host: why are they bringing it up now? guest: they are trying to eliminate -- they say this, "alienate hispanic voters from a republican party." no one denies that people have worked hard and done well, but they are citizens of other countries. what a great message it would be to encourage people to go back to their home countries. it would stop sending the message that, if you come here illegally, you would be rewarded. host: thank you for waiting. color >> -- caller: you had a proponent of the bill who kept saying that there are 11 million illegals in this country.

we all know there are 25 million. these people broke along. they are -- broke law. they are criminals. get them out of here. host: is it that simple? guest: it ought to be that simple. immigration is a civil status. you're either eligible for the portable -- all little or deport -- you are either eligible or . ex for taxpayers. the deportation process is hopelessly complex. the dream act will add more layers of complexity. that has been one of the biggest arguments against it, that it furthers this schizophrenia, the idea that we have created that the u.s. lacks the will to get serious about enforcing the law. there are no measures of any

consequence that will prevent a recurrence of more illegal immigration. the bill gives all of these people work authorizations. we have so many people unemployed. it will make them eligible for student loan assistance. it will be going to community colleges, which are turning americans away because of overcrowding. why is this a priority? there's a sense of growing frustration about the misplaced priorities. what was this election about if it was not about more robust and meaningful immigration enforcement? why is harry reid trying to ram this bill through the lame-duck when it is so far down the list of priorities of the electorate that it is hard to understand? host: welcome to the program. caller: thank you. i have a couple of comments.

first of all, i am in my 80's. i have paid social security and my insurance all my life. i am disabled now. the illegals come in here and they draw social security. they do not pay in. we give them food stamps for grandmas and aunts and uncles and then they get social security. at think it is very unfair to the american people. the republicans have said we will use the lower-paying people -- the world heading for a bad disaster. i resent paying for their health care when i live on $14,000 per year, paying for my home and

stuff. this has been going on for years. host: not an uncommon refrain on the program. guest: uc at 10. -- you see a tin ear on some of the people on the left. there are attacked in arizona employer sanctions bill. when congress continues to extend unemployment benefits, the normal market process by which americans would be relocating in the united states to find jobs is being distorted by the presence of so many illegal immigrants. the so-called dream act fuels' a sense that is growing elements -- amongst the public that people are getting things they're not entitled to. why do want to punish the kids for being brought here illegally? it is not punishing the kids,

and not rewarding the parents, or the kids. if your parents do not pay your taxes, they can go to jail or get centered in congress. there are going to be consequences to the children for the apparent failure to file tax. punishing the kids would be the equivalent of violate -- of prosecuting them for violating immigration law. they can leave the country, go home, do everything in a citizen of that country can do. giving them green cards and the right to petition their parent is an affirmative reward for both the parents and children for having broken the law. people are right to be concerned that, at times when americans are losing jobs, losing housing, benefits cut back, we see people in congress continuing to provide benefits to people who are not entitled to them. host: fair.us.org.

-- fairus.org is the website. we have about 35 minutes left. a call from tulsa. independent. good morning. caller: good morning. i cannot believe some of the things i'm hearing from my government. either you're breaking the law or you are not. these people are being rewarded for breaking the law. when they are talking about separating families -- take them with you. more importantly, here in tulsa, the entry-level jobs, fast food chains for young kids -- fast food chains -- four young kids, learning how to work -- you have people working at mcdonald's and

things that are 40 year-olds. we are rewarding them. from i sitting n tulsa -- from sitting here in tulsa, this policy is racist. i got out to a hospital a few months ago. coming to the emergency room, it was overflowing with illegals. host: racist policy. the caller puts his finger on an important point. frank sharry and others have a created this impression that immigration policy can be bought for political purpose. the only rationale for this is some kind of putative political payoff. we know that the hispanic vote

does not really a vote on the immigration issue. we have seen it over and over again. the population is growing so favors that the skewe democrats. the impression is that democrats are using immigration policy for party-building purposes at the expense of the public interest and what the american people want. that is an incendiary combination. the tragedy is that there are people who are young people who have worked hard, done well in school, or being used as political pawns for partisan purposes. and the idea is to build the allegiance of the hispanic electorate based on this cynical manipulation of public policy issue. we represent the american people. it would not make money off of immigration. -- we do not make money off of

immigration. we're just neutral brokers. this bill is not in the public's interest, even though it is in our interest to see young people get educated. it is an interest to try to ensure that we attract people -- the best and brightest from all over the world will otherwise go to other countries. host: here is a message from twitter. "they are going to the labor market and we have so many unemployed. that is simple-minded. they create jobs." guest: we're talking about people who are relatively low in still going into the market as a result of having work authorization. the bill does not require them to graduate. it will swell the ranks of the labor market. people will have relatively low skills. it will be overcrowding scarce education resources at 90 colleges at a time when

americans are not able -- at community colleges at a time when americans are not able to get into these colleges. on top of outsourcing jobs seeing costs go up, if you look at everything else -- on top of everything else -- you're going to set up fierce competition for community colleges, increased job competition. the democrats were fired in this last election. when you fire an employee, if you let them hang around office, they can do things against the employer's interest. we are the employers, the american people. they're trying to cram through some bills that are clearly not in the american people's interest. shame on them. host: let's take a few calls. fairfax, va., bill, republican.

caller: i would like to know about the military side of this. i came across the dream act when they were talking about the dod bill. i watched c-span a lot. we're talking about them joining the military. they still get the $90,000 for a free education -- do they get that? host: let me go to david as well. what part of the issue do you want to speak to? caller: it is astonishing that republicans are a stent -- accusing the democrats of political manipulation. the republicans have a long history of political manipulation starting with the southern strategy, the support of nader boters -- voters to take votes away from our core,

the support of the citizens united case -- from al gore, the supports of the citizens united case. host: hypocritical -- can you respond? guest: the comprehensive immigration reform, which obama pushed, does nothing to prevent a recurrence of the same problems that got us into this situation. how is that reform? the so-called comprehensive immigration reform is nothing but a massive blanket amnesty bill that would destroy it immigration enforcement and policy for the next 50 years. that is not reform. secondly, it is about partisan advantage. i did not want to sound like a partisan guy. i know i do sometimes. the republican party has some players who are helping create a problem. in the chamber of commerce, there are others who use immigration to control labor costs who have been involved in supporting predatory practices that use immigration to decimate

the bargaining leverage of american workers. it is the left, the extreme left, the aclu and others who work in concert with the chamber of commerce on these issues that torch to the economic opportunity for the american people for the last 20 years. on the question of the g.i. bill -- there is already a provision in the law which allows the secretary of defense to enroll or enlist people here illegally for military services and they can get immigration benefits as a result. arguably, the bill is superfluous along those lines. using immigration policy to staff the military sounds like a lot like the roman empire, babylon -- we could go to the list of civilizations that have come and gone as a result of this kind of strategy. you can get lawful permanent resident status after two years of military service. i am not aware of any provision

regarding the $90,000. i would have to go back and consult the bill. in the end, the military -- the obama administration's military supports this provision because they want to help their recruitment goals. we're seeing a cynical manipulation of immigration policy for special interest purposes. forget about whenever mythological ideas we have about immigration policy. it is about increasing enrollment and charging higher tuition. it is about the military, cheap labor interests, wall street, alan greenspan, who said immigration is needed to drive down wages because american workers were getting paid too much. this is people who -- people wonder why this would be considered in the lame-duck legislation. just look at the players. -- we happy to see people

of hundreds of thousands of activists around the country -- have hundreds of thousands of activists from the country pummelling the switchboard of congress, rising against the dream at. we have major opposition in the senate to stop this. as long as people did not let up the pressure, we can defeat this in this congress. host: cheryl in south carolina talking immigration. caller: excuse me, i am nervous. the congressional budget office announced the dream act would increase revenue by $2.3 billion. have they announced what the cost will be to the american taxpayer? i heard an estimate of $20 billion. guest: the cbo came up with the estimate but said because we were putting the beneficiaries in non-immigrant visa status, kind of like tourist visas, they

came up with a series of assumptions in the estimates that showed a net wash. the $2.3 billion benefit is negligible in an economy of our size. and the estimates are off for a variety of reasons. there is definitely going to be follow-up legislation to try to create other status for people in the non-immigrant status even if they did not complete college. we feel that the cost estimates are wildly understated. after 10 years, imagine when they get green cards. there will be dramatic increases in the use of public benefits. 42% of taxpayers are not paying -- do not have a fighter -- pot -- do not have a positive federal tax liability. there will not be significant

taxpayers over -- they will not be significant taxpayers overturned. we believe this will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. they do not by the way that it covers education costs. host: you can read more about that at thehill.com. it estimates there would cut spending by $1.4 billion, but beyond 2020, the bill would begin to cost money. guest: this goes to the broader

question -- what is the purpose of immigration? it is costing us money. we need to rethink the purpose and redefine system by which we select iigrantso tha for the american people and serves our national and domestic priorities. we're not cortisol the immigration debate by passing bills like this -- going to solve the immigration debate are passing bills like this so- called dream act. host: what does it mean if the house passes the bill? guest: and they did not want to face the wrath of their constituents. constitutionally, lame-duck sessions are treacherous. a responsible legislator would not cast of vote in the lame- duck except for truly adjutant -- exigent situations.

taxes we're talking about or federal spending, we're not going debate this -- to debate this. harry reid is a crafty guy who has shown a complete lack of principle at times, including the way he has handled immigration. an awful lot of lousy stuff gets passed in the lame-duck. arguably, lame-duck sessions -- we have so many major decisions made in this country by judicial branches of government that are outside the political process. the lame-duck -- congress is one of the few remaining, politically sensitive realms where the american voters have a say. if they can take it out of the normal sensitivity to the profit us, things can happen -- to the process, things can happen.

caller: every year i get laid off. 15 years ago, night shift. a lot of white guys. now, same factory, all latin americans. people cannot afford their mortgages. these guys can. you can't get a job. . caller: i agree with you 100% on all of these issues. my world this morning, i woke up and they were talking about joe scarborough and winning the class warfare issue. on this channel i see everyone talking about trade issues, which is a lose lose for

america. i do not know where i can turn as a voter to find someone that represents me except for the green party. i have followed their principles for years. i voted for them one time. it looks like it is the only way out. democrats and republicans said across the table and smile at each other -- like where are they going to go? >> there will be -- guest: there will be a tremendous amount of of people in this country over the next 15 years. we are going to phase in electoral politics unlike anything we have ever seen in our lives. it always seemed like there was more at the table to share. multi-party democracies provide opportunities for issues like immigration and environmental issues to get more of a voice.

unfortunately we have a dominant two-party system right now. we do have some folks in the house, taking over in january. lamar smith, chairman of the judiciary committee, working on the immigration issue, correctly analyzing it, in our view, for a long period of time. he is seriously interested in the topic. jeff sessions on the senate side, there will be a very different dynamic on the immigration issue next year. which really raises the broader question of why you would want to legislate without hearings or proper deliberation? put this off until next year. take the opportunity to really analyze what we are doing on immigration issues. this is no way to legislate. i feel very sorry, myself, for

the american people that feel of our political system does not represent the interests of the average person. for the caller that called about labor displacement, where there is opportunity it is certain -- simply written off. elements in the democratic party that have decided that their future electoral advantage lies in young, non-caucasian voters, writing off the interests of other voters. they are continuing out with it this so-called dream back and i think the voters spoke loud and clear. in november where immigration was an issue in a race after race, the arizona bill was incredibly popular. why would nancy pelosi broad assault in the wound by considering legislation of this kind? diametrically opposed to what the american people clearly said

that they wanted. host: my guest has been a former congressional staffer, president of the american immigration reform,, how long has that institution been around? >> since 1979. we were founded by a wide range of people from both parties. we represent the center on this issue and we get attacked from both sides because we are a major advocate for reforms that would minimize the 9/11 threat for sanctions in the 1980's. we have brought major litigation over the years to try to equalize the leverage for american citizens. you know, it is a wonderful organization, if i say so myself. partly because it is relatively

unique in american politics. host: how is it funded? guest: we have about 100,000 members. 70% are from -- 70 per% of the contributions are from the people. we have many major supporters that helped to build the organization, like warren buffett. host: here is a clear message -- -- twitter message -- guest: that is a speech this economic argument. ous economic argument. say someone here with an account -- with a high school degree is costing more than with a sales

tax, if they were sent back to their own country, they could take the skills back home and purchased american made products that would help the trade deficit. look, this entire idea that we will build an economy on low- skilled labor with high skilled education is so 19th century. we have really got to update how we are thinking about how immigration relates to a post- industrial immigration society. to the extent that we need immigration is high value added proprietary knowledge people that can expand production of the economy. we have the labor and the need for jobs fox. we have the talent and the know- how. there is no evidence that the american people are not capable of doing jobs in their own country. having the education and skills that they need that we need to

continually reward. the taxpayers already provide a k-12 education for people that bring their children here illegally. we have provided a very extensive public education. they probably got a better education than it would have in their home country. the patriotic thing would be for those children to take their skills back home and build up the economy is back home. host: champaign, illinois. caller: first-time caller. host: glad to have you. caller: i would like to say that the dream act is not so much an issue of immigration but as of handling the problems we have now. in all aspects other than being born here, participating in the culture, they are american. some of their parents pay taxes even though they do not have to.

but they are left in the dust. if they get a degree and they are not legal is not worth anything to anyone. they are already involved in the economy. guest: echoing my earlier point, that somehow this is a zero sum game. look, if we educate people, even if we do not want to, we are investing in them in a way and we can look at it as an extension of foreign aid. so that when they go back home they put those educational skills to work. helping to build those economies back home. if we accept the proposition, president obama's proposition, that immigration laws will never be enforced in this country, you can make a solid argument that giving people education makes sense. never deporting them.

but that is not our position. our position is that the american people has not only the right but the duty and capacity to enforce and we must enforce those laws or we will no longer be a nation. the dream that is flawed because it does not come up with n.v. -- and then what -- answer. how do you prevent a recurrence of more illegal aliens coming in and taking advantage outside of the law if you send this kind of message we can all understand a young person's desire to do well. it is to be commended. believe me, the moral and ethical issues here are difficult. and i do not want people to think that we do not feel the tension underlying these issues. but ultimately in the end of this is about doing the right thing in along run. it is irresponsible legislating

to offer amnesty benefits without giving the american people even a shred of promise that these things will not occur. that is why this bill in the senate is so cynical. it appears to not be a good- faith proposal. it is a cynical immigration policy for partisan gain. republicans taking on the chin because of hispanic voters? that is playing party politics with america's immigration policy. that is incomprehensible. taking the national debate on who we are in who we will be and turning it into a partisan political football. host: memphis, tennessee, republican. what do you have to say? debt -- caller: i am a radical republican. host: what does that mean?

caller: president hayes in 1881 made a deal with southern states to become president. the construction was ended. here we are, african-americans that have been emancipated and free. but we have no [unintelligible] because of the racism and bigotry that we see. listening to all of this rhetoric, i do not see that they are having a conversation where we can overcome all of this hypocrisy. guest: i am not sure that i understand the caller. but there is an inherent racial tension within our society.

