the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 232 --

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the ye are 234, the nays are 184, the concurrent resolution is agreed to. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business of the house, the house on reconsideration will pass h.r.

3808, the objections of the preside to the contrary, notwithstanding. in accordance with the constitution, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possibley the national captiong initute, inc., in cooperation with the united ates house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 185. the nays 235. 2/3 of those not responding in the affirmative, the bill is rejected. the veto message and the bill are referred to the committee on the judiciary.

e clerk will notify the senate of the action of the house. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise to honor a former colleague today, the late congressmanoen pickett who

passed away -- ow, n pickett who passed -- owen pickett who passed away. he was dedicated to our military, to his constituents. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman is recognized. mr. nye: mr. speaker, congressman pickett represented the second district of virginia for 14 years from 1987 to 2001 prior to that serving in the virginia house of delegates. he passed away on october 8 of this year at the age of 80. owen pickett understood that the best way to get things done was to work with people from both sides of the aisle. congressman pickett always put his constituents first. he stayed out of the partisan bickering that so many politicians fall prey to and instead focused his energy on how best to serve the people he represented. a member of the armed services committee during his entire tenure, he distinguished himself as an outspoken

advocate for a strong, advanced and superior military and an improved quality of life for our military personnel and their families. and enduring support of military facilities for the greater hampton roads region. there are some here today who had the honor of serving in this body with him. at this time i yield to my colleague from virginia, mr. wolf. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. wolf: i thank the speaker. i thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, we are saddened about the passing of our former colleague, representative owen pickett, who served the second congressional district of virginia from 1987 to 2001. owen was a respected principal leader and sometimes we never really get to know each other in this institution, and sometimes it's almost never. but he was a good man, decent

man, very honest, very ethical, very decent and very, very committed to the military. he was a tireless representative of the best interests of norfolk and the virginia beach area, and with deepest sympathies to his wife, cybil, his three daughters, and his family, i just want to say well done, a good and faithful service. i would like to put an obituary with it and i yield back. mr. nye: i'd like to yield to mr. scott from virginia. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. mr. scott: mr. speaker, the citizens of hampton roads lost a dedicated public servant. i had the honor and privilege with serving with owen both in the virginia house of delegates and in congress. i join my colleague, mr. moran, for stating that owen pickett was a true statesman, effective legislator who enjoyed great respects from both sides of the aisle. as already been pointed out, although he retired almost a decade ago, he remained an

important, active voice on issues affecting hampton roads and the commonwealth of virginia. i thank my colleague from virginia and all my colleagues from virginia for the great respect and admiration they have shown to owen pickett. mr. nye: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield time to our distinguished majority leader, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to thank my friend, frank wolf, who is my good friend and we worked very closely together. owen pickett was the kind of member that brought real respect to this institution. he worked on both sides of the aisle. he worked very strongly on behalf of our national security . he was a member who was popular on both sides of the aisle. and owen pickett and norm served together on this side of the aisle with frank and i for

many years. we have newer members here. but owen pickett was someone who this institution could have justifiable pride in. and who could look to him and say that is the kind of member, frakly, that we all ought to be, showing respect for one another, working with one another on behalf of the american people and their security. and i rise to extend great sympathy to his family, but much more importantly than that, to give thanks on behalf of this institution and on behalf of our country for his extraordinary service. and i yield back. mr. nye: mr. speaker, i'd like to ask for unanimous consent that the house now do observe a moment of silence to remember congressman owen pickett, a former member who will be dearly missed in southeast virginia.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection, five-minute voting will continue. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, ms. norton, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5758, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5758, a bill to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 2 government center in fall river, massachusetts, as the sergeant robert barrett post office building. 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 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 representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are --

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 417, the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the

table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the the gentlewoman from hawaii, to suspend the rules and agree to h. res. 1715, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1715, resolution congratulating joe paterno on his 400th win as penn state lions football head coach. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device.. 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 representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this are 3. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the

resolution is agreed to. and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which a vote incurs objection independent clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. the house will be in order. please remove discussions from the chamber. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. watson: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to resolution, h.res. 1677, as

amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1677, resolution condemning the bermese regime's undemocratic upcoming elections on november 7, 2010. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. watson, and the gentleman from illinois, mr. manzullo, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. watson: 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 resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlelady will suspend. can we remove conversations from the floor so that the gentlelady can continue?

the gentlelady from california. ms. watson: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as i may consume. on november 7, 2010, berma held its first elections in 20 years. this -- burma held its first elections in 20. this should have been a great day for the people of that impoverished nation but instead it was more of the same. the ruling junta fixed it and the vote was marred by widespread fraud and intimidation. this important resolution condemns the military regime's blatantly undemocratic effort to legitimize its rule through a sham election process. in 1990, aung san suu kyi,

referred to the n.l.d. party, held free and fair elections, but the junta refused the election and instead arrested and -- arrested activists. more recently in 2007 thousands of ordinary burmese citizens and buddhist amongst led a series of peaceful -- munks led a series of peaceful demonstrations only to be brutally crushed by the regime. today there are more than 2,200 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience lange wish -- languishing in burmese prisons. the junta claims that the burmese constitution of 2008 is

part of a road map to democracy, but in reality that bogus document maintains power in the hands of military appointments. it permits the head of the military to intervene in national policy and ensure that key government ministries are held by junta officials. under this framework, true democracy is impossible. the regime's recent decision to release aung san suu kyi is a transparent attempt to divert attention from its fraudulent elections. the international community must speak with one voice to condemn the result of the november 7 election, press the burmese junta to respect basic

human rights and allow freedom of expression and freedom of association. it must call for the release of political prisoners and support national reconciliation between the junta, aung san suu kyi and political leaders. we must also continue to press for international inquiry into the regime's crimes against humanity and war crimes and do everything we can to end the systemic use of rape as a weapon of war, killing, torture and child labor. mr. speaker, i urge all my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution, and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. manzullo: i rise in opposition to the sham elections which took place in burma. as a sponsor of this important resolution, i want to lend a public voice for those yearning to see democracy take real roots in burma. the purpose of the election is clear, to trench the military junta's rule under a cloak of democracy. notwithstanding the release of aung san suu kyi, the junta's actions cannot be an excuse to draw the curtains close on so many people in burma who yes or no for the fresh breath of -- who yearn for the fresh breath of freedom. they won 80% of the vote in the sham election, the burmese regime clearly demonstrated its adherence to the famous victim, the political power comes from the barrel of a gun. to make matters worse, just as rigged election results were being reported, junta troops

engaged in shootouts with ethnic minority forces in border areas, sending tens of thousands of refugees fleeing into thailand. artillery fire even flew over the border injuring refugees, thai civilians. it is no way for any government to conduct an election. and while we all want the release of the acclaimed nobel peace prize laureate aung san suu kyi, no one should think that the leopard has changed its spot. the junta has pulled her out and put her back in whenever it serves to their whims. the regime has now decided it's time to place her again in the world's spotlight. but we cannot for one moment forget that there are an estimated 2,500 other political

prisoners, including brave monks and oir revolution from the saffron revolution three years ago who still languish in the burmese gulags. until that is achieved, aung san suu kyi and others are not free. i led the effort, along with joe crowley, to award the congressional gold medal to aung san suu kyi. we must not forget the strength and hope she represents. we must never be fooled into believing that this time there really will be a change in burma. a flawed election process cannot hide the fact that until a sincere, transpernt dialogue is begun with the opposition that there cannot be true democracy and rule of law in burma. one need to only recall that hitler and stalin had elections also as they were just as meaningless. and this raises the whole

question of the value of engagement with a regime which hunts down refugees and shells its neighbor in the aftermath of bogus elections. the administration clings to the desperate hope that talking to thugs will lead to a world of peace and harmony. the burmese junta and their bogus elections demonstrate the naive assumptions behind this approach to foreign policy. the release of noble peace prize lawyerette aung san suu kyi from house arrest, however, still leaves one peace prize behind bars. the recent price of a chinese dissident. it seems high time for the rulers in beijing to follow the examples their burmese buddies and immediately release them. voices can never be truly

secure no matter how much voter fraud they conduct to prop up their regimes. i strongly and enthusiastically urge my colleagues to stand up for democracy and freedom in the proud ancient land of burma and to wholeheartedly support this resolution. i reserve the balance of my time and thank you. i have no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. watson: mr. speaker, i urge three minutes to -- yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, rush d. holt. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. holt: mr. speaker, i thank the gentlelady from california, and i rise to express strong support for house resolution 1677 offered by mr. manzullo. and i rise to denounce the flawed undemocratic election that took place in burma earlier this month. for nearly half a century now, the liberties of the burmese people have been held hostage by military rulers. the rejackson lee fused to

honor the results of open elections in recent decades and forced the acceptance of a new ill legitimate constitution in a sham refer dumb. last week, the junta again chose to disregard the will of the burmese people by staging a fraudulent election. when i first visited burma decades ago i learned what a difference a misguided regime could make. burma had been a vibrant country known as the rice bowl of asia. burma had had a rich history, fertile land, abundant resources and a productive population. in the years following the coupe in the early 1960's, the regime impoverished the nation and brutalized the people. the general rejected the people of the burmese citizens and killed political dissidents and failed to address humanitarian suffering cause bid their own mismanagement and caused by tragic natural disasters. the united states has a duty to

stand firmly against the military's human rights abuses and to work for justice, reconciliation and the rule of law in burma. i join with those around the world celebrating the recent release from house arrest of nobel peace prize laurette aung san suu kyi who has led for reform in burma, a great personal sacrifice for over two decades. the outpouring of support and affection for her is a clear signal that the spirit of liberty endures among the burmese people. that we must be mindful of history's lessons. the military junta will not tolerate actions that threaten its iron grip on power. that's why the united states must continue to pressure the regime to end its repressive practices and to accept an immediate transition toward a more democratic government that respects human rights and respects the aspiration of the burmese people. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. man scombluleo: i continue to reserve the balance -- mr. manzullo: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. ms. watson: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time and i reserve the balance of my time. mr. manzullo: i yield back. ms. watson: mr. speaker, i yield the balance of my time. . and on that note, mr. speaker, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house us suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1677 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are -- ms. watson: mr. speaker, on that vote, i request the yeas and nays.

