the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 382.

the nays are zero. the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 382, the nays are zero -- the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 384, the nays are zero. 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. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and concurring in the senate amendment to h.r. 1107 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 1107, an act to enact certain laws relating to public contracts of title 41, united states code, public contracts. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment. so many as in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- the gentleman from illinois. a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 379, the nays are zero. 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are --

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 385. the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the senate amendment is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from missouri, mr. skelton, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6523, as amended, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6523, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for military activities of the department of defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the department of energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation

with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 344.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 341. the nays are 48. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the house will be in order.

members, please clear the well. the house will be in order. members, please clear the well. the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland rise? mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman will suspend. mr. hoyer: ladies and gentlemen, the house, as all of you know, as too often the case, we are at a point in time in our schedule

where, as i said too often, we find ourselves on the brink of a c.r. or some other document expiring which leaves the government without funds to continue. that will happen tomorrow at midnight. we have been in constant communication with the united states senate, and we are not exactly sure what they are going to pass and more importantly when they are going to pass it. as a result, we are confronted with the challenge of ensuring that we have passed a document which will ensure that government does not shut down tomorrow night. therefore, it is our intent at this point in time to recess to go to the rules committee to obtain a short-term c.r. for five days, until tuesday night. three days. saturday, sunday, monday, tuesday.

now, there are a lot of grumbling on my side. i appreciate your courtesy on your side. having said that, i know there are at least 434 of my colleagues who are not happy about anything right now. i want you to know i will make that a unanimous judgment, i'm not happy, either. but we are in a place where we have a responsibility and we have not yet completed it for whatever reason. there's a lot of blame to go around, but the fact is we are not where we need to be. when we come back from recess, it will take probably an hour and a half, two hours, so it's now 20 of 2:00. let's say we come back at 3:30 or 4:00 to consider this short-term c.r. which will get us through whatever the senate

is or is not going to do. i will then hope to be able to announce at that point in time the further schedule for tonight and/or tomorrow, or, we'd like to preclude the necessaryity to come back -- necessity to come back next week. i think that would be consistent. even my side would not grumble at that proposition. so that's what we are trying to do. i hope you will bear with me. you understand the problem that we are having. it's not a new problem. we are going to recess now. we'll come back within a short period of time to do this short-term c.r. which will be a simple c.r. simply extending it through tuesday. have i lost you? and then at 4:00 we will try to have some more information from the senate and i will be in communication with mr. cantor and mr. boehner's office. i talked to mr. cantor's floor person about this, mr. mccarthy,

about this and we will have better information at 4:00. i would urge all of you to stay here. i know that everybody wants to get home. i want to get home myself. i don't live far from here. within an hour. but i have not been by my house and haven't decorated a single, as all of you know, i live alone, and therefore it's up to me. and i haven't been there. so it's not done. i want to get home just like you do. bear with us. this is our responsibility. we have two houses. we've got to agree. so we'll let you know at 4:00 as we begin the c.r. where we are going from there. and try to have some final word. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, five-minute voting will continue. the unfinished business is the question on suspend the rules and concurring in the senate amendment h.r. 628, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: h.r. 628, an act to establish a pilot program in

certain united states district courts to encourage enhancement of expertise in patent cases among district judges. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules -- for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 371. the nays are one. 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the motion is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to section 235 of the

tribal law and order act of 2010, public law 111-211, and the order of the house of january 6, 2009, the chair announces the speaker's appointment of the following members to the indian law and order commission. the speaker pro tempore: ms. stephanie herseth sandlin of brookings, south dakota, and in addition, mr. earl pomeroy of bismarck, north dakota. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess, the house -- subject to the call of the chair.

in the so-called omnibus bill had an untimely death. congress was gearing up for one last big spending spree. before christmas with thousands of earmarks that the american people would not stand for. the americans spoke out, and the bill got scrapped. i should note that yesterday happened to be the anniversary of the boston tea party.

this is a new spot for washington, but you might be surprised what you can accomplish when you listen to the american people. it is not enough, however, to just hold the line on spending. we need to cut spending. that is what the american people want. it is what our needs. but there are still many in washington who believe otherwise, who believe government spending is what spurs our economy and creates prosperity. beginning on january 1, the american people are going to watch their congress do something differently, at least in one house. beginning in january, the house will be -- their desire for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government. the president's agenda may be the agenda of washington, but beginning january 5, the agenda of this house will be the agenda of the american people.

