545. this noncontroversial bill will allow the government of southwest waterfront in the district of columbia, this bill will benefit not only residents here but also regional residents and u.s. and international visitors by permitting the district to extend docks and increase maritime activity just a short eye shot from the u.s. capitol building. in order for the district to make these improvements, the federal government must redesignate part of the water designated by the federal government as the washington channel, for so the docks can be built by the district to accommodate increased boating and waterside activity. the original width of the washington channel was established in the early 1800's to accommodate industrial and maritime congress at the southwest waterfront prior to the construction of east potomac

park. today, however, the southwest waterfront is no longer a major port and does not accommodate large vessels. in fact, u.s. coast guard, the u.s. navy, and the u.s. army corps of engineers had agreed this redesignation will not affect navigation interest or adversely affect navigation safety. i ask members to support this noncontroversial change that will reinvigorate the southwest waterfront for the region and visitors ooh like to enjoy. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. lobiondo: yes, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lobiondo: today we are considering the deauthorization of a portion of the navigation channel in washington, d.c. the washington daniel was authorized in 1935, this bill

would be authorized -- deauthorize a small portion of the project that is no longer necessary to ensure safe commercial navigation along the northern end of the washington channel. the army corps of engineers or u.s. coast guard have no objection. and the federal navigation channel. the bill is noncontroversial. there are no costs associated with dee authorizing this portion of the washington -- deauthorizing this portion of the washington channel. i support passage and recommend my colleagues vote for and approve h.r. 5545. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from the district of columbia. ms. norton: madam speaker, 10 years ago this house approved a bill to revitalize the southeast waterfront. the southeast federal center is now being reinvigorated just down the street from the southwest waterfront.

it is now called the yards. i very much appreciate that this house understood that it was far better for the southeast waterfront owned by the federal government to be revitalized than to lie shallow. already it is blossoming and blooming. but the southwest waterfront has been awaiting concurrent action not by this house and not at the expense of the federal government. but by the district of columbia. this action, the action of the house today, should this bill be passed, will allow the district of columbia to move forward on a multiuse development of the southwest waterfront to which tourists and international visitors are always welcomed and will be even more welcomed because it will be fixed. it will be a fit place. i have no further speakers.

i therefore yield back the balance of my time. mr. lobiondo: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back. the gentlelady from the district of columbia yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5545. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the district of columbia seek recognition? ms. norton: tsh-for what purpose

does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. oberstar: i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5301 as amended to extend the period during which the administrator of the environmental protection agency and states are prohibited from requiring a permit under section 402 of the federal water pollution control act for certain discharges that are incidental to normal operation of vessels. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5301, a bill to extend the period during which the administrator of the environmental protection agency and states are prohibited from requiring a permit under section 402 of the federal water pollution control act for certain discharges that are incidental to normal operation of vessels. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. oberstar, is recognized for 20 minutes. in total with the gentleman from

new jersey, mr. lobiondo. each will control 20 minutes. the chair -- chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: thank you, madam speaker. both of these bills have passed the house, been duel and fully considered by the committee of transportation and infrastructure, reported to, and passed substantially. we combined them in this measure to tend them to the other body where we expect prompt action be taken to attend the bills on to the president. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. lobiondo: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in strong support of 5301. allowing commercial fishermen, charter boat operators, or other commercial vessels less than 39 feet will have to apply for and receive individual permits from the e.p.a. to discharge from their vessels such things as deck washoff, billing water, an

condensation from air conditioning units. vessels operate without these permits could be subject to citizen lawsuits and fined $32,000 a day. my bill simply extend the current moratorium for a few more years to ensure the e.p.a. has time to analyze the results and study they conducted to develop proper permitting regulations. as the chairman indicated in his statement, we have the clean estuaries act which is combined with this bill. we are happy to do this with mr. bishop. having said that i'm hopeful we can move this bill today. i appreciate chairman oberstar's effort, but i just have a cautionary note as the chairman has sort of indicated on a number of times, the other body did not only redact in a matter that we consider something they should do, mr. oberstar i think you understand that, i hope we have the continued commitment to be able to make sure that this fishing boat problem can get

solved before we leave one way or the other. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. does the gentleman from minnesota reserve? mr. lobiondo: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. oberstar: i say first of all to compliment the gentleman from new jersey for his leadership on the issue of vessel discharge, he's been a champion on this subject. we have heard his strong appeal, his reasoned approach to the issue. that's why we moved the bill earlier. we nowed a joined it with this estuary bill. we expect all hope that the other body will act promptly but if not there are backup plans to dole with the estuary discharge in advance of the deadline that the distinguished

gentleman from new jersey cited. so we are -- we're together on this. we're going to assure that the issue's resolved and hopefully both of these bills combined in this fashion will bring enough interest in the other body to have a concentration of effort to pass both measures together. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. lobiondo: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: we have no further speakers. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous matter on the subject of these two bills. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time having expired, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5301, as amended. those in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek

-- for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? ms. brown: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1463, supporting the goals and ideals of railroad retirement day. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: house resolution 1463, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of railroad retirement day. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from florida and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. shuster, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from florida. ms. brown: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraordinary materials on house resolution 1463. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman from florida is

recognized. ms. brown: madam speaker, i strongly support house resolution 1463, supporting the goals and ideals of railroad retirement day and encourage all of my colleagues to support this important resolution. this resolution recognizes the railroad retirement day and the 75-year anniversary of the railroad retirement act. the railroad industry established the first formal industry pension plan in north america in the year 1874. the railroad retirement act became the great depression wiped out the private system before the social security programs could meet the needs of railroad retirees. additionally, the state-based unemployment insurance system had failed to serve those who worked -- took them across the country. under the railroad retirement and railroad unemployment insurance act, railroad workers and employees had programs for the workers and their families.

during the past 75 years, more than two million retiree workers, 1.1 million spouses and 2.4 million survivors have received benefits through the railroad retirement board. finally, the program forces close relationship between railroad employees and employers. the change in the system over the years have been the result of cooperation between management and labor and stand as an example of how government, labor and businesses can work together to serve the nation's needs. clearly, the railroad retirement program serves a need and is worthy of our recognition. i yield back -- i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. shuster. mr. shuster: i thank you and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. shuster: i rise in support

of h.res. 1463, which designates railroad retirement day on august 29, 2010. railroad retirement day is established in this resolution to celebrate the success and importance of railroad retirement system which has benefited generations of hardworking railroad workers and their families. i'm proud to support the railroad retirement system which predates social security and provides comprehensive retirement, survivor and disability benefits, more than 600,000 beneficiaries receive approximately $1 billion in benefits each year from the railroad retirement system. for the last seven years, a portion of retiree assets has been managed in the national railroad retirement investment trust, the nrit -- nrrit invests in u.s. and global equity markets, fixed income and real estate and commodities, much like many private sector retirement funds. this innovative fund has

already returned $7.9 billion to retirees and has grown 16% in the last seven years despite payouts and volatility in the markets and the economy. i believe we should take a close look at this system as one of the potential solutions fought looming crisis in social security. so i congratulate and applaud the majority for bringing this up today, as i heard so many of my colleagues talk about social security and how those on my side want to privatize social security. that just is not true. nobody on our side of the aisle wants to privatize social security, but we have to look at innovative ways to be able to keep social security viable. just today there was a poll in "usa today" that says that 34 -- overwhelming majority of americans under 34 years old do not believe they will get anything from social security. so once again this -- looking at the railroad retirement

system is a potential solution to social security and, again, it's not privatizing. it's taking a small portion of it and investing it in different ways. and as i said, the success of this over the last seven years, even in those volatile times, has proven to be successful. 16% -- it has grown 16% over the last seven years. i'd urge my colleagues in the other side of the aisle to stop the rhetoric, stop the rhetoric, stop the scare tact -- tactics saying we want to privatize social security. this is a viable solution. this is something we need to look at as we move forward in this country. i applaud the majority for bringing this up today when, as i said, i heard so much talk about privatizing social security and we all need to look at social security and figure out how to reform it because i have two children, 22 years old and soon to be 19 and social security will not be there for them. we're not talking about the

folks that are retired today. we need to make sure we keep that ironclad guarantee with today's retirees and those soon to retire that we are not going to affect their social security. but as we move forward, as i said, let's look at the railroad retirement system as a model for how we can improve social security for those in america just moving in the job market and won't be retiring for 20, 30 and 40 years. the freight rail industry strongly supports the railroad retirement system because these good benefits attract and refeign highly skilled workers. this is a system that's worked well for generations, and i would encourage the railroads and the unions to protect the system by ensuring that benefits are distributed fairly and remain vigilant for fraud and abuse in this system. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. brown: thank you. my dear friend, i am so happy that you support the railroad retirement system, and i can tell you that somebody has not

been always supportive of social security, and i'm so glad that -- remember when social security passed it passed without any republican vote and constantly year after year the bush and the republicans tried to privatize it and the american people said no and the democrats said no and i say no, no. now, i support the railroad retirement and i want to yield mr. perriello as much time as he may consume, and i'm glad that we stand together for the railroad workers and i hope we can get that same kind of support for the social security benefits. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. perriello: thank you. and thank you to the chairlady for yielding time and for all of your leadership on issues relating to railroad, such an important asset to our country and part of our competitive advantage and part of our need to continue to build and make things here in america. i rise today in support of

h.res. 1463, supporting the goals and ideals of railroad retirement day. the railroad system is an integral part of our nation's transportation system and provides us with the capacity to move both passengers and freight around the country. for over 200 years, this system has proven to be one of the best methods of transport available. today, railroads are responsible for moving over 40% of the freight transported in the united states, and we depend upon rail for daily supply and demand. it is important to honor both the commitment and labor of the railroad industry workers. without them our country would not have experienced such success in westward expansion and in the growth of industry. today, the railroad industry remains an important piece of our nation's transportation infrastructure and it would not be able to run without the ongoing efforts of railroad workers. thus, i feel we must honor the hard work of railroad workers, both past and present, by recognizing railroad retirement day on august 29, 2010.