no one can doubt that. at the same time, i think, and we think this is fair, we have had a robust immigration debate with tremendous demographic a change over the last 30 years. more so than any country in the history of western civilization. the american people have been remarkably excepting and tolerant. we are extremely impressed with how willing the american people are to absorb people that come from different countries, cultures, with new ideas. but there is an inherent tension in subterranean ethnic and racial bias amongst people. remember, when immigration was brought down in the 1920's it created the market forces that encourage people that had lived in the south to come to the north in search of jobs. major advances were made in the civil rights movement, during world war ii, i am black and

white relations. when you open up the floodgates to massive immigration you underline market forces and the tension creates incentives for people to come together. even though it is under the nominal idea of creating diversity, what it really does is create social distance. we see a great deal of that now. think about the community most negatively affected by the dream act. the most disadvantaged people that need subsidized student loans, who need public university. it is not like every university is getting open admission. in fact, public universities and community colleges are increasing tuition now. they are actually putting caps on enrollment.

so, you are going to have this kind of debate when you refuse to recognize that we live in a era of limits. it is not responsible for legislators to think that we can spend our way out of every problem. host: let's hear from a few more folks. long island, nick, democratic line. caller: i just want to comment on one thing. all of this bickering about the immigrants, the only problem i have with that is you need to take care of the american people right now. a lot of these people do not spend their money in america, they spend it that at all -- back at home. worry about the americans. i do not think that this is a time that they should even talk

about the dream that. >> -- host: jeff, you get the last word. caller: thank you. good morning. this is something that you need to include in your conversation. what is an american? i am a german descended american. my parents were born here. i am able american. my neighbor, whose parents were born here, he is labeled an african-american. our governments has use policies of discrimination true racial labeling of different subspecies of americans. to say that only if you are a white person you are american -- hispanic american, african american, you were born in another place. the problem is labeling. we need to label americans as americans. guest: he is talking about some broader issues. the only way that we will come

here as a people as if we come together under one banner and one label. those subdivisions he was talking about were built up for political purposes. now, because immigration introduces ethnic change, there is a system around the voting rights act whereby the democratic party views immigration as something that expands its constituency for its own political power base. at the expense potentially of national unity. hispanic american voters that vote republican generally want to be viewed as americans, they are interested in assimilation. there is an institutional desire among some to maintain these differences because of the economic spoils that have been built up around these differences. the framers of the constitution would have said that we come from all over the world to buy

into this wonderful experiment in republican democracy where we hold allegiance to our land and sets of ideas. demanding preferences based on race, group rights, this is antithetical. if they used beneficiaries of the dream that to meet diversity goals, you are just adding one more discriminatory factor that works against other groups in exchange for providing these benefits. >> we want to bring you upto speed for today's white house events. it's been announced that president obama will brief reporters himself today at 2:20 p.m. eastern from the briefing room. we'll have that live for you on our companion network c-span3.

and his spokesman, robert gibbs, will host a follow-up brofinge. we hope to have that live for you as well on the c-span networks. the house is in recess at the moment. gearing up to start legislative work at 2:00 p.m. eastern. 16 bills on the calendar today including one on preventing runaways month. more live house coverage when the gavel comes down here on c-span. next, today's state department briefing. they have very little to say about today's arrest about the wikileaks founder. he's been held on sexual assault charges. the u.s. is pursuing a criminal investigation on wikileaks for releasing thousands of classified documents. this is about half an hour.

>> good afternoon -- good morning. welcome to the department of state. we are doing a double-header. we'll have the main state briefing here this morning. then, we will have a briefing at the foreign press center in new york. this afternoon. those of you credited with the washington foreign press center can participate in and those of you, you know, on the domestic side can certainly listen in. anyway, just to start off, the united states is pleased to announce that will host unesco's world press freedom day in 2011 from may 1 to may 3 here in washington, d.c. unesco is the only u.n. agency

with the promotion -- promote freedom of religion and freedom of the press. the theme will be new frontiers, new barriers. obviously we decided upon this before the latest round of news. the united states places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. certainly is an irony here. new media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events at exchange of environment information and environments sometimes hostile to the -- for the right of freedom of expression. at the same time we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor or silent individuals and to restrict the free flow of information. we mark events such as world press freedom day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and

expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age. this afternoon sick clinton will meet with norwegian foreign minister to discuss a wide range of issues, including the forthcoming referendum on sudan, the middle east process, our partnership in afghanistan and the strengthening of the arctic council. they've also discussed the new star treaty in burma and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. also, this afternoon, the secretary's meeting with coalition of 11 human rights n.g.o.'s. the purpose of the meeting is for the secretary to listen to their concerns and discuss areas where we can combine efforts to promote human rights. and groups include amnesty international, human rights watch and freedom house, to name a few.

in africa, we continue to monitor the situation and to engage with relevant actors and the international community to establish a way forward that fully respects the will of the people there. i think equoas will be meeting today. from our standpoint we see two possible paths for them going forward. in particular, the choice that confronts the president. there are two paths that he can take. one that leads to continued progress for his country and his people, preservation of the institution of democracy and one that maintains them as a leader in africa. the other path is one that leads to isolation from the global community and most particularly from the african neighbors of him.

>> is the u.s. calling on him to step aside immediately? >> well, they had an election. the international community judged the election as free and fair which is victory for the challenger in the election. it is time for president bagbo to recognize the people of the country. they are calling on the president to respect the will in a clear, decisive victory. >> is this concern that there will be war from the north and south? >> yeah.

we are obviously concerned if the current government makes the wrong choices there could very well be the risk of amnesty. our ambassador is trying to do everything possible to keep the situation calm while leaders, you know, work through this process. >> quoted as saying of talks between the u.s. and israel on getting the israeli and palestinian talks resume and the reasons include distractions like wikileaks, is it true that the talks are suspended and some way on hold? >> well, our efforts are not suspended. we are having conversations even as we speak today with both israeli officials, with

palestinian officials. the israeli government itself has been fully occupied understandably in recent states with the challenge of the fires. we are determined to work with the parties on a path forward and try to determine how best to advance the process back to negotiations and to ultimately a framework agreement. i would just say that we'll be meeting today with both sides. we may have more to say later in the day. >> do you have any idea why he would say that it has been stopped entirely? >> i will say the process has not stopped. we obviously recognize that, you know, we face a difficult obstacle and we will continue to engage the parties on a way forward. >> who's meeting today? >> i think daniel rubenstein

will be meeting today with president abbas. a number of officials have been on the phone throughout the morning with the israelis as well. >> argentina and brazil saying [inaudible] . >> we don't think that we should be disstracted from the fact that the only way to resolve the core issues from the process is through direct negotiations that remains our focus. we don't favor that course of action. we said many, many times, any unilateral action we believe is counterproductive. >> would you talk to both governments about it? >> again, i can't point to any

direct conversation we had in recent days but i think our position on this is pretty clear. >> ok. both would participate in the same events as well as secretary clinton and former bill clinton on friday? what would they discuss prior to that? would there be any kind of discussion? >> let me take the question. obviously, you know, there is the event coming up on friday. the secretary will have a speech friday evening. i'm just not able to forecast at this point whether there will be any meetings prior to that. >> one other question on this issue. have you spoken -- >> as i said, in the next couple of hours we'll actually have a meeting with president abbas and we'll have more to say after that meeting.

>> do you have a readout of what will be discussed during the meeting? whether the talk was put forth, how it was received -- >> which is that? >> this is the nuclear offer. >> uh-huh. >> the iranians did say they do not plan to discuss the nuclear -- their nuclear -- alternative nuclear program. is that your understanding of what they will agree to in the next round of talks or what's your reaction? >> well, about 75% of the meetings yesterday and today were on the nuclear issue. it is something that remains a forefront among our concerns. we look forward to another meeting in january and we will

continue our discussion on this and other topics. the t.a.r. issue was discussed during the course of the meeting, and we'll continue to explore this as we go forward. >> i assume there was one offer. is there another one? >> no. >> also, in the meetings, did the -- >> my understanding is that we had a couple of conversations with the iranian delegation. >> can you say if the -- [inaudible] >> i can't. >> why not? >> sorry. >> all i can tell you there were brief and formal discussions. beyond that, i am just not in position to say what specifically came about.

>> do you feel any more heartened by any issues? >> i cannot. >> was it bill burns? >> i think it was both bill burns and others. >> the wikileaks with assange in custody, was there any reaction to the state department and is the u.s. taking action to have him extradited? >> well, our investigation is ongoing. and beyond that as to his arrest, this is at this point an issue between britain and sweden. >> back on iran. are the meetings taking place in turkey, is that something [inaudible] ? >> well, we had indicated our willingness to -- let's back up. first of all, we hope this will

be the start of a serious process for a discussion between iran and representative of the p.f.i. plus one. we're encouraged that there will be a followon meeting. as we signaled before this first meeting, we were open to have multiple meetings in multiple locations and certainly the decision to meet next month in istanbul is a reflection of that. >> the investigation is ongoing. in other words, the u.s. government has to look into this to find out legally what could be done? you don't have enough information at this point to build a case? >> i will defer to the justice department in terms of where our investigation stands. but obviously our investigation is ongoing and that's all i can say. >> another one more.

investigating what? how they were leaked, who did it? >> what we're investigating is a crime under u.s. law. their provision of 250,000 classified documents, you know, from someone inside the government to someone outside the government is a crime. we're investigating it, and as we said we will hold those responsible fully accountable. that investigation is still ongoing. >> they still plan to release even more documents from this carba you alluded to and what pressure, if any, is the u.s. bringing on those who might be able to transmit the information? >> well, our position has been clear from the outset. the release of this cache of documents is -- puts lives and interests at risk.

not just american lives and american interests but the interests of others around the world. we have specifically called on mr. assange to return stolen property to the united states. he has declined to do that. but, you know, beyond that, without talking about any particular cable, there is information that fully deserves confidentiality and classification. just this one instance, the release of a list of critical infrastructure that's important to our society and our economy and the economies of other countries is irresponsible. it is expressly the kind of information that is classified and deserves to remain classified. and to release in essence is providing a targeting list to a

group like al qaeda. it is irresponsible, and this is exactly the concerns that we've had from the outset when we indicated, you know, very clearly that the release of this information puts, you know, lives and interests at risk. >> there's reporting in terms of the disclosures, the state department, other agencies are going to have to make a major reshuffle of people abroad who may be compromised on the release. >> i don't expect that to happen. i mean, first of all, let's be clear. again, without getting into any particular document, we're very proud of the work that our diplomats do for ambassadors down to political counselors and down to the host nation staff that helps support our day-to-day operations. we're very proud of them. they're serving the united states' interests, and as we

said, there's some who think that there's this vast global conspiracy centered on the united states. it's complete nonsense. our diplomats are doing day in and day out what we expect them to do, what we need them to continue to do which is to have contact with other governments, have contact with civil society, look for ways in which we can cooperate together, look for ways in which we can help resolve issues of local, regional and global significance. nonof that will change based on these revelations. to the extent our relations with other countries are based on mutual interests and mutual respects, that hasn't changed by the release of these documents. we would not expect to make any, you know, significant, vast changes. we hope that will not be necessary.

as we pledged, we will work with other governments. we will rebuild the trust that is inhearnt in the system of cooperation that is essential for us to work with friends, allies and other partners on these issues. >> will you provide any information to the british court because the judge felt there was grounds for mr. assange to be a flight risk? did the u.s. provide any information -- >> again, i cannot say that the united states has been drawn into this issue this morning. this is an issue where british authorities have arrested him based on a warrant for his extradition to sweden. >> is the u.s. taking any steps at this point to mitigate the damage that's been caused by that, beefing up security, anything like that? >> i'll refer back to the

department of homeland security . obviously infrastructure that is important to the united states may rest in this country. it may rest in other countries. it may be infrastructure or primarily infrastructure that rests in private hands. since 9/11, there's a great deal of effort to the united states government to both identify critical infrastructure and protect them. >> let me ask you a couple of questions. one, whatever has been leaked, wikileaked [inaudible] >> well, that's a very good question. that's one of the reasons why we do not commept on any particular cable because -- comment on any particular cable

because while we can acknowledge that this information broadly came from a database under our control, even though the leak itself did not occur within the department of state. once any document leaves the state department's control, you know, it is subject to be altered. so we can't verify the validity of every single document that has been released so far. >> the comment that china may be behind on the -- hijacked the wickyleaks information -- wikileaks information -- >> i don't know. >> how much damage is the u.s.-india relations and u.s.-pakistan relations? >> well, we're pursuing

strategic partnerships with pakistan and india and other countries. those relationships are based on mutual interests and mutual respect and that has not changed. so we would hope that there will be no impact. >> a couple of questions. on the reshuffling of diplomats. what happens if countries declare diplomats' nongratton, would you consider moving them or shifting them around? >> well, there are specific diplomatic protocols if that occurs. the question is whether there was going to be this broad reshuffling and the answer is no. >> and then on the extradition issue. i mean, i assume the investigation is still ongoing but would you -- if it's determined -- if it's come to a conclusion that requires extradition, will you seek that and is it easier to be done with the u.k. or sweden? >> again, i'll fall back on what i said, our investigation is ongoing.