the people's priorities will be our priorities. we have laid the groundwork for action, 45 days since the election, under the leadership of our transition committee. we have banned earmarks come up arranged to have cameras installed in the rules committee. we have reduced the size of the committee so they can read it -- so they can work more effectively and to a better job of overseeing. and -- these reforms have put us in a position to start immediately in january, and the challenges of the american people are demanding that we address. it starts with a pledge to america. congress has acted to stop all of the tax hikes that were scheduled to go into effect january 1. but it is a good first step, but

let's be clear. we want to help our economy back on track and began creating jobs, so we will need to end the job-killing spending binge, cut spending significantly, and we need to provide more certainty to small businesses around america. doing this is going to require tough choices. we will start first by cutting our own budget. it will be one of our first votes. then we will turn our attention to the rest of the federal budget and the job-killing policies that are denying economic growth and opportunity for the american people, including killing the job- killing health care law. we cannot borrow and spend our way to prosperity, and the american people know that. i think the government's failure to recognize this has led to the uprising we saw over the last year it helped create new majority in the house. we are ready to get to work. we are ready to be held

accountable. as i said before, if we do not do what the american people are demanding, we will be out of here in a heartbeat. not quite yet. questions? yes, ma'am? >> remarks and the omnibus bill -- >> i think spending levels were totally out of control. >> last night $400 billion was added to the fy11 deficit. there was is hundred $80 billion in on the spending for fy11, thus there was $680 billion in the omnibus spending bill.

>> if we want to close the deficit hole that we have in washington, d.c., with the budget, we need to cut spending and have a healthy economy that is growing jobs and our country with more people taking care of themselves, their families, and back on the tax rolls. you cannot have a growing economy if you are going to raise taxes on the very people we expect to invest in our economy. >> you voted for the tax bill last night, but what you say to conservative critics like sarah palin who called it a lousy deal. >> there are some colleagues of ours who did not think that the agreement on the tax bill was a good one. but i have got to tell you, from where i stand, our first goal was to stop the big tax hike coming on january 1. i made it clear going back over the summer that stopping all the tax hikes was one of our main priorities for this lame duck session. and while there was an

agreement, and considering that the democrats controlled the house, the senate, and the white house, i thought on balance it was worthy of my vote. >> in the short term, in february or march, you talk about getting spending levels back. >> do you know something that i do not? are you assuming? >> i am assuming. >> you talked about getting spending back to 2008 levels. where would those cuts come from? >> the house will work its will in terms of how we will cut spending. but i will tell you, we are going to cut spending. >> when speaker hastert was leading house republicans, he had a rule to bring up legislation with a majority of the majority. will you go forward with that same rule? >> i will going to run out -- i am going to run the house my way, with members on both sides

of the aisle, to decide what should and should not come to the floor. i do not think we should set out hard rules that get in the way of doing the will of the american people. if we are open to each other, and willing to listen to the american people. we will have good debate and a healthy outcome every day. >> president obama is going to do washington business, we are -- you are going to do the people pause business. what is the difference? >> president obama sets the agenda for the people in washington, but the american people will set our agenda in terms of what we do in the house? >> do you see compromise going forward as looking good? >> taking it one day at a time. >> have you had a discussion with the president and others in the white house on where you think the disagreement might be -- >> i was glad we were able to

come to an agreement on stopping all of the tax hikes. no one can predict what next month will look like, next year will look like, other than that i have told the president the same thing i have told him the last two years. i will always be up from within, honest with him, and fair. but i have also told the president the american people of spoken and it is time for washington to listen. >> is there any reason why you did not take to the floor last night to support tax bill? >> i did not want to get in the way. >> the tax bill for republicans last night -- >> are you aware that there are 40 more democrats in the house than there are republicans? on balance more members of hours boded -- voted for it and they did.

the speaker took a hard line against the bill? i do not think so. i do not think so. the speaker took a hard line against the bill, there would not have been 138 or more democrats who voted for the bill. all you have to do is look at the vote last night. it was a strong bipartisan vote in favor of the bill. you saw polling all week that indicated that the american people were in favor of stopping all the tax hikes. >> will you still try to permanently killed the death tax and change the tax code? >> if we are serious about getting the economy moving again, we have to end all the uncertainty coming out of washington. that uncertainty has created -- is created when you have temporary tax provisions, the

bill years are better tax hikes on january 1. will not end the uncertainty. that is why we believe making the tax cut permanent -- let us make it a lot of the land because it is the law of the land. it will end some uncertainty so people can make decisions about how to invest in their business and the economy. >> will 2008 levels below levels house republicans will use for keeping your options open? happenn't know what will today or tomorrow or sunday in terms of how to keep the government funded. what i can tell you is all you have to do is go to the pledge for america and will outline clearly that we believe spending at 2000 levels is more than sufficient amount of money to run the government. we would like to do it as soon as possible.