the railroad industry has created one of the most successful models for retirement plans of any sector of the economy. on august 29, 1935, the railroad industry created a unified retirement plan. for over 70 years, the retirement plan has been successful. even with the changes to the industry and fluctuations in the economy, including the $9 billion hit that it took in the recent economic meltdown and the challenges that presented to this system. the pension plan now provides benefits to over 600,000 beneficiaries and is supported by an industry of over 20,000 workers. even within my own district, there are nearly 3,000 railroad retirees. in 2010 alone, the plan will provide more than $11 billion in retirement and survivor benefits. supporting this resolution shows our commitment to the railroad industry and our recognition of the hard work of retirees and the success of their retirement program. i request your support for this resolution and with that i yield back to the chairlady.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. shuster: i inquire how much time i have remaining. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania has 16 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentlelady from florida has 16 minutes remaining. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: i thank the speaker, madam speaker. i again want to make sure we set the record straight here. there's a lot of rhetoric, a lot of talk going on the floor today about social security, and i just want to make sure the record stands clear that in 1935 the social security act on april, 1935, was passed with 79% of the republicans who voted in the house voted for it. the number -- there weren't many republicans in 1935, i might add. 77 republicans voted for it out of -- and there were 18 that voted against. 288 democrats voted for it and 13 voted against. so let the record show that

republicans have supported social security and we continue to support social security. nobody that i know of on my side has talked about privatizing social security. we look to something like the railroad retirement system, how they've taken a portion of it, seven years ago under the bush administration, i might add, under a republican congress, moved a portion of that to be able to invest it, to be able to be invested into different investment vehicles that's proven a much greater return. as i said, 17% growth in the last seven years, even if these tough economic times. so it can be done and we have to -- as i mentioned earlier, there was a poll out today that 18 to 34-year-olds in today's " u.s.a. today" believe they will not receive social security benefits. so standing up here today talking about railroad retirees, i applaud this system.

i want to applaud the railroad retirees and the freight system in this country, the railroads in this country, but we want to talk about future retirees. that's who we owe it to, the future generations to look at how we can strengthen and reform social security. as i continue to state, i want to make sure that we hear this loud and clear, this is a system that we can look at as potential model. we have to consider this to make sure that we save social security for future generations. and with that i continue to reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from from florida. ms. brown: thank you, madam speaker. i want here in 1935 but i certainly was here in 1995 and i do know where the republicans stood not only privatizing social security but gambling with social security and where would they be with the crash in wall street. the chairman of our committee, mr. oberstar, who is a guru and

has the logistics on the history of social security and those who support it and those who have never supported it. the speaker pro tempore: how much time does the gentlelady yield? ms. brown: as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. oberstar: i thank the gentlewoman for yielding. for strong self-defense of the railroad retirement program. mr. perriello for his leadership and advocacy for the--be able to support the goals and ideals of railroad retirement day and for the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. shuster, strong support of our railroad system both passenger and freight in this country and for the railroad retirement fund. the gentleman cited a figure about the vote in the house in

1935. on social security. and that figure is accurate, but that was not a conference report. and when the bill providing -- when the rule providing for consideration of social security came to the floor, only one republican supported it in 1935. now, i understand that vote on the rule is a party-line vote and that as a matter of party discipline only one member on the other side both ranks votes for the rule. but we must -- broke ranks to vote for the rule. but we must acknowledge that the social security program has

saved the nation -- has been a bull work for working blue collar working americans and upper middle class and upper class. in all of the 76 years, social security has never missed a payment. it has never bounced a check. you don't have to get up in the morning and look on the financial pages of the newspaper to see whether your retirement fund is intact or whether it's bottomed out or has dropped out of sight. as you have to do if your retirement fund is in the hands of the fence benefit guarantee corporation, corporation -- pension benefit guarantee corporation, or corporation that you worked for that went into bankruptcy, and the assets were invested by the company for which you work in the marketplace and suddenly those

assets lost value. enormous value. some people have seen their retirement funds lose 50%, 60% of their value because investments they were made proved unsound. or vulnerable sound to begin with but vulnerable to this worldwide recession that we have experienced. and indeed the railroad retirement fund it siff has lost $9 billion -- itself has lost $9 billion because of the recession. let's not have this haphazard careless, thoughtless rhetoric that we have heard in this chamber in 1995, 1996 from the other side, not the gentleman from pennsylvania, not his father who served with great distinction in this body then

and still a great friend of mine, say, we are going to rip the system out by its roots. we are going to replace it. we are going to privatize it. and a host of other schemes that eventually members on the other side voted against. there is a very wise core of members in the republican side who understand the value of the social security program. and who want to sustain it and support it. this is the most significant social security, most significant important social contract in america. in our history. the most successful. medicare's right behind it in its success. right alongside it is the railroad retirement system. people work hard, they have saved, they have contributed into the system.

the railroad's contributed into the system. our purpose is not to be pointing fingers or using scare retic -- rhetoric. but rather to say let's work together to keep our economy going, to keep investment expanding in this country, to expand employment so that there are more people working, contributing into the railroad retirement fund and into the social security fund. that ought to be the purpose of our effort and that is why mr. perriello is so thoughtful to bring out the goals and ideals of railroad retirement day. and our champion advocate for passenger rail, freight rail, ms. brown, and equal -- equally passionate advocate for rail service, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. shuster. let's put the rhetoric aside.

let's join the visionaries of seven decades ago so that seven decades from now there will be retirement programs. there will be the safety net for those who worked hard all their lives and expect dignity in their retirement years. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: thank you very much. in response to the chairman of the committee, and his comments, i always dangerous challenging the chairman on historical notes and happenings in the house, but as i recall 1995, although i was not here, don't recall the debate. i do recall that it was a commission set up by president clinton that made some of these recommendations. so to continue for the majority to point to the republicans has not voting for it. as trying to rip it out by the roots.

privatize. it simply is not accurate. that's some of the rhetoric we hear from the other side. today as we move this resolution forward, as i said before, this is something we should be looking at as a model, as something we should try to understand how this works. how it has grown 16% in the last seven years despite very volatile times in our economy. we did not privatize retirement. we took a portion of it. we know that the retirees are receiving greater benefits because of what we have done here. so i urge my colleagues as we debate this, as we talk about -- a lot of folks talk about social security as the chairman and the chairman of the subcommittee has mentioned social security, i'm not so sure, i guess i have to ask the question, do you support

the national railroad retirement investment trust which does something very similar to the many, on both sides of the aisle, the commission that was set up by president clinton and others on my side of the aisle talked about, as one of the ways to reform the social security system. we can stand up here today and talk about in glowing terms about the railroad retirement investment trust when it's doing something that is very positive and it's a potential to help reform, help make sure that the 18 to 34-year-olds in this country, that 75% of them do not believe they are going to get any social security, any money out of social security when they retire. it seems to me that the majority is using a lot of rhetoric, trying to hype up retirees in this country. we have to make sure that we keep that ironclad guarantee. that those that are retired, soon to retire, are going to get

the social security benefits that they have earned, that they have been promised by the government. they have to look to future generations. those that are going to retire in 20 and 30 years. social security, as the chairman pointed out, has not bounced a check. the check comes every months. but if we don't figure out a way on a bipartisan way, how to reform social security, there's going to come a day when there's not going to be money there. or we are going to continue what we have been doing over the past 18 months, spending money, borrowing money that we don't have, which is going to be inflationary. and then that tax on retirees on our social security ben fit, is going to be even more brutal tax when you lose value because of inflation. when inflation soars to four, five, and seven as those that have been around -- have been on the curve for more than 35 or 40 years remember the days of double-digit inflation and how

brutal that was to the economy and how brutal that is to our retirees. this is an opportunity for us to look at a system that both sides of the aisle here, standing up today, talking about in glowing terms of the railroad retirement fund and we should look at this as a potential to help reform and strengthen social security for future generations. i continue to reserve the balance of my time. mr. oberstar: would the gentleman yield for a response to this question. very thoughtful question. in the house floor consideration of the railroad retirement program, it was made very clear time and again by both sides of the aisle that this, railroad retirement, was not like social security. both sides were at pains to say that because of the difference in scale of the programs and difference in purpose of the two retirement, social security and

railroad retirement act. 600,000-plus railroad retirees and 33 million social security retirees, we all realize at the time the scale is vastly different. the purpose and revenue streams are very different. it was a very clear purpose on both sides of the aisle not to confuse, not to roll over from one to the other. i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. shuster: i appreciate the chairman's comments. again this is -- we can use this as an experiment. it's working. i understand the scale is different. but the principles can be the same. when people -- business principles running an efficient operation and making sure return on investment. all those things we use in a small business i operated, they

use those same fundamentals when they are operating large companies in this country. so my suggestion, my urging is that the majority as we move down the road look at this as something to consider how we can reform social security and strengthen it for those future generations. for the folks who retire today and those that retire soon, we got to keep the guarantee it's going to be there. but if we don't do something, don't consider some other way to strengthen social security, those that are 18 to 35, 75% of them do not believe there's going to be anything available to them in social security when they retire. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from florida. ms. brown: thank you, madam speaker. let me just say that i welcome a debate on how we can reform social security any time. but i can truly say having been

here during the 1990's one way that you shore it up is not to privatize it. and come interesting florida i mentioned earlier that i come from the state that -- one of the strongest advocates for social security. and clearly we can see what happened in wall street and what has happened with other programs and fence funds. social security is a safety net and being in this body let me say you stand for something or you fall for everything. one of the things we are going to stand up for on this side is social security. and we very happy that we are having before us today the railroad retirement that we all can support. . and i don't have any further speakers and i just reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: i thank the speaker and i will close by making the final note again, the urging plead to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stop using the rhetoric that those of us on this side want to private advertise. we don't want to privatize social security. we want to find reforms that make sense. we want to find reforms that are going to strengthen social security and not just for those today but most importantly those that are going to retire in 20, 30 years from now. if we in this congress do nothing then we are going to continue to see social security going in the wrong direction and nobody in this country wants to see a social security system continue to go down, having less money, moving towards insolvency. we've got to do something and i say let's look at the railroad retirement funds that has returned $7 dwp 9 billion to its retirees and has grown 16% in

the last seven years, despite payouts, volatility in the markets, in the global economy. this is a system that, again, seven years ago we've taken a small portion of it and invested it in u.s. and global equity markets, fixed income, real estate commodity, not the entire amount, but a portion of it. and our railroad retirees are benefiting greatly by that. so i stand here today in support of this resolution. i hope it passes overwhelmingly and i hope that we look to future generations to try to solve our problems, solve, reform social security by looking at railroad retirement which has been a tremendous success with that i yield back the balance of my time. -- success. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. brown: yes, madam speaker, let me just say that we on our committee always stand ready to work in a bipartisan manner and we'd certainly be interested in ideas that don't include

