achieved through their hard work and talent that miracle of freedom and economic development that is taiwan. anything that we can do and everything we can do to help them is appropriate. and is dignified. so i thank my colleague, ms. berkley, for bringing this resolution to the floor. i wholeheartedly support it and urge all of my colleagues to do so. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: continue to reserve the balance of my time. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank all of the speakers who spoke on this important resolution, and with that we have no further requests for time. we yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. all time has expired. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to

house concurrent resolution 266. those in favor signify by saying aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, and the concurrent resolution is agreed to and -- ms. berkley: mr. 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 prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlelady from nevada rise? ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, house res. 1538, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1538. resolution condemning the july is 1, 2010 terrorist attacks in

kampala, uganda. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from nevada, ms. berkley, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from nevada. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. 7 -- the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself as much time as i may consume. on july 11, 2010, bombs ripped through a crowd gathered in kampala, uganda, to watch the world cup finals. the somali terrorist group claimed responsibility for these cowardly attacks which killed at least 70 innocent civilians, among those was one american, nate ortega, a committed volunteer with the san diego based n.g.o., invisible children. dozens of others were injured in

the blast, including several members of a pennsylvania church group. the perpetrators of the attack claimed they were in retaliation for uganda sending peacekeeping troops to participate in the african-american -- african union mission in somalia. uganda currently has 3,400 troops deployed to somalia in support and has pledged to deploy an additional 2,000 troops. mr. speaker, the united states and our allies must support efforts by the somali people and the african union to achieve lasting peace, rule of law, democracy, and respect for human rights in somalia. we must work together to eradicate extremism and terrorism from somalia and the entire region and counter the destabilizing influence of radical groups. i would also like to thank my good friend from california, mrs. davis, for introducing this

important resolution. i urge all of my colleagues to support it and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the speaker. i rise in support of this resolution, house resolution 1538, which condemns the deadly suicide attacks that took place in kampala, uganda, on july 11, 2010. in the past, some members have questioned the accuracy of reported links between al qaeda and the insurgents. some claim it is operationally focused solely upon somalia and thus poses no tangible threat to americans, our allies, or our interest. unfortunately, the attacks that rocked uganda on july 11, 2010, provide indisputable evidence that those asummingses were dangerously wrong -- assumptions

were dangerously wrong. an american was killed who worked with the advocacy group, invisible children. this senseless act of violence should serve as a wake-up call to u.s. officials on the need to vigorously address the threat of islamist extremism wherever it lurks. which extends far beyond the middle east. many more lives are at stake. the 1998 east africa embassy attacks exposed and the july 11 kampala attacks affirmed that the united states cannot afford to ignore the activities of extremist groups in africa as they attempt to expand their influence to bolster their ranks and spread their dangerous ideology. we must work vigilantly and cooperatively with other responsible nations to disrupt the operations of extremist groups and hold accountable their regional sponsors. over 18 months ago, mr. speaker,

i introduced a resolution, h.con.res. 16, which brings sorely needed attention to the threat of islamic extremism in africa. it is alarming that even after these tragic attacks i have not been able to get the majority to bring this resolution to the floor. i understand that attorney general holder is currently in uganda attending the african union summit, attempting to impress upon the a.u. heads of state the imperative of confronting violent extremists on the continent. he is highlighting many of the issues that i have been attempting to address for a year and a half. isn't it time for this body to take this threat seriously? so, mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues to consider h.con.res. 16 while supporting this important resolution before us, house resolution 1538. and with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i

yield as much time as he may consume to the the gentlewoman from california, esteemed member of congress, mrs. susan davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for such time she may consume. mrs. davis: i rise in strong support of house res. 1538. i want to thank chairman berman for bringing my resolution to the floor. as the world watched, the world cup finals on july 11, the suicide attacks against innocent men and women in the city of kampala, uganda. at least 70 people died in those blasts. one of whom was a 25-year-old american, nate oteka. this resolution condemns the terrorist attacks in kampala. recognizes the important role uganda plays in the african-american mission and somalia, and sends a mission to our allies that the united states stands by our strategic partners. it also highlights the urgent need for the united states to

work with international community to address the root causes of extremism and terrorism in east africa. and finally, this resolution honors nate and all of the victims of this tragedy. mr. speaker, nate was a committed volunteer for invisible children, ink, a none prolve organization -- children, inc., a nonprofit organization in san diego. it works to shed light on the grim reality faced by many ugandans, particularly children, who are abducted and forced to become child soldiers. nate was a beloved and hardworking part of this cause. whether at the helm of an invisible children band as a member of the team of roadies, or effective and heartfelt sun ray who helped students to school. from what i now know, nate's

humor and determination, it's no surprise he was given the name, oteka, which means the strong one, by his ugandan friends. a name he proudly tattooed on his right arm. responsibility for the attack that killed nate and the dozens of other innocent men and women has been claimed by the somalia based terrorist organization. they have justified the deadly violence on uganda's 3,400 troop contributions to the african union mission in somalia. but al shabab, which means the youth. also chose its targets. to send a message to somalis around the world. a message designed to help tighten its control in somalia and recruit young men into its ranks. including young men from many of the dis-- districts we represent. nate's life on the other hand

and work of groups like invisible children sends a far different message to the youth of africa. a message that is one of promise and hope rather than war. and today congress can help reinforce that message by showing that the american people stand by by side with those who strive to make the future brighter. while at the same time telling groups that we will not ignore atrocities committed against civilians or our allies. i hope, mr. speaker, that all my colleagues will support this important resolution, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, we have no further requests for time so we yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: having no further requests for time, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. all time has expired. the question is, will the house

suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1538, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to. and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlelady from nevada rise? ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to h.r. 5138, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5138, a bill to protect children of sexual exploitation by mandating reporting requirements for convicted sex traffickers and other registered sex offenders against minors, including who engage in international travel, providing advance notice of intended travel by high interest registered sex offenders outside of the united states to the country of destination,

requesting foreign governments to notify the united states when a known child sex offender is seeking to enter the united states, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from nevada, ms. berkley, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from nevada. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i rise in very strong support of this bill and i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. berkley: i'd like to first commend the gentleman from new jersey, mr. chris smith, and the ranking member, ms. ros-lehtinen, for their hard work and dedication to this bill, international megan's law of 2010. this is a product of a two-year investigation into international child sex tourism and

exploitation. staffs on both sides of the aisle, including staff from the judiciary committee, have worked very hard to craft a bill that would serve as an important tool in protecting the children abroad from child sex predators. mr. speaker, some child sex offenders, they are really perverts, travel from the united states to other countries solely for the purpose of committing sexual acts with children. others decide to stay abroad, taking advantage of their nonanimity where laws against the sex acts are weak or rarely enforced. international megan's law would establish a system for providing advanced notice to foreign countries when a convicted child sex offender travels to that country. it also mandates a registration requirement for child sex offenders from the united states who reside or stay abroad. worldwide over two million children are sexually exploited each year through trafficking,

prostitution, and child sex tourism. the damage inflicted on these children by sexual crimes can be incredibly severe and beyond comprehension to most of us. not only are exploited children at risk of physical trauma and diseases such as hiv-aids, but they suffer very serious psychological, emotional, and spiritual damage that can last for the remainder of their lives. between 2003 and 2009, u.s. immigration and customs enforcement cooperated with interpol and foreign law enforcement agencies to investigate cases of sexual exploitation of children abroad, painting 73 convictions for such crimes committed in other countries. this bill will strengthen that enforcement capability and discourage child sex tourism by requiring these offenders to notify relevant authorities of

their intention to travel abroad. it also establishes a nonpublic registry at u.s. counselor and diplomatic missions where u.s. citizens or residents who live abroad and who have been convicted of sex offends -- offenses against minors will be required to register. to know that an individual poses a danger to children and to do nothing simply because that person leaves our territory is unconscionable. we have the capability to help other governments protect their citizens and we need to do all we can to prevent these predators from circumventing our laws to prey on children of foreign countries. mr. speaker, i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to

inform the house that the senate has passed with amendment h.r. 5610, cited as the independent living centers technical adjustment act in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the speaker. i rise as a strong and proud original co-sponsor of h.r. 5138, the international megaan 's law of 2010. the innocence of -- megan's law of 2010. the innocence of childhood should be protected always and everywhere. sexual crimes against children are especially deplorable because they violate that trust, rob children of their childhood and in some cases begin a cycle of abuse that runs multiple -- that ruins multiple lives by turning victims into future abusers. in recent decades, mr. speaker, we have grown in our

understanding of these crimes and the compulsion of their perpetrators, and so our laws have also evolved to better protect the young. in most cases, convicted offenders who pose a risk to children are required to register in the localities where they reside. just two months ago my home state of florida enacted additional safeguards barring predators from loitering your schools and other places where children conregait. but right now such -- congregate. so an alarming number of child predators use the anonymity that comes with international travel to help them find new victims. far away from the jurisdiction where their crimes are known, these offenders enter unsuspecting communities to groom and exploit young boys and girls. this heart-breaking pattern occurs all around the world.

it can involve something as simple as illicit travel to a known sex tourism destination, such as cuba, where that brutal regime remains classified by our state department as a tier three entity that fails to meet even the minimum standards for combating human trafficking. or it can entail a ruse as sophisticated as establishing an orphanage in areas such as southeast asia to security ready access to vulnerable children. these criminals are ruthless in their hunt for new victims. but as things stand today, no country, including the united states, receives adequate warning when dangerous predators are coming to visit. thus, many crimes remain undeterred and undetected and many young lives are permanently scarred as a result. the international megan's law will help protect the children of the world from these dangers

in two major ways. first, it will establish a system for providing advanced notice to officials when a sex offender who poses a high risk to children is traveling to their country. second, it it will require u.s. sex child offenders who live overseas to register and periodically reverify their presence with local u.s. diplomatics or counselsor. it grants clear authority to restrict the passport of convicted child sex offenders so they cannot jump from country to country indefinitely to avoid returning to the u.s. while the bill is simple in its basic concept, it provides a carefully constructed mechanism to ensure that the full range of operational, legal and constitutional interests are protected. i want to thank my colleague from new jersey, mr. smith, for

his leadership on this bill, which is the culmination of years of research, field visits and consultations with u.s. and foreign law enforcement officials. child predators do not become less dangerous when they cross international borders. they must not be allowed to use their passport as a disguise. i urge my colleagues to support this basic protection of our children and, mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the debate on our side be controlled by the gentleman from new jersey, the author of this bill, mr. smith. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. ros-lehtinen: and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time, so i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, the international megan's law is the culmination of over three years of extensive negotiation, research by multiple parties and mr. payne and i are deeply grateful to all who have helped craft this legislation. i want to thank majority leader, steny hoyer, for scheduling this legislation today, and for his commitment to lowering the heinous crime of human trafficking and the international megan's law, has as its singular goal the protection of children from sex predators. special thanks to chairman berman and ileana ros-lehtinen, for their strong support of international megan's law, for shepherding it through the committee and for them and their staff helpful in terms of words and phrases as well as important concepts in the bill. i'd also like to thank chairman payne and ranking member lamar smith, bobby scott for their support and their recommendations that are included in the bill as well. i especially like to thank the

gentleman from california, the former attorney general, dan lungren, now congressman, an expert on megan's law because he was at the forefront in his state in implementing the megan's law for his enormous contribution, and ted poe, who is the co-chairman of the victims caucus for his hard work and compassion who are victimized by any number of crimes, including the crimes that we are talking about today. i'd also would like to thank sheery rickert, christine wells and janice kajiavata, who has done yeoman's work. and the n.g.o.'s that have collaborated with us. the covenant house, which has done a petition drive, and world vision and my distinguished friend from nevada, i thank her for her leadership as well. this is a bipartisan bill, and hopefully it will become law

for one reason, to protect children. mr. speaker, our national and various state versions of megan's law has revolutionized how we deal with child predators. maureen wrote the protection of children in families through information. we all owe an enormous to maureen and richmond for taking a horrific tragedy to sexual abuse and murder of their 7-year-old daughter, megan, back in 1994, and turning it into the noble cause of protecting children throughout the united states. but now it's imperative that we take the lessons learned on how to protect our children from known child sex predators within our borders and expand those protections globally. child predators, mr. speaker, thrive on secrecy and lack of any meaningful accountability. the secrecy they thrive on allows them to commit heinous crimes, crimes against

children, and to do so with impunity. megan's law, with its emphasis on notification and knowing who is going what and where not only protects american children but it also will protect children worldwide. just last month, mr. speaker, the g.a.o. issued a deeply disturbing report entitled "current situation resulting in thousands of passports issued to registered sex offenders." the g.a.o. found that at least 4,500 u.s. passports were issued to known registered sex offenders in fiscal year 2008 alone. the g.a.o. emphasized that this number is probably understated due to the limitations of the data and that it was -- that it was able to analyze and access. let me also remind, we all know it, passports last for 10 years. so, again, this number would grow every year. but it's even more disturbing are the details about 30 of those sex offenders passport recipients that g.a.o. selected for further investigation.