>> two more. >> is there a limit? i think it's three. sorry. it's the holiday season. >> whether it's breaking the law, you know, this is information that is classified. i mean, media organizations often publish classified information. i mean, how do you determine who should be, you know, tried or not tried depending on what they've published? >> well, we are a nation of laws. and we do have -- we do have specific laws that govern protection of information and our focus first and foremost is at least one individual who took an oath of office to protect the united states and its interests and has failed in -- to heed that responsibility. but beyond that we are mindful of the fact that we do have a constitution that enshrined in that constitution is freedom of

the press. we respect that. even as we have concerns of how it is exercised. >> we are going to leave the last few minutes of this state department briefing for live house coverage. members returning after a short recess to take up 16 bills including one supporting national runaway prevention month. all requested votes will be held at 6:00 p.m. eastern. now live to the house floor here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] pearl harbor changed the map of history and would be described as a date which will live in infamy. lord, how baffling is human memory. with what is remembered and what is forgotten.

mindful of the continue are rah dict arery consequences of war, we pray for peace in our own day. still mourning the many lives lost, those injured and those missing, that event gave rise to america's greatest generation as well as racism and interment camps of 120,000 japanese americans for nearly three years. asian economic power as well as nuclear energy. lord help us, help us to find new ways instead of war or violence to develop human development and negotiate ordinary differences of opinion. guide people around the world in any effort to balance, support

our military forces fighting for peace with scales of justice. lord, make your people one in creative work in hope for peace, and in effective compassion. and so bring you glory and honor now and forever, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the house may be seated. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from south carolina, congressman wilson. mr. wilson: everyone, including our guests in the gallery, please join in. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god,

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minutes and the house may be seated. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: beauford, south carolina, is home to the marine corps air station professionally commanded by john snyder. it plays a critical role in our national security operations and is home to six marine squadrons and one navy squadron with an economic impact of $600 million annually. i hope the future is about to grow even brighter for the town this week as we are optimistic that the final environmental study promotes f-35b squadrons in this great community.

it's been a pleasure to work with senator graham to highlight beauford's community, climate and existing facilities which provide for year-round training for soldiers. beauford can expect to see over 1,500 new jobs and hundreds of private sector high-tech jobs as promoted by beauford chamber of commerce and the military enhancement committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. wilson: i look forward to expanding the sound of freedom in the low country. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i wish to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> this week, the nobel committee will be awarded.

the recipient's seat will be empty because he is in prison for petitioning his government peacefully for human rights. i was pleased to join my colleagues on the human rights committee for nominating him for the peace prize and even now the chinese government is sensor -- censoring news of this. sadly some nations have bowed to the wishes of the communist government. i'm sorry to hear that kazakhstan and iraq will not send representatives to the ceremony. these nations should know what it's like to have basic rights denied by the government. it's not too late. i call on all nations to are recognize the peaceful struggle of a man who has no hatred, even for those who have denied him and his people basic freedoms of this distinguished honor. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the

gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> thank you, madam speaker. over two weeks ago, sergeant kevin mathew poppy was injured in a fire fight in afghanistan. born on february 5, 1980, he enlisted in the united states army in september of 2005 from his hometown of fort wayne. as squad leader assigned to the first battalion 75th ranger regiment, he was on a remarkable six deployments, with three previous deployments to iraq and two to afghanistan. his awards and decorations from his service are too numerous to list here. he was awarded the bronze star and the purple heart. he's survived by his wife, his daughter, and hi father and sister.

he selflessly lived his life for others distinguishing himself as an army ranger while supporting operation iraqi freedom and enduring freedom following the ranger creed. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from minnesota rise? mrs. bachmann: to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. mccollum: thousands of girls will be robbed of their future when they are forced to marry older men. it's not marriage when a 10-year-old girl is given to a 40-year-old man. this is child abuse. the united states must take a strong stand against child marriage. democrats and republicans must come together and pass the international protecting girls by preventing child marriage act as soon as possible. every senator agreed to this bill when it passed last week.

it passed unanimously. there's a lot of talk in congress about the need to protect children from abuse. it's time for action. it's time for a vote. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, madam, pursuant oto the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the sec are retear of the senate on december 3, 2010, at 4:15 p.m. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 3237, that the senate passed with amendment h.r. 3231, that the senate passed senate 1774, that the senate passed senate 124. appointment, united states commission on civil rights,

pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on december 6, 2010, at 1:24 p.m. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 6399, that the senate passed senate 3860, that the senate passed senate 3817. pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2h of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message ofrom the sec are retear of the senate on december 10, 2010, at 9:50 a.m., that the senate passed without amendment, house concurrent resolution 259, that the senate passed senate 4010, letter of transmital. the senate informs the house of representatives that the senate will resume consideration of the articles of impeachment against

judge g. thomas ports you, with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, lorraine c. miller, clerk of the house. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone fourth proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote is objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken after 6:00 p.m. today. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? >> madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill house resolution 1687. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will are report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1687. resolution recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of national runaway prevention month. the speaker pro tempore:

pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay, and the gentlewoman from illinois, mrs. biggert, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. clay: thank you. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. clay: thank you, madam speaker. on behalf of the house committee on oversight and government reform, i am pleased to present house resolution 1687 for consideration. this resolution recognizes the importance of youth runaway prevention and at risk youth programs. house resolution 1687 was introduced by our colleague, represent arive judy biggert, of illinois, on september 29, 2010, notably, this measure enjoys the support of 55 co-sponsors.

madam speaker, according to the national runaway switchboard, between 1.6 million and 2.8 million youth run away from home every year. notably, the national runaway switchboard reports that among those youth at greatest are risk of running away and facing homelessness are those that have been expelled from home, those that have suffered domestic abuse, and those that have been discharged by state custodial systems without the benefit of adequate transitional planning. additionally, youth that have been separated from their parents by death or divorce, live in poverty, and are unable to access adequate medical or mental health resources are similarly at risk of running away and becoming homeless.

madam speaker, in light of the prevalence of the problem of runaway youth as well as youth homelessness, let us take this opportunity to pass house resolution 1687 and recognize the important role that youth runaway prevention and at-risk youth programs play in addressing these issues. i urge my colleagues to join in supporting it and i are reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from illinois. mrs. biggert: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so order. mrs. biggert: today i rise in support of house resolution 1687 expressing support of the house of representatives for the goals and ideals of national runaway prevention month. studies suggest that nearly three million children are living on the street each year. many of these individuals come

from every social and economic background have been kicked out of their home, separated if their parents or physically abused. worse, they find it increasingly difficult or even impossible to acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities to develop into safe, healthy, productive adults. that's why it's so important we pass this resolution today to raise awareness of the plight of runaway youth and increase public understanding of the role individual americans can play in helping to prevent youth from running away from home. as co-chair of the missing and exploited children's caucus, i worked with my colleagues to help address many of the issues that face runaways and their families. the caucus has done great work and i'd like to extend to all my colleagues in the house an invitation to join us in exploring ways to improve the well-being of distressed youth and reduce the incidence of runaways and in addition i'd

like to commend the work done by organizations such as the national center for missing and exploited children and the national runaway switchboard as well as similar organizations across the country that help ensure runaways and homeless kids in our communities aren't deprived of a chance for a future. in my home state of illinois, almost 5,900 were placed to the runaway switch board. they fielded over 117,000 calls. and for more than two decades, the national center for missing and exploited children have worked with the communities to coordinate strategies to reunite children with their families. with so many children living on the street and the risk that runaway youth pose to themselves in the communities it's clear that much work still remains. but by highlighting the problem and expressing support for the valuable work done by communities and youth

organizations, we can make significant process -- progress towards preventing instances of children running away from home and create an environment in which our nation's at-risk youth have access to the building blocks for a lifetime of success. with that i'd like to encourage all my colleagues to support this important resolution and would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: mr. speaker, we have -- madam speaker, we have no other speakers. if the gentlewoman from illinois is willing to yield back i will yield back also. mrs. biggert: i will then yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from illinois yields back. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: madam speaker, again, let me thank our colleague, mrs. biggert of illinois, for introducing this important legislation, and let me again urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is -- the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1687.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? mr. clay: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6400, which designates the facility of the united states postal service located at 111 north 6th street in st. louis, missouri, as the earl wilson jr. post office building. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6400, a bill to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 111 north 6th street in st. louis, missouri, as the earl wilson, jr. post office. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from missouri, mr.

clay, and the gentlewoman from illinois, mrs. biggert, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: thank you, madam speaker. and once again, i stand as a member of the house committee on oversight and government reform to join my colleagues in the consideration of h.r. 6400. this legislation would name the u.s. post office facility at 111 north 6th vote in st. louis, missouri, after a man who transformed his community while giving hope and opportunity to hundreds of young people. a true giant of philanthropy, the late earl wilson jr. -- the measure before us was first

introduced on november 15, 2010. i am proud to say that the bill now enjoys the support and co-sponsorship of 18 members of congress, including the entire congressional delegation from my home state of missouri. madam speaker, earl wilson jr.'s lifetime of achievement in the corporate world as the founder of the st. louis gateway classic foundation, as a proud veteran of the u.s. army, as a father, husband and friend to so many will live forever. earl wilson jr. was born in st. louis on october 9, 1932. he grew up on 11th street, just a few blocks away from the u.s. post office that will hopefully bear his name. he graduated from high school and received his b.s. in education from lincoln

university in 1957. after graduation, he proudly served as a captain in the u.s. army corps of engineers. in 1963, he became a corporate trailblazer at i.b.m. where he was a stellar performer for three decades. towards the end of his i.b.m. career, mr. wilson helped rescue his alma mater from financial straits which he successfully accomplished. earl wilson jr. later founded the st. louis gateway classic foundation, an annual football contest that helped to fund the dreams of deserving students. without a doubt. his impact on the lives of so many young st. louisans will endure for generations to come. over the last 16 years, the

annual gridiron classic featured top historically black colleges and universities. the game itself was a celebration of football tradition and a battle of the bands, but as earl wilson often reminded us, it was more than just a game. the st. louis gateway classic foundation effectively raised $2.6 million to send average c-grade students to college on full four-year scholarships. the foundation's busy year-round schedule, a fundraising and community events helped fuel its success. to raise money, wilson orchestrated golf tournaments, basketball shootouts, baseball games, a boxing showcase, pageants and concerts. to give back to the community, the foundation provided quality

after-school programs and adult daycare, holiday meals for people in need and neighborhood lunches. he also created a walk of fame that honors local african-americans who have been pioneers in st. louis. when earl wilson jr. passed away on october 29 of this year, it was not only an enormous personal loss for my family and i, his death was more -- mourned throughout st. louis and our nation. madam speaker, i've been blessed to experience and witness firsthand his commitment to opening the doors of higher education to young people. he selflessly invested his immense talents and boundless energy to build up his community and his country. and as we move to recognize the accomplishments of this great

humanitarian, father and friend to many, i ask that we pass the underlying bill without reservation and pay tribute to a great american, earl wilson jr. and i urge passage of h.r. 6400 and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from illinois is recognized. mrs. biggert: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. biggert: i rise today in support of h.r. 6400, to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 111th north 6th street in st. louis, missouri, as the earl wilson jr. post office. madam speaker, mr. wilson did so much for his country and community throughout his 78 years, as mr. clay has spoken so eloquently. and he's a man dedicated to helping and improving the lives

of others that is proper and fitting that we name this post office to honor mr. wilson. i would urge all members to join mr. clay and the entire missouri delegation in support of this bill, and i have no further speakers, and i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: thank you, madam speaker. at this time we have no further speakers, and, again, i'd just like to urge my colleagues to pass the underlying bill, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time being yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6400. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the rules are suspended and the bill is -- mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: i request the yeas and nays.

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? mr. clay: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill house resolution 1642. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1642, resolution recognizing the centennial of the city of lilburn, georgia and supporting the goals and ideals of a city of lilburn day. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay, and the gentlewoman from illinois, mrs. biggert, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. clay: madam speaker, i now yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. clay: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. clay: on behalf of the committee of government oversight and government reform, i am pleased to present house resolution 1642 for consideration. this measure recognizes the centennial of the city of lilburn, georgia. house resolution 1642 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from georgia, hank johnson, on september 22, 2010. the measure enjoys the support of over 50 members of the house. madam speaker, the city of lilburn was founded in 1890 by the seaboard airline railway and incorporated it in 1910 by the georgia general assembly. this historic city has faced

dramatic changes and tough times since its incorporation. its business district was largely destroyed in a fire on november 15, 1920, and the great depression nearly wiped the city out for good. the city dwradually relocated to an -- gradually relocated to an auto friendly location as widespread travel by car became an alternative to rail travel. in 1976, lilburn city hall was built in the city's original location, anchoring its old town district with shops and restaurants. madam speaker, today lilburn is a vibrant small city with an active arts community, a large and diverse collection of churches and temples and growing south asian and latino population. madam speaker, let us now congratulate the still of

lilburn on its centennial through the passage of house resolution 1642, and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from illinois is recognized. mrs. biggert: thank you, madam speaker. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. biggert: i rise today to support h. resolution 1642 which recognizes the centennial of lilburn, georgia, located just outside of atlanta, the city of lilburn was incorporated by the georgia general assembly in 1910. i understand that lilburn celebrated the centennial on september 25, and i wish to congratulate the city and everyone involved in the planning and execution of the festivities. madam speaker, i urge all members to join in support of this resolution, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from missouri.

mr. clay: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i'd like to recognize one of the original co-sponsors of this resolution and the gentleman who has represented the city over time, my good friend from the great state of georgia, mr. david scott. mr. scott: thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: for how much time? mr. clay: five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. scott: thank you, mr. clay, for your outstanding leadership on the committee and for your outstanding leadership in bringing forward this very, very, very appropriate and extraordinary resolution for a very extraordinary city that i had the privilege of representing for many years that is now been redistricted over the years and my colleague, hank johnson, now represents it. but once you represent lilburn you always represent the city of lilburn. it is a fantastic city.

it's made up of tremendous people who are very courageous, very smart and make a significant contribution to every aspect of the forward progress of our great state of georgia. so i'm proud, as a co-sponsor of this recognition -- resolution, which recognizes the history, the prominence, and rethe resilience, especially the resilience, because you measure greatness not by the easy times. you measure greatness by the tough times you go through and that you overcome. such as the story of this great city of lilburn, georgia. as many of my colleagues know ands amentioned before, i had the privilege of representing lilburn as -- in my first time as a member of congress. had my district office out there and grew to love the people of lilburn and still do.

i can proudly say that the men and women of lilburn are still uplifting and courageous today as they were when i had the honor of representing that extraordinary city. it was first inhabited by native americans, madam speaker, the native american tribes in 1817, the city of lilburn has since blossomed to a community now of over 11,000 people this community now has eight elementary schools, three middle schools, three high schools and five private schools. i'm proud to say that the education system within the city of lilburn is creating the future leaders of my great state of georgia, nation, and indeed, the world. madam speaker, the city of lilburn has truly been tested, as i mentioned before, and as my colleagues have mentioned, of the tremendous challenges facing this city. on that devastating day of november 15, 1920, the city

business section was completely destroyed by a fire. while the pulse of the city was tested by this fire, the great people of lilburn rose to the challenge to reclaim their sense of community and partnership, rolled their sleeves up and went to work and rebuilt this great city. today, i'm proud to say that the city of lilburn is largely associated with the begin et county -- with the gwinnett county chamber of commerce which boasts a thriving business section where businesses offer antiques, crafts, clothing and restaurants, all in an inviting atmosphere, the culture, arts, business, education, these are areas of great contribution of this great city. that'd city of lilburn is represented by mayor diana preston, councilman scott batterton, councilman john kris,

consul minute tim dunn and councilman eddie price. great people doing a great job. together these outstanding public leaders are continuing to advance the city of lilburn in an economically and culturally vibrant and healthy way. the leaders of this great city have initiated projects such as downtown development authority, the lilburn community improvement district, the lilburn community partnership and the centennial gateway trail. madam speaker, greatness is here and it is in the possession of the great city of lilburn. i encourage all my colleagues to unanimously pass this resolution in honor of this great and historic city, lilburn, georgia. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from illinois. mrs. biggert: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: at this time, i would

like to yield five minutes to the gentleman from the great state of georgia who happens to represent the city of lilburn, georgia, and the chief sponsor of the resolution, mr. hank johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. johnson: thank you, madam speaker. today i'm pleased on behalf of the citizens of the great city of lilburn, georgia, to usher through with the help of my friends this resolution which speaks to the prominence and resilience of the people of lilburn. my colleague, david scott, has said it all, ladies and gentlemen. i do appreciate him for his very

eloquent words on behalf of this resolution. all has been said, it's tough to follow a baptist preacher, and i won't even try at this time. but i would ask that my colleagues give this due consideration and please vote yes on this resolution, h.res. 1642, recognizing the centennial of the city of lilburn, georgia. with that, i shall yield. -- i shall yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from illinois. mrs. biggert: i ask for support of this resolution and yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: i again urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time being yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the resolution, house resolution 1642. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair -- mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? mr. clay: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise?