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. watson: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to resolution h. res. 1672 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1672, resolution commemorating the persian gulf war and reaffirming the commitment of the united states towards the persian gulf war veterans. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. watson and the gentleman from illinois, mr. machine zuleo, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentlewoman from california. ms. watson: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to extend and revise their remarks and include extraneous remarks on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. watson: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of this legislation and yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. watson: i rise in strong support of h. res. 1672, which commemorates the persian gulf war of 1991. and reaffirms the commitment of the united states to the well-being of persian gulf war veterans. more than 20 years ago, on august 2, 1990, saddam hussein ordered his army into kuwait starting a crisis that would lead to war.

although some predicted that iraq's incursion would be limited, within hours, iraqi forces had seized downtown kuwait city and were headed south towards the saudi arabia border, occupying kuwait along the way. what followed was the largest buildup of american forces since the vietnamese war. within the short period, members of the 82nd airborne division as well as 300 combat aircraft were headed to scrabe. -- saudi arabia. by the end of september of 1990, there were 200,000 american personnel ready to repel an iraqi attack. recognizing the magnitude, the president ordered additional soldiers to the persian gulf. during that period, an

international coalition was formed with more than 30 nations joining the effort to repel iraqi aggression. on november 29, u.n. security council passed a resolution authorizing the use of force if iraq did not withdraw from kuwait by january 15. and on the morning of january 16, 1991, allied forces began the first phase of operation desert storm. after 38 days, air campaign, operation desert saber, a massive ground attack was launched by american and clollings forces into both iraq and kuwait. 100 hours after the ground campaign began, the president declared a cease fire. mr. speaker, our men and women in uniform did win that war.

their bravery in battle liberated a country and defended our friends from saddam hussein's aggression. we recall with special appreciation the 383 men and women who gave the utility mate sacrifice and the 467 who were wounded, as well as the thousands of veterans who, to this day, suffer from illnesses related to their gulf war service. mr. speaker, the resolution before us recognizes the historical importance of the 20th anniversary of the persian gulf war. it honors the noble service and sacrifice of the united states armed forces that have served in the persian gulf during that war and since. and it encourages all americans

to participate in commemrative activities and to pay tribute to the veterans of the persian gulf war and it also calls on the president to issue a proclamation recognizing the war's 20th anniversary and reaffirms the united states' commitment to peace and prosperity in the persian gulf region. i strongly support this resolution and i encourage all of my colleagues to do as well. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? mr. manzullo: i rise in support of the resolution and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. manzullo: mr. speaker, 20 years ago on august 2 of 1990, saddam hussein's iraqi regime invaded and occupied nearby kuwait.

in response, the united states stood firmly against this act of aggression and led a strong coalition of responsible nations in making clear that saddam's actions would not be tolerated. as a result of u.s. leadership, the u.n. security council adopted a dozen separate resolutions that demanded that iraq unconditionally withdraw from kuwait and increase economic sanctions and other pressure against saddam's dictatorship. on november 29, 1990, u.n. security council authorized the use of all necessary means to compel iraq's withdraw from kuwait. congress voted to authorize america's armed forces to enforce the u.n. security council resolution with respect to iraq. mr. speaker, when called to action, our men and women in uniform, almost 700,000 of whom served in the theater, fulfilled their mission in an exemplary

manner with valor and honor. joined by our partners, the united states overwhelmed saddam's forces and drove them out of kuwait that lasted fewer than 30 days. sadly, during the gulf war, 383 americans made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives and service to our nation and more than 460 were wounded. among those were died was a flight surgeon from illinois by the name of doctor korrett when his jet aircraft was shut down. the returning veterans of the gulf war have suffered from serious health problems. in 2001, i offered the persian gulf war compensation act to make sure our veterans received compensation for illnesses from gulf war syndrome. it garnered support from more than half of the house of

representatives and signed into law by the president of the united states. it was thanks to the love and dedication of donna steele from freeport, illinois, that helped me understand the devastating nature of gulf war syndrome. as we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the gulf war, we must honor the service and sacrifice made by service members and veterans. further, we must reaffirm our didges to ensure peace and stability in the gulf region which is a key u.s. interest. i'm proud toe support house resolution 1672 and thank mr. michaud for introducing this measure. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from california. ms. watson: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from maine, mr. michaud. mr. michaud: thank you, mr. speaker.

i rise in strong support of house resolution 1672, a a bill i introduced to commemorate the persian gulf war and commemorate the veterans who served in it. a cease fire was declared by prarb president bush on february 28, 1991, 100 hours after the ground campaign began. this war is far from over for the veterans who served in the gulf. in fact, an estimated 174,000 still suffer from gulf war illness, including gulf war syndrome. these veterans and their families must now wage a campaign of a different sort within the v.a. system. this includes my constituent, michelle como of dixville, maine who was exposed to toxic gas as a member of the army national guard.

this led to migraines that has since herndonned her disabled. her two daughters were born with rare birth defects and developed symptoms similar to their mother. sadly, michelle and other veterans and their families across the country continue to suffer. not enough is known, including whether or not it can be passed from one generation to the next. because of this, it is critical that v.a. continues its research on illnesses of gulf war veterans. this resolution will -- we are considering today commemorates the gulf war and honors the veterans who served there. it is fitting that the veterans affairs committee ranking member, steve buyer, is here to speak on behalf of this resolution. in addition to being a persian

gulf veteran himself, congressman buyer began his career created a national created a national persian gulf veterans registry. this was set up to provide a physical exam and to track the veterans who served in the gulf. i want to thank congressman buyer for his service to the great nation of ours and thank him for his service and time here in congress, which i enjoyed working with him on the veterans affairs committee. i urge all of my colleagues to join me today in supporting house resolution 1672 to encourage americans to pay tribute to those veterans and let them know that their struggles and sacrifices will never be forgotten. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. mr. manzullo: mr. chairman, it's a real honor and privilege to yield to steve buyer of indiana

such time as he may consume. ranking member of the committee on veterans affairs. he and i are classmates. we trained in school together to run as members of congress. he is a dear, dear friend. our offices are in the same hall and unfortunately, he will be leaving the congress this year. and to mr. buyer, i'm proud to yield such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mr. buyer: i thank the gentleman from illinois and i thank you for your friendship and personal council over the years and likewise, i'm so pleased that your wife continues to do well. and to my friend mike michaud, mike, if i may have the latitude to address him by his first name, mr. speaker, you know, i

think when members look back, they don't remember all the difficult and challenging moments. they remember the things that really bring joy to their life. and one of the joyce i had in life is getting the opportunity to meet some real genuine people. and that's what mike michaud of maine is. you are a genuine human being and it is your nature, it is your character, it is your moral compass. the reason i use the word genuine. and you are truly one of the individuals that i will miss when i look back at congress. i really will, mike. i only wish your conference had made you chairman of the veterans affairs committee, i really do. because you and i could have done a lot of great things together. in reality, the unwritten history will be the success of the committee occurred not by your current chairman, but

because of the work around solutions that we were able to do by you and i working together with stephanie and the sergeant major and vic snyder. history may not credit you, mr. michaud, for all the things you have done, but i'm going to let everyone known all the great things you have done on behalf of veterans of this country and i'm proud of you. i think not only of myself but my colleagues. i want to make sure you deserve the full measure. when i think about 20 years ago, saddam hussein was pretty stupid. the decided to take seven of his iraqi divisions and invaded kuwait. the committed terrible atrocities on the people of kuwait and raped and pillaged the city of kuwait city. and when the president then immediately sent the 101st and