one registered sex offender solicited trips to mexico to find young friends with other boy lovers. the f.b.i. found cameras in a medical bag with a spanish language flyer advertising a procedure that requires children to undress. this offender currently is serving a prison sentence for possession of child pornography. applied for a passport because he plans to live in mexico after he serves his sentence to avoid registering as a sex offender. another sex offender in the g.a.o. report has multiple convictions with sexual contact with 11-year-olds. he had traveled to the philippines, a known child sex tourism destination, as well as germany and france, to receive his passport. he was recently indicted with a possession of child pornography and for attempting to have sex with a 2-year-old little girl. several of the registered sex offenders used their passports to travel to known child sex tourism destinations including

mexico, the philippines and the caribbean islands. the victims of several of these offenders ranges from ages of 7 to 11 years old. mr. speaker, the i.l.o. estimates that will about 1.8 million children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation around the world each year. the g.a.o.'s report confirms that american sex offenders are a significant part of this outrage. according to the immigration and customs enforcement, i.c.e., each year about 10,000 sex offenders covered by the bill before us travel internationally. we have information and the technology at our disposal to determine what constitutes a high-risk registered sex offender and ensure that appropriate government officials are noticed in a timely fashion. and frankly, if the country wants to say you don't get a visa, you don't come or if you do come our law enforcement will keep an eye on you. that's what we hope will happen if this becomes law. mr. speaker, h.r. 5138 would establish the legal framework

that is required to accomplish this very achievable goal of noticing. pursuant to the bill, recommend sterd sex offenders would notice our law enforcement 30 days before they travel, allowing experts in a newly created interflal sex offender travel -- international sex offender travel center, led by i.c.e., to see if they are high risk of exploited children in the country. if they are in the affirmative they will notify officials in that country who could either monitor the activity when he enters or prevent him from entering altogether. the legislation would also establish sex offender registries at u.s. diplomatic mission for u.s. child sex offenders who reside in other countries. this foreign registration system would allow u.s. law enforcement to track the location of sex offenders and to better ascertain if and when they re-enter the united states. clearly, the goals of this legislation do not stop at protecting children overseas

from u.s. predators. sex offenders were around the world are now able to cross boreders and oceans -- borders and oceans under the cloak of anonymity and disappears before a child is able to tell of the crime. we need the administration to pressure other countries to take action to stop child sex tourism originating within their borders and threatening children in the united states and everywhere else. i have, finally, mr. speaker, had so many conversations with people from other countries, foreign dignitaries, who have asked me when the united states congress is going to do something about american sex offenders traveling to their countries to rape their children. the international megan's law is the answer to that question. i hope my colleagues will support it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from nevada continues to reserve.

the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, judge poe, aness steamed member of both the -- an esteemed members of the judiciary committee and the co-chair of the victims rights caucus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate the work that the gentleman, mr. smith, has done on human trafficking throughout the -- his career here in congress to make the congress and the american people aware of this horrible tragedy that's taking place throughout the world. and i especially appreciate his work on this legislation, international megan's law. mr. speaker, slavery is alive and unfortunately very well in this world today. we see it in the form of human trafficking, sex trafficking, slavery of children that are taken from different parts of the world by these slave traders and for money they exploit these children and they make money because there are consumers that want to abuse children.

unfortunately, 25% of the consumers who use sex trade victims are from the united states. they leave this country, they go to foreign countries, they find some child and they abuse that child and they pay some slave trader to do that. a million people a year are involved as victims of human trafficking. 50% of them are children, most of them are under the age of 18. it is the scourge that is taking place in our world today. . it's about time we do something about it. as founder and co-chair along with my friend, mr. costa from california,. victims rights caucus, children that are exploited, that are taken and they are used for sex trafficking first of all are not crime cals. they are victims of criminal

conduct. the criminals are the slave traders and the criminals are those who pay to exploit those children. it's important that we first take care and find out who those victims are. that we treat them as victims, those children, that have been exploited. the second thing we do, we find out who those slave traders are and we put them in jails throughout the world. lock them up. that's where they belong no matter where they do their dirty deeds. and the third thing is those consumers. those who pay to exploit children. some of those 25% from the united states, we not only lock them up, we let people know who they are. we publish their names. we put their photographs on the internet. we let people know who these individuals are. this legislation goes a long way in helping the children. so when come predator gets out of our penitentiary for molesting a kid and wants to leave the country to continue their evil ways, they got to

tell us about it. so we can tell that other country watch out, this guy's coming to your country. so that country can be on notice that we can be on notice that we can keep up with these people. based on my experiences as a judge in texas for over 20 years, unfortunately most of these child molesters when they leave the penitentiary, they do it again. and they continue those devilish ways. and it's important we know who they are. this legislation is extent. i support it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: reserves. mr. smith: i thank judge poe for his extraordinary statement and observation that they recommit. that is what this is all about. i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, ranking member of the house committee on administration and original co-sponsor of this bill. former attorney general from california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. lungren: i thank the gentleman for the time.

mr. speaker, in the mid 1990's when i was privileged to serve the state of california as attorney general, we looked to new jersey for inspiration to change our laws. at that time if you were a sex offenders, convicted of a sex offense and you had served your time, even though that was public information, it was almost impossible for the public at large to know who you were and where you were living. so we decided to follow the new jersey law in california and adopt megan's law which gave information more readily accessible to the public about where these predators live. it has worked enormously well. the claims of those who thought we would somehow deprive those who had served their time of their privacy rights or that we had somehow instilled the seeds of vigilantism have proven wrong. it has worked very effectively. since that time we have adopted

laws such as jessica's law which says that those who are registered sex offenders cannot live near children. they cannot live near schools where children go. they cannot live close to the parks where they may play. that is that has worked well. so some of these sex offenders have decided that they will plie -- ply their trade, so to speak, beyond our shores. those are the one that is this international megan's law directs the attention to. no longer will they have the mask of anonymity when they go looking for children to exploit in foreign countries. this is a simple law. it is a law based on information. it is a law based on the knowledge of those who have already committed and are likely to recommit. it makes imminent sense. we hope there will be a unanimous vote in favor of international megan's law. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i

continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: yes, mr. speaker. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from indiana, mr. burton, ranking member of the foreign affairs subcommittee on the middle east and south asia and one of the original sponsors of this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. burton: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank everybody that's been involved in this legislation. mr. poe, my colleague from california, and i especially want to say something to mr. lungren. i especially want to say something about chris smith, chris smith who is the sponsor of this bill has been one of the hardest working congressmen that i have ever seen in my life. he's worked very hard on the rights of the unborn since he came to congress 25 or so years ago. he's worked very hard on things like megan's law and we have had a lot of great legislators

throughout this body, but i don't know of anybody who has been more dedicated, more committed to doing the right things for children both born and unborn than chris smith. and i think in the bible, i may misquote this, but paul the apostle says i applaud the fight,. that fits you. let me say this about megan's law. there should be no place in the world for these people to hide. there should be no place where they are not prosecuted or persecuted for what they do to these children. and so i think this law is so important because there have been literally plane loads of perverts -- plane loads of perverts, pedophiles that travel around the world to ply their evil when they can't do it here in the united states because we started passing laws that deal

with them so severely. no matter what we do in this legislation or with this legislation, in my opinion it's not enough. it's just not enough. and i don't think i want to be redundant and say anything more than that except for all of you who have worked so hard on this legislation, you have my undying gratitude. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: to close, mr. speaker. i thank again my friends on the majority side for their courtesy and for working so closely with us on this legislation. it truly is a bipartisan bill. in 2000 i was the prime sponsor of the trafficking victims protection act. that is a three piece, prevention, prosecution, and protection. and a very comprehensive effort was made. we are now 10 years into implementation of that law. the report that comes out every year comes out pursuant to that law. one of the things we did was to try to get every other country

to pass laws that look like ours and maybe better and we'll borrow from their ideas. in this legislation as well there is a real admonition to the president and state department to try to get other countries to enact megan's laws in their own countries. a few have them, most don't. so we can protect our kids. i thank you and urge a yes vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from nevada. ms. berkley: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. all time has expired. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5138, as amended. 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 new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i now move that

the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5849. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5849, a bill to provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the small business act, the small business investment act of 1958, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from new york, ms. velazquez, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. westmoreland, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from new york. ms. velazquez: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. velazquez: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. velazquez: in every previous recession, small businesses have been central to our economic recovery. the small business administration has an important

role to play in giving the businesses what they need to succeed. the programs operated by the s.b.a. provides critical expertise in everything from writing a business plan to finding new customers, to marketing a product. while our nation's financial landscape has improved, many small businesses still cannot find the financing they need. to bridge this gap the agency's leppeding program put over $15 billion into the economy, making them the sickle largest source of long-term -- single largest source ever long-term capital so that compures can better tap into the marketplace, there's also assistance to help businesses navigate our government's procurement process. taken together, this portfolio of service can empower small businesses to create new jobs

and accelerate our recovery. since the start of this congress, the house has passed 16 bills to strengthen and modernize the s.b.a. initiatives. however, before these programs are fully updated, they must be extended. this legislation ensures these programs keep operating. i urge my colleagues to vote yes and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. westmoreland: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. westmoreland: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the gentlelady from new york's, the chair lady's request, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5849, a bill to provide two-month extension of the small business administration's core programs through september 30, 2010. the previous extension that passed last april will expire at the end of this week.

in this tough economy small businesses need all the help they can get. however, as the economic downturn has continued, entrepreneurs have lost the support they need from congress and the administration to help them do what they do best --cracy -- create jobs and opportunities. congress has continued along the destructive course of tax increases, government expansion, massive deficits, and job-killing regulations. mr. speaker, as we move toward extending this s.b.a. program, yet again a temporary effort to shore up our economy and small businesses, we must remember that uncertainty is the enemy of growth. certain legislative and regulatory proposals that have been considered in congress lately have injected a tremendous amount of certainty into our markets -- uncertainty into our markets. this ambiguity creates unique

difficulties for entrepreneurs and makes them less willing to take risks to expand operations or hire new workers. entrepreneurs have created nearly 70% of all new jobs in the u.s. in recent years. we can all agree that their contributions to our economy and job force will be what will lead us to our recovery. it's time to show our small business owners that we recognize and support this central role they play in our economy. we can do so by approving this temporary extension of s.b.a. programs and then we must continue our work by crafting and implementing a more thoughtful and complete re-authorization of these critical programs. i would also like to take this opportunity to commend the gentlelady from new york for her leadership in the small business committee. her determination to work for the betterment of america's small businesses has allowed us to produce numerous pieces of bipartisan legislation that have

re-authorized and modernized the s.b.a. and its programs. although we have not yet been able to successfully negotiate a compromise between our bills and what previously passed the house and those that the senate has passed, i remain confident that we will reach an agreement soon and look forward to working with the chairwoman to that end. again i thank the chairwoman for her leadership and support her request to pass h.r. 5849 and urge all members to vote for the measure. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from new york. ms. velazquez: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. if the gentleman has no spurt speakers, i'm prepared -- further speakers, i'm prepared to yield back. mr. westmoreland: i have no further speakers. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady. ms. velazquez: yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the how suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5849, so

many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, thirds third, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5681, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5681, a bill to improve certain administrative operations of the library of congress, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. brady, and the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, will each control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the record and include extraneous material on this legislation. -- in the record and include extraneous material on this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. brady: this has three important areas. the bill was reported by the house administration on july 22, 2010. first, h.r. 5681 would allow the library of congress to dispose of surplus or obsolete personal property and to use the proceeds for these transactions, if any, to by similar but updated property. congress has previously granted such authority to the capitol police and other agencies. this provision will allow the library to replace dated material. this is especially useful with respect to computers and to other technology. second, the bill would also improve administratively to the library student loan repayment program.