mr. clay: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill house resolution 1727. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1727, resolution recognizing rotary international for 105 years of service to the world and commending members on their dedication to the mission and principles of their organization. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay, and the gentlewoman from illinois, mrs. biggert, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. clay: madam speaker, i now yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is are recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. clay: thank you, madam

speaker. i rise in support of house resolution 1727, a measure recognizing rotary international for 105 years of service to the world and commending members on their dedication to the mission and principles of their organization. house resolution 1727 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from texas, are representative lamar smith, on november 18, 2010. the measure enjoys bipartisan support from over 60 co-sponsors. madam speaker, most of us here are familiar with the work of our local rotary clubs. their devotion to service maybes a tremendous difference in the lives of all of our communities and in communities around the world. the projects that the over 34,000 rotary clubs sponsor are too numerous to list here but

some of rotary international's highest profile undertakings include pole yow plus, an effort to eliminate pole yow around the world, they have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for that effort. another global undertaking has been an aggressive effort to help solve the global water and sanitation crisis which claimed over two million lives each year. including 4,000 children every day. earlier this year, rotary international entered into a partnership with the u.s. agency for international development to implement sustainable long-term water sanitation and hygiene projects in the dominican republic, ghana, and the philippines. rotarians have also assisted in

disaster relief efforts from indonesia and pakistan to new orleans, helping to distribute food, clean water, shelter, and medical supplies. these are just a few examples of some of rotary international's service projects. in addition to supporting projects like these around the world, rotary international supports scholarships, exchange programs, and humanitarian grants. madam speaker, let us take the time now to thank rote arery international for all that they continue to do to fulfill their mission of providing service to others, promoting integrity, and advancing world understanding, good will, and peace. i would therefore urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the resolution which recognizes rotary international

for 105 years of service to the world and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from illinois. mrs. biggert: thank you, madam speaker. at this time, i would yield to the distinguished gentleman from texas, the sponsor of this resolution, mr. lamar smith. for such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. smith: i would like to thank the gentlewoman from illinois for yielding me time and i'd like to thank my colleagues on the committee itself for giving this resolution bipartisan support. madam speaker, resolution honors rotary international for 105 years of service and commends members for their dedication to the mission and principles of rote arery. the mission of rotary international is to provide service to others, promote integrity and advance world understanding, good will, and peace through its fellowship. all across the country,

business, professional, and community leaders better their communities by participating in their local rotary clubs. founded in 1905 in chicago, illinois, rotary international is the world's first service club and one of the largest nonprofit service organizations. rotary international promotes international understanding through scholarships, exchange programs, humanitarian grants, and service projects. their motto is, service above self-. rote arery international also promotes universal values with their four-part test that asks the following questions. of the things we think, say, or do, is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build good will and better friendships, and will it be beneficial to all concerned? it is a pleasure to recognize rote arery international for 10

-- rotary international for 105 years of service. i hope my colleagues will join me in honoring them on this achievement. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: at this time, i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from the great state of pennsylvania, mr. altmire. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is are recognized for two minutes. mr. altmire: i rise today to join my colleagues in commemorating the rotary international club for 105 years of service. like many members of this house, i've been a local -- a member of my local rotary club. i've served in many of the club's offices, including a term as its president. i've seen firsthand the great work that rotary clubs provide for their communities and literally around the world. founded in 1905 in chicago, rotary international is the world's first formal service club and has grown into one of the largest nonprofit service

organizations in the world. the mission of rotary is to serve others, promote integrity and advance worldwide understanding, good will, and peace through its fellowship network of business and community leaders. today there are 1.2 million rotarians in more than 34,000 clubs across six continents. the district that i represent is home to 25 of those clubs. with a well-known motto of service above self, rotary international promotes understanding through scholarships, student exchange programs, humanitarian grants and other service projects. i'm sure every member of this house has at one time or another attended a rote arery meeting or spoken to a rotary group. the resolution we are debating today recognizes rotary international for 105 a years of service to the world and commends its members on their dedication to the mission and principles of rotary international's organizations. i join my colleagues in support of this resolution and yield

back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from illinois. mrs. biggert: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for as much time as she may consume. mrs. biggert: i can't help but emphasize that rotry was founded in the great state of illinois in chicago in 1905 and it is the world's first service club and one of the largest nonprofit service organizations, and its motto, service above self, helps encourage members to provide humanitarian service meet high ethical standards and promote international good will and peace. so we salute all members of the rotary international for their great civic work as they celebrate this anniversary. i thank the gentleman from texas for sponsoring this resolution, and i urge all members to join in support of the resolution, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from illinois yields

back the balance of her time. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: madam speaker, i, again, urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time being yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1727. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? mr. clay: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill house resolution 1264. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1264, resolution expressing support for the designation of march as national essential tremor awareness month. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay, and the gentlewoman from

illinois, mrs. biggert, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. clay: madam speaker, at this time i'd like to yield five minutes to the chief sponsor of the legislation, mr. moore of kansas. the speaker pro tempore: mr. moore of kansas is recognized for five minutes. mr. moore: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman. i rise in support of house resolution 1264, a house resolution supporting the designation of march as essential tremendousor awareness month. as you know, essential tremendousor, also known as e.t., is a progressive neurological condition that causes trembling of the hands, head, voice, legs or trunk. it's often confused with parkinson's disease and dystonia. it affects 10 million americans, including 90% of

people age 60 and older. e.t. can interfere with a person's ability to perform activities of daily living such as grooming and writing and in approximately 5% of cases is total loedis abling. additionally, research has shown that people with e.t. have a higher incidence of depression than the general population. and a significant number of these people isolate themselves in their homes. because of stereotypes and lack of awareness, many people with e.t. never seek medical care. while no medications have been developed with people with e.t. specifically, the medications currently used in other conditions may help those with e.t. clearly more research is needed to develop treatments from which all people with e.t. can benefit. organizations such as the international essential tremendousor foundation, head -- tremor foundation, they are leading the research and

treatment and support to individuals and families affected by e.t. to bolster these efforts and to create more awareness about essential tremor as well as the need for greater research, please join me in supporting a resolution supporting the designation of march as national essential tremor awareness month. i thank the gentleman and yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from illinois. mrs. biggert: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for such time as she may consume. mrs. biggert: i rise today to support house resolution 1264, which expresses support for the designation of march as national essential tremor awareness month. e.t. is certainly the most common movement disorder afflicting nearly 10 million americans and, of course, those who have this disease, everyday life can present some frustrating challenges. and unfortunately, due to lack

of awareness and stereotypes, many suffering from essential tremor do not seek medical care. unfortunately, there are no medications that have been developed for people with these tremors, so i thank the gentleman from kansas for bringing this important issue before us today to raise awareness about e.t. but i'd also like to thank the gentleman from kansas, mr. moore, for his hard work, years of service, 12 years, i think it is, since we came in at the same time, of service in this body and for his work as chairman of the financial services subcommittee on oversight and investigations which i have the honor of serving with him as the ranking member. so really appreciate everything that he's done in this body and wish him well. i will miss him. so with that, madam speaker, i urge all members to join me in support of this resolution and

probably seeing no further speakers i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: thank you, madam speaker. i, too, like my colleague from illinois, want to thank my friend and neighbor from kansas, mr. moore, for introducing this important piece of legislation. but more than that, for his level of service here in this institution and for someone that i can truly look to and call a friend. it has been a wonderful 10 years, and thank you for your service to your state and to your country, mr. moore. and with that, madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure which supports the designation of march as national essential tremor awareness month, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all

time having been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1264. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the rules are suspended. mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? mr. clay: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.res. 1531. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution

1531, resolution expressing support for designation of 2011 as world veterinary year to bring attention to and show appreciation for the veterinary profession on its 250th anniversary. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay, and the gentlewoman from illinois, mrs. biggert, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: thank you, madam speaker. and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. clay: at this time, madam speaker, i now yield five minutes to my colleague, mr. schrader. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for five minutes. mr. schrader: thank you, madam speaker. and i appreciate mr. clay for yielding time for me. i'd like to take a moment here and thank chairman towns and ranking member issa and their staffs on the oversight and government reform committee for helping bring this resolution

to the floor very much. as a veterinarian and member of congress myself, i introduced this resolution to bring attention to the veterinary profession. at a time to honor the contribution that veterinary has brought to welfare and food safety. next year will mark the 250th anniversary of the first veterinary school in leon, france, and the beginning of our veterinary profession. it was authorized by king louie 14, august 4, 1761, based upon the principles and methods of curing livestock. students from all over europe attended and these students became the leading lights of veterinary science when they returned to their own country. a second school was established in france and soon veterinary schools went to germany, and other european countries.

since the humble beginnings in 1761, the veterinary practice has spread around the globe for the betterment of animals and human beings. as a result, vet nairians helped us -- veterinarians helps us deal with bioterrorism, food safety issues on our front lines. and leaders in research and scientific innovation. as well as the societal benefits of the animal-human companion bond. veterinarians have always been an integral part of their communities and is expected to community leaders. i may have carried that to the extreme. in my lifetime i am blessed to see some exponential growth in the veterinary medical field. we went from the james harriet era of potions to the ongoing use of steroids, advances in diagnostic and treatments including i.v. therapy, dentistry. third generation antibuy ottics

and steroids, treatments for diabetes, diseases we see both in humans and in animals. and advances in nutrition that our human colleagues could take advantage of. i encourage my colleagues join me in commemorating the important milestone by supporting h.res. 1531, proclaiming 2011 as world veterinary year in honor of the 250th anniversary of the veterinary profession. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from illinois. mrs. biggert: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for such time as she may consume. mrs. biggert: i rise today to support house resolution 1531 which expresses support for designation of 2011 as world veterinary year with the goal of helping bring attention to and show appreciation for the veterinary profession on its 250th anniversary. i believe that those who choose to enter into the medical profession deserve our gratitude for entering into

life where they work to help heal the sick, be it human or animal, and for many of us our pets become a huge part of our family and our nation's veterinarians help ensure our fury family members live long and rewarding lives. so, madam speaker, i urge all members to join me in support of this resolution, and i yield back the balance of my time. if there are no other speakers. i will reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: madam speaker, at this time i'd like to recognize the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott, for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for five minutes. mr. scott: thank you very much, madam speaker. and thank you, mr. clay, once again. and certainly i want to thank the outstanding leadership of my colleague, mr. kurt schrader of oregon, who is the chief sponsor of this bill, for this is indeed a very important

bill. i want to thank, too, mrs. biggert, for her help on this, the gentlelady from illinois, and mr. towns, chairman of our oversight committee, for assisting us with making sure this bill got on the suspension calendar. madam speaker, h.r. 1531, designating 2011 as world veterinarian year, is a simple but it is an extraordinarily important gesture. offering recognition for an often overlooked yet increasingly very important profession, and that is the field of veterinary medicine. we all know the role that veterinarians play in keeping our pets healthy. as a pet owner myself, i come to depend upon the expertise and skill of my vet to keep my precious dog, jazz, very healthy. but the work of veterinarians is so much more vital than just giving rainies shots and passing out -- rabies shots and

passing out vaccinations. on the committee of livestock, dairy and poultry, what i'd like to highlight today, madam speaker, is the crucial role that our veterinarians play in keeping our food supply safe, not just keeping our animals safe and healthy, but keeping our food supply safe and healthy. they are the ones that we are growing more and more to depend upon more and more for this important role. rather antibiotics or farm animal safety who better to provide the leadership on these critical issues than the veterinarians, the physicians for the animals. veterinarians have a responsibility to prevent contamination from bacteria and diseases.

food animal veterinarians serve a crucial role in protecting our country from serious food borne illnesses from biological hazards from pathogens. veterinarians work to cush bacterial infections and diagnose conditions such as foot and mouth disease and avian flu before they have a chance to become a threat to our food supply. having someone in the field to monitor these dangers is critical for our safety in a world of global trade and particularly constant trading in and out of different countries of food and animals over a wide incredible differences. what worries me the most and worries me greatly is that our nation is now in dire need of many more veterinarians to provide us with this undeniably vital service. the american veterinarian association has found several

vast regions of the country that currently lack sufficient food animal veterinarians. throughout the center of the country from texas to north dakota, numerous counties don't even have a single food animal veterinarian, despite having more than 25,000 animals. some areas have more than 100,000 animals with no food animal veterinarian nearby. without a serious endeavor to train more large animal veterinarians -- may i have a couple more minutes please? without a serious endeavor to train more large animal veterinarian the country could be in a position where dangerous pathogens and diseases go unchecked, leading to a major, major food safety hazard. we've come close in numerous threats and we've got to keep our food supply safe and at the forefront of that are our veterinarians. earlier this year, the house passed h.r. 3519, the

veterinarian service investment act which creates grants to develop sustained services and provide current and future animal physicians with the resources they need. while senate prospects for this bill are uncertain, unfortunately, as the remaining legislative year dwindles, i'm hopeful the senate will act soon. it is imperative that we address this dire shortage of veterinarians by supporting the training of new vets and helping those already in the field by equiping them with the tools they need to maintain successful practices system of i welcome this resolution, i commend mr. schrader for offering it, and any chance we have to mention the crucial work of our veterinarians and highlight the need to train and employ more of them is a chance we must take to do just that. so once again, madam speaker, i offer my whole hearted support for this resolution.

the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. mr. scott: thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from illinois. mrs. biggert: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: madam speaker, again, let me thank the gentleman from oregon, dr. schrader, for introducing this important legislation and in closing, i therefore ask my colleagues to join me in supporting house resolution 1541, supporting the goals and ideals of world veteran -- veterinary year and 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 1531? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- mr. clay: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is

not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: 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 florida rise? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, h.res. 1704, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1704, resolution honoring the 2500th anniversary of the battle of marathon. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. klein, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. 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, so ordered. mr. klein: i rise in strong sprort of this resolution and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. klein: h.res. 1704 honors the 2,500th anniversary of the battle of marathon, a watershed

event in the formation of the type of government we still practice today, democracy. a runner ran -- ran 26 miles to deliver a message a feat commemorated through the runnling of mare thons. in this an verse arery year, the sister city of marathon, greece, is connecting marathoners throughout the world. the flame from marathon was brought to the city two years ago. as part of the celebration of the 2,500th anniversary, the marine corps marathon in washington celebrated its military roots of long distance running by receiving the flame in october. we commend the hundreds of thousands of marathon runners throughout the world who

exemplity if -- exemplify the words of the philosopher confucius, who said, i hear and i forget, i see and i remember, i do and i understand. we join together with marathoners around the world in celebrating the 2,500th an verse arery of the battle of the marathon. madam speaker, i want to thank the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, for introducing this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: i yield smeist such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. smith: this resolution celebrates the victory in the battle against all odds of the greek other the persian forces in 54 b.c. it's been cited by historians as one of the pivotal events in ancient european history.