82nd airborne divisions as a blocking force to then protect saudi arabia they had to build up the logistics of saudi arabia itself and activate reservists. not since world war ii had there been such a deployment, not only of the air but of the sea and the activation of the guard and reserve and bringing seventh corps out of europe. saddam hussein decided to pick a fight and he took on the united states at a time when the united states was its strongest. we had completed the reagan buildup. reagan built up our forces, a lot of good yums were made in the latter part of the 1970's and 1980's. les aspin, then the chairman of the committee, though he made some policy changes with regard to how soldiers would be paid and those paid issues got resolved later in the latter part of the 1990's, les aspin and then the democrat control

of the armed services committee worked with ronald reagan and built up our force. that was about standing down the soviet union. as we then stood down the soviet union, we had a military that was extraordinarily powerful and saddam hussein took on america at a time when we were the most powerful. with regard to our combat experience, the combat experience for the gulf war was truly also of value in that our senior level leadership, the senior n.c.o.'s, the first sergeants, sergeants major, the colonels this egeneral officer corps, the admirals, they were vietnam veterans. so as we went into operation desert shield/desert storm, the leadership in that war, they said, well, we know what happened during vietnam and they always prided themselves if they only got -- if they

ever got themselves in another fight they were going to do things differently. there was going to be no such thing as rotation. that's what happened in vietnam. when we arrived in at the for the the first gulf war, it was duration, was the theme, not rotation, meaning we will be here so long as it's necessary to throw saddam hussein out of kuwait. as it turns out, it was 100 days. it was a 100-day ground war. what isn't counted is everything that it took to pull off a 100 day ground war. bringing out so many of the guardsmen and reservists was extraordinary. what was amazing about all of this is that that type of callup of all the guardsmen and reservists then support the active elements actually was bringing america to the war. when you pull off -- you pull out a teacher, pull out someone who leads the church choir, you pull out someone who is the

butcher and the baker and you then send them to war, you're bringing america to war. america really at the time wasn't -- was a little shocked. some of us for myself, the callup was in three days. i got a notice and i was gone in three days. and it was pretty extraordinary moment not knowledge my life but in a lot of people's lives. when i think back about all of this, i really compliment the extraordinary leadership not only of then -- of dick cheney but also colin powell and norman schwarzkopf. i also look back with great pride at the men and women in theater. i believe the active duty, who had always sort of looked down and chastised the reserve components had new respect for the reserve components. i look back at the persian gulf war. it was a defining moment i

think at the time for our country. in regard to veterans, you're absolutely correct with the number in excess of 170,000, when you think of the number of those of us that actually went, i don't know the exact number, probably around 700,000, is that about right? of us that went, that is a very large percentage that have some form of illness. i was pretty startled by all of this. i do recall what it took to sort of expose that some bad things had happened and to -- the fact that we had blown up one of the army depots that contained some mustard and saran gas and that plume was so large it went over thousands, tens of thousands not only of our own troops including myself, but also of our --

about 10,000 in the u.k. and to think that the d.o.d. was not forth come with that information to our veterans for a long time is very disturbing. i do recall when i got home, i did not have the physical strength to run down the end of the lane. that's only about 1,000 feet. and here i am 30 years old, physically fit, come back from war and i don't have the physical capacity. something had happened to me. and i dnt know what it was. i do recall that my wife wanted me to go to the v.a. or go to the doctor and i refused to do it. i are refused to do it because i said, joanie, if i go, they're going to say it's in my head, i made it up, it's not real. yet something had happened to my body. when i then came to congress, i can assure you when i look back at it, all of us know when you run for congress, it takes about a year, it takes a lot

out of you physically. it was -- i was very sick in that first year i ran for congress. when i got here, i decided that i had to accept and get out of the denial mode and step forward and provide voice to a lot of my comrades. that's what i chose to do. it's very difficult, especially all of us as public figures to be willing to step forward and put a face, especially your own, on something like that. i chose to do that. i remember working not only with the gentleman from illinois but also joe kennedy at the time. one of the first things i learned about politics, too, you take somebody like joe kennedy and married him up with steve buyer, bring something to floor, nobody voted against it. we made sure these veterans got their access to health care, then creating the compensation for undiagnosed illnesses, that

was pretty radical. we wanted to make sure -- we knew something wrong had happened and -- but we wanted to make sure our compassion was real so we make sure we take care of the families and that's exactly what we sought to do. i want to congratulate the gentleman for bringing this resolution. we move on to the second gulf war, now we're beginning to complete iraq and we're still in afghanistan, it's almost as though we've forgotten about what happened to the veterans in the first gulf war and so many of them continue to suffer from physical ailments. when you take a moment like this, you're really saying to the american people, hey, we've still got concerns, we've still got very real challenges out there as i leave, i know my comrades are in good hands. i want to thank all of you for supporting the v.a. and my comrades. they were there for us and you remember and for that i'm forever grateful.

thank you and god speed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> mr. speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 1721, resolution providing for the consideration of the senate amendment to the bill h.r. 1722 to require the head of each checktive agency to establish and implement a policy under which employees shall be authorized to telework 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. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. watson: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. >> i yield back the balance of

my time. >> i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1672 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to houseres. loo -- to resolution h.con.res. 259. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 259, concurrent resolution recognizing the 500th anniversary of the birth of italian architect andrea palladio. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlewoman from california and the gentleman from illinois each control 20 minutes. ms. watson: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. watson: i rise in strong support of this les -- of this legislation and yield myself such time as i may consume. this legislation marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of noted italian architect andrea palladio, who was born in padua on november 30, 1508. he was widely acclaimed as the leading architect of the italian renaissance. best known for his villas, churches, and public buildings, palladio incorporated many

traditional architectural elements of ancient rome in his work to become the favorite architect of venetian high society. palladio's treatise, the four books of architecture, canonized what was to become the palladian architectural style which continues to influence western architecture to this day. some of his survivi villas have been included on the unesco world heritage list. not only do his works remain an important part of italy's rich cultural legacy, but his influence on architecture is evidenced throughout much of europe and america as well. thomas jefferson made great use of the style in constructing his own masterpiece, monticello

and establishing lasting standards for public architecture in the united states. in fact, one has to look no further than the building we're presently standing in to see first hand the architect's influence on architectural design. i urge my colleagues to support this important resolution and to express our gratitude for the impact that andrea palladino -- palladio's life has had on the architecture of our country. i reserve the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. >> i stand in strong support of -- mr. manzullo: i rise in support of this resolution honoring an architect whose works influence architecture

today. he rose through society as a result of his hard work, commitment to learning and dedication to his trade. palladio is best known for his work on villas, he was named the chief architect of the republic of venice. his work defined the renaissance style of architecture. thomas jefferson used his architectural principles in his home at monticello and also in the design for the university of virginia. his work influenced 18th century architects when they designed the capitol where we meet today and other buildings around washington, d.c. palladio's influence goes beyond architecture. italians carry on the commitment to work ethic and

excellence. we recognize the significant contributions he made to western architecture and the cultural heritage of the united states. i urge my colleagues to join us in supporting -- to join in supporting the adoption of this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. ms. watson: i yield four minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, bill pascrell.screl. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pascrell: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of resolution honoring the life and work of andrea palladio. as co-chair of the italian-american caucus, i have had the privilege of honoring the contributions of explorers like columbus, scientists like

galileo and art activities like constantino. he did most of the work in this capitol. came could to the united states with nothing in his pocket to become an american citizen. he came an american citizen in a short period of time and then he set out to explore his great works here, not only in the capitol, but in many places in new york city. how about veterans like sergeant john barcellone, who in the second world war was the highest decorated member of the armed forces, was wounded at iwa jima,

came back to the states, sold war bonds. that wasn't his kick and asked to go back into the pacific theater. he got to iwa jima and third day, he was killed. in 2005, we had a stamp and just this year, we named a building after him, highest decorated person in the history of the armed forces of the united states of america. and i bring his name up also, because there is a legacy here that is shared with american history. and it changes somewhat the stereotyping of italian americans, i hope it does. i'm proud to be an italian american and i know mr. mann

zuleo is. stereotyping wasn't invented in the 20th century. this is one of the reasons why we have presented this. it's only right that today we honor this architect, andrea palladio. and yes, he was in -- was born in italy, in 1508, november 30. spent his life studying architecture, engineering, top oggray and military service. and as what mentioned, his famous masterpiece, the four books of architecture, jefferson called these four books, the bible for ack tech turl practice. -- architectural practice, the

protocol. and he employed palladio's principles in establishing the lasting standards up to this day in america. and in the constructing of his own masterpiece, our nation's most iconic buildings and the white house itself reflect the influence of his great architecture. no better way to honor the close ties between italy and the united states and look to our shared cultural history and much of it is shared. i would like to thank my italian-american caucus co-chair and the ambassador for all of their work bringing this resolution to the floor. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting such an important figure in the history of our nation in italy. and i thank the speaker. and i yield back.

ms. watson: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. >> i yield back. ms. watson: mr. speaker, i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 259. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the concurrent resolution is agreed to, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. watson: i move to suspend the rules and agree to resolution h. con. res. 327 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent

resolution 327, concurrent resolution to recognize and support the efforts of the u.s.a. bid committee to bring the 2018 or 2022 federation internationale de football association world cup competition to the united states. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, mrs. watson and the gentleman from illinois, mr. mann zuleo each will control -- manzullo each will control 20 minutes. ms. watson: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to include extraneous remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. watson: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. every four years, during the fifa world cup, the world is captivated with soccer.