currently service must drawdown from its operating budget for loan repayments for its participating employees. h.r. 5681 would create a common fund to support loan repayment agencywide. finally, the bill will make an availability -- make it available, expire but unobligated appropriations balance to pay the library's annual deposits into the labor department's workers compensation fund. this provision will address a timely problem faced by the library and avoid the need for new appropriations. mr. speaker, this bill has the library's full support and i know of no controversy. i urge support of this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. 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, as stated by the chairman of this committee, this is a sensible bill to improve administrative operations at the library of congress and i'm pleased to support it. the bill improves operations at the library of congress related

to surplus or obsolete products. these are reasonable and sound changes. we discussed them at our committee markup. i support them. i thank my colleague and his staff for their hard work. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5681. with that i would yelled back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i urge an aye vote and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. all time has expired. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5681, as amended. those in favor signify by saying 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. brady: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5682 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the

clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. -- union calendar number 328, h.r. 5682, a bill to improve the operation of certain facilities and programs of the house of representatives, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. brady, and the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. brady: mr. speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. brady: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. brady: mr. speaker, the community on house administration has reported this legislation which i introduced on july 1, 2010, to improve the operation of certain facilities and programs of the house. the bill will make two substantial changes into law. first, it will make into permanent law exemplary provision allowing active duty personnel as connolly ason to use the house staff gym. this is working fine.

we impose to make it permanent who wants to exercise here rather than travel to the pentagon or elsewhere. second, the bill will not have needless bookkeeping related to the child care center. at the end of every year, accounts must seek approval to transfer unobligated balances forward to a new year and work with the treasury to implement what has become an annual ritual. it will save staff time, and better spent elsewhere. this will have no impact on the staff or the children. it provides two technical corrections that complies of the pay-go rule. i have no -- i know of no controversy to this bill. i hope the senate will pass this. i urge an aye vote. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. lungren: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lungren: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to support this legislation, providing for administrative provisions affecting the house. the legislation offers the active duty armed forces in the house of representatives may obtain membership and access to the house staff fitness center. given the sacrifices demonstrated by members of our military each and every day and their requirement to stay in good physical condition, this is entirely appropriate. the resolution also establishes, as was mentioned by our chairman, a revolving fund for the house childcare center and it codifies kurt practices relating to the c.a.o.'s allocation care and repair of furniture for use in the house. these are all commonsense and appropriate changes. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5682. with that, mr. speaker, i would yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. brady: myrick, i urge an aye -- mr. speaker, i urge an aye vote and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time has expired. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r.

5682, as amended. those in favor signify by saying 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. brady: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 415. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 67. h.r. 415. a bill to provide capitol-flown flags to the immediate family of fire fighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians, and other rescue workers who are killed in the line of duty. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. brady, and the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. brady: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material into the record on consideration of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. brady: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized. mr. brady: mr. speaker, across this country there are brave public servants who selfishly put their lives at risk for the protection of others. on rare occasions these men and women make the ultimate sacrifice. this bill will provide for a simple and eloquent tribute to these fallen heroes. h.r. 415 would provide a flag flown over the united states capitol to the immediate family of a firefighter, law enforcement officer, emergency medical technician and other rescue workers who die in the line of duty. it will be presented to the house member representing the family. the family would receive a certificate signed by the speaker of the house and their representative presenting the flag and prepared by the clerk of the house expressing sympathy on behalf of the house of representatives. there will be no cost at all to the family. our united states flag flown over the capitol is an expression of national sympathy and gratitude. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to recognize the heroism of these men and women and support h.r. 415, the fallen heroes flag act.

i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. lungren: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lungren: mr. speaker, h.r. 415, authored by the distinguished gentleman, mr. king of new york, allows the representative of the immediate family of the deceased emergency personnel who are killed in the line of duty to provide the family with a capitol-flown flag at their request. these families would also receive a certificate baring the expression of condolence signed by the speaker as well as by the representative providing the flag. nine years later the tragic events of september 11 are still a painful reminder of the sacrifices made daily by our first responders, including our firefighters, our law enforcement officers, our emergency technicians and other rescue workers. these fallen heroes and their families deserve our appreciation, our thanks and our honor for their sacrifice.

and this resolution in a simple way will enable us to show that gratitude. i urge my colleagues to join in supporting h.r. 415, and since i have no other speakers, i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. brady: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd also like to thank my friend, peter king from new york, for this thoughtful bill, and my ranking member for his cooperation and support. i urge a yes vote for this, again, this courteous bill to our fallen heroes that have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. all time has expired. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 415. those in favor signify by saying aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed, 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? >> to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5810 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5810, a bill to

amend title 18 united states code, provide penalties for aiming laser pointers at airplanes, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 5810 establishes criminal penalties for knowingly aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft or its flight path. incidents involving lasers aimed at aircraft have raised concerns over the potential threat to aviation safety and national security. some are concerned that terrorists might use high-powered lasers to among other things incapacitate

pilots. there is also concern that laser devices can distract or temporarily incapacitate pilots. it's a safety hazard to flight operations, even brief exposure to a relatively low powered laser beam can cause discomfort and temporarily affect the pilot's vision the. the visual distractions can also cause the pilot to become disoriented or lose situational awareness while flying. high-powered laser devices can incapacitate pilots and inflict eye injuries when viewed at close ranges. in fact the national transportation safety board documented two cases in which pilots have said eye injuries and -- sussstaped eye injuries. in one of those kashiwadas after a laser was pointed, he experience add burning sensation and tearing in his eyes. a subsequent eye examination revealed multiple flash burns in the pilot's cornea. the f.a.a. researchers have

compiled a data base of more than 400 incidents the between 1990 and 2005 in which pilots have been startled, distracted, tell pore rare-l blinded, or disoriented by laser exposure. government officials at the f.a.a., defense department, and department of homeland security are exempted from the prohibition of this bill as are individuals using lasers to send an emergency distress signal. i encourage my colleagues to support the bill. i thank the gentleman from california for his leadership in bringing this bill to our attention. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. lungren. 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, first i'd like to thank my friend, mr. scott from virginia, the chairman of the crime subcommittee, for working with dispatch to get this bill to the floor. the danger of shining a laser beam into someone's eyes is not

a new concept. it is reported that the power density from a one millie watt laser, a power common in the laser pointers we have become familiar with, focus to a point is brighter than the equivalent area of the sun's surface. understandably this can cause temporary permanent eye damage. the danger from shining a laser at the cockpit of a commercial aircraft, especially during a takeoff or landing, is a tragedy waiting to happen. this bill will help prevent such a disaster from being realized. in 2005, when a similar bill was passed by this body, this emerging threat was estimated at 400 reported instant over the previous 15 years. by contrast in 2009, alone, there were almost 1,600 episodes reported. in 2010, there have been approximately the same number of

incidents from 2009 in just the first half of the year. in my home state of california, there have been over 570 instances so far in 2010. mr. speaker, we have discovered that a number of those instant were reported to the regional air traffic control system unit in sacramento within my district. since the judiciary committee first began examining this issue, the effects of pilots being hit by a beam of a laser pointer have varied from causing the pilots to become distracted to requiring emergency evasive maneuvers. emergency maneuvers to prevent a perceived midair collision resulted from a wide variety of mistaken beliefs, including that the aircraft was about to strike the warning light on a power or that the laser beam was actually the lights of an aproaching aircraft. law enforcement pilots are frequently targeted and have to

consider the possibility that they are being illuminated by a laser scope attached to a rifle. law enforcement pilots have on occasion been required to discontinue a response to a crime, a crime in progress, due to being hit by a laser. some federal prosecutors have declined to pursue cases under current law believing that the current destruction of aircraft statute does not fit the facts of their particular laser case. some states have statutes that have been successfully used to address this problem, but unfortunately many do not. this bill specifically addresses the incident of shining a laser pointer into an aircraft cockpit and will make, therefore, aircraft travel safer for pilots and for the public. while a number of laser pointers being aimed at aircraft cockpits has dramatically increased during the past five years, the power of the current generation

of laser pointer devices has also significantly increased. the cost, on the other hand, has gone down. making them much more widely available. additionally, there are ways to increase the power of certain lasers by replacing the die oweds -- diodes with those intended for other purposes. the problems with lasers being shown in the cockpit is so prevalent in the sacramento area that the f.b.i., f.a.a., federal air marshal service, as well as state and local law enforcement have established a laser strike working group to address the problem. with other working groups expanding to other areas. this bill provides an important tool for securing the safety of air travel and it's endorsed by the air pilots association. i received a letter dated july 27 from the airline pilots association international. wherein they say, the inappropriate use of widely available laser pointers against

airborne flight crews, is a genuine and growing safety and security concern. a laser illumination event can at a minimum be an unwarranted flight crew distraction and in serious cases can even lead to eye damage and temporarily incapacitation. going on the airline pilot association international states that this legislation is greatly needed to ensure that such reckless and malicious activity will in fact be classified and prosecuted as a federal offense. we have worked the airline pilots association international states, with numerous federal law enforcement organizations over the past several years on this issue. and there is strong agreement that such crimes should be acressed by federal statute and not be -- addressed by federal statute and not be adjudicated solely by state laws. h.r. 5810 will also help put the public on notice that shining laser lights into aircraft cockpits is a serious offense

which will be met with serious consequences from those convicted of a such a time. in conclusion the airline pilot association international states we urge congress to expeditiously pass this legislation and thereby enhance the safety and security of all commercial airline passengers and crew members. mr. speaker, i would urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation. if the gentleman from virginia has no other speakers, i have no other speakers, and i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. just to thank the gentleman from california for his leadership. this is an extremely important piece of legislation. i urge my colleagues to support the bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time now having expired, the question is, will the house

suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5810, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3040 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3040, a bill to prevent mail, telemarketing and internet fraud targeting seniors in the united states, promote efforts to increase public awareness of the

enormous impact that mail, telemarketing and internet fraud have on senior, educate the public, seniors, their families, and their care givers how to identify and combat fraudulent activity and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from florida, mr. rooney each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include ex-chains you material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: h.r. 3040 was introduced because of the need to educate the public as to the risks of fraud to u.s. senior

citizens. in 2006, the year the first baby boomers began turning 60, persons 60 and older comprised 17% of the united states population by 2030, it's estimated that those 60 and other will comprise 26% of the u.s. population and the number of people over 65 will exceed 71 million, double the number in just 2000. the older segment of the population owns the largest portion of wealth in the united states and seniors have become an enticing target for those who world seek to take from them their life savings. though we lack mechanisms to track financial exploitation of elders, there is no doubt we have a problem in this country. older americans are at greater risk of having their financial security threatened and disrupted.

fraud perpetrated against seniors is a crime they are often incapable of recovering from because they don't have enough years left. it's a matter of urgency this bill, h r. 3040, will be part of the continuing effort to curb the rapidly growing problem of the victimization of senior citizens via telemarketing, mail, and internet fraud through intervention. it will create a service for education about fraud targeting seniors and will direct the federal trade commission to disseminate information on mail, internet and telemarketing fraud and provide means to report fraud to appropriate agencies and direct the f.t.c. to establish a website to serve as a resource for seniors on financial fraud. this will be in addition to the compensation of $10 million a year for the f.t.c. from 2011 to 2510.