the vict arery at marathon marked the end of the persian invasion of greece. the following years of peace to allowed the greek city states to create the philosophy of democratic rule and establish the arts and sciences for which classical greece ve nouned to this day. the commitment of greek warriors to protect their homeland from persian invasion summoned within them the will to withstand the attack through five long days of battle. it was that same commitment to vict arery, madam speaker that propeled a greek well over 26 miles without a break in order to deliver the good news the victory to the people of athens. that incredible feat has inspired many in the modern age to emulate the runner's achievement. i've run one marathon, madam speaker, with diverse races begun in 1896. following that runner's course from marathon to athens. i'm going to thank mr. mcgovern

for sponsoring this timely resolution and reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves, the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: i yield five minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, the author of the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is are recognized for five minutes. mr. mcgovern: i want to thank the gentleman from florida not only for yielding me time but for his service here in congress. he's been an incredible member and i look forward to his return. i also want to thank my friend my colleague from new jersey, for his comments. i would loo also like to thank, madam speaker, chairman berman and ranking member ros-lehtinen for their leadership in support of this bill and i appreciate the support of speaker pelosi, majority leader hoyer and the bipartisan co-chairs of the congressional caucus on hellenic issues, representatives mulroney and bilirakis. i was pleased to introduce this

resolution along with my completion from maryland to honor the 2,500th an verse arery of the greeg victory at marathon. every time someone runs a marathon race, they are commemorating one of the greatest victories in history. a few thousand greek soldiers destroyed a huge force of invading persian forces, a victory widely thought to ensure the democratic legacy of western civilization. a soldier literally ran his heart out to deliver that message. so the spirit of marathon was born. there is is a deep connection between the nation of greece, the city of marathon, greece, and the massachusetts town of hop kin pton and the city of boston. hop kinton is where each year the boston marathon begins. in 2008, in preparation for the 2,500th anniversary, the city of

marathon asked hop kinton to be the guardian of the marathon flame and brought it to its sister city in order to embody the spirit of marathon all over the united states. this year, as part of the 2010 marine corps marathon, the flame of of marathon was brought from there to washington, d.c. to honor the 35th an verse are throif marine corps marathon. i recently had the privilege of honoring that race director in massachusetts, celebrating the partnership between the town of hop kinton, the town of boston and the marine corps marathon. the boston marathon, the marine corps marathon and the new york marathon are among the three stellar races organized each year in the united states. over 500 races take place every year around the world, including scores in the united states involving hundreds of thousands of american and foreign athletes, all seeking to emulate the spirit of that first

marathon run 2,500 years ago this year. madam speaker, i want to thank timothy kill duff and -- kilduff and others for their support. i want to thank the board of selectmen for their steadfast support of the proud tradition as the starting place for the boston marathon each year and their support of this bill. i want to express a special thank you to the embassy of greece, most notably ambassador cascarilas, and the council general for greece of the council in boston. i've been a longtime spectator but never a participant of the boston marathon and the marine corps marathon and i'm honored to support this resolution that honors these two events that are such a source of pride to the people who live and work in

massachusetts and the nation's capital and to honor the people of greece, the city of marathon and the memory of the battle of the marathon. i ask my colleagues to support this resolution and i can't wait until we honor the 500th an verse throif battle of marathon and the establishment of western democracy. i ask unanimous consent to submit for the record the remarks of the greek ambassador at the marine corps press conference on october 29, 2010, and with that, i thank the gentleman for his courtesy and yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman yields back his time. mr. smith: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: i'd like to acknowledge the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, for his co-sponsoring of the bill as well. i'm looking forward to mr. smith, mr. mcgovern and me all planning for next year's marathon and getting ready for the big race. i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house splules and agree to house resolution 1704 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not proint and make a-pound ofed orer that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, mamings. i move to suspend the rules and agree to resolution h.res. 1402 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1402, resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the national council for international visitors and expressing support for designation of february 16, 2011, as citizen dime macy day. -- diplomacy day. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. klein, and the gentleman from

new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in strong support of this legislation and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. for 50 years the national council for international visitors has operated on the convigs that everyday american citizens can -- conviction that everyday american citizens can be our greatest diplomats from our country. the rich facilitation of the state department's international visitors leadership program and other exchange programs, the nciv has been an essential part of american diplomacy. in order to welcome international visitors across the country, the nciv requires the energy and commitment of more than 80,000 volunteers every year. these volunteers create and implement professional and cultural programs for the

visitors and they also open their homes. over 190,000 foreign leaders, including 286 current and former heads of state, have come to the united states throughout the international visitor leadership program and benefited from this hospitality. the experiences they have had and relationships they have built in the united states have left a lasting impression of the values and strength of the american people. in an increasingly interconnected world, technology can unite us, but face-to-face interaction can bond us. our citizen diplomats help to dispel myths about the united states and convey poent messages about good will. they understand about the world. the services our citizen diplomats have provided have been invaluable to our country and i urge my colleagues to support this resolution, which designates february 16, 2011,

as citizens diplomacy day. of course, i'd like to thank the author of the resolution, congressman moran. and at this time, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. smith: thank you very much. madam speaker, first of all, i want to thank the gentleman from virginia, mr. moran, and the gentleman from illinois, mr. manzullo, for providing us this opportunity to recognize the contributions of the national council for international visitors, particularly on this 50th anniversary, and the importance of citizen diplomacy to the united states. while taking the person-to-person contacts, madam speaker, when they have an opportunity to live and work alongside americans is often more than opinion change gsing, they can be life changing. the diversity, industry of our people can shatter stereotypes and shatter prestigious far more effectively than press

statements and media campaigns. for these reasons, citizen diplomacy is an important tool for increasing global understanding of american values. one significant component of our public diplomacy activities has been the international visitor leadership program, a state department program that brings thousands of current and emerging professional leaders to the u.s. every year for carefully designed short-term visits. having met with many of those who have come in from abroad, they are very, very useful visit and they get to see a broad array of america and americans when they do visit. numerous international visitors alumni have gone on to become heads of state, key officials and industry leaders in their home countries. for the past 50 years, the national council for international visitors has been a critical partner in the success of that program. as a nonprofit professional association, nciv helps coordinate the community based groups throughout the country,

drawing on the energy of nearly 80,000 american volunteers every year. during its 50 years, nciv has organized professional programs, cultural activities and home visits for more than 190,000 foreign visitors. to that we say thank you, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. i now yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from virginia, the author of the resolution, mr. moran. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. moran: thank you, madam speaker. i want to thank my friends and colleagues, mr. klein from florida, and mr. smith from new jersey. i appreciate their support of this. this is an important resolution. it's not one that will effect the course of world events

immediately but it has input. what the council of international visitors sponsors day in and day out's long-term impact cannot be overstated within our country or around the globe. the national council for international visitors, madam speaker, is a nonprofit membership association currently marking 50 years of leadership in citizen diplomacy. it embodies the concept that individual citizens have the right and the responsibility to help shape u.s. foreign relations. in other words, one handshake at a time. the nciv network consists of 92 community organizations as well as program agencies, associate members. each year the aggregate measures of nciv members involve more than 80,000

volunteers across the country. with leadership and training provided by nciv, its member organizations design and implemented professional programs, it provided activities and provided the actual experience of living within an american family and american community. for foreign leaders and specialists participating in the u.s. department of state's international visitor leadership program and other exchange programs. for the last 50 years, nciv has built a network of citizen diplomats committed to bridging international culture gaps and building relationships. more than 285 -- although mr. klein said 286 -- apparently in the last few days another person who was involved with this program has been elected around the world as a world

leader. but regardless of the number we know it's substantial. people who lead other countries but have an understanding of who we are as a nation in the united states and our values and beliefs. there have been more than 1,700 cabinet level ministers and so many other distinguished world leaders that you can't even count them but they have all benefited from firsthand exposure to the united states through the international visitor leadership program and the nciv network. with its commitment to building long-term personal relationships, nciv will continue to be an asset for american public diplomacy and indeed for national security efforts as it moves into its second half century. so the examples that i think bear citing, tony blair, former

prime minister of the united kingdom, participated in this program. anwr sad at, who was so -- anwar sadat, participated in this program. nicolas sarkozy, president of france. kim dae-jung, who was the former president of south korea. the current president of india. abdullah gul, the president of turkey, of course. morgan tsvangarai, who was the prime minister of zimbabwe. now, it's also worth noting that nearly the international visitor leadership program in the state department spends its budget here in committees throughout the united states. and that by implanting its programs in those communities, the ivlp is also important for generating economic development and cultivating a globally lit rate work force in our u.s. -- literate work force in our u.s.

communities. nothing is more instructive than having a foreign visitor actually live in an american home to understand our culture, values and beliefs. so lastly, madam speaker, it's clear that in contributing to the quality of our international engagement, the international visitor program is an investment in our national security. it's imperative to continue rebuilding the image of the united states abroad and to build stronger, long-term personal relationships between foreign leaders, u.s. decisionmakers but also people who simply represent what america is all about day in and day out. the organization ranks the international visitor leadership program as the most important among all 63 u.s. diplomacy programs. in closing, as well as mr. smith and his staff, i want to thank chairman howard berman and his staff, kathryn brown for their efforts in highlighting the important work of citizen diplomats and the nciv. obviously mr. klein, his staff, and i also want to give a shout

out to the international -- national council of international visitors, especially sherry miller, and her staff, chris bassett and ed thompson, who worked so hard with my staff on this resolution. tom, the former head of sisters international, for his leadership in promoting the national council for international visitors. and tom of my staff, who is here as well. and his steered this through the congress. i hope we'll get it done. trust us we'll get unanimous consent support for this and let the national council for international visitors know we appreciate their efforts on behalf of our country. thank you, madam speaker. and shall i yield back -- i'll yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: madam speaker, we yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker.

again, i thank the gentleman who brought this forward to us and mr. manzullo as well and mr. smith. at this time we have no further requests for time, and 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 1402 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. klein: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. i move to suspend the rules and agree to the house resolution h.res. 1717, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1717, resolution congratulating imprisoned chinese democracy advocate liu xiaobo on the award of the 2010 nobel peace

prize. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. klein, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. this resolution congratulates chinese democracy activist liu xiaobo in being awarded this year's nobel peace prize, and calls for his immediate release from imprisonment from the chinese government. i'd like to thank the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, for sponsoring this resolution, bringing it forward, discussed with many of us as well as the other six members of congress

who were originally nominated mr. liu the nobel peace prize. he was the charter of document 08, signed by over 300 chinese intellect ules that called for -- intellectuals that called for political reform. as a result of this activism, the chinese government charged liu with the phony offense of, quote, inciting power. he was sentenced to 11 years in prison, a sentence that has been widely regarded as unusually harsh. this past october, mr. liu became the first chinese citizen residing in china to win the nobel peace prize and one of three laureates to have received it while in prison. the nobel committee awarded the prize for mr. liu, quote, for his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental human

rights in china, closed quote. mr. liu's wife visited him in prison shortly after he learned of winning the prize, and during their visit, he was moved to tears and said the prize was for the loss souls of june 4. mr. liu remains locked away in a chinese cell and has not been able to receive the prize in person. the chinese government has placed his wife under house arrest and is preventing her and mr. liu's other family, friends and supporters from leaving china to attend the award ceremony in norway. the chinese government denounced the prize as a political tool of the west, trying to bully foreign governments from sending representatives to the awards ceremony late they are week. china's boorish and arrogant behavior won't produce the global respect and clout that chinese authorities so

desperately crave and its tactics only underscore china's failure to uphold the principles to which mr. liu has dedicated his life and work and for which he's being recognized by the nobel prize committee. today, the united states stands in solidarity with mr. lui and -- mr. liu and others like him. we call on china to release him from business and cease its detention and harassment of mr. liu's wife and supporters. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: i yield myself such time as may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i thank the speaker and majority leader for bringing this to the floor and to mr. berman and ms. ros-lehtinen for

their support as well. for far too long, the chinese government has evaded virtually all serious scrutiny of its horrific human rights record, usually by employing bullying tactics, including threats to nations and to individuals today the chinese government brutalizes women and children through forced abortion and coerced sterilization as part of its barbaric one child per couple policy. it tortures and harms falan gong and uighurs and has trons formed the internet into a fool for surveillance and censorship. i know that immediately prior to the olympics, mr. wolf and i visited beijing, one of many human rights chips -- trips to china. while we were there, we sought

to meet with house church leaders who wanted to meet with us and pray with us. all but one were arrested and detained and after we left that particular pastor was arrested and detained and interrogated as well. madam speaker, the naming of mr. liu as the 2011 nobel peace prize laureate and the chinese government's outrageous response to that naming including the way they have treated his wife and friends who can't travel to oslo to be part of the ceremony, that reaction, of course the underlying problem, the underlying abuses that are committed, obliges us to sustain scrutiny and meaningful action. news reports suggest that over 1.5 dozen countries have been so intimidated by beijing that they won't send a delegation to oslo and i think that's outrageous system of today, i urge my colleagues to adopt h.res. 1717,

expressing congress' profound respect for and solidarity with liu xiaobo and all those who fight for democracy and peace. mr. liu had a brilliant academic career in front of him in china. when the tiananmen square protests happened, he was an associate professor in new york city he gave all of that up to join the students fighting for democracy where he -- on the square where he insisted the students themselves adhere to democratic tenets. he has been working for democracy ever since. he has been imprisoned no less than four times. our resolution highlights the

democracy proclamation he played a leading role in organizing, drafting and of which he was one of the first signers. it's an astonishing document, a worthy heir of the great models it's based upon, the united states bill of rights, the universal declaration of human rights and others that contributed to the rebirth of conscience and rebirth of just law in captive nations and ultimately to their peaceful democratization. the chinese government saw only a crime in this magnificent document. as my friend and colleague pointed out earlier, in cite -- inciting subversion of state power. the government arrested him in december of 2008 and in december of 2009, sentenced him to 11 years in prison. madam speaker in february of this year, i led a group of some six members in petitioning the

peace prize committee to name mr. liu and two other chinese dissidents for the nobel peace prize. our nomination nominated him as a visionary leader, remarkable for his patriotism and civic courage and the generous tone of his work this man is absolutely nonviolent. today, we didn't know this at the time, but many other people had the exact same idea. mr. liu was nominated by two nobel peace prize laureates, the 14th dalai lama and bishop desmond tutu and many members of the czech and slow vack parliaments, and a numb of human rights defenders from around the world and also people in the fields of philosophy, literature and finance. h.res. 1717 underscores and points up the words of the norwegian nobel committee said,

and i quote, the campaign to establish human rights in china is being waged by many chinese through the severe punishment meeted out to him, -- meted out to him, he's become the symbol for it. it says that in honor noring liu xiaobo they're honoring everybody. his wife said he wept and dedicated the prize to the tiananmen martyrs. the resolution makes it clear that mr. liu is a political prisoner, empa size -- emphasizes that violations of human rights including his persecution are matters of legitimate concern of other governments bauds we are hearing the tired old refrain from the government in beijing that this is purely an internal matter. similarly the resolution calls on the chinese government to

cease censoring government and as a trait orous -- traitorous operative. the dictatorial government's fallacious equation of itself with the chinese nation so that whoever opposes the dictatorship is treated as an enemy of the state. i will close with this, liu xiaobo's closing statement, only a small part of it, i hope all will read it this shows his gentleness of soul, i want to say to this regime which is depriving me of my freedom that i stand by the convictions i expressed in my june 2 hucker strike declaration 20 years ago. i have no enemies and in hatred.