we watch young men take to the field representing their respective nations and we proudly fly our national flags and sing our national anthems. but the world cup is not just a soccer tournament as a truly global event, it is a vehicle for bringing the world closer together. in 1994, the united states hosted what has been held as the most successful world cup in history. spread across the country in nine host cities, we accommodated more fans than any previous world cup. reached a record television audience around the world and in the process, fueled the development of the beautiful game in america. hosting the world cup again would be a great honor for our nation and i support h. con.

res. 327 which supports the u.s. bid or the committee's effort to bring the 2022 fifa world cup back to the united states. in may of this year, the u.s. bid committee presented our bid to fifa which in addition to information on logistics, includes a 10-year plan to use soccer as a tool to promote education, health development and peace. in addition to bringing the world's attention to the united states in 2022, hosting the tournament would generate a tremendous amount of revenue. the u.s.a. bid committee estimates that particular ticket sales alone will generate over $1 billion and as visitors are expected to spend an additional $5 billion on accommodations,

transportation and communications. the license and sponsorship of the tournament will bring revenue into the country and the spotlight on the united states will encourage investment in our economy. i commend the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen, for offering this -- for authoring this important resolution and i urge all of my colleagues to join me in expressing strong support for the 2022 world cup bid. mr. speaker, i now reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from illinois. mr. manzullo: i yield myself such time as i may consume. and rise in support of h. con. res. 327, bipartisan measure recognizings the efforts of the u.s.a. bid committee to bring the world cup to the united states. on december 2, the executive

committee of the international federation of football association or fifa will be voting and announcing the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 fifa world cup competitions. a month ago, the united states decide todd focus solely on its bid for 2022. my colleagues will recall that the u.s. hosted a successful world cup 16 years ago in 1994. in addition to holding opening ceremonies in the first match in my home state of illinois, that tournament set world cup attendance records drawing millions of spectators. it was a great success for the world cup and huge boost for the game in the united states. since that time, soccer has grown significantly in this country, both as a participant and a spectator sport. i can think of no better venue

for the 2022 if i havea world cup than the -- fifa world cup. we boast the second largest number of players in the world, with 24 million americans playing, with four million young people playing in 6,000 clubs and leagues. the united states leads the world in youth players, those who are most committed to the future of the game. in our stadiums and broadcast facilities, we have the best possible infrastructure to make the 2022 world cup accessible to the people of the world. for these and many other reasons, holding the 2022 fifa in the united states would be good for fifa and good for the economy of the united states. we join together across party lines to commend and support the efforts of the u.s. bid committee to bring the world cup competition to the united states

in 2022. i reserve the balance of my time and i have no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california. ms. watson: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time and i resevere the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. mr. manzullo: i yield back. ms. watson: i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 327 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the concurrent resolution is agreed to. and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended.

for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. res. 1648 which supports the goals and ideals of national adoption day and national adoption month. the clerk: house resolution 1648, resolution supporting the goals and ideals of national adoption day and national adoption month by promoting national awareness of adoption and the children of foster care awaiting families, celebrating children and families involved in adoption, recognizing current programs and efforts designed to promote adoption and encouraging people in the united states to seek improved safety, well-being for all children. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. mcdermott, and the gentleman from -- the gentleman from florida, ms. brown-waite, each will control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include ex strain youse material on h.r. 2648. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. so ordered. mr. mcdermott: i rise in strong support of h.r. 1648 which supports the goals and ideals of national adoption day and national adoption month. children deserve nothing less than to grow up in a safe, stable and loving home. while the vast majority of children are raised in such settings, there are a number of vulnerable children who are victims of child maltreatment or lost their families. today there are more than 423,000 children in the foster care system in this country. many of these children will be reunited with their biological

parents when it's safe for them to do so, while others will find a permanent home with a grand parent or relative. meanwhile, more than 114,000 children will be unable to return to their biological parents and need to find a new home. over the last several years, congress has worked in a bipartisan manner to provide services that promote povetsfosster care outcomes for children in foster care that are positive and to facilitate the timely placement of a child into an adoptive home. in in 2008, congress passed the increasing adoptions act which provided an array of new services. it expand the numb of perm nancy options made available to children in search of new homes

by allowing states to use federal assistance to relatives who agr to become the legal guardians of foster children. the bill also extended and improved the adoption incentives program and required states to inform prospective adoptive parents of their potential eligibility for the federal adoption tax credit. so far, we have seen positive results in the area of adoption. last year, 57,000 children were adopted out of foster care. that's a 3.5% increase over the previous year. the increases in the number of children adopted out of care reflects a trend that occurred over the last several years. since 2006, the number of children adopted out of foster care has increased by 10 1/2%. remarkably this increase has occurred as a number of children served by the foster

care system has steadily declined by 14% over the same period. earlier this year, as part of the landmark legislation that provided for health care coverage to all americans, additional incentives and initiatives were take ton promote adoption. the affordable care act included legislation that repealed the sunset date on the adoption tax credit for one year from 2010 to 2011 and increased the maximum amount under the credit. it also made the adoption tax credit refundable for tax years 2010 and 2011. while congress has had yeat success in promoting the adoption of children out of foster care, there are still far too many children in foster care waiting far too long to find a permanent home. we need to continue to work together to ensure that states have the resources they need to

swiftly move children into adoptive homes when it is appropriate to do so. i look forward to continuing to work with all my colleagues to achieve that goal. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.res. 1648 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from florida. >> i rise in support of house resolution 1648 which recognizes the goals and ideals of national adoption day and month. as you know, november 20 will mark this year's annual national adoption day celebration. all across the -- all across our great country, communities will fwather together to celebrate the adoptions that have been finalized this year and those we hope will be finalized next year. in this spirit of community and family, this is what makes the national adoption day so very

effective and also so important in the lives of the nation's more than 423,000 foster children. ms. brown-waite: more than half of whom are under the age of 10. the issue truly is an urgent one, mr. speaker. each year, as children grow older, it becomes harder and harder to place them with forever families. in fact, sadly, last year, 29,000 children aged out of the foster care system and are now on their own. as someone who adopted an older child, i know what this means to so many famies and so many children, particularly to older children. i called adopting an older child the toughest job i've ever had, but also the one that was the most rewarding. in so many cases, adoption is the key to breaking the cycle of abuse for children who overs

would languish in dangerous homes. perhaps it goes without saying how important it is for children to grow up in loving and supporting families, yet with thousands upon thousands of children still being denied this most fundamental opportunity congress must continue to do what it can to support their efforts to find a home. as such, the federal government has rightly stepped in to relieve the financial burden on adoptive families. in doing so, they have made adoption more affordable to people of all income levels, but much still remains to be done. the resolution we are considering today is an important reaffirmation of our commitment to improving the lives of foster children everywhere and i think my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support and attention to this matter. while we're on the subject of adoption, mr. speaker, i want to mention one more thing. it's been brought to my

attention that the democrat leadership has pulled another very important adoption bill from the schedule this week. actually, i understand they hope to use it as a vehicle to pass an unrelated measure called the dream act. the adoption bill in question is called the help haiti act. it was introduced by congressman fortenberry in response to the tragic earthquake in haiti some months ago. his legislation has passed the house and the senate and it was designated to assist children orphaned by one of the greatest natural disasters in recent memory. a family in my district has adopted one of those children. he is a 3-year-old boy named samuel. after being abandoned with no record of who his parents were, samuel got a second chance at having a family. sadly, his adoption is stuck in limbo now because of this action. congressman fortenberry still

-- congressman fortenberry's bill would change that. it has passed the house, it has passed the senate and all little samuel needs is one clean vote and the stroke of the president's pen. to hold these children hostage in an effort to disguise a vote on a controversial piece of legislation that has no hope of becoming law is completely unacceptable. unfortunately, mr. speaker, this is the kind of skull dugry americans have grown sick of. if the dream act or any other piece of legislation cannot stand on its own merit and the sponsors of the bill need to go back to the drawing board and find something that can stand on its merit. the help haiti act is one vote away from being sent to the president's desk. i urge the current democrat leaders strongly to allow the house to vote to pass the haiti adoption bill. if they choose not to, i hope

that the current speaker will at least have the decency to look samuel and his parents in the eye and explain the nefarious decision to them. with that, i are reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr. mcdermott: i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from -- i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i thank the distinguished gentleman of the ways and means committee and i thank the ways and means committee for the very fine leadership that it has exhibited and particularly on tonight's -- on tonight by bringing to the floor the legislation sponsored by our very good frent, mr. oberstar. i chair the congressional children's caucus and i wanted to rise and speak from the heart, for mr. mcdermott to share with us as the minority manager as well, shared with us some of the pain that goes with

children who need to be adopted. some years ago, i chaired the foster parent task force for harris county. i had the privilege of chairing that with one of our former colleagues, congressman mike andrews. and we chaired that task force to recruit, to restore to rejuvenate foster parents. to encourage them in their parenting and their loving of foster children. in the course of that task, i learned of aging out. children who were in the foster care system, not adopted, therefore at the end of the foster care time frame, that they were aged out without any parental jurisdiction, love, affection, and nurturing. i met many of those children on the streets of houston. i would imagine if i traveled from the east coast to the west coast, i would meet children like that, children of america

that deserve a better life. so i rise to support this legislation and applaud mr. oberstar and the ways and means committee and mr. mcdermott and of course the staff that saw fit to acknowledge that this is the national adoption day and national adoption month because if there is anything precious in our sights and in those of us who -- whose faith points them to a higher authority, it is our children. adoption is an honorable and welcome next step for a child in foster care who is abused and possibly if you will, unloved. i ask my colleagues to support this enthusiastically because we need to end the pain in the eyes of children and their heart by allowing them and hoping for them to be adopted. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentlewoman from florida.