h.r. 3040 will also authorize $20 million a year from f.y. 2011 to f.y. 2015 for the attorney general to establish and administer a competitive grant program too eligible operations to carry out mail, telemarketing and internet fraud prevention to seniors. finally, the bill declares the sense of congress related to senior fraud awareness week and declares that a week in the month of may, elder abuse awareness month, should be designated as senior fraud awareness week. iles encourages the president to issue a proclamation for public awareness. i want to thank the gentlelady from wisconsin for her support on this bill and i urge my colleagues to support the bill i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman, mr. rooney. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may

consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, crimes against the elderly are a serious, growing problem in america. senior citizens are often the victims of abuse and neglect. experts estimate that as many as two million older americans are the victims of physical and psychological abuse every year. they are also the victims of financial crimes, including telemarketing, fraud, and identity theft. the f.b.i. reports that older americans are prime targets for financial fraud because they are more likely to have a nest egg, own their home and have excellent credit. seniors are more vulnerable to fraud schemes because they are less likely to report fraud or are ashamed of having been scammed or do not realize that they have been scammed. these types of fraud are both creative and difficult to detect. criminals will offer just about

anything in an effort to defraud elderly victims from counterfeit drugs to health insurance and anti-aging products and even funeral services. additionally, email scams have become more and more common. in my home state of florida, attorney general bill mccolmes' office reports that in 2009 it received over 13,000 consumer fraud complaints from residents over age 60. the amount of complaints doubled since the previous year and has increased six-fold since 2006. congress must address the rising incidence of fraud and scams that endanger our nation's seniors. i'm pleased to support h.r. 3040, the senior financial empowerment act which is co-sponsored by my colleagues, congresswoman baldwin, chairman conyers, ranking member smith, chairman scott, and ranking member gohmert. this legislation aims to do

just what the title promises, empower older americans to protect themselveses from seemingly harmless but devastating financial fraud schemes. the bill directs the federal trade commission to provide tips to seniors on how to best safeguard themselves against fraud and educate victims on how to report fraud to law enforcement authorities. just learning simple steps like shredding our billing statements can help anyone prevent identity theft. today, seniors need to be empowered to protect themselveses from the internet, email, and telephone schemes. h.r. 3040 will help them achieve this goal. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair are recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. mr. scott: i yield such time as she may consume, the gentlelady

from wisconsin, ms. baldwin. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes ms. baldwin for such time as she may consume. ms. baldwin: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman scott for yielding the time. i rise today in strong support of h.r. 30 40rk the senior financial empowerment act of 2009. my own experience as the primary caregiver for my grandmother opened my eyes to some troubling exploit tative tactics targeted to american seniors. growing up in wisconsin, i was raised by my maternal grandparents. though i went east for college, i returned to my hometown of madison after graduation to be there for my grandmother, who by then was widowed who had sacrificed so much of her own time and energy raising me. eventually i became my grandmother's primary caregiver. around the time that my grandmother turned 90 years old she asked me to help her sort

through her mail and balance her checkbook. now, first i was struck by the sheer volume of solicitations that she was getting. i was also shocked by how many were fly by night organizations or look-alike charities that were writing her on a monthly basis. their pleas for donations looked and sounded legitimate but i had my suspicions. so i started digging a little bit deeper. i was also disturbed by the amount of money my grandmother had been giving to some of these entities. she believed those able to do so ought to be as generous as possible to those -- for those in need. but she had no way of determining the legitimacy of the entities contacting her and soliciting her so regularly. that experience opened my eyes to the very real exploitation of seniors like my grandmother through the mail, telephone and internet. millions of americans become

victims of similar financial exploitation each year. and it's not just -- it's not just the isolated and lonely who may fall prey to these scams. one only need read their local newspaper in order to hear how widespread this really is. in my home district in wisconsin, over the year, we have seen all sorts of scams. one reads ongoing reports about notch baby schemes where people with born between 1927 and 1931 to send them money to increase their payments. they even go so far is to ask whether they had -- they wanted

their money in lump sum or monthly payments. one woman was duped out of $3,000 when a man told her he was in a canadian jail. to convince the woman, officer jacob harris came on the line and convinced her of the need for money for her granddaughter's boyfriend. she woman wired the money and fell victim to a disturbingly common scam. i read that not days after president obama signed the historic health care reform bill into law, fraudsters were figuring out how to scam seniors. a cable tv advertisement exhorted viewers to call an 800 number so they wouldn't miss a limited enrollment period to obtain coverage. we all know that there was no limited enrollment period for any coverage in the health care legislation that we passed.

though we all have read and heard these anecdotal stories, it is difficult to estimate the prevalence of financial exploitation cases due to severe underreporting. according to a 2009 report by metlife mature market institute, for every case of abuse reported, there are an estimated four or more that go unreported. we do know some facts, though. the same study found that the annual financial loss by victims of senior financial abuse is estimated to be at least $2.6 billion. in my home state of wisconsin, the collation of wisconsin aging groups estimates that 35,000 seniors in wisconsin alone were the victims of financial exploitation last year. the wisconsin department of financial institutions reports that half of these cases, half of the cases now being investigated include older victims.

on a national level, postal inspectors investigated almost 3,000 mail fraud cases in the u.s. and arrested more than 1,200 mail fraud suspects in 2007 alone. further, the f.b.i. has confirmed that criminals are modifying their targeting techniques to include online scams such as phishing and email spamming. given the prevalence of financial fraud targeting seniors, congressman howard coble and i introduced the senior financial empowerment act with a specific goal in mind -- empowering seniors and ending abuse, neglect and exploitation of america's seniors. the bill builds on the good work being done by the federal trade commission and the u.s. department of justice and seeks to empower these agencies to support local and state efforts to combat financial fraud and empower our seniors. i'd like to extend my special

thanks to my colleague, howard coble, from north carolina, for his leadership on this issue. it's been a pleasure working with him to advance this legislation. i also want to thank chairman scott and chairman conyers and ranking members gohmert and smith for their long standing commitment to america's seniors. mr. speaker, when i saw my grandmother go through the last years of her life and what she went through with these solicitations, i made a pledge to make sure that all older americans have the tools that they need to protect themselves against financial crimes and fraud. i urge support for the senior financial empowerment act and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman roufs. -- reserves. >> mr. speaker, i continue to reserve. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers.

i'll be prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes mr. rooney. mr. rooney: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes mr. scott. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentlelady from wisconsin for her leadership on this bill as well as the gentleman from north carolina, mr. coble. this is important legislation. it will protect a lot of seniors and i would hope that we pass the bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yield back the balance of his time. all time now having expired, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3040. as amended. 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 -- 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 virginia seek recognition? mr. scott: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4748, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4748, a bill to amend the office of national drug control policy re-authorization act of 2006 to require a northern border counternarcotics strategy, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore:

pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: mr. speaker, h.r. 4748, the northern border counternarcotics strategy act of 2010 amends the office of national drug control policy re-authorization act of 2006 to require that the director of the national drug control policy submit to congress a northern border current narcotics strategy. united states northern border with canada is the longest open border in the world, spanning 12 states and over 4,000 miles. president obama recently released drug control strategy describes an increasing amount of drug trafficking related

activity occurring near the canadian border, including on indian reservations in that area. according to a 2010 national drug threat assess many, the amount of drug commonly known as ecstasy being seized at the northern border has increased almost 600% between 2004 and 2009. the office of national drug control policy has developed a comprehensive strategy for addressing drugs coming across the southwest border. congress supported this effort with a directive contained in the 2006 re-authorization bill. the bill before us today extends that directive to our northern border to help bring focus to the efforts to curb illegal drug trafficking and related crimes on the international border between the united states and canada. as with the southern border strategy, the northern border strategy will detail the specific role and coordinate the efforts of law enforcement

agencies including the ondcp, the justice department, and the homeland security department. in addition, h.r. 4748 reins in indian tripes with -- brings in indian tribes with reservations on the border. i would like to commend our colleague, the gentleman from new york, mr. owens, whose district spans 250 miles along the border, along the st. lawrence river and lake erie for his leadership and important legislation. i'd also like to thank the chairman of the homeland security committee, the gentleman from mississippi, mr. thompson, for his assistance in bringing this bill to the floor. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. lungren. 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: h.r. 4748, the northern border counternarcotics

strategy act requires the director of the office of national drug control policy, ondcp, to develop a counternarcotics strategy for the u.s.-canadian border. given the escalating drug violence in mexico, many people think illegal drug trafficking only occurs across the southwestern border. while the lions share is smuggled into america from mexico, the u.s.-canadian border is a major transit point for high potentcy mariana, ecstasy and other illegal drugs. this is not something new. several years ago when i was chairman of a subcommittee on the committee on homeland security, we held a hearing in our northwestern area that is on our u.s.-canadian border on the west side of the country, and at that time it was pointed out to us the major trafficking in what was known as b.c. bud, a high

grade marijuana, coming out of british columbia. also large amounts of money from the united states crossing over into canada and a serious number of weapons transitting across our common border. it's gotten even worse since then. according to the 2010 national drug threat assessment, asian drug trafficking organizations are responsible for the resurgence of ecstasy in the u.s. since 2005. and these organizations produce the drug in canada and then smuggle it across our northern border. u.s. canadian border is remote, heavily wooded, parsley populated, ideal for smugglers seeking to move their products into the u.s. without being detected. these conditions have led to creative, even brazen trafficking methods. for instance, in operation frozen timber, led by immigration and custom enforcement in 2006. six smugglers were caught

transporting marijuana and cocaine across the border using helicopters. one smuggler touted it as being better than fedex because they delivered anywhere in washington state. operation iron curtain resulted in charges against 45 suspects involved in trafficking approximately $250 million worth of high grade, hydrouponic marijuana into the u.s. annually. america's indian reservations along the canadian border are also exploited by drug smugglers. roughly 20% of the 345eur wanna grown in canada is smuggled across upstate new york. in 2006, congress directed the ondcp to prepare a counternarcotics strategy for our southwestern border. h.r. 4748 mirrors this requirement to produce a strategy for the northern border. the bill requires coordination with the departments of justice and homeland security as well as

other relevant federal agencies. this legislation will help ensure cohesive approach in combating drug smuggling across our border with

federal law enforce amount and small business owners from my district.

canadian tourists who have criven to upstate new york for dinner or a manufacturing plant that imports materials from canada, new york has benefited for decades from a robust business relationship across international borders and any illegal activity that takes place on our border threatens that relationship. organized criminal elements are increasing the border to traffic narcotics, illicit cigarettes, firearms, and humans of the according to the 2010 national drug threat assessment, the amount of ecstasy seized at or between northern border ports of entry increased 594% from 2004 to 2009. in 2009, there were 1,100 drug related arrests of adults in new york's north country. while our nation's drug czar has developed a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the flow of drugs across the southwest border, dealing with this problem at the northern border is currently left up to

individual law enforcement agencies. the northern border counternarcotic strategy act will require the office of national drug control policy to develop a comprehensive counternarcotics plan on the northern border. by passing this legislation, we will be requiring all the relevant law enforcement officials at the federal, state, and local levels to come together and start the process of developing a new approach to combat this problem. it is vital to both the economic development of our region and the safety of our community that we take the steps to stop the drug trade across the northern border. i ask my colleagues for their support and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes mr. lungren. mr. lungren: might i ask the chairman, has more speakers. the speaker pro tempore: mr. scott is recognized. mr. scott: apparently not. mr. lungren: with that, mr.

speaker, i reiterate my remarks and say that this is a very, very good idea. hopefully it will pass unanimously. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman, mr. lungren, yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes mr. scott. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from new york and the chairman of the homeland security committee, mr. thompson, for their hard work on this bill. it's extremely important bill dealing with narcotics on the northern border, i hope we would pass the bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time having expired, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4748, as amended. 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.

mr. scott. mr. scott: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. freight -- 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 massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, rise? mr. mcgovern: by direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 1556 and ask for its immediate consideration clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 225, house resolution 1556,

resolved that upon the adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order without intervention of any point of order to consider in the house the concurrent resolution, house concurrent resolution 301, directing the president pursuant to section 5-c of the war powers resolution, remove the united states armed forces from pakistan if called up by representative kucinich of ohio or his designee. the concurrent resolution shall be considered as read. . the concurrent resolution shall be debatable for one hour with 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on foreign affairs. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the concurrent resolution to final adoption without intervening motion. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one hour. mr. mcgovern: i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. dreier. all time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. i yield myself such time as i may consume and i ask unanimous con sent that all members be given five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on house resolution 1556. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, house resolution 1556 provides for consideration of h.con.res. 301, directing the president pursuant to the pows of the war powers resolution to remove forces from pakistan. it provides for one hour of debate in the house. the rule waives all points of order against consideration of the concurrent resolution and provides that the concurrent resolution be considered as read. mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentleman from ohio for pressing for greater scrutiny on our involvement in pakistan.