none of the police who monitored, arrested and interrogated me, none of the prosecutors with indicted me, and none of the judges who judged me are my enemies. hatred, he goes on to say, can rot away at a person's intelligence and conscience. enemy mentality will poison the spirit of a nation and through moral struggles destroy a society's tolerance and humanity and hinder progress toward freedom and democracy. that's why i hope to transcend my personal experiences to counter the regime's hostility with utmost good will and dispel pay hey tread with love. to his wife, he said my dear work your love i can calmly face my impending trial, having no regrets about the choices i've made and am optimistcally reawaiting tomorrow. i look forward to the day where the speech of every citizen will be treated equally well this man

is a moral giant, absolutely worthy of the nobel peace prize and he is the future of china. i reserve the balance of our time the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: i yield five minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr. wu. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is are recognized for five minutes. mr. wu: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i rise today to support resolution 1717, congratulating imprisoned chi nice democracy advocate liu xiaobo on the award of the 2010 nobel peace prize. i thank congressman smith for introducing this resolution. china is an appropriately proud nation with more than 5,000 years of recorded history, a history filled with great achievements. chinese is perhaps the world's oldest actively continuously used written language.

more recently, the nation has achieved near universal literacy and has fed its 1.3 billion people most adequately and most recently, china has achieved human space flight, joining the international community of space faring nations. on this friday, another first. the first nobel peace prize. but inexplicably, this achievement has been met by this chinese government with opposition and outright hostility. it is an incomprehensible failure of national pride and patriotism. i call upon this chinese government to be on the right side of history. i know that chinese history will someday vindicate liu xiaobo as it has done with other great figures in chinese history.

in a city near my ancestral home where my family has lived for 5500 to 600 years, it was the scene of conflict between the sung dynasty and northern tribes. in that city is a memorial park to honor a general of the sung dynasty, who is now considered a national hero. he was executed by a jealous emperor and today his statue, he stands upon that jealous emperor's neck, tall and proud. history has a a way of setting things right. by failing to honor the fundamental rights guaranteed by its own constitution, the current chinese government not only fails the chinese people, it is also failing to live up to

china's 5,000-year history as one of the great civilizations on this planet. people like liu xiaobo are the future of china. he's a prolific writer and long standing advocate for peaceful advocacy, but he's unable to attend the peace prize ceremony in oslo. the spotlight will shine on an empty chair. i and others from this body will be there and we hope to underscore both the universality of the struggle for freedom and the sing lairity, not only -- singularity not only of the struggle for freedom but china's incomprehensible actions. madam speaker, it is time for

change. with proper recognition and proper action, china can take another important step and evolve peacefully toward its future. the alternative will be a harsh judgment of history. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: i yield five minutes to the gentleman, mr. wolf, a great advocate of human rights all over the world including and especially china. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. wolf: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wolf: i want to thank my colleague, mr. smith of new jersey, for introducing this resolution. congressman smith, and i think all the colleagues of this house on both sides, should know he's one of the greatest human rights

advocates in this congress and his record on this issue is one of the finest served with since i have been here in congress. i want to say parenthetically, why hasn't the church in the west and in the united states also spoken out on some of these more profound issues of human rights and religious freedom? the silence of the church in the west is quite disturbing. on friday the award ceremony will be held with an empty chair as my colleague said, mr. wu, as a solemn reminder that this year's nobel laureate remains languishing in prison. chinese authorities have placed his wife under house arrest to ensure that she will not be able to accept the prize on his behalf. since 1901, only three other nobel prize winners have been prevented from attending the ceremony from accepting the

prize. a german peace activist was prevented from receiving the prize by the nazi government. in 1975, a russian nuclear scientist was barred from leaving the country from accepting the prize. and another was not able to leave the country by the brutal junta. china should be ashamed and embarrassed to be in the country of nazi germany, the soviet union and burma. instead, they have launched a diplomatic campaign to encourage other nations to boycott friday's ceremony. in a public statement, the vice minister said, quote, if they make their own choice they have to bear the consequences. the 18 countries that have sided with china who will not

attend friday's ceremonies is afghanistan, colombia, egypt, russia, kazakhstan, cuba, morocco, iraq, iran, pakistan, the philippines, saudi arabia, serbia, sudan, the genocide government of sudan, tunisia, ukraine and venezuela and vietnam. and when their lobbyists come up here next year begging for help, remember, they were not willing to go to oslo even to stand up for human rights. here we're giving the moroccan government $9 -- $697 million in a grant and will not go to oslo. some will join china in a shameful boycott. this year nobel prize winner is representative, not just of it but of the thousands of chinese

prisoners that remain languishing in prison and labor camps due to their political and religious beliefs. chinese authorities continue to crack down on the protestant house church, on catholics, on tibetans, on buddhists, on muslim uighurs and members of the fall ungong. they -- falum gong. they are sending a message for those being persecuted around the world. the people of the united states stand with those in a jail cell day after day, week after week, year after year in the quest for freedom. robert f. kennedy said, quote, each time a man stands up for an idea or acts to improve the life of others, who strikes out against injustice, he sends a ripple of hope. and those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resist sens. the awarding of the nobel peace

prize of liu xiaobo cannot be stopped. and i believe, i believe that in my lifetime, and remember the berlin wall fell like that, in my lifetime, the chinese people will know true freedom and i look forward to celebrating that day. i thank mr. smith, again, for his leadership on this and so many other issues and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida, mr. klein. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. as we've been discussing, this is a travesty of great magnitude. the chinese government has shown over and over again its lack of respect and dignity for human life and certainly someone who has such great respect in the academic community and worldwide is a leader in the views of nonviolence to be locked up and put away when the rest of the world recognizes the importance

of his respect and his leadership in this important endeavor is obviously more than disgusting. we have an opportunity today to create a resolution and speak on behalf of the united states and our people who we believe are human rights and the respect should be given to one who won the nobel peace prize. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: thank you, madam speaker. i yield four minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. rohrabacher, ranking member of the foreign affairs on human rights and oversight and he, too, has been outspoken on behalf of the dissidents in china. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for four minutes. mr. rohrabacher: thank you, madam speaker. and let me first suggest that i am honored to be here in the

presence of chris smith, who's done so much, and speaker pelosi, who over the years, over these last two decades while i've been in congress, have proven to me over and over again that they are the type of moral and honest people that i emulate and would seek to strive to meet your standards. so thank you very much for the leadership both of you have shown. and nowhere is that more evident than when it comes to our relations with china. i rise in strong support of h. resolution 1717, which urges president obama to work for the release of nobel prize laureate, peace prize nobel laureate, liu xiaobo. i guess i pronounced it right. i understand. as well as the release of all the heroic signers of charter 8. they are now in detention and house arrest for being so courageous with their name on a democrat document. there is nothing as low in the

arena of global politics as officials of a regime who order the arrest and imprisonment of a nobel peace winner. they deserve a prize for their own. a prize for brutality. this year's prize would then go again to the chinese leadership who have awarded themselves this prize of infamy. more perplexing than gangsters acting like gangsters are american government officials who insist on treating the communist dictatorship as if it is morally equivalent to democratic government, thus, worthy of respect, trust and cooperation. for 30 years our state department has pushed a policy of open doors of trade and commerce with communist china. and we have, of course, shared our technology with communist china, invested in communist china. we closed factories here and opened them up in china.

we have trained very young people and equipped them and we were told that if we so outreached that our good will would then civilize the brutal thugs in the communist chinese party. now that all of our jobs and factories have been sent to communist china, they still repress their people even nobel prize winners. yet, we must watch out how heavily we criticize. they might turn down our request for loan extensions our own c.e.o.'s might feel threatened that their factories that they put over there might be exappropriated. madam speaker, we need to raise our voices for imprisonment in china of a nobel prize winner. but more importantly we need to identify the chinese regime as a militaryistic dictatorship as it threatens the peace of the world and threatens all freedom-loving people of the world and then act accordingly. therefore, i rise in support of

this resolution, joining with speaker pelosi and congressman smith and my other colleagues who know if we do not stand for these truths that our country supposedly believes in it will come back and hurt us later. therefore, i rise in support and urge my colleagues and the american people to wake up and stop treating china like it will -- like as if we treat them well and ignore their crimes against humanity that they will change. those may be what you do when you're complaining to a democratic government and you suggest that they made a mistake, they're doing something wrong. yes, and then follow through with good will gestures. that is seen as weakness on the part of dictatorships. and it is now time that america stands strong and be seen as a courageous voice throughout the world for freedom, democracy and peace and especially as we send that message to the people

of china. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i would like to acknowledge and thank the speaker of the house for her leadership and the fight for human rights throughout the world and to yield one minute to the speaker of the house. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california, the speaker of the house, is yielded one minute. the speaker: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and thank you for giving us this opportunity to talk about liu xiaobo on the floor of the house today. i especially want to thank chris smith, the gentleman from new jersey, frank wolf, dana rohrabacher, three members whom i heard speak on this matter. as well as others. david wu, who is with us on this side, for their commitment to democracy -- democratic freedoms in china. madam speaker, mr. smith, mr. rohrabacher and mr. wolf and i have been working on this issue for deck based.

even -- decades. even before tiananmen square, we met with our former colleague, now gone from us, tom lantos, to meet with the dalai lama in 1987, i think it was. a couple years later we saw what happened in tiananmen square and at that time as advocates for human rights throughout the world we were advocating for human rights in china as well. for a long time we had that debate. was joined then by our colleague, david wu, and others in this important statement. it said, if we are advocating for human rights throughout the world which this congress has done over and over again, we lose all moral authority to talk about human rights to the rest of the world if we do not talk about human rights in china. despite the commercial interests we have in china, despite a number of other issues that have been called to our attention.

and so the news is that the nobel committee had awarded the nobel peace prize to liu xiaobo came as good news to those of us who had been calling attention to this issue for a very long time. congressman smith was instrumental in nominating liu xiaobo for the nobel prize. he has been a fighter -- he and frank wolf, how many times did you go to china, visit the president and the rest? mr. rohrabacher has been relentless. and so for us this is a very important occasion. not only that he's being -- receiving the nobel prize, but that this congress is recognizing that prize as well. it is appropriate. the nobel prize has been called the most prestigious prize in the world. it is appropriate that in 2010 chinese democracy advocate liu

xiaobo joins the illustrious group of former recipients. on christmas day, 2009, chinese authorities sentenced liu xiaobo to 11 years in prison for insiding subversion of state power. it was a harsh sentence that disrespects the rule of law and the freedom of chinese citizens to express their opinions which is even guaranteed in the chinese constitution. liu xiaobo is still in prison today and his wife has been put under house arrest. liu xiaobo is one of the original signers of charter 8, an online petition calling for new policies to improve human rights and democracy in china. mr. wu wrote, the most fundamental principles of democracy is that people are sovereign and that the people select their own government. charter 8 now has over 10,000 signatures, many of whom have been harassed and intimidated by the chinese authorities. the courageous efforts by the signaturors of charter 08 to

express themselves in the face of arrest and detention are truly an inspiration around the world. and one of the things that we have done in the past decade is to make sure that those who have been arrested for expressing their views, whether they be religious or political, is that they are not forgotten. the -- one of the techniques of imprisonment is to tell those who have been arrested that on the outside nobody even remembers you, nobody cares that you are here, they have forgotten you and all that you have done. and, of course, with the awarding of the nobel peace prize, what greater spotlight could there be placed on freedom of expression in china? the awarding of the nobel peace prize for the first time to a chinese citizen is a moment us occasion for the tiananmen democracy movement. liu xiaobo was arrested in tiananmen square in 1989 at the time he was on a hunger strike

to protest marshal law and to promote a peaceful negotiation with the chinese students. he spent many years in chinese prison camps for only exercising his right to free expression. the nobel peace prize is a testament not only to liu xiaobo but chinese dissidents, many, many chinese dissidents who have sacrificed so much in pursuit of freedom and democracy in china. today, the house of representatives is congratulating liu xiaobo on the nobel peace prize and sending a clear message of support for human rights and democracy in china. we do this in recognition of the importance of the relationship between chi nand the united states that we have many issues where we have common ground or where we could seek common ground, but all of that is better served by candor in our

friendship, not ignoring sore spots. we continue to call for liu xiaobo's immediate and unconditional release and for the chinese government to listen to the many cly these citizens calling for human rights and freedom in china. once again, i thank congressman smith for his support over the years, for his nomination of liu xiaobo, and with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: i want to thank our distinguished speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, for her eloquent defense of the human rights defenders in china. we have worked side-by-side and thank her for that and scheduling this resolution to come to the floor today. i do appreciate it.

i yield two minutes to my friend and colleague mr. pitts. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. pitts: thank you, madam speaker and thank you, congressman smith for your leadership on this issue. here's a picture of liu xiaobo a modern day human right he's roe who is suffering and languishing in prison as we speak. this resolution celebrates the fact that the chinese dissident liu xiaobo has been awarded the nobel peace prize and notes with sadness the fact that he remains in prison because of his commitment to freedom and human rights. he's been a true hero, defending those who cannot defend themselves and lending a voice to those who have no voice. he's worked tirelessly to protect human rights but has been repeatedly detained, sent through are re-education through labor camps, placed under house arrest, harassed and monitored

from the chinese government. he's withstood the brutal attacks of the chinese government. in 2008, he helped draft charter 2008 calling for greater respect for freedom and free elections. because of his role in drafting and circulating the charter, he was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison a term he continues to serve. his long and peaceful struggle for human rights has made him most deserving of this award and we recognize him but we also take this opportunity to call on the chinese government to respect basic human rights of its people and to release liu from prison. unfortunately the chinese government's response to the nobel prize committee's decision was shameful. news about the award was censored, a statement was issued that it was criminal and his wife was placed under house

arrest. china has declined to attend the nobel peace prize ceremony for the award and new it's being boycotted by such nations, surprisingly as -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. spiths -- mr. pitts: may i have one more minute? mr. smith: how much time do we have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey has 30 seconds. mr. smith: i yield the gentleman 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is yielded 30 seconds. mr. pitts: the countries of co-zack stan, egypt and iraq are boycotting, that's shameful. it's my hope that the government of china will release him from prison and when the president of choo in a comes next month will raise this issue vigorously and urge him to be released. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. klein: if the gentleman yields one minute to close, i'll be happy to yield one minute to close if you need it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, let me close with the statement of liu xiaobo himself, this was stated at his trial in 2009 he said in part, i hope i will be the last victim of china's endless inquisitions and that from now own, no one will be incriminated because of speech he went on to say freedom of speech is the foundation of human right the source of humanity, the mother of all truth to strangle freedom of speech is to trample on human

rights, stifle humanity and suppress truth he said, there is nothing criminal in anything i have done, but if charges are brought against me -- and they were -- because of this, i have no complaints. lieu you -- liu xiaobo had charges leveled against him and he is now in prison. he stands with all the oppress -- congress stands with the oppressed in congress. we stand with him and against the oppressor. we are united, democrats, republicans, liberals, moderates and conservatives, and we thank the nobel committee for naming this man, one of the greatest human rights leaders of our time, as the peace prize rezip yent. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. klein: i'd like to thank the gentleman for his eloquent

presentation and all the speakers today, including the speaker of the house. this is an important issue and we recognize that all of us fight for human rights no matter the situation politically or otherwise. at this point, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1717 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being -- >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? mr. klein: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing. 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise?