there are two things we want to accomplish in this lame duck -- we want to stop all of the tax hikes for at least the next two years and, secondly, we ought to have a funding bill through september 30 at 2008 levels before the stimulus and before the bailout and all the other nonsense going on here. >> does that mean when you come in to correct this situation, you will pass 12 separate appropriations bills? >> that will certainly be our goal. i did not believe having 2000- page bills on the house floor serves anyone's interest -- not the house, the members, and certainly not the american people. we will have the time to do it. we could have done all of the spending bills in an appropriate way if, in fact, there had been a budget agreement. let us go back to the fact that

there was no budget this year and no effort to pass any of the 12 appropriations bills in either house. this is not the way the american people expect their government to be run. >> republicans were able to succeed in bringing down the omnibus. is there any concern that republicans in the senate are not committed to the earmarks pledged as you would like? many republican leaders would not pull them from the bill. >> i am the leader of the house republicans, and lord willing, come january 5, i will be speaker and my attention will be on the house. the house has banned the practice of earmarks. to many americans that is a symptom of broken government. what happens throughout the rest of the term will be left to them. but i would hope that they would listen to the american people and follow the example that we will set in the house.

thank you. >> in just a couple of minutes we will go live to the capitol for a ceremony that will send a 9/11 veterans bill to president obama. live coverage in just a few minutes on c-span. the house is in recess. they went into recess about 15 minutes ago and expected to return later this afternoon. a short time ago house majority leader steny hoyer came to the floor to talk about the progress of the legislative agenda and to explain why they were about to go into recess. mr. hoyer: ladies and gentlemen, the house, as all of you know, as too often the case, we are at a point in time in our schedule where, as i said too often, we find ourselves on the brink of a c.r. or some other document expiring which leaves the government without funds to continue. that will happen tomorrow at midnight. we have been in constant

communication with the united states senate, and we are not exactly sure what they are going to pass and more importantly when they are going to pass it. as a result, we are confronted with the challenge of ensuring that we have passed a document which will ensure that government does not shut down tomorrow night. therefore, it is our intent at this point in time to recess to go to the rules committee to obtain a short-term c.r. for five days, until tuesday night. three days. saturday, sunday, monday, tuesday. now, there are a lot of grumbling on my side. i appreciate your courtesy on your side.

having said that, i know there are at least 434 of my colleagues who are not happy about anything right now. i want you to know i will make that a unanimous judgment, i'm not happy, either. but we are in a place where we have a responsibility and we have not yet completed it for whatever reason. there's a lot of blame to go around, but the fact is we are not where we need to be. when we come back from recess, it will take probably an hour and a half, two hours, so it's now 20 of 2:00. let's say we come back at 3:30 or 4:00 to consider this short-term c.r. which will get us through whatever the senate is or is not going to do. i will then hope to be able to announce at that point in time the further schedule for tonight and/or tomorrow, or, we'd like to preclude the necessaryity to come back -- necessity to come back next week. i think that would be

consistent. even my side would not grumble at that proposition. so that's what we are trying to do. i hope you will bear with me. you understand the problem that we are having. it's not a new problem. we are going to recess now. we'll come back within a short period of time to do this short-term c.r. which will be a simple c.r. simply extending it through tuesday. have i lost you? and then at 4:00 we will try to have some more information from the senate and i will be in communication with mr. cantor and mr. boehner's office. i talked to mr. cantor's floor person about this, mr. mccarthy, about this and we will have better information at 4:00. i would urge all of you to stay here. i know that everybody wants to get home. i want to get home myself. i don't live far from here.

within an hour. but i have not been by my house and haven't decorated a single, as all of you know, i live alone, and therefore it's up to me. and i haven't been there. so it's not done. i want to get home just like you do. bear with us. this is our responsibility. we have two houses. we've got to agree. so we'll let you know at 4:00 as we begin the c.r. where we are going from there. and try to hav >> we will have live coverage of the house when members return on c-span. as the senate continues to work on legislation, expected later in the house. a live picture from the rayburn room and the capital where the -- speaker pelosi and house democratic leaders and house members joining with veterans services or the organizations.

the house passed the bill yesterday and the senate passed its and now it goes to president obama for his signature. when it gets underway, we will have live coverage here on c- span. remarks from georgia senator on beset's agenda from today's "washington journal." from the senate's agenda today's "washington journal." to about. let's talk about the decision to pull the omnibus spending bill off the floor of the senate. nine of your shoe colleagues so -- he has lost support of non gop colleagues. what is going on? guest: the weight at the late stages and the average of the american people after the november election that we would take up an omnibus bill.