by introducing this resolution, representative kucinich triggered and expedited process for consideration that can be modified only by a special rule. this is why we are doing a concurrent resolution today. i'm sure my good friends on the other side of the aisle will remember that this is the exact same process used in 1998 and 1999 when the house republican majority introduced measures to remove troops from bosnia and yugoslavia while our american men and women were in those countries. we welcome a vigorous debate on the resolution, just like debate we was had on policy and -- in iraq and afghanistan, debate has never jeopardized the safety of troops in our -- in the field. our troops are never endangered by looking at the issues.

there are many reasons why we should have a broader debate about u.s. involvement in pakistan. over the past nine years, the united states has provided $18.6 billion to pakistan with about $5 billion of that in administrative aid. the administration asked for $3 billion for fy-2011 with over half of that going to security assistance. there are about 120 u.s. military trainers in pakistan, according to a july 11 "new york times" article. pakistan has set that cap on the number of u.s. military personnel, though other statements from the defense department indicate that the number of total u.s. military personnel may be as high as 200. "the new york times" also reported on july 13 that the pakistan intelligence agency exerts great sway over the afghan stall ban and a wade range -- wide range of other

militant groups that operate inside pakistan. yesterday's revelations in documents published by wikileaks also showed this. most recently, the failed car bombing in times square. a recent study by the rand corporation concluded that this might be due in part to continued support so that pakistan may continue to influence events in afghanistan as well as the counterinsurgency effort that has not proven to be effective and fails to protect the local population. in addition, mr. speaker, there is pakistan's continuing development of nuclear weapons and purchase of nuclear reactors from china. having said all of this, at the same time, there are many thing thinks u.s. is doing right in pakistan. supporting the strengthening of democratic stewings prorkviding substantial support for

primary, middle, technical and higher education. supporting agricultural development and providing substantial aid for populations displaced by violence. mr. speaker, i support the privilege of the gentleman from ohio to bring this matter before the house and present his arguments on the need to remove all u.s. military personnel from pakistan and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. dreier. mr. dreier: thank you, mr. speaker. let me begin by expressing my appreciation to my friend from worcester for yielding me the must mare 30 minutes and i yield myself such time as i may consume and ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dreier: there's no question whatsoever that pakistan is ground zero now struggle against violent extremism. the porous border with afghanistan allows the taliban to retreat into pakistan,

regroup, and launch new offensives against our troops. homegrown insurgents within pakistan have perpetrated counts will attacks, killing thousands, including targeting their attacks against our fellow americans. recent news reports that we've had over the past weekend have only underscored how critically important it is that civilian control, again, mr. speaker, civilian control of the pakistani military and intelligence services is fully exercised. again, these reports that we've had just over this past weekend underscore the fact that we cannot entrust we cannot see these other entities within the i.s.i. empowered without having civilian oversight within that structure of democracy that they have. mr. speaker, the democratically licted government of pakistan is working to eradicate the

terrorist threat on their own soil to secure the border with afghanistan and ensure accountability for the military. working with the pakistanny government to ensure they are successful in doing this is vital to our national security interests. for the sake of our troops in afghanistan and for the sake of stability and security in a critical region, we must remain engaged with the democratic -- democratcally elected government in islamabad. this engagement takes a number of different forms. while we have no combat troops in pakistan, our military commanders have been building relationships with their pakistani counterparts. particular as pakistan can'ts -- continues to go on the offensive against insurgent groups in the tribal borderry john, the technical advisory role of our military is a very limited, yet a very important one. mr. speaker, our national

security leaders, from secretary of defense gates, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mullen, secretary of state clinton, the special envoy, ambassador holbrooke, all agree the democratic and economic development in pakistan is at the heart of our national security interests. building strong institutions will ultimately ensure that pakistan is able to fully eradicate the violent extremism that threatens both our troops in afghanistan and stability for that entire region. that's why secretary clinton, along with ambassador holbrooke and usid administrator shaw have put such a heavy emphasis on development during their visit this past week. there can be no long-term solution to the security challenges we face in south central asia without democratic and economic capacity building. we have a number of ongoing

programs, including, i'm very happy to say, our 20-member house democracy partnership on which i had the privilege of serving with our great chairman david price. we are currently working, mr. speaker, with the pakistani legislature. i underscore the house democracy partnership because sadly, not many members of this institution, or among the american people, are aware of the house democracy partnership. we have partnered with 15 legislatures in new and re-emerging democracies around the world to help build up their parliament. we have one of these programs going with the pakistani parliament. through this partnership, members of the united states house of representatives have the opportunity to engage with our counterparts in islamabad. we've been sharing our experiences as a democracy providing support and technical assistance in their efforts to

strengthen their ledge epping slative institutions. now, mr. speaker, in the case of civilian control of the military, this has a very clear and direct tie to our national security issues, to the overall national security issues and to our national security interests. but the connections go well beyond the most obvious arenas. by improving, mr. speaker, by improving the capacity of the legislature overall, making the government more responsive and accountable to the pakistani people, support for democracy can be solidified. now, as we look at this issue, as democratic institutions strengthen, so does the economic environment providing new opportunity and prosperity. there is this interdependence between political and economic

stabilization. that's why i introduced a resolution to call for us to begin embarking on an f.t.a. with pakistan. with eknee democracy and economic opportunity, as i say, are the only effective bulwarks against extremism in the long run. through greater trade engagement, we can help build the capacity that enables economic growth to help secure a more secure, stable, free and open pakistan. this is clearly in our own strategic interest. the resolution before us today is one that is likely motivated by frustrations that many of us share my good friend in cleveland, mr. kucinich, and i share a level of frustration, especially as i said earlier, with the reports that just came out this past weekend, the wiki leaks report that has been carried widely in the "new york times" and other media outlets. we see the very difficult

challenges that our troops are facing in the region and we know that we must do everything we can to address them. but frankly, it's a little puzzling why we would attempt to address these challenges through a resolution calling for the withdrawal of combat troops from a country where none are deployed. we should be focusing our efforts instead on the kinds of programs that i have described. focus on building of those democratic institutions and creating greater economic liberalization. as we look at this challenge, we all seek peace and prosperity around the world, but in this most troubled spot, in south central asia, we have redoubled our efforts to ensure that that happens. now, mr. speaker, i know that i speak for every single one of my colleagues, democrat and republican alike, when i say that we want our troops in

afghanistan to come home safely, successfully, and soon. as soon as possible. and we want to ensure that we will not have to deploy them again. mr. speaker, we all know, repeatedly, as we look at nations around the world where we have focused in on crises, that they have gone through jeopardizing our national security interests, we have chosen to deal with them, often quickly, but we have failed to recognize how important it is in the long-term for us to do the kinds of things that will build up democratic institutions and ensure greater economic opportunity for these people in these regions. i believe that's a goal that we all share and we're all committed to and with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes mr.

mcgovern. mr. mcgovern: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: mr. kucinich of ohio is recognized for three minutes. mr. kucinich: i thank mr. mcgovern and mr. dreier for enabling me to participate in this debate. a little bit later, we're going to get into the substance of the war powers resolution. but i think it's very important for the record to state, as "the wall street journal" in an article last week stated, that the united states is stepping up a ground presence in pakistan. and it's part -- as part of that ground presence, three united states troops were killed in pakistan. this is according to "the wall street journal." ski unanimous consent to put this in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.

mr. kucinich: the war powers resolution requires the president to report to congress when he introduces u.s. armed forces abroad in certain situations. in section 4-a requires reporting within 48 hours whenever -- and in the absence of a declaration of war for congressional authorization, the introduction of us carpaled -- armed forces, quote, into hostilities or situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances. this is a report from the congressional research service. which indicates since we have had troops involved in hostilities, otherwise they would not have been killed by roadside bombs, that in effect the war powers act is triggered. so this debate is in order, and the purpose of the debate so remove us from pakistan becomes

urgent in light of the leaks expose which indicates that the intelligence agency in pakistan has been collaborated with the taliban in afghanistan against our troops. pakistan wants us in pakistan to help the pakistan government resist the taliban in pakistan. but they want to play a double game as the "the new york times" pointed out in an editorial today, by aiding against our troops in afghanistan. how can we advance our national interest when a country which is supposed to be our partner, is due police -- is wrong? i ask to put the article in "the new york times" be put in

the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcgovern: mr. mcgovern, would you -- the speaker pro tempore: excuse me, gentleman. the chair recognizes mr. mcgovern. mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentleman an additional one minute. mr. dreier: if the gentleman will yield? the speaker pro tempore: excuse me. mr. dreier is recognized. mr. dreier: so is mister -- was the minute yielded to mr. kucinich or me? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. mr. dreier: let me say very quickly, obviously i'm very sympathetic with the concern, and i argue that the revelation of this wicky leaks, you know, thousands and thousands of documents is evidence that we need to work to continue to build the democratic institutions and greater economic opportunity and civilian control. now, it's no secret, over the

past several decades the relationship between the i.s.i. and problems between afghanistan, everyone has been aware of that. now, these documents have underscored the importance of it, but i would argue, mr. speaker, it's essential for us to make sure we build up greater civilian control, and i think that's what we're trying to do. i thank my friend for yielding. mr. kucinich: i thank my friend, the gentleman. i will quote from "the new york times." the "times" said the most alarming of the reports, relating to wicky leaks, was the ones that described the conclusion between pakistan's military service and the taliban, despite the billions of dollars the united states has sent in aid to pakistan since september 11, they offer powerful new evidence that crucial element of islamabad's power structure has been helping to direct and support the forces attacking the american-led military coalition.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentleman one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kucinich: "the times" goes on to say -- we have special forces at least 20 miles inside the borders of pakistan by news accounts, and they want us to help them there while there at the same time -- pakistan at the same time is helping those who are shooting at our troops in afghanistan. now, who are our allies? who are our enemies here? that's the danger of getting increasingly involved on the ground in pakistan. that is why i brought this resolution forward with the help of mr. paul. we have to have this debate. this is -- mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield my friend an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kucinich: "the times" quotes jen at the tray yuss as

long-standing -- general petraeus as long-standing ties between pakistan and the bad guys. "the times" goes on to say in this editorial, it suggests the conclusion goes even deeper, that representatives of the i.s.i., that's their spy agency in pakistan, have worked with the taliban to organize networks of militants to fight american soldiers in afghanistan and hatch plots to assassinate afghan leaders. i'm saying, is the kind of -- we want these people to be our partners, people who are playing a double game with us? this is why we got to get out of pakistan. we have to take a different approach here, and in the debate that will ensue in the next, you know, few hours, whenever it's scheduled, i hope to be able to get to some of the specifics of why this resolution is important at this time. thank you, mr. mcgovern, thank you, mr. dreier, for the opportunity. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: mr. mcgovern reserves the balance of his time.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i yield three minutes to my good friend from lake jackson, texas, mr. paul. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. paul. mr. paul: i thank the gentleman from california for yielding. i thank you both for bringing this rule to the floor even though it is a privileged resolution. a privileged resolution has to qualify under the law and under the war powers resolution this does qualify. the question is why are we doing it at this time. it seems like pakistan is a minor problem compared to what's going on in afghanistan as well as iraq. i think people have to realize that we go into war differently these days. we don't marek declarations of war -- make declarations of war and people get behind it. we slip into war, we fall into war, we get into these messes

and it seems to me it's so much easier to get into these problems than getting out. we debate endlessly about getting out of afghanistan. we've debated for years of how and when it's ever going to end in iraq. we bring this up now because this is an appropriate time. it's escalating. the war is spreading, and we're trying to stop this. we're trying to let the people know and let the congress know that this war is getting bigger. it's not getting smaller. a lot of people thought with this administration the war would get smaller and we would end some of this. it has been said we need to be here for national security reasons. i disagree with that. i think that the fact that we're in there makes me feel more threatened because pakistan is not about to attack us. and we talk about the few troops there and that they're insignificant and don't worry about it, it's not real, but that's the way we started in vietnam.