privatizing social security. but, you know, for members to come on this floor and ask as if social security is the reason why we have the deficit, you know, for several years, i know there's no institution of memory, we have reverse robin hood. robbing from the poor and working people to give tax breaks to the rich. that's what got us in this hole. now i'm glad we can all support the bill that's before us today, but as far as i'm concerned, it's the ways and means that handled this particular issue and i'm prepared to debate, to discuss and work with my colleagues to come up with solutions, how we can tweak the program and with that i reserve the balance of my time. yield back then. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida has yielded back her time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1463. 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. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5604rk the service transportation savings act of 2010.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 311, h.r. 5604, a bill to rescind amounts authorized for certain service transportation programs. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. perriello, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. duncan, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. perlmutter: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members -- mr. perriello: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to extends their remarks and include extraneous material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. perriello: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. perriello: madam speaker, i rise today in support of the service transportation savings act of 2010 and appreciate the work of congressman schauer and the chairman and many others on looking for this. in the long journey toward reducing this nation's deficit, we also need to look at small steps as well as large ones. as we look at pay-as-you-go legislation and bipartisan budget commissions, we also must

find in every place that we can look opportunities to save some money. one of those places we should be able to start, if nothing else, is looking at areas where the agencies themselves have said, we cannot use this money or we do not want this money. we have compiled within the transportation and infrastructure jurisdiction over $107 million that is left sitting on the table. but we know too often in this town money left on the table disappears very quickly. this bill will lead to real savings. it reduces the contract authority that is currently available for certain highway safety and transit programs by $107 million. in fiscal year 2010 it takes this $107 million off the table so that it cannot be used to increase spending in the future. there are two ways that this money could be used to increase spending in the future, if not rescinded now. first, the future appropriations act coin crease the obligations limitations that control spending for these highway safety and transit programs, thereby allowing this $107

million to be spent instead of reducing the deficit. second, the future appropriations act could rescind this authority and use it as a rescission to offset increased spending on other programs. in fact, and unfortunately, we have already seen attempts to do this. they become somewhat routine for appropriations bills to rescind contract authority to offset other spending. in fact, h.r. 4899, the f.y. 2010 emergency supplemental, used about $2.2 billion in rescissions of highway contract authority. what we see here is a commonsense attempt with ideas from both sides of the aisle to look at opportunities where the agencies have said, these are resources we will not spend or cannot spend. to me this is one step where we should be able to agree at least in such areas that that money and that contracting authority should be taken off the table so that it is not spent and put it toward deficit reduction. i rise today to support this savings act, to appreciate all those and thank all of those who have worked on it.

while these savings may seem small relative to the size of the budget deficit, it is a start. as they say, even the longest journey can begin with a single step. i urge my colleagues to consider h.r. 5604 in this light and support this bill. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. duncan: -- tennessee is recognized -- recognized. mr. duncan: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume and i rise in support of this bill and i commend the gentleman from virginia who just finished making his remarks. h.r. 5604 rescinds $106.8 million in contract authority from the national highway traffic safety administration and the federal transit administration. this rescission of contract authority will come from the following programs, $81 million

from the safety belt performance grant program, $8.5 pll from administrative expenses to national driver registry and research and development programs and $17.4 million from f.t.a.'s formula and bus grant programs. in total, $56 -- h.r. 5604 rescinds approximately $107 million in contract authority. which is a type of budget authority. however, the congressional budget office has determined that h.r. 5604, while certainly well intentioned and worthy of support, will not have any impact on outlays or direct spending. according to the c.b.o. the budget deficit is defined by the amount by which the federal government's total outlays exceed its total revenues. because c.b.o.'s official cost estimate for h.r. 5604 finds that this legislation will not reduce the federal government's outlays this bill unfortunately

will not reduce the budget deficit. this bill could ultimately lead to savings if the congress does not simply spend this money someplace else. for the first nine months of fiscal year 2010, 2010, we are running a budget deficit of $1 trillion and the deficit will reach at least $1.4 trillion by the end of the fiscal year on september 30. these are staggering, incomprehensible sumless. and these deficits will only add to our -- sums. and these deficits will only add to our debt which is already at over $13 trillion. by the end of this year the federal debt will represent 62% of the nation's economy, the highest percentage since world war ii, according to c.b.o. this mounting debt will be passed on to our children and our grandchildren and i believe and most people believe that congress isn't doing enough to reduce the current budget deficit or our swelling national debt. while this bill is certainly a step in the right direction, it

will not reduce the current budget deficit or the national debt and so we need to -- while this is good legislation that i do support, we are going to have to go further if we're going to do what the american people expect and need us to do. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. perriello: i appreciate the support of the gentleman from tennessee and his concern about the deficit. we certainly need to continue to look at the big picture with pay-as-you-go legislation and budget commissions and other ways to get the balance. in the meantime there's nothing wrong with taking smaller steps in the right direction wlrks that's looking at blocking congressional pay raises or anyplace that we can save. $107 million is nothing to sneeze at even if it's not large by washington standards. with that i'd like to yield to the gentleman from michigan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for such time as he might consume. >> thank you, madam chair, thank you, mr. perriello, and mr.

duncan. we need commonsense in washington and unfortunately there's too little of it at this time. that's why i decided to sign on and be a primary co-sponsor of this bill. mr. schauer: the service transportation savings act of 2010, the bill lead to read savings and real deaf -- real savings and real deficit reduction and we need to fight for that at this very difficult time in our country. as has been said, the surface transportation savings act of 2010 reduces the contract authority that is currently available for certain highway safety and transit programs by $107 million. let me say that again. $107 million. that's real money. while this may not in and of itself directly reduce outlays

this current fiscal year, it takes -- outlays this current fiscal year, it takes $107 million off the table so it cannot be used to increase spending in the future. as my colleague, mr. perriello, said, there are a couple of ways these $107 million could be used to increase spending and increase the federal budget deficit. we know that a future appropriations act could use these dollars and appropriate them and spend them on these current programs within the department of transportation, but, you know, let's be clear, there is a very real threat. the congressional budget office may not see it and i can understand why they may not trust the congress to act responsibly, but twice already this congress has tried to use these available dollars within

other programs. the h.r. 4899, the f.y. 2010 emergency supplemental appropriations bill that was passed by the house of representatives earlier this month, included $2.2 billion of rescinded highway contract authority. so these are dollars that were budgeted but were not spent and, again, if we don't act, those kinds of available dollars will be spent. now, to make it even more directly relevant to this bill and to the congressional budget office's analysis, h.r. 4899, this emergency supplemental appropriations bill, tried to spend $25 million that would be taken off the table by this sur

as if transportation savings act. so i don't think -- surface transportation savings act. so i don't think we could be any more clear. i couldn't agree more than we must address real deficit reduction one step at a time. this is a critical, critical step to do that and i'll tell you, the people in the michigan seventh congressional district believe $1 07 million is real money. so by not acting, the threat is real, that these available dollars will be spent. so by passing this bill today, the united states house of representatives will remove $107 million that would likely be spent for some other program. we must act to make sure that we restrain and constrain spending that way that results in -- in a way that results in deficit reduction. that's why i stand in support of this bill and hope that both

democratic and republican colleagues take decisive action to make sure that this congress nor future congresses spend money that we can't afford. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. duncan: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee continues to reserve. i have no other speakers. i will close when -- just before you close. do you have additional speakers? >> i am going to yield such time as the chairman needs. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mb is recognized for as much time -- minnesota is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. oberstar: i want to thank the gentleman. the gentleman from virginia has been very diligent and vigilant on deficit reduction and on careful investment of the public resources as has the

gentleman from minnesota, mr. shower, and there is no one -- mr. schauer, and there is no one who can exceed those qualities other than the gentleman from tennessee, mr. duncan. the gentleman's entire career has been one of public probity and clarity. as the gentleman from minnesota said where he comes from and where i come from in northern minnesota, $107 million is real money. we could build 100 miles of new road, 100-lane new miles of new road for $107 million in my part of the country. but being very clear, this is contract authority that is not going to be used. it's very clear it's not going to be used. the agencies have said they're not going to use it.

but in the curious construct of our budget processees, both the executive brampling and the legislative branch -- branch and the legislative branch, this side of the hill and the other side of the hill, that money can be used in be a obscure fashion that it takes a very long time to explain to ordinary citizens. say in a passing comment on the fourth of july parade, you can't plumb the deficit, this curious budget process. sure, there are no outlay savings, but that's why the appropriations committee year in and year out under both republican and democratic leadership have used the rescission process to claim savings on the one hand and spend money on the other hand, real general revenue dollars on the other hand for projects that they consider to be

important. the supplement appropriation bill earlier this month rescinded $25 million of highway safety contract authority that would be -- that will be rescinded by the bill before us. the supplemental appropriation bill recrinds $2.2 billion of highway contract authority so they can use it on something else. this is real. what we're doing here is saying, this is done, these authorities have existed in law that will not be used for which brations will not be made for which -- obligations will not be made for which projects will be advanced is terminated. and that the appropriations committee then can't use that gimmick for something else they want to do. so what we do is real in this legislation. it takes $107 million off the table, it makes it unavailable for rescission, unavailable for gimmickry by the -- through the

appropriation process. either this body or the other body. so we take real, positive step, one that's within the authority of this committee. we're not the budget committee. we're not ways and means. we have jurisdictional issues and we are identifying other savings of this nature that will be considered on the house floor in the coming week before the august recess. though i applaud the deficit hawks of our committee on both sides of the aisle for their vigilance and for pursuing this matter, and i yield back the balance of my time to the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. duncan: madam speaker, thank you. i thank the gentleman from minnesota, our outstanding chairman of the full committee, mr. oberstar, for his very

accurate explanation of the confusing, convoluted way we go about the budget and contract authority differences in this congress. i want to commend the gentleman from virginia and from michigan, the gentleman from michigan for bringing this legislation to the floor. it is a good bill, as i've said, even though the c.b.o. may not count it as reducing the deficit by $107 million, it is a step in the right direction, and we should be looking at savings in every department and agency in this federal government and we're going to have to if we ever get the federal deficit and our national debt under any type of control. what we first need to be doing, though, we need to stop spending hundreds of billions of dollars on very unnecessary foreign wars and turning the

department of defense into the department of foreign aid with all the nation building that they're doing and then we start -- we need to go to every department and agency and instead of building other countries with money that we don't have, we need to start building our own country. and i think no one has been more of a leader in that regard than our chairman, chairman oberstar. but we need to start taking care of our own country and start putting the american people first once again, and i do think that this bill is a step in the right direction. and so i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation and i yield -- mr. oberstar: before the gentleman yields, could he yield a moment to me so i can make the observation, madam speaker, that the gentleman took lead in our public buildings subcommittee many years ago.