now with a short-term cr to take us into next year. host: what can people expect? guest: what it will look like will be a very clean 1-page cr. may try to put a few pages in it. maybe the middle of february. very few exceptions. maybe because the could be some of the 1251 modernization money. host: tell us as the debate moves to the new congress, what do think that overall debate will look like? guest: i think what must happen is we have a short period of time to develop some absolute policy and absolute structure

for debt reduction and spending reduction before we have a debt ceiling vote sometime in april perdue think the entire first quarter of next year's session will be all about the debt and deficit. it will be all about spending and all about putting our past behind us, moving forward and doing what the american people have had to do the last three years, tighten their belts and cut wasteful spending. host: you voted in favor of the tax package. can you explain the support for that legislation? guest: i will take argument who say it was a $900 bill. that is static scoring. taxes to knock a lot -- it was a $900 billion bill. we actually had increased revenues, not decrease. there was some other unpaid for

spending. when you get a bill like that, you have to take some of the good with some of the band. the economy -- we did not have tax increases in a recession. host: senator isakson will be with us for the next 20 minutes per we want to take your calls. you have been involved in the debate over the new start treaty with russia. where do think "dancing with the stars? guest: tomorrow there will be two votes. one on the dream act. and we'll go right back to start. host: will you vote for it? guest: i voted for it in committee. ronald reagan rejected .orbachev'srecommendation

ronald reagan said we need a strong defense but we need to trust and the verify. started the process in 1991. we have had inspections and now the russian federation. since then, when the start treaty expired, the only thing we lack worse is not having human intelligence on the ground lurk. danger could russia is complying with terms of start i. our biggest threat in this world is a rogue nation or a rogue terrorist getting ahold of a nuclear weapon. the better control of we have, the better off we are. if we're going to get north korea and hold them accountable, if we walk away from the one nuclear trick that has worked for two decades, we set an

ex >> we will leave "washington journal" to hear remarks from house speaker nancy pelosi and others as they sign a veterans assistance bill this afternoon. >> good afternoon. today we come together on behalf of the men and women in uniform to honor their service, pay tribute to their sacrifices, and to strengthen their future. educating our nation's veterans is an investment in our troops and our economy. it is also a responsibility. what the post 9/11 educational assistance improvement act, we once again fulfill our debt of gratitude to our service

members. we say over and over again when we talk about our veterans in the military, they say, on the battlefield we will leave no soldier behind. we say, when they come home, we will leave no veteran behind. when this bill was first passed i remember so many veterans who were very young, and they came and said thanks -- say thanks to our vets and send them to college. i want to acknowledge all the members of congress here for their support and boat -- votes for this legislation. chairman of the veterans affairs committee, thank you for your leadership. chet edwards from texas. i want to acknowledge the important role he played. javier bacera is joining us.

the value member of the veterans affairs committee. the subcommittee chair on the committee has done so much military families, women's veterans and all members -- veterans. thank you. one person that is happy is john hall, because he has his imprint on it. thank you for your service. as well as dave for his important role in putting together of the legislation. tim walls, highest ranking enlisted ever to serve in the u.s. congress. mark came in with us -- in any

event, perhaps he will be joining us back again. he has been an important part as well. i also want to acknowledge we are joined by some of the members of the veteran the service organizations and representatives of the service members whose efforts were critical to this legislation passing. outside mobilization, inside maneuver, wonderful support for our veterans. joy from disabled american vets. [applause] timothy from the american legion. iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. brian hawthorne, student veterans of america. it is a true honor to stand

side-by-side with the leaders of the nation's veterans service organizations. they have helped us in so many ways. they reminded us -- steve robertson -- where is steve? [applause] he was a regular attendee at our meetings. he told us -- well, reminded us that it was the veterans at world war i who looked after the veterans of world war ii because he knew of the shortcomings. before world war ii was even over, the gi bill was passed to help those veterans. and when it helps the veterans, it helps build our country. veterans were concerned about the needs of the veterans of

iraq and afghanistan post 9/11, and they helped construct the gi bill for the 21st century. today we are making some technical corrections to that. we extended the educational benefits to our national guardsmen and to veterans taking advantage of online education and distance learning. at a time of economic challenges for millions of americans, we are expanding opportunities for job training, arming the troops with the tools to contribute as workers and to help strengthen our economy, and we do so in a fiscally responsible way. taking this action fulfills the solemn promise we made and kept to our troops, eyes and said earlier, to leave no veteran behind when they come home. -- as i said earlier. in the name of all who fight for

our nation's security i am proud to sign the post 9/11 veterans education assistance improvement act, and i will do so surrounded by those who made it possible inside the congress and outside the congress, not only for this legislation but for all they do to honor our veterans who make us the land of the brae and the home of the free -- land of the brave and the home of the free. let us sign the bill. i am using all of his pens. [laughter]

you are right. [laughter] [applause] it is going to pennsylvania avenue, to the white house, for the president's signature. a law that would change public policy and will improve the lives of our veterans. [applause]

>> i can get people to the sitter the words of daniel ellsworth, where we have a serious case where the obama -- consider the words of the ellsworth, the president obama try to change interpretation of existing law. >> see what journalists, lawmakers, and founder julian assange said about wikileaks online at the c-span video library. search, watch, and share.