people were training soldiers and before you knew it we lost 60,000 people. but you know, in this day and age with the type of wars that we fight, occupation with combat troops is not exactly how we get involved. and i believe the way i read the war powers resolution it does involve attacks on countries with bombs. and this is what we're doing. we're attacking this country. the people of pakistan don't like it. the number of drone attacks on -- in pakistan now is double the number than it was under the bush administration. so it is escalating. there have been 14 al qaeda leaders killed by these drone attacks, but there were also 687 civilians killed. so, therefore, the efficiency of this isn't all that good. now there's reports coming out that these drones don't always come back and a lot of times they crash and a lot of times

we have to go out and find there so there's a lot of activity going on. there's another reason we bring this up at this time. it's financial. we can't afford to expand war. we can't afford the wars we have already. we can't afford to take care of our people at home. this costs money, and since we see thises a an escalation and more provocation and a greater danger to us because people are going to get upset. the people don't like this. there has actually been a court ruling in pakistan that says that we should, you know, stop the bombing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i yield my friend an additional two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. paul: i thank the gentleman for yielding. but the finances are certainly important. we in the congress, because we're slipping into this war, we have just recently granted $7.5 billion of aid to pakistan and what do they do with this money? well, it's supposed to not be

military. it's supposed to help rebuild their country, help their infrastructure. well, we need a couple dollars here for our infrastructure. but they can take that money, it goes into their intelligence. their intelligence observations are being used for the taliban, and we're fighting the taliban. so it's totally inconsistent that we're on both sides of so many wars and what's going on. the mujaheddin, their our allies. it's the occupation of the soviets. it's occupation that's the issue. we were on their side, and the soviets were run out. but now that same group, who are called the taliban now, the taliban, we have to remember had nothing to do with 9/11. it was the al qaeda, not the taliban. the taliban are people who are unified with one issue, one concern they have, foreign occupation or foreign bombings of those countries. we need to make sure the

american people know what's going on and that there are sometimes revelations that we don't hear about. too often our government is involved in secret wars. there was a secret bombing of cambodia. in fact, in cambodia back in the 1960's. here we are slipping and sliding once more in the escalation of this war which unfortunately is going to cost us a lot of money, it's going to cost a lot of lives, a lot of innocent lives and unfortunately -- i wish i could believe that we are going to be more secure for this. i think we're going to be less secure because of this activity and we will finally someday have to meet the question of why do they want to come here to kill us. do they want to do it because of their religion? do they want to do it because we are rich and because we are free? no. they want to come here because we occupy their territory. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. paul: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes mr. mcgovern.

mr. mcgovern: i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from colorado, a member of the committee on rules, mr. polis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. polis: i rise in support of the rule and in opposition to the supplemental funding to escalate the war in afghanistan. this nation does face a very real terrorist threat, but the terrorist threat is a stateless menace, a menace that is not rooted in any one location or has one dominion in one location. it is in fact mobile. in fact, the two countries that our nation continues to occupy, afghanistan and iraq, is not significant operation for al qaeda. this discussion should absolutely include pakistan and the border area, particularly between afghanistan and pakistan. we have in pakistan a better partner than we have in afghanistan with regard to the war on terror. it is not an ideal partner, but it is a better partner than we

have found. and i hope our nation continues to work with the good people of pakistan and the good forces within the government of pakistan to help keep the american people safe and the pakistani people safe. we need to continue our efforts to battle terrorists wherever they are, and how to focus on the stateless menace, we need to use intelligence gathering, targeted special operations and refocus on homeland security. all these are very costly and expensive and are ongoing and indefinitely occupation of afghanistan reduces our ability to do the things we need to keep the american people safe. that's why i've consistently opposed the escalation of troops in afghanistan and will continue to do so today by voting against the supplemental funding. the answer is not to indefinitely occupy countries where we only breed more sympathy with those who do us harm. we must bring the war in afghanistan to a responsible end. that's why i'll vote against

the war supplemental and i call upon my colleagues to join me in helping me protect americans with a new foreign policy in the region. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes mr. dreier. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i have to say that it's fascinating to see my two very good friends, our former presidential candidates, mr. paul and mr. kucinich, who have obviously come together working very thoughtfully on this. and i think, mr. speaker, that they are both making some very interesting arguments about the cost, about the challenges that exist, and i do concur with that. i'd simply say that we are where we are today. it's very unfortunate that we are where we are today, but -- where we are where we are but the fact of the matter is that is what we do face. there are a number of people who, as leaders on this issue within the obama administration, are working

overtime to seek to address this. i mentioned secretary gates, admiral mullen, secretary clinton,ed a bam door holbrooke. i -- ambassador holbrooke. i spent time with them talking about the challenges of this issue. as i mentioned earlier, i am very privileged to work closely with david price and the other 18 members of our house democracy partnership because we concur the notion of anything other than civilian control of the military and the intelligence services in pakistan or any other country, for that matter, is not acceptable. and that's why i believe that while we look at the cost of both life and -- lives and the financial burden that is imposed on us, we need to ensure that we are not going to face the kind of threat that we have before. now, we know that al qaeda and

those al qaeda-inspired terrorists, not necessarily tied to al qaeda, but inspired, exists all over the world. we recognize that. but we also have to, mr. speaker, realize that pakistan, this day, continues to be ground zero. as i said, the po rouse border with afghanistan provided an invitation for al qaeda in afghanistan to move into pakistan. as we look at the difficulty that exists for decades -- that exists. for decades there have been problems with the i.s.i. i just mentioned in a private discussion i had with my friend from cleveland that i remember vividly in the 1980's, 1987 to be exact, when i had the opportunity to travel with our former colleague, the late charlie wilson who took me to pakistan and at that time, we witnessed problem within the i.s.i., but the fact that there are problems within the i.s.i.,

appropriately, we saw -- well, appropriately or inappropriately, i mean, the leaks that came out, i know there are more than a few who believe this could jeopardize the lives of our fellow americans who are over there, but the fact of the matter is, it's not a completely new revelation. that's why doing everything within our power to strengthen democratic institutions and opportunities for greater economic liberalization so that we can see the economy of this country of 140 million people in south central asia grow to the point where we will diminish the kind of threat that we face on september 11. it's hard to believe that here it is now almost august and we will be marking the ninth anniversary of one of the most tragic days in our nation's history. that is the reason that we are doing what we are in pakistan and afghanistan.

has it gone perfectly? absolutely not. no one can point to a war that's gone absolutely perfectly. maybe grenada, the invasion ronald reagan had in the 1980's. but it's rare that one can point to a conflict the likes of which we have never seen before and come to the conclusion that this has been handled perfectly. confirmation hearings are going on right now for the new sent come leader. we have a new general leading the effort in afghanistan. the highly, highly acclaimed general david petraeus, who successfully oversaw the surge in iact -- in iraq and we're all gratified that we are seeing the democratic institutions build up in iraq, still problems, just the news this morning of an al qaeda attack in mosul in iraq. so we're continuing to see problems, but i believe that if we were to take this action,

that we would undermine the ability for us to continue our quest to strengthen both the democratic institutions and the opportunity for greater economic opportunity to exist in this very, very critically important country. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 4684, an act to require the secretary of the treasury to strike 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: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentleman from texas a minute.

mr. paul: i have one question about the rule, how will the time be divided? the speaker pro tempore: the time will be 30 minutes for mr. -- mr. mcgovern: 30 minutes for mr. kucinich and 30 minutes for the committee on foreign affairs. mr. paul: so it will be one hour? thank you. mr. mcgovern: i have no other speakers than myself. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: to simply use this opportunity to, again, talk about the very important work that is taking place in pakistan today, we all know that it is among the most troubled regions in the world. we just had the resolution read from the desk as we look a year from this coming september, we'll mark the tenth anniversary of september 11 and it was, as i said a moment ago, one of the most tragic days in our nation's history and we all -- those of us who were

privileged to be serving in the congress can recount the time here in the capitol on september 11 and of course i'm immediately thinking about what a horrible, horrible day it was. like many people, i have -- i knew people who were killed on september 11 and it changed our world forever. we're dealing with a difficult and unprecedented situation. i have to say that i'm troubled with the notion of this resolution, respecting my colleagues and actually agreeing with a number of arguments they make, but i believe that the resolution that will be made in order under this rule, as was said we don't actually need a rule to do it, but the structure put in place under this rule, to allow for consideration of the gentleman's resolution, is one that i think could create the

potential to to undermine something i believe we all want to achieve. and that is, we want to make sure that pakistan, as it's developing its sea legs, i was just thinking about meeting -- a meeting that mr. price and i and other members of our house democracy partnership had with prime minister gulani not long ago and with the speaker of the pakistani parliament and was as we look at the democratically elected leaders there who on a daily basis are striving to make sure they can have adequate oversight of both the military and the intelligence agencies. i remember seeing general musharraf, i was with him the day he gave up his military uniform and became a civilian leader system of they are continuing to work through this

and the support that we are providing, which is in our national security interests is very important, and i mentioned, mr. speaker, the notion of a free trade agreement with pakistan. i think that creating an opportunity for the greater free flow of goods and services will strengthen again the economies of both the united states of america and pakistan as well. so these are the kinds of things that need to be done in our national security interests. if i said this once, i've said it 100 times here on the house floor, the five most important words in the preamble of our u.s. constitution that inspired -- that inspired document, offered by the great virginian, james madison, the five most important words are, provide for the common defense. virtually everything else that's done can be done by other levels of government,

whether it be individuals, families, churches or synagogues or mosques, cities, county, states, but national security can only be handled by the united states of america's federal government. and that's why i believe that we need to do what we can to ensure that we are successful and as i said, our men and women come home as quickly as possible and safely. so i will say that my colleagues are working diligently on this, but i do believe that at the end of the day this resolution is not worthy of our support. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair reck nizzes -- recognizes mr. mcgovern. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. let me begin by saying that i'm not sure whether the underlying resolution introduced by mr. kucinich is necessarily the

right way to approach this issue, but he and mr. paul are reflecting the anxiety, the growing anxiety and growing fear of a lot of members of congress and throughout the country that the united states of america gets -- is continuously getting sucked into wars that have no end. wars that are costing us dearly in terms of the lives of our brave men and women who serve in uniform, it's costing us dearly in terms of our economy, we are going bankrupt. the reality is the wars, by and large are not paid for. the war in afghanistan, the war in iraq. it's all going on the credit card. it's going to be paid for by my kids my grandkids and my great grandswids. -- grandkids. i think they also reflect this feeling that we seem unable to be able to make the necessary

adjustments to our policy when they appear to not be working in the way we would like them to work. in afghanistan, for example, we've been there for nearly 10 years and the wiki leaks documents published all over the world, they remind us that notwithstanding all the act fices of american soldiers and their families and all the money we have poured into that country that we don't have any reliable partners. the afghan government is corrupt and incompetent. the president of that country oversaw an lech where they stuffed the ballot boxes. and our men and women are sacrificing their lives to prop that government up. they don't have a -- redon't have a reliable partner in the afghan police or the afghan military. as we learned from these documents, again, it is -- it isn't new but it was emphasized by the release of the documents, that we don't have a

reliable partner, by and large work certain elements of pakistan. that does not mean we should walk away from pakistan. i want to agree with much of what my colleague from california, mr. dreier, said. i believe it is important for the united states to support civilian institutions and to support democratic movements in pakistan. i want the civilian government of pakistan to be able to be controlled, to be able to have control over the security forces and the military forces in a way that we believe they are actually in control. so you know, i think that this debate we're going to have here today on pakistan and the war powers act is important. i'm not quite sure that this is the way we should deal with pakistan, with the underlying resolution, but i'll conclude by making reference to another measure we're going to be voting on here today, the supplemental war funding bill. in light of what was released

yesterday, in light of all the questions that have been raised, it seems to me that it is inappropriate for us to vote yes on a blank check for this administration to do whatever they want in afghanistan. i have great respect for the secretary of defense and secretary of state and the president of the united states but i have to tell you, i am deeply troubled that with all that is coming out that we're not doing hearings, we're not doing our oversight, we're basically going to be asked to vote for a $33 billion package, all borrowed money, and kick the can down the road and let's hope when we come back in september that maybe things will get better. we were told almost a year ago that we would never have another supplemental. here we are doing another supplemental. weave policy in afghanistan that is not clearly -- we have a policy in afghanistan that is not clearly defined.