after -- during his first term in congress on courthouses. the gentleman has saved the taxpayers of this country tens of millions of dollars, perhaps now in the hundreds of millions , by requiring through his persistent campaign courtroom sharing. now, i don't know -- i'll say to, madam speaker, to the gentleman from tennessee, i don't know how c.b.o. scores that but i know in our committee i score it as a net savings to the public. we built better courthouses, more courthouses, more efficient service to the public by requiring this very simple step, sharing courtrooms. great credit to the gentleman from tennessee who led the effort on saving real savings just as this legislation has savings. i tip my hat to the gentleman from tennessee at his

persistence in looking at ways how we can achieve our goals. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. duncan: i thank the gentleman from minnesota, mr. oberstar, for those kind words. no one admires him more than i do and no one knows the work of the transportation and infrastructure committee than chairman oberstar. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. pierluisi: i want to thank the gentleman from -- mr. perriello: i want to thank the gentleman from penn -- from tennessee. if we can't put that to deficit reduction, how can we move forward in the simplest possible terms? if that $107 million is left on the table it will be spent on something. if we remove that contract authority it will not. that will save taxpayers money. that's the important thing. if we can't agree on those

small steps how can we make the big steps? we need to take this money off the table and make sure it doesn't get spent wastefully. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back the balance of his time. all time having expired, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5604. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. mr. perriello: madam speaker, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? mr. skelton: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1516, as introduced. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1516, resolution recognizing the 65th anniversary of the end of world war ii, honoring the service members who fought in world war ii and their families, and honoring the service members who are currently serving in combat operations. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from missouri, mr. skelton, and the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. skelton: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. skelton: and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. skelton: madam speaker, i rise today and i request that the house support house resolution 1516 which the resolution recognizes the 65th anniversary of the end of world war ii, and honoring the service and sacrifice of the men and women in uniform who fought. i'm proud to note that i introduced this resolution alongside the committee's ranking member, buck mckeon, the gentleman from california. madam speaker, i grew up around veterans in the first world war, and during world war ii as a young teenager i looked up to all my friends and neighbors in uniform as living, breathing american heroes. my father served in the navy aboard the u.s.s. missouri during world war i.

it was on the next u.s.s. missouri, the mighty mo, that japan signed the official surrender papers to end world war ii, 65 years ago this september. so the 65th anniversary of the end of world war ii is a big thing for me. it's a big thing for this great nation and it's a big thing for the free nations of the entire globe. it's difficult to explain to people who did not grow up during those tense years how it felt to be a young person in america the day that pearl harbor was attacked. america prevented the tyrannical axis of powers by providing support of the axis of powers long before we were attacked. but all of a sudden the front lines of war was on our shores. i'm no longer that young teenager but the members of that extraordinary valor and that selfless sacrifice of the over 16 million american men

and women in uniform are still with me today. their efforts echo across these lands in many complex ways. the simplest and most fundamental of those being the fact that we continue to be free. allied forces face vicious combat, exhibited unmatched bravery and suffered untold tragedy in places like southeast asia, the philippines, the islands of the southwest and central pacific, the deserts of north africa, across great stretches of the atlantic ocean and from the beaches of western europe to the icy russian tundra. not only did americans serve in uniform, americans from all walks of life contributed to making the american home front the arsenal of democracy. it was the united efforts of everyone, every last citizen that resulted in try ump. ultimately, over 405,000 service members lost their lives in world war ii.

to them, their spouses, their children, we as american citizens will be eternally indebted and we say thank you. before i reserve the balance of my time, i'd also like to take a moment to acknowledge the service of our brave men and women in uniform serving in our ongoing conflicts today. in some ways the war we find ourselves today is like world war ii. our american homeland was attacked, unprovoked and our uniformed service members are fighting to keep us free and safe from a war that has reached our shores. our nation has been blessed with generation after generation of patriotic americans who have selflessly served our country. and they have carried on this tradition and to them we say thank you. madam speaker, there are only about two million world war ii veterans with us today. on the 65th anniversary of the

allied victory, i request that the house of representatives pass this resolution. resolution 1516. to recognize the service and sacrifices of all of the brave men and women who fought and contribute to american victory in world war ii. honor their families and the men and women themselves who whose lives were taken in defense of -- whose lirchingse taken in defense of liberty and freedom and -- lives were taken in defense of liberty and freedom, including operation enduring freedom and operation iraqi freedom. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. >> thank you, madam speaker. i give myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. dreier: i rise today, madam speaker, in strong support of house resolution 1516, the recognizes the 56th anniversary of the end of the second world war and honors our veterans sacrifice. i want to thank the chairman for making this opportunity possible, for his love of history and his understanding of the sacrifices that our men and women have made since the founding of this great country. i particularly remember as a young boy, world war ii, my dad served in the philippines. i remember the excitement of when he returned home after the war and there was a chain link fence that separated us from the plane, my dad got off the plane, he was carrying a little baby that was getting off the plane at the same time and my mom,

very enthusiastic young laidy, started to climb that chain link fence. she wanted to see her cookie, as she referred to my dad. you know, that same scene was happening all across america. and it's happened many times since as young men and and young women have return -- men and young women have returned home. they have shouldered a burden that subsequent generations have not been forced to share. our entire nation mobile iced to fight a war -- mobilized to fight a war of national survival. men and women of all races and cedes put aside their differences -- creeds put aside their differences and rallied around our national colors, turning our depression woes into industrial and military might. these were americans of incredible courage and dedication. even with the millions of stories about the heroes of second world war, you don't have to look past our own backyard to

find americans who did incredible things in the service of our country. in california's 25th district, men like retired air force general chuck yager, who as an enlisted airman was stationed in victorville. after he earned his commission and pilot's wings, he deployed to fight the nazi war machine in europe where he was shot down, evaded capture, returned to friendly lines and returned to fight, earning the coveted title of ace for shooting down fighters. after the war he returned to california and palmdale where he became the first man to break the sound barrier on october 14, 1947. today the rolling desert winds that he sored over inspires the -- soared over inspires the is next pilots. the home of california is home to an incredibly diverse

deployment -- environment. it was the open desert that in 1942 became the home of marine corps logistics base. vitally -- vital equipment and vehicles for the marine corps island hopping campaign was shipped to there and preparation of deployment to the pacific theater. it later became the home to many of these veterans who made their homes and developed the economy of san bernardino county. central california's also home to one of the more difficult passages of the second world war, the internment camp, where japanese americans were relocated and held captive. many of these young americans jumped at the chance to prove their devotion to america and enlisted, deployed to the european theater and distinguished themselves in combat service to their true native country, the united states of america. in 1940, an aerial gunnery range

was established in the mojave desert which grew into what is now the national warfare training center at fort irwin. fort irwin is a premier military training facility in the western hemisphere, where service men and women from all our armed forces receive the finest training available to prepare them to face our enemies in combat. and build danieled peoples into civil societies -- damaged peoples into civil societies. what sets our services apart is their commitment to a moral war, a just war, an american way of war. today the legacy of these men and women lives on in our service members who serve around the country, around the world in defense of freedom, fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. the soldiers who little bit -- liberated da could you are no different from the sold who are today ensure that young afghan girls can go to school without being murdered by the taliban

thugs. the marines who held the line on wake island today ensure that a shaky government in marja will be given a legitimate chance to succeed. our air force has decisively proved itself over the skies of the pacific and europe is now a unique branch of service and a force with truly global reach. the sacrifices our natey -- navy made in the second world war leave behind a tradition to absolute dedication to duty and a role of unquestioned dominance on the high seas. i urge the house to join me and pass this resolution to commemorate the end of the second world war and honor the service members who are currently serving in combat operations abroad. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from missouri. mr. skelton: madam speaker, i yield two minutes to my friend, the gentleman from florida, mr. deutch. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida voiced for two minutes.

mr. deutch: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i'm privileged to represent a district that's home to a large number of world war ii veterans. veterans who to whom i feel a tremendous amount of gratitude to their heroic services and so many veterans in my district who served in the wars in iraq and afghanistan. our country is a sacred obligation to our troops, the brave service members who risked their lives in defense of our country, from the time they sign up to serve and well into their retirement. i'd like to thank chairman skelton for his work on behalf of our service members and in honoring the courage and bravery of our veterans on the 56th anniversary at the end of world war ii with this resolution. i'd like to particularly mention just a few of the many americans who served our country during world war ii. veterans in my district, like will pitas who sacrificed so much of themselves, joseph anton was a woman who left college in her last year to serve as a

lieutenant and like so many veterans, she continues to seek out opportunities to serve her community. i'd also like to recognize ed sarfity who served with my late father. the 84th infantry division fought valiantly at battle of the bulge. my father earned a purple heart and like every veteran i know, shared his passion of patriotism with his children and with his community for the rest of his life. the legacy of service and self-sacrifice from this generation of americans exemplified by these veterans and so many others is humbling. our country owes service members an enormous debt of gratitude. it's important to recognize the sacrifices that the families of our service members make whorks invaluable support is a service to our nation. madam speaker, i'm proud to support house resolution 1516 here on the house floor today.

and to all the veterans and those service members presently serving as well as their families, i offer you my most profound thanks. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: thank you, madam speaker. we have no further speakers but i would like to just again thank the chairman for bringing this resolution to the floor. again, we have personal remembrances of people that fought in that great war and those of their families that have continued on and those who continue to serve in the armed services today. we just had a memorial service a couple of months ago in my community which are live and we had a couple of men there that were still able to wear their world war ii uniforms and -- and continues to be an honor to see them each memorial day. i don't know how many more we'll

have them with us but they're a great reminder of the wonderful things that they stood for and continue to stand for as they've been called the greatest generation. thank you, again, i encourage awful our members to support this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from missouri. mr. skelton: madam speaker, it was 1943, i was a young boy standing across the street from my home on franklin street in lexington, missouri, i heard an airplane overhead and looked and you it was what i learned late ar c-47 glider, i also later learned that this airplane and the glider came from an army air field in missouri.