washington your way. >> the united states v. richard nixon, saturday. >> what it really boils down to is somewhat simple but very important issue, in the administration of criminal justice, and that is whether the president can withhold material evidence from the court merely on his assertion that the evidence involves confidential communications. >> listen to the argument on c- span radio, in washington, d.c., 90.1 fm, nationwide xm satellite channel 132. in her first interview since joining the supreme court, just as elena kagan spoke with c-span about a range of topics including why she originally wanted to become an attorney. this took place in her temporary chambers in the supreme court building. here is a look. >> i became a lawyer for all the wrong reasons. i was a law school dean and i

used to tell people all the time, don't go to law school just because you don't know what else to do. the truth was, that is why i went to law school. i was not quite sure what else i wanted to do and i believe all of these things about keeping your options open and a degree that you could use for anything. i was not at all sure i wanted to practice law when i started law school. i thought, what could be wrong with having a law degree and then deciding? when i got to law school and was amazed to find is that i absolutely loved law school and is studying law, in a way i did not think i'd love any other part of my academic experience. i had always been a good student but i hadn't ever felt that kind of passion for a subject matter. i like thinking about law, i liked that law was something that was both an intellectual challenge and puzzle but also a very real -- had a very real

world consequences so you could think about using what you are learning to make the world a better place, to make people's lives better. i found it endlessly interesting and challenging, and in the end, i think i went to law school for the wrong reasons but i was very glad i got there. >> the house this afternoon is in recess subject to the call of the chair. we will have live coverage as the members work to complete their agenda heading into the 112 congress. late last night the house passed the tax cuts and unemployment benefits extension bill, to 77- 148. president obama plans to sign it this afternoon at 3:50 p.m. eastern and we plan live coverage here on c-span. a look now at some of the floor debate during last night's session. this is about an hour. ized for four minutes.

mr. hensarling: i had not thought i'd come here to speak. i have been watching this debate in my office. i have envy for my colleagues that bring such passion and certainty in their vote as they come to the floor. i look at this legislation and listen to my colleagues, i must admit, i consider it to be a successful negotiation because i am not sure i heard anybody who really likes the bill. perhaps that's the hallmark of a successful negotiation. i look at the legislation, it's the classic challenge, is the glass half full or half empty? i for one have decided it to be half full. mr. speaker, clearly there are items in this legislation that i find not just empty, but frankly, atrocious. yes, there's tax pork in this legislation. there's unpaid for extension of unemployment benefits. mr. speaker, at some point, i

would hope the majority soon to be minority, in this institution, would realize we've got to concentrate on the paychecks, the paychecks americans want paychecks, not unemployment checks. if we're going to have them, they need to be paid for. worst of all, yes, what's happening to social security with the payroll tax. without putting any fundamental reform on the table, what i would say to my friends on the other side of the aisle, it is you who brought that to the table. mr. speaker, i made a pledge to my constituents, i told them i would fight any tax increases. i hold them i would try to bring certainty to this economy because that's what businesses need. trillions of dollars sitting on the sidelines waiting to come into this economy, but yet the

party who has been in control of congress for four years had the white house for two years, waits until almost christmas eve and we still don't know what tax rates are? there's no certainty. the only thing i am certain of is that if we don't pass this legislation, there's about to be a $3.9 trillion tax increase on the american people on school teachers, on farmers, on single mothers, on small businesses, on job creators, and yes, even the vilified wealthy. you know, mr. speaker, we've heard the class warfare rhetoric for quite some time now. look what it's got us. almost serial double digit unemployment and human suffering. mr. speaker, i ed have held a lot of jobs in hi life. i used to bus tables at the

holiday inn in college station, texas. i used to work on the loading dock, loading windows. i used to clean out chicken houses, which to some extent was sufficient training for the present occupation, but that's a subject for a different time. mr. speaker, in all those jobs i've held no poor person ever hired me. it was somebody who went out and risked capital and took a chance and built something. yet the left and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to vilify this person. that somehow it's bad to go out and be successful and create jobs so that people can put roofs over their heads, put food on the table, send their kids to college. i don't get it. my friends on the other side of the aisle say, this will add to the deficit. why didn't i hear that argument during the $1.2 trillion failed stimulus? i didn't hear the great angst and anxiety from my friends on the other side of the aisle at this point when we passed an almost $400 billion omnibus

spending bill. i didn't really hear it. will the gentleman yield two more minutes? mr. camp: i yield the gentleman two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hensarling: i didn't hear this angst and anxiety when my friends on the other side of the aisle brought us the first terror-dollar deficit in america's history butted back it up with the second trillion-dollar deficit in america's history. i didn't hare this concern. i only hear it now when we're talking about letting the american people keep what they earn. we're not even talking about a tax cut here. we're talking about preventing a tax increase. so i don't quite understand all of a sudden this great angst and concern about the deficit. and i might remind all of my colleagues, it is the deficit which is the symptom, it is spend chg is the disease.