i understand the frustration of mr. paul and mr. kucinich, i share thatting an psi a-- anxiety and frustration as well. but it seems to me that we in congress have a responsibility too. these wars are not just the administration's wars. they are our wars too, we found them. we're the ones who go along with it. we're the ones who decide whether to condition aid or withhold aid. i think we should be doing a better job. we have known for a long time that the pakistan intelligence agencies have been undercutting our efforts in afghanistan. they have put our soldiers at risk. we have known that for a long time. yet what have we done? so this may be a time for us to raise some of these issues, raise some of these questions, hopefully have more -- prompt more memories of this body to get involved in the debate but also to send a signal to the administration that we need to re-evaluate what we're doing. if we're going in the wrong

direction we need to have the courage to change course if necessary. so with that, mr. speaker, i would urge a yes vote on the previous question on the rule. i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time now having expired, without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. dreier: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. dreier: ski for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise, a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this

question will be postponed. fumped the gentleman from massachusetts rise? -- for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? mr. mcgovern: i send to the desk a privileged report for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 1559, resolution providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 5822, making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2011, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume in the following order -- adoption

of house resolution 1566, motion to suspend the rules on h.r. 5730, and motion to suspend the rules on h.res. 1366 each by the yeas and nays. the unfinished business is the vote on the adoption of house resolution 1556 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 225, house resolution 1556, resolution providing for consideration of the concurrent resolution, house concurrent resolution 301, directing the president pursuant to section 5-c of the war powers resolution to remove the united states armed forces from pakistan. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the adoption of the resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote.

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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 222 and the nays are 196. the resolution is adopted. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman, mr. marky, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5730 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5730, a bill to rescind earmarks for certain surface transportation projects. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote.

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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 394, the nays are 23. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is pass and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from illinois, mr. costello, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1366 as amended on yi the --

which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 217, house resolution 1366, resolution recognizing and honoring the freight rail industry. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. members will record thr votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of

the speakepro tempor on this vote, the yeas are 411, the nays are zero, two members recorded as present. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and withouobjection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table and without objection the title amended.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will please be in order. members will please clear the well. i ask members to take their conversations off the floor so we can proceed with business.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, by virtue of the passage of house resolution 1556 providing for the rule, i call up house concurrent resolution 301. sproy the clerk will report the title of the con current -- the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the chair would ask all members to take their conversations from the floor so we may proceed with business. the clerk may proceed. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 301, concurrent

resolution directing the president, pursuant to section 5c of the war powers resolution to remove the united states armed forces from pakistan. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 1556, the concurrent resolution is considered read and shall be debatable for one hour work 30 minutes controlled by the gentleman from ohio, mr. kucinich, or his designee and 30 minutes equally controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on foreign affairs. mr. berman and ms. ros-lehtinen each will control 15 minutes. mr. kucinich: the house is still not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the gentleman may proceed. mr. kucinich: thank you very much. i yield myself three minutes.

u.s. special forces are in pakistan. congress never voted expressly to send troops there. congress has a constitutional responsibility under article 1, section 8 of the constitution and ski unanimous consent that this article 1, section 8 be included in this debate. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. kucinich: under article 1, section 8 of the constitution, it's congress which has the power to declare war. now the war powers act extended the debate over article 1, section 8 by pointing out that if circumstances occurred where the president committed troops to imminent hostilities that congress has the right to create a debate and to create a vote over whether or not those troops should stay in those hostilities. now, are there hostilities involving u.s. troops in pakistan?

the answer is that three u.s. troops were killed as a result of an i.e.d. in pakistan in february. now that was reported last week in the "wall street journal." there's just no question that troops have been involved in imminent hostilities in this case, they perished. now there are those who maintain that the war powers act is superseded by the authorization for the use of military force which passed congress on september 14, 2001. i have here a copy of that resolution, which i ask unanimous consent to put in the record in this debate. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kucinich: and that resolution has this language. nothing in this resolution supersedes any requirement of the war power resolution. let's put to rest right away that the authorization for use of military force would cover

our presence in pakistan and make -- and obviate the need for any discussion. it is very clear that the president has a responsibility to notify congress, he has a responsibility, according to section 4 of the war powers act to report to congress whenever he introduces u.s. armed forces abroad in certain situations. section 4a1 triggers the time limit in the section and requires reporting to congress. why is that? because the people's house has a responsibility under the constitution, we cannot abrogate or renounce that responsibility this debate today is about assuring that congress has a role in a critical foreign policy area where our troops have already lost lives in pakistan. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, may i

inquire -- has there been an announcement by you regarding the time of the opposition? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio has 30 minute the gentleman from california has 15 minutes, the gentlewoman from florida has 15 minutes as well. mr. berman: thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in opposition to the resolution and i yield myself such time as i might consume. mr. chairman, this is the second time in four months we are debating a resolution under the war powers act. i welcome congressional scrutiny of the commitment of u.s. forces abroad and i appreciate the gentleman from ohio's effort to focus attention on one of the most sacred duties of congress. but once again, i have to take issue with the invocation of section 5c of the war powers act as the basis for this debate.

that section authorizes a privileged resolution, like the one before us today, to require the withdrawal of u.s. armed forces when they are engaged in hostilities and congress has not authorized the use of military force. whereas the afghanistan war powers debate focused on whether there was an authorization for u.s. military force, here, we do not even reach that question because, based on everything i know, u.s. forces are not engaged in hostilities in pakistan. "the wall street journal" article distributed by my friend from iowa refers to the u.s. military's role in training and humanitarian assistance programs in pakistan. that's not, quote, engaging in hostilities, end of quote. in fact, our armed forces participate in these types of programs in dozens of countries around the world.

the gentleman refers to the terrible tragedy of three u.s. forces killed by an i.e.d., they were on a humanitarian aid mission. we have people on such missions, people involved in military training, uniformed officers, who have been killed in many different parts of the world from that, one does in the draw the conclusion that the u.s. is engaged in hostilities with enemy forces. in fact, our -- since u.s. forces are not engaged in hostilities in pakistan there is no factual basis for invoking the war powers act. mr. chairman, pakistan is an important partner in the fight against extremism. last year, congress demonstrated america's long-term commitment to pakistan by passing the enhanced partnership with pakistan act of 2009. any attempt to cut the military ties between our two countries would be counterproductive for

our national security interests in the region. no matter what your position on the situation in afghanistan whether you think we should withdraw tomorrow, shift from a counterinsurgency strategy to a counterterrorism strategy, or send in even more troops there is no reason to automatically conclude that we should cease our efforts to help pakistan address the dire threats to its security. in 1990 we stopped providing military assistance and training to pakistan for what seemed like a good reason at the time. but as a result a whole generation of pakistani military officers rose through the rappings without any connection or affinity with the united states. and that contributed to some of the suspicion and mistrust that we are still struggling to overcome. mr. chairman, there is no question that pakistan needs to step up in a number of important areas. we hope to improve cooperation

on various security issues, strengthen the role of pakistan's democratically elected government and achieve a greater parody between military and civilian assistance. the united states is aiding pakistan because it is in our interests to ensure an economically and politically stable pakistan does not provide a sanctuary for al qaeda and other terrorist organizations. the reports in recent days that elements of the pakistani intelligence service may have been aiding our enemies is nothing new to those of us who have been following this issue and is not a reason to abandon our many friends in pakistan who are struggling to modernize their economy, their political system and their military. the security forces of pakistan are steadily taking on a taliban-backed insurgency, taking direction action against those who threaten pakistan security and stability, including military operations in

the federally administered tribal areas and the northwest frontier province. mr. chairman, i'm concerned that using the war powers act to call for the removal of u.s. combat forces which do not exist will only serve to inflame pakistan's sensibilities and do nothing to strengthen the partnership that we need to achieve our goals in this critical region. i urge my colleagues to oppose the resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio. >> with all due respect to my good friend from california, special operations troops are inside of pakistan right now. three troops have died, maybe they didn't intend to be hostile, but somebody intended hostilities towards them. mr. kucinich: there's no question about the hostile climate. what i'm trying to do here with the help of mr. paul is to stop expanding the u.s. forces' footprint in pakistan so that we

stop an expanding war. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jones. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. jones: mr. speaker, thank you very much, and i thank the gentleman from ohio for this resolution and also the gentleman from texas to. die for a mistake, to die for a mistake, the lessons our leaders did not learn from the vietnam war, that's why this is -- this debate is so important today. because i remember mr. nixon saying no, no, there are no troops in cambodia. then a year later he acknowledges there are. that's all it takes is a little incursion here and a little incursion there and before you know it it's out of control. this article was written by a vietnam veteran.

his son, a graduate of west point, killed in iraq. to die for a mistake. the dirty little secret to which few in washington will own up is that the united states now faces the prospect of perpetual war and conflict. that's why this debate has to take place. whether we have three americans killed in pakistan or we have 33 or we have 300, where is congress meeting its responsibility? that's what this is about. i will regret to the day i go to my grave that i voted to give president bush the authority to go into iraq. we did not meet our responsibilities, we passed some little resolution and i voted for it. we trusted the president to not to go to war unless it was absolutely necessary but we went to war. mr. speaker, i've signed over

9,400 letters to families. this is my retribution to my god for not doing my job that day when i voted for that resolution. that's why i stand on the floor today with the gentleman from ohio and the gentleman from texas to say, let's meet our responsibility, let's not keep saying to the american kids, you need to die for a mistake. let's give them purpose. and with that, mr. speaker, before you call me down, god, please bless our men and women in uniform. please support this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: i believe that this dangerous resolution is less about u.s. policy toward pakistan than it is about afghanistan and a backdoor attempt to force u.s. withdrawal from that country. because our success in afghanistan is directly linked to our effort in pakistan,

withdrawal from the latter and you may bring defeat in both. in response to the september 11 attacks, congress authorized the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against the perpetrators of those attacks, including against those who harbored such organizations or persons in order to prevent future acts of international terrorism against the united states. well, al qaeda and its allies in pakistan fit that description precisely. our wonderful u.s. personnel in afghanistan are there to train and support pakistani military and security forces to enable them to battle their own insurgencies including al qaeda and other threats. much of this training is not combat-related but instead is focused on helping pakistan undertake civil military operations aimed at establishing stable and effective civilian authority in areas that are now

offlimits and serve as safe havens for extremist groups. far from withdrawing we must work with pakistan to do more against the militant networks in that country that use it and neighboring afghanistan as a launching pad from which to direct attacks against us and our allies. the adoption of this resolution would undo our efforts to accomplish these goals and build trust and credibility with pakistani leaders and the pakistani people that will help provide for long-term stability and advance our long-term interests. mr. speaker, removing our personnel from pakistan would present al qaeda with a gift that it desperately needs and convince it and the world that it is winning the fight, thereby inevitably enhancing its prestige, confidence, ambitions, resources and recruits. if this resolution were adopted it would make it more difficult

and perhaps impossible for general petraeus to effectively implement the strategy that he is pursuing in afghanistan and that is being carried out by a brave -- our brave men and women serving there. some will focus on the information reportedly contained in the many thousands of classified u.s. documents related to the conflict against al qaeda and the taliban in afghanistan and pakistan that is on a reckless and irresponsible act which compromises u.s. security as justification for this resolution. some of those documents reflect the legacy of mistrust between the united states and pakistan as well as between pakistan and afghanistan, a legacy which we are even now trying to overcome through enhanced dialogue. i'm gravely concerned that those leaked documents may have put in jeopardy coalition troops and our military mission.