it was june 6, 1944, when i stayed up late in the evening listening to radio with my father and that was, of course, the occasion on the normandy landing. it was c-47's putting -- pulling gliders, they were trained at the missouri air field, over normandy that helped in the landing and the successful assault there in france. today the army air field is not called that anymore, it's called whiteman air force base, named after a lieutenant who in his p-40 at hickam field on december

7, 1941, got about 10 feet off the ground to go after the japanese attackers and was shot and killed. these are memories of a young boy and soon the soldiers and sailors and marines come home, they were my heroes and, madam speaker, today they are still my heroes. with that, having no further requests of time, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1516. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. if the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- mr. skelton: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. skelton: i request a roll call vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman request the yeas and nays?

mr. skelton: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1411 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1411, resolution honoring the service and commitment of the 111th fighter wing, pennsylvania air national guard. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. critz, and the gentleman from texas, mr. conaway, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. critz: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i might consume and ask unanimous consent that all members sla have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized and without objection, so ordered. mr. critz: madam speaker, i rise today in support of house resolution 1411, recognizing the service and sacrifice of the members of the 111th fighter wing of the air national guard. i would like to thank my colleague from pennsylvania, mrs. schwartz, for bringing this resolution before the house. the distinguished history of the 111th fighter wing began in 1924. since then the men and women of this outstanding unit haveworks great honor and dignity, represented the finest of america's armed forces. thoroughly i measuresed in the greatest conflict of our time, they protected the coasts of new england, aided missions in the china-burma-india theater of tworleder would ii and earned the divisioned unit cry facial

for their contributions to the invasion of normandy and the battle of bulge. members also remained involved during the korean and vietnam wars honorably performing various airlift missions in support of the war efforts. the 111th fighter wing has not shied from battle but has time and time again dedicated the united states and its principles. the 111th fighter wing volunteered to deploy in operation southern watch and operation enduring freedom on very short notice immediately following the september 11 attacks of 2001. to honor their commitment and to recognize their contributions by volunteeraryly deploying to the heart of the conflict -- voluntarily deploying to the heart of the conflict within a five-month period, the 111th fighter wing was awarded the outstanding fighter award with valor. the honor consistently displayed over the last 86

years deserves the thanks of the united states congress this year. the success of the united states is contingent upon the bravery and honor of the 111th fighter wing. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting house resolution 1411, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to claim the time, madam speaker. madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he might consume. the speaker pro tempore: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of house resolution 1411, as amended, which honors the service and commit! of the 111th congress -- commitment of the 111th fighter wing. i'd like to thank the gentlelady from pennsylvania for introducing this resolution. mr. conaway: i want to commend the former members of the fighter wing who have dated

back to the operation squadron operating out of the philadelphia airport, the unit first saw action in world war ii patrolling for submarines off the east coast of the united states. the 391st bombardment group medium earned the citation for the service in the european theater in support of the battle of the bulge. the unit supported the war effort in korea and the 111th air transport group, the members flew numerous airlift missions to support military operations during the war in vietnam. more recently, the 111th fighter wing has participated in operations southern watch in kuwait, supporting joint combat flight operations. during enduring freedom, -- operation enduring freedom in afghanistan and operation enduring freedom in iraq, the 111th fighter wing has supported coalition and ground

troops despite extreme conditions. madam speaker, i'd also like to read into the record today the aircraft flown and operated, maintained, armed and fought with during the history of this group. just the names of these -- the 111th fighter wing has flown the jn-4 jenny, the pt-1 trusty, the bt-1, o-1 bird dog, the curtis 0-11 curtiss falcon, the 0-47-a and b. the vigilant. the curtiss 0-52 owl, the grasshopper, the piper 04 grasshopper, the lockheed p-38 lightning, the douglas a-26 invader, the boeing b--- excuse

me -- rb-29 superfortress, the northern american f-51 standing, the lockheed t-33 shooting star, the lockheed f-94 starfire, the f-89 scorpion, the boeing c-97 stratofreighter, the blue canoe, the cessna skymaster, the cessna o-5-37 dragonfly, and the a-10 thundererbolt. thank you, -- thunderbolt. thank you, madam speaker. the entire nation joins the citizens of pennsylvania to say thank you to the memories and the veterans of the 111th fighter wing, pennsylvania air national guard. we are all proud of their service and, therefore, madam speaker, i strongly urge my members to support this resolution.

and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. critz: madam speaker, i yield to the sponsor of this legislation, the gentlelady from pennsylvania, ms. schwartz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from pennsylvania is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. schwartz: the bravery and sacrifice over the years has helped to ensure our nation's safety and our freedom. originally growing out of the sod fields of the philadelphia airport in 1924, the squadron was first called to active service in february, 1941, to perform anti-submarine patrol off the coast of new england. the squad saw a lot of action during world war ii. in 1943 they deployed and performed support operations in the china-burma-india theater of combat. the same year they earned the distinguished unit citation for their execution of ground attack missions in france and

the lower countries in advance of the invasion of normandy. and in germany for their support and the aftermath of the battle of the bulge. members of the 111th honorably serve the u.s. war efforts in both the korean and vietnam wars. in 1963, the 111th ended their 39-year history at the philadelphia airport and relocated to the willow grove naval air station now in my district. they performed combat operations in support of operation southern watch. immediately following the attacks of september 11, 2001, the 111th fighter wing deployed on very short notice to support our combat operations for operation enduring freedom. in 2002 and 2003, the wing was the lead unit on short notice voluntary out of cycle to bagram air force base in

afghanistan. in 2003 they volunteered for deployment yet again this time in support of operation iraqi freedom. so outstanding was the service during this period that they earned the air force outstanding unit award for valor, for vowel untearly deploying to austere bases in two separate combat operations within a five-month period. it has been my honor to represent the 111th fighter wing as a member of congress. their latest round of brac decision -- the commission decisions, they removed the squad's fighter mission but they remain stationed at willow grove, pennsylvania, and will continue to serve our nation. to quote the resolution before us, quote, members of the 111th fighter wing of pennsylvania national guard have served with courage, selflessness and compassion in every war they have been asked to fulfill and have earned the respect and

gratitude of the citizens of pennsylvania and of all americans. i appreciate the bipartisan support for resolution 1411 and thank the members of the 111th fighter wing. i have met many of them who currently serve in the 111th fighter wing for their dedication, honor, service and sacrifice to this country. and i yield become. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. conaway: madam speaker, we have no further speakers. i ask my colleagues to support this resolution, honoring the 111th fighter wing pennsylvania air national guard. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. critz: madam speaker, at this time i'd like to commend ms. schwartz for her leadership in bringing the 111th to our attention and honoring their service. at this time i have no further request for time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back the baffle his time. the question is will the house

suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1411, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the gentleman. mr. critz: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- the gentleman. mr. critz: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. critz: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1483 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1483, resolution recognizing the exemplary service and sacrifice of the soldiers of the 14th armored division of the united states army, known as the liberators, during world

war ii. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. critz, and the gentleman from texas, mr. conaway, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. critz: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. critz: madam speaker, i rise today in support of house resolution 1483, recognizing the exemplary service and sacrifice of the soldiers of the 14th armored division of the united states army, known as the liberators, during world war ii. i'm very grateful to my colleague from georgia, dr. gingrey, for his work in offering this resolution. madam speaker, the distinctive liberator is known from the 14th armored division for their

sacrifice in western europe and the liberation of prisoners of war, forced laborers and concentration camps. crossing across the river in germany to the concentration camps, the troops of the 14th armored division became witnessed to evidence of some of the most appalling and brutal atrocities the world has ever seen. their resolve in the face of unspeakable evil is testament to the strength of their conviction in the american ideals of freedom and democracy that ultimately led the allies to victory in 1945. as the soldiers of the 14th arm ormed division -- armoreded division went to prisoners of wars, airmen and sailors waited for the prospect of their own freedom that grew even closer. despite being outnumbered by s.s. troops, the men of the 14th fought valiantly to overpower them and went on to carry out the largest help of

p.o.w. camps in history. this is displayed at the u.s. holocaust memorial museum as a permanent reminder of the courage of these and other american liberators who put their own lives in danger so that others could be free from oppression and fear. madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to recognize and commend the service of the soldiers of the 14th armored division of whom it has been said that heroism, sacrifice and achievements above and beyond the call of duty were everyday occurrences by voting in favor of house resolution 1483. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. conaway: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 1483 as amended which honors the service and sacrifice of the soldiers of the 14th armored division of the united states army. and i want to congratulate phil gingrey for sponsoring this

resolution. it first went into action in 1944 and had an oppressive fighting record during the 130 days of combat. in january of 194r5, a 46-year-old world war i marine veteran, george b. turner, earned the medal of honor for his extraordinary heoism for repeated german attacks. he graduated in missouri and the institution supported by ike skelton and despite p.s.c. turner's age, he volunteered out of a sense of duty. as history notes, during training, many of the young soldiers and officers with whom he served came to know his keyette strength and dedication to duty. turner soon gained the reputation to make a good soldier who truly wanted to come to grips with the enemy. coming to grips with the enemy is something that he and the soldiers of the 14th armored division did very well. as we approach the 65th

anniversary of the end of world war ii, it's fitting this house honor the sacrifices of the men from that division who served this nation in securing a lasting victory. today, soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have made the same commitment to this nation. we must heed the lessons learned by the 14th armored division and support our troops and families with the resources necessary to finish the job in the wars that america is fighting today. i urge every member of our body to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. critz: madam speaker, i continue to reserve the balance of my time. >> madam speaker, i yield to my colleague from georgia, phil gingrey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for as much time as he might consume. mr. gingrey: madam speaker, thank you. and i rise today in support of house resolution 1483, to honor the service and sacrifice of the 14th armored division during world war ii, and i thank my

friend, the distinguished chairman of the armed house services committee, ike skelton of missouri, for being an original co-sponsor and i also want to thank representative critz of pennsylvania and representative conaway of texas for their support. as americans learn about world war ii, most are familiar with the bat of the bulge, yet few know -- battle of the bulge, yet few know about hitler's last offensive among the western front. operation north wind was hitler's final attempt as pushing back the allied march toward germany. the allies blocked the german counterattack and the germans began withdrawing to defensive positions. but victory came with a heavy price, madam speaker. the approximately 41,000 casualties, roughly 16,000 were from allied forces. today i ask all of my colleagues to join me in honoring one armed