ms. brown-waite: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from nebraska, mr. fortenberry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebrka is recognized. mr. fortenberry: thank you, mr. speaker, i thank the gentlelady from florida for your time and also for the good words earlier. the selfless love inherent in adoption shows the remarkable capacity of the human heart to strength an fractured world one child in need at a time. i am very glad that congress today is taking the time to honor adoption. i must add, however, that i am very disheartened that a bill to help haitian orphans which has passed this house as the gentlelady from florida said, and passed the senate with amendments, has now been abandoned in secret meetings by this body's leadership. the help haiti act helps 1 2,00 haitian orphans who were in the

process of being adopted before the tragic earthquake hit that country. we could have passed this on monday and it could be law by now. yet now i understand that this bipartisan help haiti act may be used as a vehicle for a controversial immigration measure for which there is no consensus in this body nor across america. while these vulnerable haitian orphans' legal status remains in limbo, they have fewer legal protections, they may not be eligible for critical resources and they may be at risk of being returned to haiti. now surely we can act to solve this problem free of partisan provocation system of mr. speaker, i say this. these poor children and their heroic american families deserve better than what we're giving them today. i yield back to the gentlelady from florida.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. mcdermott: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. ms. brown-waite: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from indiana, mr. burton. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. burton: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. mr. speaker, adoption was very near and dear to the heart of a friend of mine who passed away a few years ago, his name was dave thomas, many of you have heard of him, he started a chain of restaurants called wendy's which is now known worldwide. he was a child that was adopted, his adopted mother died and his father, because he couldn't take care of him, left him in fort wayne, indiana, at a ymca when he was about 14 years old and he was left pretty much to fend for himself. and because of that experience that dave wrestled with as a boy, he ended up becoming one

of the strongest advocates for adoption that i have ever known he worked very hard to get a postage stamp adopted which was adopted that spelled out the need for adoption for children who didn't have a home. he had on every one of his restaurant mats the ways to adopt a child and pictures of children that should have been adopted. and so from a bhorne had that personal experience, dave thomas, i learned that adoption was extremely important for the security and the future of these children. now these children we're talking about from haiti obviously the problems there are herculean. right now, they have a cholera epidemic noundown in haiti and it's probably going to get worse. they're talking about maybe thousands of people being infected with this deadly disease. can you imagine if these children or any of these children had to be sent back there under the conditions

currently there? even if they didn't have that kind of epidemic, you wouldn't want to send them back there. i think the legislation the young lady is talking about is extremely important. it sends the message we really care about those who don't have a home and need to be adopted and i sin sirely hope my -- -- i sincerely hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will do everything they can to make sure this gets passed. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back and the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. mc-- mcdermott: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. ms. brown-waite: i have no more members who wish to speak on this but i would like to close by saying that i think this house resolution is a very good one, i urge my colleagues to support it but also to keep up the pressure on the speaker, the current speaker, to release the haiti adoption bill. with that, i yield back the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from washington. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i think in closing it's important to point out that children are children. and while we may talk about some haitian children who want to be adopted in the united states, we have an immigration policy in this country that is sending children back from my district to their country because we have had an immigration system that does not work. and i actually think we ought to think a little bit more about people in country and how we get the immigration policy rather than trying to say, well, we got to worry about these people somewhere else. part of this election was fought over the issue of immigration policy. and this country needs a fair way for people to proceed toward

an ability to become a citizen. you want these haitian kids to come in here, what about their citizenship? i mean, they just get here, they're going to sit here forever and never get citizenship? i have a boy in my district who was 16 years old when he came here and no one told him he had to go down and fill out some papers where he got to be 18 and choose his citizenship. so now we're trying to send him back to a country that he never lived in his -- since he was -- he was 6 when he came. and so there are real problems with children in this country and i think we can deal with this one and we'll deal with the other one. the other body has kept their foot on these issues over and over and over again. and i think we ought to deal with this issue and then we'll deal with the other issue and we'll see whether they're really serious about all children.

i urge my friends and the members of congress to vote for this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman yield? mr. mcdermott: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1648. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. . in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass s. 3774 which would extend the deadline for social service block grant expenditures of supplemental funds appropriated following disasters in 2008. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3774, an act to extend the deadline for social services block grant expenditures of supplemental funds appropriated following

disasters occurring in 2008. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. mcdermott, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. brown-waite, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on s. 3774. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of s. 3774 which extends the deadline for the use of supplemental social service block grant funds, also known as ssbg, that were made available following the disasters that occurred in 2008. this extension would provide a one-year extension for the use of supplemental ssbg grant funds that were appropriated in the disaster assistance and continuing appropriation act of

2009 in response to the natural disasters that occurred in 2008. the legislation provided $600 million for disaster recovery for states affected by hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters that occurred in the year of 2008. over 60% of the money that was appropriated has been spent, leaving a great deal of funding available to address the ongoing needs in states that have been adversely affected by natural disasters. while a number of states have been successful in quickly drawing down the funds that were available to support disaster cleanup, many others have -- need additional time to utilize the resources effectively. the legislation follows a precedent that was established by the congress in recent years when we acted to extend the availability of supplemental ssbg funds that were appropriated for the recovery

efforts following hurricanes kat and rita. these funds were extended for a two-year period to allow additional time for affected states to make use of these resources. additionally, the legislation is pay-go compliant and will not add one dime to the federal deficit. the funding has already been allocated. the bill simply makes the appropriation available for an additional year. the legislation which passed the senate in late september by unanimous consent is very similar to a bill that was introduced in the house by representative pete olson that has bipartisan support. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting s. 3774 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from florida. ms. brown-waite: thank you, mr. speaker. the gentleman describes what this bill does so i will not repeat that.

in my home state of florida, more time for this appropriation is absolutely vital. but we're not alone. the latest h.h.s. data suggests another 15 states had unspent funds. just like in florida, residents of those states affected by the 2008 natural disasters stand to benefit from the additional flexibility resulting from this legislation. significantly the congressional budget office says that the bill will not add to the deficit. it would simply change the timing for the spending already approved of these funds. it is also important to note that this same sort of flexibility had previously been granted for recovery funds in the wake of hurricanes katrina and rita. so it makes sense to provide similar treatment for funds provided in the wake of the 2008 natural disasters.

and i'm very pleased to support this legislation that would accomplish that. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i yield five minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i thank the distinguished gentleman and particularly i thank the ways and means committee, both the managers on the floor today, mr. mcdermott and ms. brown-waite, for their leadership, and i thank the entire texas delegation and as well my good friend, mr. olson, who i know will be appearing on the floor for his leadership, along with -- leadership. we worked together. this is a bipartisan effort and i am glad to be on the floor because we tried to do this on september 29 and i don't think we made our story clear. this is not a texas issue. in fact, this issue impacts all

of the disasters that occurred in 2008. and i would like to, mr. speaker, simply recall some of the names. the state of colorado, the state of florida, georgia, illinois, the state of iowa, the state of mississippi, the ste of missouri, the states of nevada, oklahoma, texas, west virginia, are among the many that did not get a chance to help the desperate. and so i'd like to particularly thank today, in addition to the members of the texas tell gation, majority leader hoyer, who continued to work with us and to ensure that we can move this as quickly as possible. his staff, terry and austin, who also worked closely with my staff to bring this to the floor along with my colleagues. the house is a family -- the families stoppereceiving funds in 2010 because of the deadline for these funds.