we can clearly get rid of the deficit tonight. let's increase taxes 60%. 60% on all americans. let's more than double taxes on our children and destroy the american dream. sure, we can balance the budget that doesn't take care of the fiscal insanity. so to avoid a further job meltdown, and let me make it clear, mr. speaker, this is not any great economic growth package that's put before us. i don't believe this is going to be the cornucopia of jobs. what we're trying to do here is avoid further damage to a crippled economy that again has almost double digit unemployment on a serial basis. i wish we had at least 10 years of certainty of these tax rates. i'm sorry it's only two. i would say to my friends on this side of the aisle, who say, well, we could have got an better deal, i don't know.

i wasn't in the room. i didn't negotiate the deal. maybe their crystal ball is clearer than my crystal ball. here's what i see in my crystal ball. i'm absolutely for certain in my crystal ball that come january, barack obama is still going to be president of the united states. in my crystal ball, harry reid is still going to be senate majority leader. that's what i see in my crystal ball system of maybe the friends on my side, maybe you're right. but you have a degree of certainty and clarity of the future i do not have. so personally, i'm not willing to take the chance. i'm going to cast the aye vote. i'm going to stop the job-killing tax increases, i'm going to add at least a modicum of certainty two years certainty to the tax code. and i'm going to fight to put this nation back on the road to fiscal sanity because in this

legislation, i see the glass half full. i yield back. the chair: the type of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: it's my privilege to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from california, ms. eshoo. the chair: the yom is -- the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. eshoo: i'm deeply disappointed in the recently negotiated tax deal by the white house. while one can find items that are politically and practically attractive, in its totality, it borrows just shy of $1 trillion to pay for, amongst other items, expiring tax breakers in top 2% of our country. fear is that th bush tax cuts will become permanent and our future bill be dim. as america struggles with the largest transfer of wealth. we should be investing in

capital formation, technological innovation, job creation and education. these are the real building blocks for a strong future for all americans. i'm also deeply, deeply concerned about borrowing from the general fund to cover social security payroll taxes. this is the first time in the history of social security that the firewall between the general fund and social security is being taken down. this is dangerous. it's about a bad precedent and one i believe we will all regret. the chair: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: i yield three minutes to a member of our committee, mr. van hollen, who has been working day and night on this issue. the chair: the gentleman from

maryland is recognized for three minutes. mr. van hollen: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to have worked with congressman pomeroy and chairman levin on the amendment we will be voting on later tonight. while this house recently passed and democrats have been fighting to ensure that tax rates do not go up on 98% of the american people, senate republicans made it clear that they will raise, that they will raise taxes on every american if they don't get a special bonus tax break for the very top 2%. in order to break that, president obama concluded he needed to cut a deal. what this amendment we will be voting on later tonight is give the american people a better deal. specifically it asks all of us to consider this question. in an era of $1 trillion deficits, with our national debt approaching $14 trillion, barely two weeks after the bipartisan fiscal commission's moment of

truth report, should we really be borrowing $23 billion from china to give the wealthiest 6,600 estates an average tax break of $1.7 million a year? think about it. $23 billion for the wealthiest 6,600 estates at a time in fiscal challenge in a nation of over 300 million people without any benefit for job creation or economic growth. mr. speaker, much of the deal negotiated by the white house is defensible, but i would say to my colleagues, if we can't agree now, that now is not the time to be giving the top 3/10's of 1% who are not clearly serious about bringing down the deficit. there is another way. we can adopt the amendment and will provide $.5 million exemption and 45% maximum rate.

that's identical, identical to the rates and exemptions that were in effect in 2009 and significantly better than the rates that will take place if we take no action on january 1 when the exemption would go to one million and the rate to 55%. in fact, if enacted, this amendment would represent the lowest estate tax in 77 years up through 2009. mr. speaker, we have to level with the american people. we got to start somewhere bringing down the deficits. and if we can't settle on the estate tax exemptions and rates that were in place in 2009, which is the lowest in 77 years, if we can't do that and say to the very wealthiest estates and we are going to give you $23

billion to benefit 6,600 estates, how can we look the american people in the eye and say we are serious. i hope when this amendment comes up later today, we can make a deal that benefits all the people in this country. thank you. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. . the gentleman from michigan. the gentlman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: i yield one minute to mr. farr. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. farr: the sirens of the election that were about the deficit and you want to add $1 trillion to that deficit. wake up and listen to the sirens to the people who are needing of help. i can't believe that you talked about this bill as fiscal sanity. it's fiscal insanity, putting us in another $1 trillion of debt

and the concept if you give the rich more money, it will trickle down. to the people that need to be rescued aren't paid for by trickle-down economics. the rich never paid for that. there isn't an ambulance in the country that is paid for by the rich, there isn't a sold year that is paid for by the rich, a school teacher. you are putting our country into debt and that's the biggest issue in national security and what's the debt commission said we couldn't do. this is insanity, we fix this debt by closing these tax loopholes and you want to give them away. shame on you. the chair: he members are reminded to direct their remarks to the chair. the gentleman from michigan. the gentlman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan.