division, the 14th that played a vital part in stopping this offensive. madam speaker, the 14th armored division arrivinged in france on october 29, 1944, and soon after participated in the liberation of the french province that november. the 14th went on to enter germany on december 6, 1944. in addition to its efforts in operation north wind, the men of the 14th armored division liberated tens of thousands of allied personnel from german captivity. among them were thousands of americans. so celebrated is the legacy -- legacy of the 14th, madam speaker, that the division has been distinguished and designated as a, quote, liberating unit by the united states holocaust memorial museum in recognition of its liberation of civilians of many

nationalities from concentration camps. all in all, madam speaker, in their selfless efforts to free those confined to these camps, 447 of the 14th finest were killed in action. 1,998 were wounded in combat and to this day 442 are missing in action. madam speaker, i came to know the storied history of the 14th armored division through my deputy district director, john o'kieffe, whose grandfather, private first class norman norstad, served in the 62nd armored infantry battalion of the 14th armored division and he indeed was killed in action on march 1, 1945. with john's help and that of the division historian, jim langford, we were able to put together house resolution 1483. it is especially timely that,

given the 14th armored division association will be holding its 45th annual reunion on september 8 and with the anniversary of the end of world war ii right around the corner. in honor of this occasion, madam speaker, i ask all of my colleagues to join me today in honoring the liberators and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. critz: madam speaker, i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. conaway: madam speaker, having no speakers and i urge my colleagues to support house resolution 1483 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. critz: madam speaker, i urge support of 1483, i commend dr. gingrey for his leadership and at this time i have no further requests for time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to

house resolution 1483 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.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? ms. clarke: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4842 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4842, a bill to authorize appropriations for the directorate of science and technology of the department of homeland security for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from new york, ms. clarke, and the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from new york. clarke mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that -- ms. clarke: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the bill under

consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. clarke: mr. speaker, i also ask unanimous consent that an exchange of letters between the committees on homeland security and science and technology be included in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. clarke: mr. speaker, there are hundreds of thousands of americans who work day in and day out to protect our communities and our nation. they perform a wide range of services for the country, responding to emergencies, screening bags and cargo, watching our borders, they are outstanding public servants and we thank them for their service. we know that without them we are less secure. they know that without science and technology they can't accomplish their mission. so today we consider h.r. 484 , to acknowledge -- 4842 to

acknowledge the poshes of -- importance of science and technology research, development, testing and evaluation, to ensuring the safety and security of the american people and our nation. h.r. 4842, the homeland security science and technology altogether ration act of 2010, re-authorizes the department of homeland security's science and technology directorate and domestic nuclear detection office through fiscal year 201. since 2003, s&t has been responsible for developing technologies as identified by d.h.s. and its operational components. most notably, customs and border protection, the u.s. coast guard, the transportation security administration and the federal emergency management agency. d.n. -- dndo was established in 2006 to develop detection technologies for nuclear and

radiological devices, a high consequence terrorist threat. this bipartisan legislation re-authorizes the activities of s&t and dndo and puts these two d.h.s. components on a path to greater effectiveness and efficiency by requiring strategic plans, benchmarking and accountability systems. for nearly a year, mr. lungren and i worked with my colleagues on the committee to craft this bipartisan authorization bill which would ensure that the department of homeland security 's science and technology directorate has the right tools available to be successful. success in this context means delivering products into the handses of our first responders, law enforcement officials or critical infrastructure owners to help them achieve their mission and make america more secure. in conducting our review, we examined the homeland security act and the department's use of the authorities the congress has vested in it. we also received insider

information from d.h.s. leadership, stakeholders and the r&d community, private sector leaders and independent analysts. and i believe that by reaching out to key stakeholders we developed a very good bill that will authorize important management functions and programs within s&t directorate while emphasizing efficiency and cost savings. within this legislation we institutionalized the process by which research and development is identified, prioritized and funded within d.h. is. we emphasized the importance -- d.h.s. we emphasized the importance of strategic planning and required d.h.s. and s&t to do so every two years. we established training programs for developing technology requirements at d.h.s. we authorized an office of testing and evaluation designed to prevent problems that occurred in major acquisition programs like sbinet which will help curve wasteful spending in

the department. we create an office of public-private partnership and establish within s&p a streamlined review process for unsolicited proposals. we authorized twice the current amount of funding for cybersecurity r&d. we explore alternatives for a.s.p. technologies for detecting materials and we affirmed the committee's support for university programs and small businesses. i look forward to discussing these and other matters with my colleagues today. finally, i want to express my appreciation and thanks to our chairman, mr. thompson, and ranking member king, for their support of this important resolution. mr. lungren was very instrumental in crafting the bill and i thank him for working with me on it. i want to also thank the majority and minority committee and personal office staff for their efforts. we often say that homeland

security is not a partisan issue and that is evidenced today by this bipartisan legislation. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lungren: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 4842, the homeland security science and technology authorization act of 2010. it gives me great pleasure to work with the gentlelady in bringing forward this authorization bill to the floor. this bipartisan legislation re-authorizes the science and technology directorate and the domestic nuclear detection office for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 and i want to thank the chairwoman for her bipartisan on this legislation. this process started last summer with numerous stakeholder

meetings followed by meetings and recommendation from the department of homeland security and concluding with the recent improvements in support of the house science and technology committee. when it comes to homeland security, there is no room for partisanship and chairwoman clarke and the chairman of our full committee, chairman thompson, working together with mr. king from new york, the ranking republican on the committee, all deserve a great deal of credit for reaching out across the aisle to craft a more effective bill and i must say it does include provisions of importance to our republican members. these provisions would include the establishment of research initiatives to bolster border and maritime security. the development of tools to enhance resilience to terrorist attacks and other instances, especially in rural communities, research and testing of technologies to help secure the border and ensure the safety of our underground mass transit systems, as well as an

assessment of how useful rapid screening tools for influenza and other biological threats would be at our border ports of entry. our bill emphasizes management and administrative reforms that target the needs of the science and technology customers, those being the border patrol, t.s.a., coast guard, fema and i.c.e. by more closely aligning the development activities with identified homeland security risks, so that there will be a more rapid application of the technology to the true needs as identified by s&t's customers. it will improve our homeland security by establishing a more rigorous process within the s&t directorate for identifying, prioritizing and funding these important research opportunities. it recognizes the need to prioritize research around risk and authorizes the establishment of a testing,

evaluation and standards division within s&t directorate to ensure that technology is properly evaluated. so, mr. speaker, in order to foster closer collaboration between the science and technology directorate and commercial companies with promising homeland security technologies, our bill authorizes the office of public-private partnerships to be established within the s&t directorate. importantly, title 7 of our legislation establishes a commission on the protection of critical electric and electronic infrastructures to assess the vulnerabilities of this infrastructure and make recommendations for better securing this critically important infrastructure in the future. while we rely on the cyberworld for much of our embedded command and control of the systems, perhaps it is no more important than in the area of critical electric and electronic infrastructure, and it is our hope that this

commission will help us in the congress to prioritize those needs with respect to the vulnerabilities of the infrastructure and the protection of that infrastructure. we depend on the science and technology directorate to develop state-of-the-art technology to protect our citizens and critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks. timely and accurate intelligence is always our best offense against the terror threat. however, when we have no acts of intelligence we must rely on the skill of our personnel and the effectiveness of our technology in order to detect, deter and defend against the terrorist enemy. the better technology we develop and deploy the stronger, therefore, is our homeland security. we believe this legislation will help provide the necessary technology tools to bolster our homeland defenses. mr. speaker, i'd also like to highlight a very important provision in this bill that is critical to both ranking member king and the security of new york city as well as to our

nation as a whole. it is the authorization and expansion of the securing the cities program. securing the cities is a vital homeland security program to help prevent terrorist attacks in major cities using nuclear, radiological weapons, such as a dirty bomb. the program has enabled the establishment of a network ring of radiological detectors on highways, toll plazas, bridges, tunnels and waterways leading into and out of new york city which, as we know, is perhaps the top terrorist target for al qaeda and affiliated terrorist organizations. the detonation of a nuclear dirty bomb in the new york city tristate area or any other major metropolitan area would inflict serious damage to our country's economy. in addition to the terrible tragedy of the human lives involved. and it would be much like the 9/11 attacks. securing the cities is a successful program that can and

should be replicated in other areas around the country. that's why language in this bill would expand the program to at least two additional high-risk cities where these capabilities are most needed. therefore, leveraging what we already have learned about building defenses against nuclear and radiological weapons in new york city to erect similar security parameters in and around other cities. i want to remind our colleague that the threat of nuclear or radiological terrorism is real. it's not just an academic exercise. it's just not some fiction. it is preal. the weapons of mass destruction commission, the w.m.d. commission, warned in 2008 that an attack using a weapon of mass destruction was likely to happen somewhere in the world by 2013. commissioners graham and talent during and before our committee on april 21 of this year repeated this warning. the president's national

security strategy that was released earlier this year concluded this -- the american people face no greater or more urgent danger than the terrorist -- than a terrorist attack with a nuclear weapon. the potential of nuclear or radiological terrorism is a night mayor scenario that we -- nightmare scenario that we must guard against. we believe that authorizing and expanding securing the cities will help protect our country, not just new york city, but the entire country from such a danger. now, let me close, mr. speaker, by saying that while i'm pleased we are considering this bill today, i do believe that the house should be considering a comprehensive authorization bill for the department of homeland security. this house has not done so since 2007 with one of the reasons being that we frankly have too many committees and subcommittees having jurisdiction over homeland security. the 9/11 commission recommended in 2004 that, quote, congress should create a single

principled point of oversight review for homeland security, end quote. unfortunately, the current jurisdictional web of congressional oversight of the department of homeland security results in conflicting guidance to the department and is a serious strain on its time and resource. mr. speaker, i don't say this as a republican criticizing the majority of the house. this was true when the republicans were in control. it is the remaining recommendation bit 9/11 commissiones that not been enacted into law here by this house. the chairman and the vice chairman of the 9/11 commission, governor cane and congressman hamilton, testified that this jurisdiction maze is unworkable and they said it could make our country less safe. those are strong words but they repeated them in their testimony before our committee. so i hope that we can streamline congressional jurisdiction moving forward so that congress can enact a comprehensive authorization bill for the department which i say has not happened since its