we made and i made concerted efforts with the departments of health and human services and i'd like to introduce into the record a letter written by my office on september 21, 2010. i ask unanimous consent to introduce it into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i'd also like to introduce into the record a letter written from the secretary of health and human services, october 1, 2010, of which i read this sentence, as soon as congress restores the availability of hurricane ike's ssbg funding we will work to implement the legislation and make the funds available to those doing the important work of assisting victims to rebuild their lives. i ask unanimous consent to submit this letter. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. jackson lee: there lies the story, mr. speaker, rebuilding lives. for those of white house walked the streets after hurricane ike and for the many members of congress who walked the streets of their disasters, we know what disasterers are all about. not bricks and mortars. disaster is about the human

devastation that faces individuals, lost and lonely, not know wrg to go. hurricane ike in particular was the third can costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the united states. ike made its final landfall in texas as a strong category two hurricane. with a category five equivalent storm surge. it devastated the island but it also impacted houston and my congressional district. it was a huge hurricane from 500 miles across, making it nearly as big as texas itself and its hurricane-force winds extended 120 miles from the center. it was blamed for at least 195 deaths, with substantial death and injury in texas. 195 deaths overall. the hurricane also resulted in the largest evacuation of texas in the state's history. an estimated 100,000 homes were flooded in texas. numerous boats washed away, smashing and flooding homes, knocking out windows, electricity, estimated to $2.5

million. you know what, mr. speaker? most of the people were deved because the electricity went out -- devastated because the electricity went out for almost eight weeblings and there were individuals without the ability to go to work. so these dollars will not be misused. and the important point of this legislation is there is a pay-go provision in it. it will not spend more money, it will only have the opportunity to use the dollars thatter already there. for -- that are already there. for those of us who have faced disaster, whether it was hurricane rita or the floods in the midwest or the various tornados that occur throughout our area or the hurricanes that seem to come every year to the gulf region, i can assure you that these dollars are coming none too soon. i want to thank the admistration and secretary who has indicated that they will move quickly. as this bill passes we hope it will move quickly to the president's desk and these moneys will come forward. let me acknowledge the troops that we've worked with. angela of the neighborhood centers, harold of catholic

charity. mr. ramer of the university of texas medical branch. christie, bay area council, stephanie, sunshine center, unitedway, anna. caroline of gulf coast center, joe of gulf coast interface. cindy and a very strong worker in mrs. camp who worked throughout the area with people who could find no way themselves. and so this money will come and help those who are in need of these dollars post haste. it extends the deadline to september 30, 2011. the bill does not appropriate new funds and as you well know they've extended this in the years past with katrina and are aity -- rita. it's a terrible shame to say that people who need help are those who are costing us money. today, mr. speaker, they're not

costing us money, we're helping those who are hardworking americans. i'm delighted to be able to support this legislation. i ask my colleagues to do it. never forget, we have the role of being the good samaritan. if you were in need, you would want help. i yield back and ask my colleagues to support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. brown-waite: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas who was forward-thinking enough to introduce this legislation to begin with, mr. olson. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from texas. olesoles i thank my colleague from florida -- oleole i thank my colleague from florida -- mr. olson: i thank my colleague from florida. i introduced companion legislation h.r. 5790 which would do the same thing as this good bill. two years ago hurricane ike tore through the gulf of mexico and made landfall in galveston,

texas. it was the largest hurricane ever, ever to make landfall in the united states. ike slammed into galveston as a category two hurricane but with a storm surge equivalent to that of a category four storm, causing damages estimated at $18 billion. over 200 people lost their lives. two years later, what ike destroyed in 12 hours continues to be rebuilt. an emergency appropriations bill is passed for the purpose of assisting the victims of ike. the funding game a deadline that the state of texas and the local communities now need extended. this is not without precedent. an extension was granted for victims of hurricane katrina. in the process of recovering from ike, please consider

catholic charities reports there are over 3,500 families in galveston who in the process of getting their homes are repaired or replaced who still need rent assistance. galveston county is working with 19 agencies to provide mental health support and counseling to 3,000 clinics each month who are still suffering from the impact of hurrine ike on their lives. the university of texas medical branch reports that they are providing food assistance, medical care and case management to 20,000 households each month. this will end without an extension. in the words of one leader at the united way who told me, what i am -- we're not asking to access more funding, only to finish what we started. do i wish this extension was not needed?

of course. we all do. but it is needed. and ski that this chamber join me in doing what is right and fair for a community that lost so much two years ago. i urge my colleagues to vote for the senate bill 3774 so the people of southeast texas can finally put hurricane ike in their past. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from washington. mr. mcdermott: i are reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from florida. ms. brown-waite: i have no further speakers, i ask for support of this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. mr. mcdermott: i urge passage of this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate bill 3774? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative --

ms. brown-waite: on that vote, i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking the vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. 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. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? mr. burton: i ask unanimous consent that today following

legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house, are revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material. mr. thompson, today, and november 18 for five minutes each, mr. smith of new jersey, today for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes to revise and extend their remarks and include therein extraneous material. mr. sherman of california, mr. defazio of oregon, ms. kaptur of ohio, ms. woolsey of california and me, mr. grayson, of florida. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the

house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. sherman of california. mr. gray spon: i ask -- mr. grayson: i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order and substitute for mr. sherman. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. grayson: mr. grayson: i'll be using these graphics, mr. speaker, the graphics to my right. mr. speaker, sometime between now and december 31, we will be discussing tax cuts. specifically whether to extend

the president obama tax cuts to the middle class or whether to extend the george w. bush tax cuts for the rich. i think it's important for people to understand exactly who this money will be received by. in the case of the obama tax cuts, like the child tax credit, it will be are received by needy parents who need the money in order to pay the mortgage, pay the rent, pay their car mamentes, credit card payments, and in the case of the bush tax cuts for the rich, it will be received by the rich. in fact, for the top 1% of income in this country, the high and mighty, the people who make an average of $1.4 million every single year, according to these charts i'm about to show, you will see the following. mr. speaker, the republican plan for tax cuts is to give

each millionaire, each person who makes $1.4 million a year on the average, the top 1% of income in this couldn't arery, the high and mighty, $83,347 a year. in tax cuts. $83,347 a year, according to econometric modeling by citizens for justice. let's give some thought to what they might do with that money. here's one possibility. they can buy an $83,000 mercedes-benz e-class car. not just once but every single year for the next decade. and each year when they get tired of their brand new mercedes-benz e-class car they can just give to it somebody because they can afford another one. they can give it to a spouse, a sister, a son, a daughter, anybody. every single year for the next

10 years, the republican tax plan is to give millionaires enough money for a mercedes-benz. here's something else they can do with it. they can buy this gorgeous hermes bag, a birkin, for $64,800. not once but every single year for the next 10 years. to which they will say to the republican party, thank you very much. here's something else they can do with their money. they can buy this bottle of chateau d'yquem wine bottled in 1787 for only $56,588, that will leave their loose change in their pocket of $25,000. they can buy a bottle of wine from 1787 every year for the next decade.

thank you, republican party. here's something else they can do. they can buy 20,000 jars of their favorite mustard, grey poupon. 20,000 jars. that's enough for them, their family, their friends, even a few poor people. thank you, republican party. here's something else they can do with the $80,000 the republican party wants to put in their pocket every year for the next o10 years. they can buy 800 cigars, think about that, that's one for the morning and one for the evening, 800 lucksy cigars and then they can light each one of those cigars with a $100 bill. thank you, republican party. you're letting the rich in this country enjoy two cigars each day for the next 10 years and

let each -- and light each one with a $100 bill. i have a different idea. i think it's a better idea. these tax cuts for the rich by the republican party are are going to cost the u.s. taxpayers $100 billion a year. do the math. we have $14 -- we have 14 million people in this country unemployed, 1% unemployment in my district. here's an idea. let's take that $100 billion and give $3 -- and give three million americans a job. let's give three million americans a working wage. an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. and that will revive our economy. it will immediately reduce unemployment by two points and they will take that money and they will spend it on their rent, on restaurants in their neighborhood, they'll spend it on getting their hair cut, on their credit card payments, on the things they need to do to

stay alive. instead of the alternative, the republican favored alternative which is to have them lose their job, keep unemployed and move into their cars. that's the better idea. i favor jobs not tax cuts for the rich. thank you very much, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: mr. burton of indiana. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. burton: i thank the speaker for yielding time to me. about three weeks ago, i and four of my colleagues wrote a letter to the president of the united states, mr. poe of texas, my good friend, ralph hall of texas, pete olson, and ed royce of california, wrote a letter to the president talking to him about the horrible deteriorating problem that's taking place on our southern border. we have a border between the united states and mexico that's

1, 980 miles long and the problems are getting worse every single day. there's been reports on numerous television channels over the past few weeks talking about how really bad it's getting down there and there's absolutely nothing being done by the administration to really deal with it. in the letter we wrote to the president, we said it was extremely important to get on with dealing with this problem, very quickly and we gave the president a few ideas on how this could be accomplished. first, we said it became apparent that the mexican government and law enforcement authorities in mexico are are either unwilling or unable to address this problem. therefore we believe it's imperative to that our president meet very quickly and begin a serious dialogue with president calderon of mexico on building a comprehensive framework in the spirit of plan colombia that will better coordinate a better and more

aggressive strategy to turn the tide. this must be done immediately. secondly, we must complete construction of the border fence. the money has been appropriated for that and it's been stopped. we need to get that completed. any responsibility we have to minimize the impact of the fence on the physical landscape or native species of the region pales in comparison when measured against the value of human lives that will be lost if we don't seal the border. finally we said to the president in this letter, we believe it's critical that we deploy additional national guard troops to the border. media reports indicate that 17,000 national guard troops were deployed to the gulf region during the recent oil spill. 17,000. yet the administration has pledged only 1,200 to the 1,980 mile border of mexico. 1,200 national guard troops to protect that border. that's nothing. it will not work.

when you talk to sheriffs and border patrol agents down on the border, they'll tell you it's a war zone and it's spilling over into the united states and american citizens are being killed on the mexican side of the border but bullets are coming across the border and hitting things in the united states from juarez and elsewhere. it's extremely prnt we address this problem before it gets completely out of control and some people say we're already there. we have signs in arizona, 80 miles into the united states, 80 miles into the united states, saying don't go south of here toward mexico because it's dangerous. can you imagine? we're sending troops halfway around the world to fight for people's freedom and to secure our country from terrorist attack and yet we have the prospect of terrorists and drug dealers and everybody coming across that border because we're not protecting it and it's in our front yard.