mr. levin: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: thank you, sir. the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. to my friends on the republican side, we did this 10 years ago with the bush tax cuts and it didn't work. it's been mentioned over and over again and built up these great deficits, including the wars in iraq and afghanistan thaw supported so well and created the deficit that threatend our country to make us look like a future ireland, a future portugal, countries that are in great deficit problems that we are putting our country into. we don't need to be insane and try to do this over again. i feel like it's return to christmas past. christmas past. and you know, there is a book that says, from those who are given much, much is expected. but in this congress, from those who have much, we are expecting

little, we get little from it and giving them the biggest tax breaks of all. and to the people who die to the richest in our nation, we give them the steinbrenners who died with $1.1 billion and we will be giving them a free ride and the differences in the taxes 35% or 45%, $100 million. that is wrong and that is why i oppose the bill. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. . the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield five minutes to the the gentleman from ohio. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. tibtib what an honor and privilege it is to be a member of this house and to hear this debate that i have heard so much in the past. the road to prosperity is not through tax increases. the road to prosperity in america is not through class warfare. my mother and father came to an

america, a united states of america for a better life, for an opportunity, not a guarantee. an opportunity for their kids to be successful. for their kids to do well and pay taxes and do well for their kids. when you're voting on a bill tonight that extends current tax rates, the current tax code that represents, mr. speaker, three-quarters of this bill, that represents three-quarters of the quote, spending in this bill, and members of this body say we have to borrow to allow people to keep the money that they earn, where have we come? my father was a steel worker who loved john f. kennedy, who

proposed similar types of tax increases. my mother was a seamstress and neither graduated from high school. do they believe in class warfare? certainly not. the question is now, do we allow on january 1, the largest tax increase in american history? that's the question. i didn't negotiate this bill. if i were king, i would have certainly negotiated it differently. the chair: the gentleman has a right to be heard. the gentleman is recognized. >> can only people keep what they have today. does it cost the government money. think about that. the farmer, the farmer who is sick, who is trying to plan his estate.

would i support it being permanent? absolutely in the estate tax and let's eliminate it. but if this bill doesn't pass, a $1 million exemption occurs for that farmer planning his estate. how about the single mom with two jobs? trying to provide for her two kids. her taxes will go up. how about the teacher and the police officer raising a family, the marriage penalty? how about the small business owner who pulled me aside on monday and said i can't even plan my business. i would like to hire somebody and you folks in washington have known for how long that these tax rates were going to go up? last year, the majority party had 60 votes in the senate, had a clear majority in the house, you could have passed something and here we are 15 days before christmas and the grinch is about ready to steal it. for so many americans who will

see their taxes go up, mr. speaker, if this bill isn't passed. now there are a lot of things in this bill that i don't like, but the question today, mr. speaker, is do we let the perfect be the enemy of the good. i could sit up here and pick apart this legislation, but when three fourths of this is the current tax code, three fourths allow for the current rates to continue so taxes don't go up on millions and millions of americans, mr. speaker, it really comes down to this simple logic, we cannot tax our way to prosperity, we cannot tax our way to fiscal responsibility. we must pass this bill. give two years for this congress, this president, this senate to come up with a better way, a more simple way to tax americans, allow them to keep more of their money, provide for a way for capital to work in

america's favor and allow america to be more competitive again with a tax code that makes sense. but the question today is, do we allow taxes to go up or allow americans to have some certainty for the next two years. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin is recognized. mr. levin: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from texas, mr. green. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. green: i thank the ranking member and chair for allowing me to support. i support maintaining the estate tax, exemption of $3.5 million. that's not what is in this legislation. i believe in the value of hard work and those who are able to succeed. some perceive the estate tax as undermining these values. americans with multi-million dollar estates are not the only hard workers. we have social security recipients who have worked but

see their benefits have deliped for two straight years now. what message does it send that we are giving 6,600 families a tax break on the average of $1.5 million each but can't find it appropriate to give our seniors on fixed income more breathing room a $250 check to allow them to pay their bills. the government's calculation tells us that the cost of living has not increased over the last two years but seniors in my district have done their own calculations. the cost of electricity, gas, health care have risen dramatically. i hope to support a bill that will benefit my constituents, but this bill does not and i hope the amendment will make it better. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. . the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin is recognized. mr. levin: i yield one minute to mr. polis.