creation in 2003. the failure to do so jeopardizes our ability to ensure that our nation's homeland security policies are as robust as they need to be to meet the evolving nature of terrorists. i want to again thank chairman thompson, chairwoman clarke, ranking member king for all their help in crafting a very good bipartisan bill that strengthens our homeland security capabilities, and i would, of course, urge my colleagues to support passage of the bill and, mr. speaker, with that i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. ms. clarke: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, the subcommittee chairwoman of the transportation, security and infrastructure protection committee of homeland security, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker. i thank the gentlelady who chairs our subcommittee on cybersecurity and has done an excellent job. i thank the ranking member that

shares that responsibility with her, mr. lungren. and i rise today to congratulate these members for the homeland security science and technology authorization act of 2010 and to make the point that under chairman thompson we have in actuality passed more authorization bills on our committee, particularly those that relate to subcommittees. the committee on transportation and security has passed h.r. 2200 and is waiting for action in the senate. but i join my friend from california and indicate that homeland security is not a bipartisan our a partisan issue. it is a bipartisan issue -- or a partisan issue. it is a bipartisan issue, as he's indicated. and i wonder when we can adhere to a 9/11 commission report and get a more single focused review of homeland security in the homeland security committee. and i hope that maybe we'll have the opportunity to work in a bipartisan manner, to work

with the other body and to really accomplish the idea of maintaining homeland security issues in the homeland security committee, both in the house and the senate. this legislation shows what our committee can do. under the leadership of chairwoman clarke and of ranking member lungren, to be able to establish a road map for science and technology. after listening to the oversight findings of the committee on homeland security, the g.a.o. and dfs inspector general, h.r. 4842 requires science and technology to establish requirements for how basic and applied homeland security research is identified, prioritized, funded, tasked and emphasizes the need to prioritize research around risk. we all know that science and technology really is the backbone of our homeland security effort. it is to keep us ahead of the terrorists who want to do us harm. h.r. 4842 authorizes the establishment of a more

quasi-you a ton mist, testing, evaluations and standards division within s&t to help ensure that technology is properly evaluated. additionally, in an effort to foster better collaboration between s&t and the private sector firms, most especially small firms with promising homeland security technologies, h.r. 4842 authorizes the office of public-private partnerships. i want to klingt the chairwoman and the ranking member on this issue. before my committee, many times small businesses will come before us and really act in angst about the fact that their new technology is languishing at the department of homeland security. now we have, because of this legislation, the rapid review division that is in charge of establishing accessible streamline system to conduct timely reviews of unsolicited technology proposals in order to more effectively harness the ingenuity of the american private sector, an area where

dfs continues to struggle. it is important -- d.h.s. continues to struggle. it is important that we do this. can i have two minutes? ms. clarke: two minutes for ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: gentlelady for two minutes. -- the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentlelady. i congratulate them for this innovative division that will help move these technologies moved. i hope that small businesses are listening. they now have a rapid ear under science and technology to listen to them in the department of homeland security. i'm very excited about hand-held detectors for the department of homeland security to do rapid detection of biological threats at ports and airports and the duo use terrorist risks of synthetic genomes. and the unmanned surveillance technology for safe and effective deployment for maritime. we had a hearing on this recently. many of us questioned the safety of those unmanned ariel

surveillance being used at the border. dirial surveillance being used at the border. so this is a great step forward. in addition to the authorization of $20 million for securing the cities program for fiscal year 2011 and directs dndo in the fiscal year 2012 to add at least two new cities to this radiological detection program in new york city. we all know that the threat of nuclear attacks as a homeland security threat is evident, and radiation detection is crucial for us to be sure that we have a number of elements to assess the potential of that kind of threat. this legislation takes advantage of the concerns we all have of making sure our science and technology is an integral part of defending the homeland. i believe this legislation, h.r. 4842, takes a giant lope forward in being part -- leap forward in being part of the work we do of defending this

nation, the work led by chairman thompson, ranking member king and the work of this subcommittee, chairwoman clarke and ranking member lungren. i thank them for their work and ask my colleagues to support this legislation, h.r. 4842, and yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. ms. clarke: i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr. wu, who is a leader on the science and technology committee, who worked very closely with our committee to make this legislation a reality. we want to thank him for his leadership in that regard and yield three minutes to mr. wu. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for three minutes. mr. wu: thank you very much. i thank the gentlelady for her

kind comments. i rise in support of the homeland security science and technology authorization act of 2010, which re-authorizes the activities of the science and technology directorate and the dndo at the department of homeland security. as the chair of the science and technologies -- science and technology committee's subcommittee on technology and innovation, i very much appreciate the important role that technology plays in empowering d.h.s. to carry out its very, very important commission. the science and technology directorate is responsible for ensuring that those who are responsible for keeping us safe have the best tools and the most up-to-date technologies to get their job done. over the last year and a half, my subcommittee, the technology and innovation subcommittee, has held multiple hearings on the work being carried out by the science and technology directorate and the dndo. through these hearings we were able to identify critical areas

where the directorate could use new tools or in some cases new direction to help it achieve its mission effectively and efficiently. i look forward to working with the homeland security committee to address some of the issues that arose during my subcommittee's hearings, particularly those relating to the public's acceptance of new technologies. for example, i remain very concerned about t.s.a.'s decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to do deployed full-body scanners in airports across the country without fully understanding the potential reluctance of the public to accept these technologies. this research into acceptance should be done before purchase to avoid wasting taxpayer money. i quantity to thank chairman thompson, chairwoman clarke and ranking member king and lungren for their work in this important legislation. i'm pleased our committees were able to work together to craft this important bipartisan legislation and i hope that this

re-authorization bill will improve the way the department sets priorities for its research and it involves the end users of equipment to ensure that new technology is absolutely deployble and usable in the -- deployable and usable in the field. this has been a gaping shortfall to date. the re-authorization bill we are considering today makes important steps forward in improving the research and development conducted by d.h.s. and i look forward to having the science and technology committee work with the chairwoman's subcommittee in exercising our oversight and continue to improve the vital research capacity at the department of homeland security. thank you very much, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york -- the gentlewoman from new york reserves her time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: at this time i'd like to yield to the gentleman from ohio. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio voiced for two minutes. mr. austria: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman from

california for yielding and i rise in support of h.r. 484 , the homeland security -- 4842, the homeland security act of 2010. this bipartisan legislation is the first authorization bill for the science and technology directorate of the department of homeland security since the department was created in 2002. the science and technology directorate is a critical component within the department of homeland security. as it works in collaboration with national laboratories, universities and other public and private entities to develop the technologies needed to address our nation's security needs. the homeland security committee included an important amendment to this bill to add medical readiness and community resiliency for health care critical infrastructure, to existing criteria for university-based homeland security centers of excellence program. in bringing together leading

experts and researchers inia university-based settings -- in university-based settings, it has been success envelope facilitating the development of homeland security solutions. while this program does a good job in strengthening the use of technology and the role of our first respondsers such as law enforcement officers, firefighters and e.m.t.'s when it comes to rfering from and respondsing to a manmade or national disaster, it currently lacks -- natural disaster, it currently lacks distinct focus on medical readiness and community resiliency for existing health care critical infrastructure. first responders and medical care providers are critical to our nation's ability to recover from a terrorist attack or a natural disaster and deserve our support and the support of the department of homeland security. in adding medical readiness to the criteria for the university-based homeland security centers of excellence program, this gap will be addressed, further advancing our country's homeland security

initiatives. again i strongly support this important and much-needed piece of legislation and i'd like to thank chairwoman clarke and ranking member lungren for their hard work as well as chairman thompson and ranking member king. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized -- the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. ms. clarke: mr. speaker, i have no more speakers. if the gentleman from california has no more speakers then -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i'd just like to say in my remaining time think a hope this is a unanimous vote in support of this legislation. it gives a framework to the s&t directorate and it gives an assertion of the proper jurisdiction of this committee and this house and i do believe this moves in the right direction and with that i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from -- the

gentlewoman from new york is recognized. ms. clarke: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. clarke: mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this important homeland security legislation. this legislation authorizes a program that has been very instrumental in keeping the city of new york and its environment safe and that is securing the city. this initiative has proven to be an effective tool and we're looking forward to a whole range of other important r&d programs to come forth as a result of this re-authorization, securing the city should be expanded and will be expanded through this authorization to other environments throughout this nation that could use that level of security through our efforts as has been the case with securing the city and so i'm urging my colleagues once again to make sure that this authorization passes and i yield

back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york yields back the balance of her time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4842. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill as amended is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4684 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4684, a bill to require the secretary of the treasury to strike metals a -- medals in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the

september 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the united states and the establishment of the national september 11 memorial and museum at the world trade center. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from new york and the gentleman from new york mr. lee will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognize the gentlewoman from new york. >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five days to revise and extend their remarks, legislative days, on this legislation and to insert any additional material that they wish to insert on this issue. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. maloney: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. mr. speaker, first i would like to commends my colleague from new york, mr. nadler, for his leadership on this bill and so many other issues and for working selflessly to help the survivors and the residents and

to help the city recover from 9/11. this is an example of another one of his efforts to help the city, to help our country and to help us remember the terrible events of 9/11. the monumental events in a nation's life have always warranted memorialization. the events of 9/11, 2001, are no different. those who died on that day, just going about their lives, just going to work today that day, as we went to work today, they truly deserve to be honored forever as heroes and heroines. we know that we lost almost 3,000 lives on 9/11 but many thousands more lost their health. those who came to the aid of those at the sites of the attack

also deserve to be honored and remembered. and each of us in this body who lived through that day, each of us in this country who lived through that day, we each have vivid memories of our own, feared in our minds -- fears in our mind, which deserve recognition as well. thus it is very fitting that as we approach the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks we offer a means to honor the dead and our memories and the victims and the heroes and the heroines and the responders and the residents with h.r. 4684, the national september 11 memorial and museum commemorative medal act. this bill authorizes the u.s. mint to strike a commemorative medal in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 next year. the price of which will include a $10 donation to support

operations and maintenance of the national september 11 memorial and museum at the world trade center site. with a design which will include the indescription and, i quote, always remember, end quote this medal will allow all americans and indeed anyone around the world an opportunity to remember and to honor the thousands of men, women and children who died on that horrible day. this medal also supports the mission of the national september 11 memorial and museum to, quote, recognize the endurance of those who survived, the courage of those who risked their lives to save others and the compassion of all who supported us during our darkest hour, end quote.