as national security advisor general james jones has warned, the leaks could, quote, put the lives of americans and our partners at risk and threaten our national security, end quote. but we would be compounding the risk and further undermining our efforts against radical islamic militants in pakistan and in afghanistan if this congress would take this knee-jerk approach to our national security and military strategy by adopting this resolution before us. instead we must remain focused on our mission, on success, on prevailing against the global jihadist network. these islamic radicals in pakistan and afghanistan who seek to destabilize our allies and attack our nations and our interests are driven and focused on carrying out their deadly mission. we must in turn demonstrate that we possess the strength of

character, the commitment, the where with all to counter al qaeda, the taliban and other enemies at every turn. we must not be looking for any opportunity or execution to -- excuse to seek an immediate withdrawal from the epee center of violent extremism -- epicenter of violent extremism. i strongly urge my colleagues to vote against this dangerous measure and with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: i thank the gentlelady for whom i have the greatest respect, for her concerns about the resolution. but i would like to respectfully suggest to her that the danger that's presented here is if this congress ignores the wikileaks documents that point out a connection between pakistani intelligence and the afghanistan taliban wrrks they're actually helping the taliban against our troops, we have to pay attention

to that. so i didn't create this resolution in order to link it with the afghanistan war, but the pakistan intelligence has created the link with the afghanistan war because they are actually helping the taliban. they created the link. i yield one minute to the gentlelady from california who has been a strong advocate for peace in this congress, ms. woolsey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i rise today to support wholeheartedly mr. kucinich's and mr. paul's resolution to remove u.s. armed forces from pakistan. the war powers act clearly states that the president must seek congressional approval before committing u.s. troops and before committing funds. as recent media reports confirmed, our troops are in pakistan without congressional authorization and they as well as we ask, to what end?

mr. speaker, we are running up record deficits with two wars which have cost the united states in blood and treasure. together the wars in iraq and afghanistan have cost the american taxpayers over $1 trillion and worst of all, more than 5,600 men and women in uniform have given their lives. and what do we do -- what do we get for all of this, mr. speaker? instead of winning the hearts and minds of the iraqi and afghan people we're fueling hatred and insurgency. and now we want for that to in pakistan. i don't think so. let's not do it. i urge my colleagues, demand that the administration comply with the war powers act, remove our troops from pakistan. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i yield

myself 30 seconds just in response to my friend from california's point. the war powers act, i repeat again, doesn't deal with the presence of military forces without an authorization from congress, it deals with engaging in hostilities or imminent hostilities without the authorization of congress. we have uniformed personnel in pakistan, they're working on the military assistance program, they're working in training pakistani military, they're involved, as the wall street jurmd revealed, in -- as "the wall street journal" revealed, in the delivering of humanitarian assistance in areas that are not secure enough for our a.i.d. and civilian personnel to go.

the wikileaks documentsworks all of the transparency -- documents, with all of the transparency that it provided to us about what the situation is, i'm unaware of any interpreter which indicates reports of military u.s. forces engaged in hostilities in pakistan. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: i want to introduce and ask unanimous consent a gallup poll that revealed that 59% of pakistanis viewed the u.s. as their biggest threat and that 67% of pakistanis polled were opposed to u.s. military operations in their country. now, mr. -- thank you. now, mr. speaker, if that -- if putting our troops into -- inside the borders of afghanistan, if we're not putting them in a hostile environment with those poll results, i don't know what would be hostile. i yield three minutes to mr. paul of texas who is the co-sponsor of this resolution and i want to express to him my

gratitude for his patriotism. mr. paul: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i ask unanimous consent revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. paul: first off i'd like to address the subject about hostilities. it is true there are no armies facing each other shooting and killing each other, no tanks, not those conventional type of hostilities but we don't live in a conventional era and we don't fight conventional wars but there's a lot of hostile action going on. in looking and checking to find out if anybody's been killed, the reports that i found, anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 pakistanis have been killed. now that sounds like it's rather hostile and that comes not from our invasion in troop but we've invaded them with our predatorsworks our drone missiles and we drop bombs and we aim at targets, always at the bad people. but the best of my knowledge from the information i get is that 14 al qaeda leaders have been killed and the rest have been civilians and who knows

exactly what their sentiments would be. maybe a lot of them are defending their own country. maybe they see that they don't like foreign occupiers. but there's a lot of hostile action going on and a lot of people are dying. the gentleman from ohio is quite correct if you check with the people of pakistan they don't want us there they don't want bombs dropped on them. how would we react in this country if all of a sudden there was a drone missile that landed on one of our cities and either one or two or three americans were killed? we would be outraged and we'd want to know about it. here we do it constantly. where the real secrecy, i complain that we don't know enough about it we give up our prerogatives we allow the president to do what they want and we capitulate and give them the money. but i argue we don't know enough, and the american people

don't know about it until we get deep into the quagmires and messes. what about in pakistan. last lot of conniving going on there because i'm sure their leaders are quite satisfied with us going in there because we bribe them. we in congress just passed a bill that promises them $7.5 billion. that's how they stay in power. it's also how they can help the taliban who is fighting us. the whole thing is such a mess. but the people, you ask the people of pakistan, they're not going to support this the argument is that we have to support this because our generals want us to because this is our mission. what is our mission? our mission ought to be to defend this country, preserve liberty and show people what a free society looks like. we shouldn't be trying to tell other people how to live with bombs and threats. we give them two option we tell them do it our way, and if they do, we give them a lot of money. if they don't do it our way we start bombing them. but we don't achieve anything.

that's my contention. we just go on and on. my big beef is that the overall policy, i know we're talking about the technicalities and talking about afghanistan and pakistan, but we don't solve any technical problems until we deal with the subject of what kind of foreign policy are we supposed to be the policemen of the world? are we supposed to be in nation building? are we supposed to be bankrupting our people? are we supposed to do nation building around the world and neglect all of ours? it's coming to an end because this country is bankrupt and we have to change our policies whether we like it or not. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon, the ranking member on the committee on armed services. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mckeon: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. i rise in opposition to this resolution and i'm pleased to

join my colleagues on the foreign affairs and armed services committees who are opposed to this ill-timed and ill-conceived measure. i'm disappointed that the house democratic leadership would allow this resolution to come to the floor for a vote at this time. in april of 2009, the president released his strategy for afghanistan and pakistan and began to make the case to the american people that security and stability in the region are vital to the u.s. national security interests. i support this strategy. in pakistan, instability and violence have reached new highs with the insurgency moving east ward toward the capital of islamabad and bombings and suicide attacks on the rise. this fight not only affects the people of pakistan, but our security too. moreover, pakistan is an essential partner to the united states both in the near and long-term and we must remain committed to building trust

between our two nations. it remains in our national interest to defite al qaeda and its extremist allies and ensure they will have no safe havebs from which to attack the american people. in pakistan, the government and people are increasingly seeing the insurgency operating from the tribal border areas as the most existential threat to their country. despite pakistan's increased military operations, the scale, nature, and frequency of violence in pakistan makes it a nation more appropriately comparable to a combat zone such as that found in afghanistan and should be treated as much. rather than a central european country speaking foreign military financing that is why our military partnership with pakistan is essential. there are approximately 230 u.s. military personnel in pakistan.

all assigned to the office of the defense representative to pakistan. this small contingent is in pakistan at the invitation of the government of pack stadge to -- of pakistan to support security programs and training to deepen our cooperative relationship with pakistan. let me be clear. this is not a combat mission but a train and equip role for the u.s. trainers in pakistan. these trainers were selected based on the requirements established by the government of pakistan. these programs are key to pakistan's counterinsurgency operations. training which pakistan needs to combat al qaeda and taliban forces operating within their borders. representative kucinich's resolution, if enacted into law, would mandate the withdrawal of all u.s. troops from pakistan by the end of 2010.

why consider this resolution now? why second-guess the commander in chief and his commanders without giving the military a chance to implement the strategy? finally, mr. speaker, i want to send a clear message to our military men and women. this congress believes in you, we support you, and we honor your dedication. i urge my colleagues to vote no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: i thank my colleague for his support for the troops. we both support the troops. the question is, some of us believe that the best way to support the troops is to bring them home. i yield one minute to mr. ellison. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. ellison: let me thank the gentleman for bringing this resolution. let there never be another war, military conflict or armed hostilities involving the united states military

personnel that is not openly debated, expressly authorized and consented to and scrupulously overseen by this congress. we are the congress. it is our job to do our constitutional duty. it is not second-guessing. it is oversight. it is engaging in the process of governance. there's nowhere in the constitution that says that the president just gets to go and fight wars without the oversight of the congress. it's not unpatriotic. it is not being a poor citizen. it is doing your constitutional duty to say that if you're going to commit troops, then we have a duty to know why, when, how, and there are provisions in the constitution and the war powers act to make sure that congress has the ability to keep -- to do their constitutional responsibility. we can't shirk these duties, constitutionally. not under the war pow -- neither the war powers or

anything else, we are in pakistan, we are there with troops on the ground, apparently, and we are there with unmanned aerial vehicles. we have to discharge our responsibility. mr. kucinich: i yield the gentleman another half minute. mr. ellison: ewith cannot etc. tape -- escape the weight history has assigned to us. we cannot turn a blind eye when we know troops are there and engaged. it's not responsible, it's not right. the pakistani public opinion is at an all-time low with regard to the united states. why? we hardly know because we haven't dealt with this engagement in a forthright manner. vote ysm the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. berman: i want to, if i might, mr. speaker, respond to my friend from california my neighboring district, the ranking member of the armed services committee.

he made a reference to the house leadership he couldn't understand why it was setting this for debate. this is a privileged resolution. pursuant to the house -- pursuant to the war powers act, number one. that's why it's being set for debate. it's a privileged resolution. it's not up to the leadership whether or not to debate this issue. unless we change the statute. secondly, while i disagree with my friend from ohio about whether the requisite requirements of the war powers act are met because my conclusion is we are not engaged in hostilities as that term is used in the war powers act, i do want to say, i don't understand why somehow debating a subject, seeking oversight, making sure that taxpayers' funds are well spent that our

troops are protected and being well served, that our interests are being pursued by a particular operation, why the debate of that on the house floor is evidence of not supporting the troops. to the contrary, having had more debate on the house floor -- had we had more debate on the house floor over the last 10 years, perhaps $8 billion in military assistance to iraq that was lost and can't be accounted for might not have happened. i know one thing, perhaps we wouldn't have given the military leader of pakistan free rein to cut deals with talibani groups, appeasement agreements in various parts of pakistan during the period prior to his removal from office. perhaps we would have a greater sense, and here we do, have a greater sense of knowledge of where our defense aid is going and what our military

assistance is being used for than ever before, in large part thanks to the oversight responsibilities of the committee on oversight and government reform. these are useful processes. they're much better than simply providing the money and then turning away until it's all over. i commend the gentleman for using what i think is the wrong vehicle but the appropriate subject of having an open discussion about the need to know what we're doing. i think that serves our forces an serves our country. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: i'd like to inquire how much time each side has left. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio has 17 minutes. the gentleman from california has seven minutes. the gentlewoman from florida has seven minutes. mr. kucinich: i would like to yield mr. paul of texas three

minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. paul: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to talk a little bit more about our policy because i said before i think it's the policy that gets us into these predicaments and that if you deal with this as a strictly technical, tactical problem we have to face and how to rectify our problems, i don't think it will occur. i think we have to deal in the overall policy. in many ways, we follow a schizophrenic type of foreign policy because one time our best friends -- they're our best friends, then later on they become our worst enemies. this was true with saddam hussein. in the 1980's, he was our friend and we took care of him and we sent him -- encouraged him, supported his war. then, of course that changed. but even right before 9/11, the taliban was still receiving money from us.

now they receive money from us indirectly. the taliban gets money from the pakistanis, or at least information, as has been reported but they literally get some of our money in the process because in order for us to move equipment through afghanistan, literally, they end up getting american dollars doing this. so here we are, going into pakistan, one of the arguments that go into pakistan is we have to go after the taliban, they're over there and they're organizing and they want to kill the american soldiers in afghanistan. so this means that now they are our arch enemies. but the taliban, especially in the 1980's, and the 1990's -- in the 1980's, they weren't called the taliban. they were child mujahideen. it was a precurse -- they were called the mujahideen. they were a precursor.