1,980 miles. and it's unproteched. they're coming across atill. and the president needs to get on with doing what's necessary. i believe he needs to authorize at least 15,000 troops down there and work with the mexican government to seal both sides of the border an get on with it as quickly as possible. if we don't, the problem is going to get worse and worse and worse. if you don't believe what i'm saying tonight and if i were talking to the president i would tell him this directly if you don't believe this, mr. president, all you have to do is turn on the television set. i know he watches television once in a while. if i were talking to the president i'd say watch what's going on and do your job, mr. president, instead of fighting the governor of arizona and the people in texas, the law enforcement agencies along the border who are staying up day and night trying to defend their constituents in the border area. people are being threatened,

their houses are being threatened to be burned to the ground. this is a tragic situation and if i were saying to the -- talking to the president tonight, i'd say, mr. president, you are being derelict in your responsibility to the people of southwest of the united states by not addressing this problem in a very thorough and comprehensive way. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: mr. defazio of oregon. mr. poe of texas. the gentleman recognized for five minutes -- the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. poe: mr. speaker, i request permission to address the house for five minutes, to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. poe: mr. speaker, it was dusk when he left thailand and entered the air space. soon he was flying into north

vietnam as darkness came over the horizon. it was his 25th mission into north vietnam, flying an f-4 phantom jet. the date was april 16, 1966. the pilot was sam johnson, united statesaire colonel and he was dosh united states air force colonel and he was doing his second duty. he was flying with satan's angels. he was a career pilot who had already flown 62 combat missions during the korean war, flying an f-86 sabre jet. colonel johnson also influence with the famed air force thunderbirds. this is a photograph of colonel sam johnson, united states air force. but this day, this day of april 16, 1966, colonel johnson was shot down by ground fire by the north vietnamese. he was captured, he was put in a prisoner of war camp. and, mr. speaker, he was in that

p.o.w. camp for seven years. because of the way that he would not give in to the torture and the interrogation, they moved him to the famous hanoi hilton. at a place called alcatraz. it was where 11 p.o.w.'s were put because they were the most objectsitynant p.o.w.'s. leaders of the other p.o.w.'s and they were hard-nosed and had to be segregated and they called themselves the alcatraz gang. they were defiant and the north vietnamese called this man right here die hard. they tortured him, but they got no information from him. and during those seven years he was beaten, tortured, but he never broke down. so then they put him in solitary confinement for four years. in a cell three foot wide by nine foot. and he was there for four years. during that four years, all that was in that cell was a light bulk be that they kept on 24

hours a day -- bulb that they kept on 24 hours a day. during the nighttime they put him into leg irons and during that four years he never saw or talked to another american. while in the p.o.w. camp, he and the other p.o.w.'s communicated with each other with a code by tapping on the walls. and during that time he memorized the names of 374 other p.o.w.'s. and he kept that memory going so that when he got away or was released or escaped he was able to tell their loved up withs who they were and where they were -- loves ones who they were and where they were. one example of torture was this. one morning the north vietnamese took him out of his cell, lined him up to shoot him. they told him they were going to kill him and the firing squad, they lined him up, they armed with ak-47's, pulled the trigger, but no ammunition in those ak-47's. laughed and made fun of colonel sam.

and all he said was, is that the best you can do? for food he ate weeds, pig fat, rice, went down from 200 pounds to 120 pounds. and after seven years of confinement he was finally released with our p.o.w.'s. he suffered torture and broken bones. he continued to serve the united states air force for 29 total years. while he was in that p.o.w. camp, his wife back home in texas, shirley, had known that he was shot down but she didn't know for two years where sam was. whether he was alive, dead or missing in action. they've now been married for 60 years. after he left the united states air force he served in the state house in texas, had his own business and then in 1991 he came and served with distinction here in the united states congress. today colonel sam celebrates his 80th anniversary. down the street he and a lot of friends, members of congress from both sides of the aisle,

and family are honoring him for his birthday. you know, sam returned home to the united states after his torture and confinement in the p.o.w. camp. you notice right here, this patch, mr. speaker. you see what this patch says? which is from the 433rd or 431st fighter wing? it says, return with honor. same johnson returned to america with honor. he is a special breed. he's the american breed. where does america find such men? he is one of those and he's that special warrior during even the time he was a captive warrior that never forsake his duty and never forsake his honor. so colonel sam, we thank you for your service to the united states of america. during war and during peace time, thank you for serving this

great country. you are truly a hero among us. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. ms. kaptur of ohio. mr. garrett of new jersey. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to take my five minutes at this time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. paul: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise this evening to announce that i introduced some legislation today dealing with the calamity that we have found at our airports, with t.s.a. something has to be done. everybody's fed up. the people are fed up, the pilots are fed up, i'm fed up. you know, i've come to this floor many times over the past many years and complained about the terrible foreign policy we've had, the terrible monetary policy we had, the excessive

spending and the debt, and also the tax policy. but what we're doing and what we're accepting and putting up with at this airport is so symbolic of us just not standing up and saying, enough is enough. i know the american people arei government, those in charge, congress, as well as the executive branch, are doing nothing. yes, they're talking about maybe backing off and allowing the pilots to go through. but you can think how silly the whole thing is? the pilot has a gun in the cockpit and he's managing this aircraft which is a missile and we make him go through this groping x-ray exercise, having people feel in their underwear. it's absurd. and it's time we wake up. the bill i've iroduced will take care of this. but we have to realize that the real problem is that the american people have been too sub missive. we have been too sub missive. it's been going on for a long

time. and this was not -- this was to be expected, even from the beginning of the t.s.a. and it's deeply flawed. private property should be protected by private individuals, not bureaucrats, but the bill that i've introduced will take care of it. very simple, it's one paragraph long. it removes the immunity from anybody in the federal government that does anything that you or i can't do. if you can't grope another person and if you can't x-ray people and endanger them with possible x-ray, you can't take nude photographs of individuals, why do we allow the government to do it? we would go to jail if an individual, he would be immediately arrested if an individual citizen went up and did these things and yet we just sit there and calmly do it. oh, they're making us safe. and besides, the argument from the executive branch is that when you buy a ticket, you have

sacrificed your rights and it's the duty of the government to make us safe. that isn't the case. you never have to sacrifice your rights. the duty of the government is to protect our rights. not to use them and do what they have been doing to us. the pilots hopefully will be exempted from this. but another suggestion i have that might help us, let's make sure that every memberf congress goes through this. get the x-ray, make them look at the pictures and then go through one of those groping patdowns. and then i think there would be a difference. have everybody in the executive branch, anybody a cabinet member, make them go through it and look at it. maybe they would pay more attention. but this doesn't work. this is not what makes us safer. this is propostrouse. to think that the t.s.a. has made us safer. you know, when you think about it, if you look at what's happened over the past 10 years, during this last decade we lost

3,000, on a terrible, terrible day for america. but since that time in that last decade, we have also lost 6,000 of our military personnel going over there and trying to rectify this problem. we have lost 400,000 people on our government-run highways. we have lost 150,000 individuals from homicides. so i think there's reason to be concerned, reason to deal with this problem. we're not dealing with it the right way. we're doing the wrong thing. and groping people at the airport doesn't solve our problems. what has solved our problems basically has been that they put a good lock on the door and they put a gun inside the cockpit. that's been the greatest boom to our safety. safety should be the responsibility of the individual and the private property owner. but right now we assume the government's always going to take care of us and we're supposed to sacrifice our liberty. i say that is wrong, we are not

safer and we also know there are individuals who are making money off this. michael chertoff. here's a guy who was the head of the t.s.a. selling the equipment. and equipment's questionable. we don't even know if it works. it may well be dangerous to our health. you know, the way i see this, if this doesn't change, i see what has happened to the american people as we have -- is we have september exepted the notion that we should be treated like cattle. make us safe, make us secure, put us, feed us, fatten us up and then they'll eat us. and we're a bunch of cattle and we have to say, we've had it. i think this whole idea of an opt-out day is just great. we ought to otcht out and make the point -- opt out, and make the point, get somebody to watch it. take a camera. it's time for the american people to stand up, shrug off the shackles of our government at t.s.a. at the airport. the speaker pro tempore: ms. woolsey of california. mr. moran of kansas.

the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. moran: mr. speaker, i rise this evening in memory of my friend ross beach. the house rules only allow me five minutes to speak and it's difficult to summarize anyone's life in such a short time. but impossible to do justice to the life of mr. beach. ross passed away this weekend at his home at the age of 92. ross was defined by family and friends, business success and charity. a life-long kansan, he received his education in my hometown of hayes and following a childhood upbringing in the oil and gas fields of western kansas, he enroll the at kansas state universityy he met and later married the love of his life, mariana kissler. they were married in 1941. ross' service as a naval aviator in world war ii sparked an interest in flying that would continue throughout thinks life.