mr. klein: i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, h.res. 1751. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1751, mourning the loss of life and expressing condolences to the families affected by the tragic forest fire in israel that began on december 2, 2010. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. klein, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. 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, so ordered. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as i i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. klein: as my colleagues are aware, last week, the state of israel faced the worst natural disaster in its history.

a forest fire ravaged the carmel forest, killing 30 people, displacing 17,000 israelis and burning four million trees. people from all over the world have planted trees in forests throughout israel to make it greener and make the desert bloom. this is a tragedy because of the loss of these forests that is really something that has to be recognized but more importantly,s that moment that we as americans want to send a message of condolence to the israeli people for the loss of life, loss of property, and to make an important statement of support and solidarity with our ally and friend, the state of israel. thankfully, over the last day or so, the fire has been successfully contained and hopefully it will soon be fully extinguished. with the help of the international community, israel will now be able to rebuild. that's why it's important that at this moment in time we recognize the importance of this international effort from countries around the world who

offered or provided assistance to fight the fire. e australia, austria, azerbaijan, bulgaria, cree asia, -- croatia, cypress, italy, jordan, norway, the netherlands, the palestinian authority, russia, spain, switzerland, turkey, ukraine and the united kingdom. we're also proud of our state and local governments in the united states who selflessly mobilized to send fire fighting supplies and fire fighting experts to israel. i would like to especially acknowledge the round-the-clock efforts by usaid, department of defense, national security council, u.s. fire service professionals, as well as our embassy, personnel -- as well as our embassy personnel in tel aviv who were constantly in

contact with their israeli counterparts offering assistance at every juncture. we must note that time and again, israel sends its supplies and experts to disasters around the world. it was one of the first countries that provided support to the people of haiti after the earthquake. certainly we know in the aftermath of floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks and other natural and manmade disasters, israel offers its peckser -- expertise. now israel knows it can rely on others as well. are restoration will be a long-term effort after this fire and will require cooperation on many fronts. i'd like to commend the important efforts of the jewish national fund which has take an leading role in the replanting effort it has operated for decades. i'd like to thank my partner in this bipartisan legislation, congressman peter king, the chairman of the fire fighters caucus and others, and i would

like to thank chairman berman and ranking member ros-lehtinen for quickly bringing this matter to the floor. this allows us to send a message to the people of israel, we stand with you in your time of need. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: i yield myself such time as i may consume. as my colleague pointed out, the worst fire in israel's history erupted in the forest of israel it destroyed over 250 homes. it also burned over four million trees and 12,000 acres of forest, resulting in damages toy talling almost $55 million. after israel had exhausted its resources to fight the fire, it appealed to the united states and other nations to help it and help we did. u.s. c-130 aircraft flying from

the european command flying from the air force base in germany delivered 20 tons of fire retardant and 38,000 gallons of fire retardant concentrate. the u.s. agency for international development brought fire fighting supplies including 27 metric tons of fire retardant and 42 metric tons of fire retar -- fire fighting foam. they also provided technical assistance and discussed lessons learned. countless individual americans provided charitable donations to help israel fight and recover from the fire. mr. speaker, the american people and their government have once again stood with our great friend and ally israel in their time of need as they have done with us on numerous occasions. this is one more example of the rock solid friendship and ilicense between the u.s. and state of israel.

thanks to the people of the government of israel and the cricks of the u.s., our state and local governments and over two dozen other countries, israel was able to fully contain the fire on december 5. it will likely take many years for israel to rehabilitate its forests which have long been a symbol of israel and the rebirth of the jewish state in the ancestral homeland of the jewish people. i want to thank my colleague, mr. klein, for authoring this important resolution and for others for co-sponsoring it. it's an excellent resolution. i urge its passage. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. klein: i thank the gentleman for his support of the resolution. i think we all understand when it comes to disasters, we're all in this together. whether it's people in the state of israel, people in the united states, other countries around the world, certainly after watching israel come to the aid of other countries in their time of need, it's obviously

important on a humanitarian level, logistical level and respect level that we all help the state of israel in its time of need as well in this time of natural disaster. i ask the members of the house to support this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time having expired the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 17 a 1. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair 2/3 being in the affirmative the rules are spu spended and the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? mr. klein: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, h.con.res. 267 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the con current resolution. the clerk: concurrent resolution congratulating the baltic nations of estonia, latvia and lithuania on the 20th

anniversary of the re-establishment of their full independence. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. klein, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, will each control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of this resolution that congratulates estonia, latvia and lithuania on the 20th anniversary of their declarations on the restoration of independence from the soviet union and i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. i wish to thank representative shimkus, the gentleman from illinois, and a good friend of the baltic people, for introducing this measure today. in june, 1940, soviet troops occupied the baltic states and you the auspices of the pact and then forcibly incorporated them

into the soviet union. the following year nazi germany invaded the baltic states and illegally incorporated them into the third riket. the soviet union reoccupied the baltic states in 1945 until they regained their independence in 1991. during this period of foreign domination, thousands of estonians, lat i haveans and lithuanians were subject to brutal repression and even executed. the united states never recognized the incorps ration of the baltic states into the soviet union and i had the chance a few years ago to visit these states with nam of other members and we heard directly from the people, the government leaders, about their level of appreciation to the united states for taking that position that they were never recognized as baltic states under the soviet union. this policy gave rise to the principle of legal continuity which held that they remain independent during the period of illegal occupation. furthermore the people of

estonia, latvia and lithuania never relinquished their hope for freedom and democracy. in august, 1989, the world watched as an estimated two million balts from over one quarter of the total population formed a 370-mile human chain that spanned the three capitals in a peaceful act of solidarity and defines of soviet rule. just over six months later in march, 1990, lithuania became the first of the soviet republics to declare independence. estonia and latvia followed suit within weeks. all three gained their full independence in late august, 1991, which was recognized by the soviet union on september 6. in the intervening 20 years, these states have made remarkable progress in reforming their political and economic systems. they have joined the family of european democracies, become members of nato and the european union. indeed, all three baltic states are valued participants in the

eye self mission in afghan and have worked to build stability and prosperity throughout eastern europe. mr. speaker, i strongly support this resolution that celebrates an important anniversary of our baltic allies. i urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the close relations that our nations have continued to enjoy and, mr. speaker, at this time i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves the baffle his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i rise in strong support of h. con rurnt resolution 267, congratulating the baltic nations on the 20th anniversary of their declaration on the restoration of independence from the soviet union. it is hard to believe that two decades have passed since the world witnessed the tremendous events that took place in eastern europe and the former soviet union. we saw countries that in that

region emerged from decades of communist brutality, shake off the shackles of the soviet oppression. those events forever changed the world. along with the memories of fall of the berlin wall and the victory of the trade union solidarity and of course the liberation of romania is the historic election -- we recall the inspiration by two million people living in estonia, latvia and lithuania who actually linked hands to form a human chain almost 400 miles long in a peaceful protest against soviet rule. after decades of oppressive soviet occupation, the baltic peoples remained committed to one day regaining independence and living in freedom. that dream, of course, became a reality in 1991 when the three baltic nations gave full -- gained full independence. those final days leading up to the independence, i'll never forget, being in vilnius with steny hoyer and other members,

we were there to stand in solidarity with president burgess who was under a ever-present threat that the black berets, the soviet storm troopers, were poised to take over the parliament building and to take over the executive branch. they killed people at a tv tower. there was actually a gun there, there was a tank. we went up and visited, pay our respects to the people who had been slain just days before. i'll never forget as the gun moved in the direction of our delegation and especially don ritter, who was a member of that delegation, who had the audacity to get too close to the tank. that's how much of a hair trigger the soviet troops were in february of 1991. and i again want to thank mr. hoyer who he and i and others on that delegation, he was the leader that have delegation, because we were there like freedom riders, to be there physically present to try to chill any attack on president

burgess' government. of course it was the people themselves in lithuania, latvia and the baltic states who were the ones themselves who took it upon themselves to stand up to the tyranny and they prevailed ks as did the others in eastern europe and the soviet union. we rise to congratulate them and to pay our profound respects for their courage in bringing about democracy to those great countries. they are captive nations no more. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. klein: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. again, i think that we think back of eastern europe from decades ago, the type of place that it was under soviet dominance and occupation, this is a different place today. and those of us that had the chance as americans to travel to these three chris have seen

tremendous change. we know that the fight that they have and the respect they have for the united states is strong because we held and stood with them during the time of the soviet occupation and we appreciate their belief in people are and -- freedom and democracy and of course we share that with them. one little side note, i know when i was in lithuania, a number of us were interested in encouraging lithuania to continue to move forward quickly with holocaust restitution, which has been languishing for quite some time and of course we continue to encourage them to move quickly before many of theem these survivors perish by natural causes. but in any event, we're here today to celebrate. this is a very big milestone and of course we ask the members of this body to support this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house rst concurrent resolution 267 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and 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 new jersey rise? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 3987. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3987, an act to amend the fair credit reporting act with respect to the applicability of identity theft guidelines to creditors. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. adler, and the gentleman from idaho, mr. simpson, will each control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. aledaled mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and insert extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.

mr. adler: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. i rise today to support the act of 2010. this legislation, which i introduced in the house, will narrow the scope of the fair and accurate credit transaction act of 2003. the fact act directed the federal trade commission to promulgate rules requiring creditors to implement programs to detect and respond to so-called red flags that could indicate identity theft. clearly we all agree that identity theft is a serious problem and we must respond with strong regulations to protect consumers. that was the intent of congress in 2003. this congress shares that intent. however, we need to be careful that the laws we pass address the problem and do so in a way that doesn't adversely and unfairly impact small businesses. america's small businesses are struggling in today's tough economy. congress needs to work in a bipartisan manner to find commonsense solutions to help america's small businesses remain as competitive as possible so they can create

good-paying jobs. i am pleased that the house is taking up my legislation that will reduce burdensome regulations on small businesses. the purpose of the red flag program clarification act is to limit the time of creditor that must be covered by the ft -- f.t.c.'s red flag rule. when i think of the word creditor, dentists, accounting firms and law firms do not come to mind. however, the fact act has, as read by the f.t.c. states that these professions and others will be required to comply with the regulations. it is clear that when congress wrote the law they never contemplated including these types of small businesses within the broad scope of that law. the f.t.c., to its great credit, has already delayed implementation of the red flag's rule numerous times because of this issue. i want to thank specifically f.t.c. chairman for his understanding that congress in that way intended back in 2003 to include these sorts of businesses in the broad scope of

the fact act. we must act by the end of this year to help the potentially damaging impact of this rule and i'm pleased that this bipartisan bill will provide a permanent solution to this problem. the senate passed this bill unanimously. the house passed similar legislation which i co-wrote with mr. broun and sitchson last year by a narrow vote of only 400-0. i want to thank my colleagues, particularly congressman broun and simpson, along with mr. maffei and mr. lee, for their leadership on this issue. i also wish to thank chairman frank and ranking member bachus for allowing this bill to come to the floor. we work together on a bipartisan basis to solve a problem. today we achieve a worthy balance the right way. a bipartisan solution to a nonpartisan problem. thank you, mr. speaker, and i urge passage of the legislation that is so important to our small businesses. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from idaho is recognized. mr. simpson: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. simpson: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of s. 3987, the red flag program clarification act of 2010. this bill as was mention sad bipartisan commonsense approach to protecting our nation's small businesses from needless burdensome government regulations. this legislation clarifies the definition of creditor for the purposes of complying with the red flag rule. you understand this law a creditor would include only those entities that regularly use consumer reports or furnish information to consumer reporting agencies. mr. speaker, our doctors and dentists across the country are not financial institutions, do not present be a identity theft risk and should not be treated as such. under the old rule, many of these medical and dental offices were considered creditors because they worked with patients to develop payment plans that they could afford. this rule actually discourages efforts to improve access to

care for people who can't afford to pay. this goes against all of our efforts to improve our health care system. congress never meant for small businesses such as doctors, dentists, accountants and others to be included in this definition. this legislation is a good compromise in addressing the concerns of impacted businesses and health care providers while still protecting individuals from the risk of identity theft. i'd like to thank my good friends, congressman adler, congressman broun, i've enjoyed working with you on this legislation, i'd like to recognize the work of chairman frank and ranking member bachus to craft a balanced bill that addresses every everyone's concerns as well as senators for their work on this issue. finally i'd like to thank the f.t.c. chairman, chairman leavewomen which it's, for working with us to -- so diligently on this issue throughout this process. thank you, mr. speaker, and i don't believe we have any other speakers and i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from idaho yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. adler: thank you, mr.

speaker. mr. simpson and i agree. we agree on lots of things and we agree that this chamber should see more bills and processes like this. the house and senate cooperated and got something good done that helps our small businesses, helps americans all across this country, brings a little bit of common sense. a few years ago congress tried to do a good thing and overreached just a little bitworks good intent but overreach ad lib. we saw the problem, as mr. simpson acknowledged, chairman leave which it's also saw the problem, and we worked together. the bureaucracy was not inflexible. it showed some restraint and did not pose an additional burden on the doctors and dentists and lawyers around the country. so for once the process kind of worked. this gives hope to the people who will be serving in the next congress. they can work together in a bipartisan basis. this gives hope to people like me who are leaving that congress can continue to function in some way in a bipartisan, commonsense manner. i yield back the balance of my time with satisfaction that we've done a good job here.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back his time. all time having expired, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 3987. 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 bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1540 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1550, supporting the goal of evad waiting illicit marijuana cultivation on federal lands and ed orering the department of

justice to prevent growing marijuana on federal lands. >> i ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks -- remarks and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: this bill calls on the director of the office of federal -- of national drug control folcy to develop a coordinated strategy to defeat mexican drug trafficking organizations and other criminal groups. marijuana growers have begun to use public lands because of their remoteness and difficulty in seizing or tracing the drugs to any specific owner. these large-scale plantations are being operated by well-armed, financed mexican drug trafficking organizations and groups. it's reported that drug

organizations growing on public lands will shoot at police and others to protect their crops. a national drug threat assessment was issued in february in which it was reported the number of marijuana plants removed from public lands will decrease. this is spread primarily by those overseen by mexican drug cartels. a separate report found that the federation and other undetermined cartels were active in oregon. in addition a recent drug enforcement agency investigation on growers cultivating drugs on land in oregon and california. the goal is to bring atonings this illicit drug activity and encourage them to stop drug cartels from using federal land

for illegal drug crop operation. i urge my colleagues to support the resolution and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. berman: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. berman: i rise in support of house resolution 1540 as one of the co-sponsors this draws much-needed attention to a problem as suggested by my friend, the gentleman from virginia. the cultivation of marijuana on our federal lands. there's no doubt that 15 years ago, when i was attorney general of california, we saw the fact that mexican cartels had basically taken over this trade in our state and that they were largely operating on federal lands, nonprivate lands. of course in the state of california, i believe the federal government owns about 49% of our state.