the memorial and museum will demonstrate the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national and international levels. the museum will attest to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity. and it will form an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life. mr. speaker, those not yet born cannot understand in the same way that we do the events of that day. so we who do understand must establish a means by which generations to come may in their own way note and remember what our generation went through. the national september 11 memorial and museum commemorative medal act provides this means, this opportunity. i am proud to recognize my

fellow new yorker and colleague, jerrold nadler, who is the chief sponsor of this bill and i yield to him as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: i thank the gentlelady for yielding and i thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support -- and i want to congratulate my colleague from new york, mrs. maloney, for the incredible amount of work she has put in over the years, with me and with others, on trying to improve the lives of those who survived september 11 and hopefully one of the main products of that work will be on the floor next week on the health care legislation. but today i rise in support of h.r. 4684, the national september 11 memorial and museum commemorative medal act. next year our nation will mark the 10th anniversary of the september 11 attacks. it will have been 10 years since the most lethal terrorist attack

ever committed on u.s. soil. when thousands lost their lives as planes were turned into missiles in the skieses over new york, pennsylvania -- skies over new york, pennsylvania and right here in washington, d.c. in the years that have followed that days' -- day's events have been transformed from headlines to history. to pay tribute to those who lost their lives and to those still suffering because of the attacks of 9/11, i have introduced this bill, the national september 11 memorial and museum commemorative medal act. this bill will authorize the u.s. mint to strike up to two million silver medals commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. the medals will be inscribed with the phrase, always remember, with a final design to be selected by the treasury secretary in consultation with the national september 11 memorial and museum. a surcharge of $10 on the sale of each medal will go directly to support the operations and

maintenance of the national september 11 memorial and museum at the world trade center following the completion of the construction of the museum. these funds will help to preserve the history of 9/11 to so that prosperity will long remember the bravery and sacrifices of that day. issuing a 9/11 commemorative medal is a simple but poignant way to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks on our nation while simultaneously supporting the world trade center memorial i want to thank the more than 300 members of the house from both parties who signed onto this bill as co-sponsors. i want to express my support from chairman frank and running back bachus as this bill passed through the financial services committee. i also want to thank the leadership of the house for bringing this bill to the floor. this medal would be a tribute to the terrible loss we experienced on 9/11 and to truly honor those still suffering from the 9/11 attacks, we must finally

provide them with the health compensation that their courage and sacrifice showed. paramedics, volunteers from all across the country came to ground zero to search for survivors as they began the rebuilding process. once there they, along with thousands of community members, students and area workers, were exposed to toxic dust from the collapsed towers that filled their lungs and caused physical scars. along with mrs. maloney, we are working with the leadership to bring the 9/11 health and compensation act to the floor, hopefully next week. that bill is essential because the best way to truly pay our respects to the victims and heroes of 9/11 is with the proper health care and compensation for their 9/11-related injuries. but today, let us remember the lives that were lost during

9/11 and preserve the history of 9/11 for future generation. through this bill, let us reaffirm that no matter the passage of time we will never forget. i urge all of my colleagues to vote for this bill. i thank you and i yield back. mrs. maloney: i thank the gentleman for his statement and leadership. i yield to my good friend on the other side of the aisle, christopher lee. this has been a strong bipartisan effort, and i congratulate him on his leadership in passing this important bill. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. ms. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself -- mr. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lee: i rise in strong support of h.r. 4684, the national september 11 memorial and museum commemorative medal act. no one cannot forget the morning as the tragedy unfolded, many of us wondered

what it meant for the future. the attacks of september 11 occurred during a time of relative tranquility for this nation. the country had entered a new decade, excited about the opportunities that lay ahead of the new century and confident it would realize the potential of its people. 9/11 shook that confidence, the downplays and the burning buildings and the shattered lives and families showed us just how vulnerable we truly were. at that moment the paths of prosperity and progress of safety and liberty that our nation had so surely followed seemed in jeopardy. but more telling than that day was not how vulnerable we felt when the terrorists struck but more so how res. lulet we were in our response --ress lulet we were in our response -- resolute we were in our response. first responders rushed to the skeep upon seeing the devastation -- to the scene. upon seeing the devastation before them, they rushed into the buildings knowing their

lives from in danger. they put aside their personal safety and rushed to the aid of those in need. they epitomized the bravery and resilience that has been the foundation of this nation since its inception. the compassion and the will that built the united states into truly what it is today. as americans and the world witnessed the response, it became clear that although the attacks would change the decisions and circumstances of our nation, it it would not change our resolve. alongside the tragedy of that day we have watched america's greatness as ordinary citizens show their capacity, american capacity in meeting challenges knows no bounds. this bill, which enjoys the support of over 300 co-sponsors and the entire new york delegation, asks us to remember the individuals who perished that faithful day. it direct the secretary of the treasury to make available two

million silver medals designed to be emblem attic of the courage, sacrifice and strength of those individuals who died in the terrorist afax and the bravery of those who risked their lives to save others that day. these medals will be sold with a $10 surcharge that will be paid to the national september 11 memorial museum at the world trade center. all of this will be accomplished at no cost to the taxpayers. mr. speaker, i stand here today to remember those who lost their lives on september 11. they will never be forgotten. i commend my colleague from new york, mr. nadler, the chief sponsor of this measure, for his commitment to getting this issue before the house today. i encourage my colleagues to support this legislation, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves his time. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. mrs. maloney: i thank the gentleman for his statement and i thank my colleague, mr. nadler, for his hard work in

securing the 300 co-sponsors, the world trade center site and museum will be in the district that he is honored to represent. and he has continued to be an outstanding forceful spokesperson, as mr. lee has, in support of not only the suffering of those who lost their lives but for the men and women who lost their health and who are in dire need of health care and support. there are no other speakers on this side, so i yield to my good friend and colleague, mr. lee, to see if you have other speakers and to see if you are willing to yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. lee: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. mrs. maloney: i thank my colleagues in this chamber. i thank americans across this country. on 9/11 many people remember the attack but they do not remember that this was also one of the greatest rescue efforts

in history. i was at the site on september 12, and they were estimating that 25,000 americans perished. but because of the brave work of volunteers, of police and fire, of responders, many, many lives were saved. but many people on that day lost their lives but more people lost their health. and as we know in this body, this was a response not only from new york but 432 different congressional districts sent first responders, volunteers, help. they worked at the pile, they worked at the site and they helped america recover. these men and women were there for us. we need to be there for them. that's why this bill is so important. i urge all of my colleagues to

collectively vote and support it and i congratulate mr. nadler and mr. lee for their leadership in moving this to the floor for a vote. i yield back the balance of my time and urge a yes vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york yields back the balance of her time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4684, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the district of columbia seek recognition? ms. norton: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to the bill h.r. 5341. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5341, a bill to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 100 orndorf drive in brighton, michigan, as the joyce rogers post office building. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, ms. norton, and the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the district of columbia. ms. norton: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. norton: mr. speaker, i

yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. norton: on behalf of the committee of oversight and government reform, i am pleased to present h.r. 5341 for consideration. this measure designates the facility of the united states postal service located at 100 orndorf drive in brighton, michigan, as the joyce rogers post office building. h.r. 5341 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from michigan, mr. john dingell, on may 19, 2010. it was referred to the committee on oversight and government reform which waived consideration of the measure to expedite consideration on the floor today. it enjoys the entire support of the entire michigan delegation. she was born march 16, 1941, in birmington, alabama, and passed away on november 4, 2010, at the age of 78. joyce ronellers was married to john rogers for 57 years and was the mother of five sons, including michigan state representative bill rogers,

major general james rogers of the united states and congressman mike rogers. beyond her devotion to her family, joyce rogers was also a dedicated public servant who worked tirelessly to improve the brighton community. serving an integral role in the economic development of the brighton business community during the 1980's and 1990's, she wants active member of the livingston county board of commissioners from 1985 to 1992 and completed her public service career at the brighton chamber of commerce. she was able to transform into a business community, attracting new businesses and residents to the community. she's especially remembered as a tireless advocate for small businesses and a mentor to many women in the brighton business community. in closing, she's left a lasting impression on the brighton community as well as a legacy which demonstrates the importance of public service. i, therefore, urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure and i

reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i rise today in support of h.r. 5341, to to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 100 orndorf drive in brighton, michigan, as the joyce rogers post office building. mr. speaker, it is altogether fitting and proper that we name this post office in brighton for joyce rogers, a woman who fought day and night and day in and day out to spur economic growth in and around brighton, michigan. known as the queen bee of michigan, she was born in birmingham, alabama, in 1941. her and her husband moved to brighton, michigan in 1968. mrs. rogers became the executive director as the brighton chamber of commerce. when she took over in 1972, it

consisted of roughly 50 members. remarkably today the chamber boasts well over 1,000 members. the economic expansion that has followed in and around the brighton area is truly remarkable and can be attributed to the leadership and perseverance of mrs. rogers. for her tireless efforts, mrs. rogers was named the most powerful person in livingston county in 1996 and fittingly the chamber of commerce building has been named the joyce a. rogers business center. aside from being executive director of the chamber of congress, mrs. rogers served in various local organizations, including the livingston county board of commissioners, the city of brighton downtown development authority and the livingston county economic development council. in 2001, mrs. rogers' health began to decline. in that year she underwent open heart surgery. she decided to step down from the chamber after three decades as executive director.

sadly on november 4, 2009, mrs. rogers lost her long battle with a chronic illness and passed away at the age of 78. she is survived by her husband of 57 years and her five sons. the legacy left behind by mrs. rogers is not only marked by the economic development seen around brighton but also in the family that survives her. a family that like her mother is truly dedicated to public service. in fact, her youngest son, mike, is a colleague of ours in the house of representatives. it is truly a great privilege to have the opportunity to speak on the floor today to honor the mother of this distinguished colleague. aside from my colleague from michigan, mrs. rogers' oldest son, bill, served on the livingston county board of commissioners and represents the 66th district in the michigan state house of representatives. another son, jim rogers, is a major general in the united states army, making us all proud. and still today her husband, john, is serving his community as a trustee of the brighton township board of trustees. mr. speaker, it is proper that