ross was a pioneer in our state in banking, radio and television and in oil and gas. his many professional endeavors created jobs and economic opportunities for many kansans. he was the president of kansas natural gas company and chairman of the board of deloug lass county bank. his success in the business world was overed only by his and his wife's generosity. ross and mariana are among our state's most prolific supporters of art and education and the greatest supporters that perhaps we will ever see in our state. on the campuses of a university, the beach family helped fund the beach-schmidt performing arts center and ross' generosity made possible the construction of the nationally renowned sternberg museum of natural history. the museum of art on the campus of kansas state university bears the name of mrs. beach which was named for her in commemoration of their 50th wedding anniversary. my wife robin and i have been honored to serve on the board of visitors for the art museum that bears the beach name and we're

able to witness firsthand the passion and commitment ross and mariana had for culture and the arts in kansas. on the campus of the university of kansas, ross assisted in the formation of the beach center on disability where kansans with disabilities and their families are helped to find healthier and more productive lives. kansans from all walks of life have been benefited from ross' compassion to others and his service to community. he was recognized in many, many occasions, including his designation of kansan of the year in 2002, the president's award from kansas state university in 1989 and aa citation for distinguished service from both university of kansas and forthood state university. despite his stature in our community and state, mr. beach always treated every person he encountered with respect and dignity. anyone who met ross easily became a life-long friend. as a young newlywed couple, the

first invitation robin and i are received was to come to their house for dinner. there was never a more gracious couple an the beeches. for a large portion of my life, i joined him and others at the round table. while there was talk about sports and politics, i learned more about life listening to mr. beech. he was my friend and advisor and i hate the thought that no longer do i have the ability to pick up the phone and see what mr. beech thought of one of my ideas or to discuss what was going on in our small town neighborhood or what was happening on the world stage. my friendship with mr. beech certainly opened doors for me in both business and politics but more importantly he gave me the confidence to realize that this smalltown kansas kid could serve the congress of the united states of america. while my family and i are saddened by the death of ross beech, we take comfort in knowing that the legacy of mr.

beech will endure long before our -- long beyond our own generation. while he may have donated his talents, it is his kind soul i will miss most. to his children i offer my deepest sympathy and i ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life of a man dedicated to public service and making kansas and ameri a better place to live and work. we are told to whom much is given, much is expected. ross beech more than fulfilled this expectation and i'm honored to pay tribute to an amazing larger than life man i had the fortune to know for more than 35 years. the man who loved to fly soared throughout his life and landed safely on heaven's shore. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> mr. speaker, i request unanimous consent to speak out

of order for my five minutes and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempor without objection, so ordered. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. next week will mark the eight-month an verse arery of the new health care law. when we started this debate almost two years ago, i relied on my longtime experience in the medical field to come up with four principles i believe should be in any health care reform. the first was that health care reform should lower costs. that's yet to happen under this law. instead the federal centers for medicare and medicaid services projected that overall national health spending would increase an average of 6.3% a year over the next decade under the new law. in addition, the law imposes more than half a trillion dollars in tax increases. it imposes more than $210 billion in new payroll taxes that could hit small business owners. the medicare actuary has reported that health care costs would actually increase over

the next decade by a total of $310.8 billion. the congressional budget office, or c.b.o., wrote that most of the major saving proposals in the health care law are are, quote, widely expected, end quote, to be scaled back or would be difficult to sustain for a long period. that means higher deficits. the second principle for health care reform is that it should increase access to care. that has yet to happen under the new law. instead, major health insurance companies in california and elsewhere have chose ton stop selling policies for children rather than complying with the law that bars them selling policies for -- bars them from not selling policies for children with pre-existing

conditions. the actuary found that provisions in the law will cause 40% of medicare providers to become unprofitable, thus providers would have to withdraw from providing services for medicare beneficiaries. an example is in texas over the last two years, more than 300 primary care physicians stopped seeing seniors. my third principle is to preserve the innovations and improvement that allowed this country to pioneer new treatments, med cases and equipment. yet under this law, there will be billions of dollars of taxes on medical devices and insurers. that's more money for taxes andless for innovation. it requires small businesses to file 1099 forms to any vendor where they spend more than $600 in any given year that will affect 40 million businesses involved in increased paper worg at a huge cost detracting

from their ability to invest in research and development. finally, i believe that any reform of our health care system should preserve the decision making process between the patient and the physician. not the government, not a bureaucrat, not anyone from a health insurance company. but the new health care law just -- does just the opposite. in one estimate, the law creates 159 various bureaucracies and commitments, mr. speaker. in fact, the congressional research service essentially threw its hand up in the air and declared, quote, the precise number of entities that will be created is currently unknowable, end quote. the administration has released 4,103 pages of are regulations and is still going strong. soon the government will be in control of every aspect of health care, but i assume that's the ultimate goal. the 207,000 page law is, as the

c.r.s. said, unknowable. our sakering nancy pelosi, had it right when she said the house watch to pass the bill to find out what's in it. but what we do know about it violates all four of the principles on which any health care reform should be based. i supported the republican alternative six months ago. h.r. 3400. the empowering patients first act. it includes my principles and it deserves support. and i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. diaz-balart of florida. mr. jones of north carolina. mr. smith of new jersey. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentleman from california, mr. garamendi is recognized for 60

minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. garamendi: mr. speaker, thank you for this opportunity, coming off the leches, everyone wants to know what the voters had on their mind. i'll share with you a few things i heard from voters in my district and throughout california and perhaps the experience is similar around america. they want jobs. they want to work. i think all of us in one way or another understand and feel within us the need to work. it's part of our lives. there are a few, undoubtedly, around that don't ever want to

work. ok for them. but for most americans, they want a job. they want the opportunity to bring home a paycheck, support their families, provide for the fd, the shelter, the opportunities for education and to go on a vacation every now and then. that basic instinct, that basic desire to care for your family to help to build the community, i think it's part of america. americans want jobs. if there's ever a message from this year's elections, it's that. now, this isn't new to those of us that are here in the chamber. it's not new to the democrats and i'm sure it's not new to my republican colleagues also. but who actually over the last two years amongst all of us in this chamber are and in government have actually been working to create those jobs?

i think it's the democrats. we're going to make that point here today, not only about the past actions that have been taken over the last two years, but about what's coming in the future. last -- well, early in 2010, many of us on the democratic side began to formalize and to formulate a strategy. we call that make it in america. if america is going to make it, then we must once again make it in america. we must rebuild our manufacturing industry. where we make things. i remember as a child looking at the pictures of america of the great poetry, of america's birth of industry where the robust strength of this nation

was seen in the manufacturing sector, it was heavy industry at the time. it was the steel industry, the other industries, it carry ared us through world war ii where we literally built the armaments to take on nazi germany and japan. it was done here in the industries of america, the manufacturing base of this nation needs to be rebuilt and it is the democratic party, the programs that my colleagues and i will be talking about today, that will cause that to happen. america, we'll make it when we make it in america. joining me tonight are two of my fellow colleagues, paul tonko from the once and future great industrial part of new york, and mr. ellison from the great midwest. so i'd like to turn to them for

a few moments for introductory comments and we'll turn back and we'll begin to hit not only what was done over the last two years but also where we're going in the future. mr. tonko. mr. tonko: thank you, mr. garamendi. thank you for bringing us together on an important topic, make it in america, manufacturing matters. absolutely. i think what's been promoted also as a subtheme has been the investment in basic research and scientific research, making certain we can move forward with cutting edge, ahead of the surf sort of technology that enables us to create jobs on the radar screen that simply are not there today and it allows us to advance, i think, an energy a-- energy agenda, an environmental agenda that allows us to grow jobs. i'm thinking about america competes. the legislation we did on this house floor several months ago where we got just about no

support from, i think, 98% of our republican colleagues voted gerns the measure. it was supported by the united states chamber of commerce. they understood the wisdom of investing in r&d, basic research, in providing for modernization of our manufacturing sector. i'm convinced like you and representative ellison and others that we can make it smart for the america which allows us to be very sharp competitively speaking on the global market scene. i think we can do it in a way that allows us to advance jobs in this country simply by embracing the intellectual capacity of this great country. i witnessed in my home district of the 21st congressional district in new york, the upstate region, capital region, we're home to g.e. corporate and they are moving forward with mans to do -- planning to -- plans to do battery manufacture, the linchpin of all sorts of innovation. as we do that, we can grow jobs

here in america by investing in r&d, coming up with new product lines, making certain we're ahead of the curve on science and technology opportunities available to this nation. i represent in the construct of the 1st congressional district the old passageway, the erie canal, the route of freight hauling that really built america and inspired the westward movement and in so doing in building that canal, we also gave birth to a necklace of communities called milltowns. they became the epicenter of invention and innovation. so it's within our d.n.a., that pioneer spirit, here in america to continue to do that. i think we need those incentives that we've talked about, that this leadership and this house in the 111th congress, we gave birth to a number of ideas, including america competes, closing tax loopholes for investments taking jobs offshore, taking them to other locations. them to other locations. we want to close those