a lot of that forest lands, wilderness areas. and those are the areas that these cartels are converting into farms for illegal marijuana crops. they're damaging our protected ecosystems there and threatening the safety of visitors and employees. in fact, the d.e.a. calls marijuana the cash crop that finances drug cartels, drug trafficking operations. marijuana is grown in remote areas of public lands where there's a limited law enforcement presence. two primary regions for these sites are the western region, comprised of california, hawaii, oregon, and washington, and the appalachian region including kentucky, tennessee and west virginia. when i was visiting one of my county the smallest population county in california, alpine county, which has several -- or

parts of several u.s. forests in there and a couple of wilderness areas, the undersheriff told me if some of the largest finds they had made in those areas. they were finds that were unexpected and difficult to discover precisely because there's so few people who live in these areas. of course we designate them as wilderness areas and forest lands, in many cases they are not that often visited by citizens of the united states. the people who recreate in these areas do so enjoying the environment and these pristine lands of the national forest system are therefore particularly enticing to the drug trafficking organizations. dense, expansive forest we find in these areas provide optimum marijuana growing conditions with little risk of detection. america's national forest system, management of the u.s.

forest service is comprised of 193 million acres of land with 153,000 miles of trails and nearly 18,000 recreational sites. but we only have -- we have a little under 200 sworn officers and detectives that patrol this vast expanse of land, including 36 million acres of wilderness area. the cartels, the employees, the members of these cartels hike deep into the forest they fell tree, clear away brush to plant their marijuana crop they construct rudimentary irrigation system they dicrert their watter from local creeks or streams and they use these to plant -- to water the plants. they use miracle gro and other fertilizers and lace the area with animal killing chemicals and obviously they don't file for e.p.a. permits or anything like that. they are destroying much of the beautiful natural resources we have in these areas. we discovered that the cartel members set up camp nearby and

patrol the areas for intruders. sometimes when innocent american citizens are traveling through these areas, they are encountered by these individuals and more and more we see that these members of the cartel have lethal weapons with them, even automatic weapons. the justice department reports that these cartels, particularly in the states of washington and california are becoming increasingly aggressive in protecting the marijuana fields. we have found assault rifles and we have found them engaging in stand offs with law enforcement officers. i would say that in my most rural counties, we do not have the largest law enforcement departments, and that combined with the very few people we have from the federal government's law enforcement establishment make it a prime area for these drug cartels to take over and make it dangerous for

law-abiding american citizens who want nothing but to recreate in these areas and utilize these facilities. i will say that late this summer, early this fall, we got tremendous support from the forest service and other elements of the federal government in support of our effort to try and clean out these areas and also to protect our local law enforcement officers as they were working on it. in 2010, more than three million marijuana plants were seized from forest service lands in practically every region of the country. s that dramatic increase from 2004 when fewer than 750,000 plants were seized. once an inlegal crop is harvested, the growers abandon the site and leave garbage and destruction behind. these fields are easy to plant, easy to harvest but difficult to eradicate. law enforcement officers must patrol the thick forrest canopy from the sky, hoping to glimpse

a marijuana grow site and they must then hike into the site hoping not to be con front by armed guards or booby traps. it not only poses a danger to law enforcement and visitors but also to the natural designation it's intended to protect. marijuana fields cause extensive long-term damage to the forest ecosystems and deplete the drinking water supplies for neighboring communities. just last month, the forest service removed more than 10 cubic yards of garbage from six abandoned marijuana grow sites from northern california. forest service reports it costs approximately 30,000 to -- more than $30,000 for each of the sites discovered in the national forest system. that's a cost of over $18 million in taxpayer dollars to rid our forees of these illegal marijuana groves. it's imperative that congress make a commitment to put an end

to the marijuana sites on federal land and protect our precious natural resources from any further destruction. i mend mr. herger for his devotion to address this growing problem and i was proud to join him as a supporter of house resolution 1540. at this time, i yield to the gentleman, the author of the bill, mr. herger, for five minutes the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. herger: i thank my good friend from california for yielding me the time and mr. speaker, i rise to urge my colleagues to support house resolution 1540 which i introduced to expose a growing crisis on public hands in my northern california congressional district and across the nation. mexican drug cartels are

operating large-scale marijuana plantations on these lands and the problem is getting worse by the day. i recently joined law enforcement in a marijuana eradication raid in the forest of shasta county, california, and saw firsthand the flourishing productivity of these foreign drug traffickers. unfortunately, the federal government has not taken the sufficient action to dismantle them and a comprehensive strategy is long overdue. these foreign drug cartels pose a severe threat to public safety. they are heavily armed and have repeatedly fired at law enforcement officers to protect their illegal crops. they endanger the lives of outdoorsmen who too frequently have been confronted by violent criminals while simply trying to

enjoy their public lands. they use the drug profits to fund a multitude of violent crimes and provoke the political unrest in mexico that could threaten our national security. they cause grave and costly damage to our environment leaving behind tons of trash and dangerous chemicals and costing taxpayers an estimated $11,000 to restore each acre of forest damaged by marijuana cultivation. mr. speaker, our national forest should be a a safe haven for families and recreation and -- families and recreation enthusiasts, not mexican drug cartels. the american people should not have to fear for their safety while on a family camping trip. taxpayers in our nation should not have to bear the financial burden of the damage caused by

drug traffickers. and the united states should never allow foreign cartels to reign free on the sovereign territory of our nation. let me say emphatically that these drug trafficking organizations must be pursued relentlessly, shut down permanently, and brought to justice unconditionally. house resolution 1540 spells out the crisis occurring on our public lands and affirms that the federal government must do more to confront this threat. it calls upon the director of the office of national drug control policy to work in conjunction with federal and state agencies to develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to permanently dismantle the foreign drug

trafficking organizations that have found a santh chair in these lands. -- a sank chair in these lands. -- a santh ewe ware in these lands. it is important to shine a light on this sun epable menace and demand that federal law enforcement agencies take more aggressive, more persistent and more effective action to shut them down for good. i want to thank chairman conyers and ranking member smith for their commitment to addressing this serious threat to public safety and to our national sovereignty and i urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time? mr. herger: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back his time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i yield to mr. polis. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from colorado is recognized for three minutes. mr. polis: mr. speaker, this resolution is seemingly inock louis for who in this body would be against illicit agriculture on our federal lands? and yet it gives you reason to wonder why we're not facing a crisis of illicit color enproduction, illicit potato production, illicit tobacco production on our federal lands of the magnitude of the crisis in marijuana production involved with criminal enterprises on our federal lands. and this resolution only serves to perpetuate this failed policy of prohibition. which has led to the rise of the criminal production of marijuana on federal lands. the gentleman from california said that the federal government must do more to confront this threat. i would submit that the federal government can do more by doing less. my home state of colorado, the gentleman's home state of california, many other states have legalized and allowed for

the medical use of marijuana, the production of marijuana and the regulated capacity. and the american public is split in and a number of states continue to consider legalization for other uses as well. but as long as it remains illegal and as long as there is a market demand, the production will be driven underground. no matter how much we throw at enforcement, it will continue to be a threat, not only to our federal lands, but to our border security and to our safety within our country. the resolution states that whereas mexican drug traffickers used revenue generated for marijuana production on federal lands to support criminal activities including human trafficking and illicit weapon smuggling and to foster political unrest in mexico. it's estimated that about half of the money that the mexican cartels contain is through the marijuana. yes. replacing it with regulation, we can cut the money to the

criminal gangs by half. half the human trafficking, half the illicit weapon trafficking, half the casualties of the drug war. by focusing on the hard narcotics substances that are addictive and enslaved a generation of youth. i have no doubt that marijuana plantations that the resolution states pose a threat to the environment health of federal lands, that drug straskers spray unregulated chemicals, pesticides and fertilizeders, but i submit that the best way to address that is to incorporate this into a meaningful and enforceable agricultural policy for the country with regard to the regulatory struck tierture -- structure for the production of marijuana. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado yields back the balance of his time. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: i support this resolution. the concern is a considerable

one. these cartels are in fact violent and vicious and they're violence has gone up over the last several years. i might say to the gentleman who just spoke that we have to be one of the states that allows medicinal marijuana and it's not very difficult to get a medicinal purpose for marijuana. but we also had just before the voters in the state of california an opportunity to decide whether or not they wanted to make it legal and it was voted down by a substantial margin. that being the case, i think this resolution needs to go forward and i would urge my colleagues to support it and with that i'd yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such much time as i may consume, just to thank my colleagues from california, mr. herger and mr. lungren, for their advocacy on this issue. i urge my colleagues to support the resolution and yield back

the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back the balance of his time. all time having expired, the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1540 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, title is amended. mr. scott: mr. speaker. mr. herger: i ask nor the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia -- mr. scott: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: i'm sorry, the gentleman from california. mr. herger: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? mr. scott: i move to suspend the rules and pass senate bill s.

3998. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3998, an act to extend the child safety pilot program. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, will each control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. scott: and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: mr. speaker, s. 3998, the criminal history background checks pilot extension act of 2010, will extend the national child safety pilot program for an additional 12 monthless. many americans across the country graciously give their time and energy to volunteer and mentor children. while most of these volunteers act with good intentions, it is important that we are able to identify those who may misuse the opportunities to harm

children. national child safety pilot program was passed in 2003 as part of the protect act. this program assists organizations in checking the criminal records of volunteers before placing them with children. in 2003 the national child safety pilot project has enaged state governments to work with youth-serving organizations, to access f.b.i.'s national fingerprint-based background checks system. the pilot program has helped prevent child predators and sex offenders from getting access to children through legitimate mentoring programs by providing access to the more comprehensive data in the f.b.i.'s database. we have authorized this noncontroversial fee-based program on three other occasions in anticipation of creating a permanent program. this pilot program has provided extremely important information to mentoring organizations at no cost to taxpayers. we hope this 12-month extension will give us more time to work with the senate and the department of justice to

permanently authorize this program. i'd like to thank the gentleman from california, mr. schiff, for his leadership on this legislation and his commitment to keeping children safe. i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lungren: today the house considers s. 3998, the criminal history background checks pilot extension act of 2010. this bill was introduced by senator schumer of new york and recently passed the senate by unanimous consent. i might just say it makes me feel good that i finally found a bill sponsored by the gentleman from new york that i could support. this bill extends the child safety pilot program which provides background checks -- background checks for volunteer organizations that work with children for an additional year. it originally created as the

gentleman from virginia said in 2002, under the protect act. the child safety pilot program has proven itself to be an effective research for protecting our children. through the pilot project, nonprofit organizations that provide youth-based care may request criminal history background checks from the f.b.i. on applicants for positions that involve working with children. a study by the national center for missing and exploited children provided data that underscores the importance of the prilet program. the national center found that almost 90,000 background checks performed throughout the pilot program, 6% of the volunteer applicants were found to have a criminal history of concern. these included serious offenses such as sexual abuse of minors, assault, child cruelty, drug offenses and even murder. further, over 42% of those with criminal histories had

convictions in a state other than the state in which they then were applying to volunteer. if the volunteer group had performed a search only of the in-state records, many of the conviction would not have been identified. one organization that received 1,600 applications for volunteer positions found that over 50% of the applicants lied about having a criminal history. even though they knew it would be subjected to a background check. of the applicants with criminal records, 23% had a different name reflected on their record than the one oosed to apply to volunteer. without access to the national criminal database, many of these dangerous individuals may have slipped through the cracks. so, mr. speaker, volunteer and other child-serving organizations across the country are working hard to provide safe learning and growing environments for our children. that means hiring professional and responsibility employees. this bill will help and continues to help these groups

to do just that by extending the pilot program. the child safety pilot program is supported by the boys and girls clubs of america, the wmca, the salvation army, big brothers big sisters of america and volunteers of america as well as many other important organizations. many members of this body are parents first and members of congress second. this legislation is critical to keeping our children safe from criminals. if just a single child, a single child does not become a victim of crime because of this program, then obviously it will have been successful. so i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield four minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for four minutes. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, thank you very much. and i thank the manager of this bill for his continuing leadership on issues of ensuring

the safety of our children, to the manager for our friends on the other side of the aisle and likewise, i thank him for his long record in law enforcement and for supporting this legislation in which i rise to support s. 3998, the criminal history background checks pilot extension act. mr. speaker, our children permeate our lives and our society. not only are our children engaged in what we called organized activities such as the boys and girls club, which permeate all of our communities and districts for the boys and girls club, or little league baseball and football, soccer and basketball in schools and after school clubs, but they also do ad hoc things such as doing their own volunteer work and working with organizations that act -- ask for young people to volunteer. i rise enthusiastically to support the opportunity for

nonprofits and others to be able to access these criminal background checks and applaud the national commission for exploited children that i've worked with over the years. we are always saddened when we hear of a missing child, an abused child or a child that has been murdered. over the last couple of months and in the last year we've seen children that have been dismembered, we've seen children that have been lost, we've seen children that have been brutally abused. certainly some at the hands of their relatives or parents. but if we can protect these children when they leave our home, to ensure that they do have the safety of the adult leadership that is working with them, we will have made a giant step forward. our children are our most precious resource and if we look at the crime statistics we'll see that they represent a sizable proportion of those children that have either been sexually abused or in fact

suffered a violent act. so i think that this expansion is extremely important and i'd also commend to my colleagues my interest in seeing my legislation on the d.n.a. data bank on sexual predators to be accessible all over the country to law enforcement and particularly isolated to those who are sexual predators as it relates to children. i've spoken to many law enforcement officers who believe that this would be another expedited source of assistance to them. obviously this would be a grim set of circumstances because it means that they would have in their possession a case that either a child was sexually molested and lived or a child was sexually molested and did not live. but anything that we can do to ensure that law enforcement within the guidelines of our own constitution and beliefs have all the resources that they need to protect our children i believe is extremely important. i look forward to working with my colleagues to move this legislation, to hold hearings on