the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. polis: there are a lot of people that democrats believe for american values, keeping our water clean, our let and let live social policies but somewhere in the back of americans' minds they are worried that democrats will raise taxes. the democrats are going to deliver one of the largest tax cuts in history. here's a $20, for every $20 an american family earns, they'll get an extra dollar, an extra dollar for every 20 they earn. those earning millions may get 60 or 70 cents for every dollar they earn, but that extra dollar will help keep people in their homes. in addition to that, every american with a paycheck will get a 2% raise this year 2,% off

the payroll tax every paycheck. i know a lot of companies have frozen their salaries, federal employees have their salaries frozen. thanks to the leadership of barack obama, the people of america can rest assured they won't get a tax increase. the chair: the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp is recognized. mr. camp: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: i yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: thank you very much. ladies and gentlemen of the congress, the time is now for us to ask the one fundamental question before us -- what is in the best interest of the american people at this time. by american people, i mean every american from the top of the economic ladder to the bottom. especially those at the bottom. this is basically a 24-month stimulus bill. by getting money to those who need it most, who will put it in

the marketplace the quickest, which will help us create jobs. 70% of this entire $853 billion package will go to the low income and the middle income. there's no other way you put it. you talk about race, we dare not go home here today and raise taxes on the american people. we've got to cut the taxes, keep it down. ladies and gentlemen, you've got to realize that that lowest economic ladder, the lowest tax rate, is 10%. if we don't move, those people at the bottom that we care about, especially us on the democratic side, their taxes will go up 5050%. we've got to move this bill in the best interest of the american people. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the sfrelt from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin is recognized.

mr. levin: i yield one minute to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. kay began. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kay began: tonight, well-meaning members of congress have been debating who will pay to clean up the mess left behind by president bush's failing economic policies, policies that included two tax cuts to the richest americans, at the very same time we're prosecuting two wars at the same time. we all know there is no free lunch. yet the senate is asking the house of representatives to designate this bill as an emergency for purposes of pay as you go, thereby failing to live within our means and driving our children deeper into debt. the senate also seeks to fix this more than by immediately turning over $129 billion of money we don't have to the very wealthiest americans. wrongly thinking that the republican inspired idea of trickle down economics will work today when it failed miserably in the recent past. responsibility must begin

somewhere. let it begin here with me. the reality is, there is no emergency that justifies handing out tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires at this time. instead, we should bring our children home from wars overseas and after paying for these wars, then determine if we with have any money left over for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. america cannot afford tax cuts for the rich. we don't have the money, they do. the chair: the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from new york, mr. wiener. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. weiner: thank you, mr. levin. it doesn't take a great deal of courage to come to the floor of the house and say i'm in favor of low taxes. yeah, i think we'd all like no taxes, we'd like to have no communal needs that we have, no national defense, no concerns about clean water.

what we hear the fight about in leches and frankly every single day on the floor is who do we stand for? who are we defending? on this side of the chamber, we believe that those people in the middle class and those struggling to make it with through each and every year for the past two decades have been getting pushed further and further down need help. on the other side of this chamber are people who quite literally stood up all day today and say, i want to give tax cuts to people who make $1 million and $1 billion a year and wait for it, ladies and gentlemen, we want to borrow the money from the chinese to give it to them. i want the wealthy to be as wealthy as they can be. any of grudge against that. i want all of us to be that wealthy. but we should be a country that fights for those who need the help. we should not be a country that says you know what, if you're a billionaire, we want to give you a little bit more. who is going to pay the bill?

who is ultimately going to pay for this tax cut? it's going to be our children and grandchildren. to come to the floor and say, well, i want to help hardworking americans, i have to tell you, when the top 1% in this country are making as much as the next 25%, i think i know who we want to help. on this side, we want to help those middle class people and those struggling to make it and my republican friends all over this evening have been standing up for millionaires and billionaires. that's fundamental choice we have to make here. i believe this tax bill has fundamental flaws. if you believe you should be borrowing from social security to pay for a payroll tax, you like this bill. but i know a lot of americans don't believe that. i think what we should do, what we should do is make sure we fix the estate portion of this and then take a step back and say, you know what we should do? stand up for the middle class. the chair: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: i yield a minute and a

half to the distinguished gentleman from new york. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. >> as a new member, we have to stop putting difficult decisions, continuously put off until we are forced to make a decision in crisis mode as the clock clicks to zero hour. this vote has profound ramifications for every american and we are backed into a corner. where the current tax rates expire on all taxpayers if we do nothing. it didn't need to be this way. mr. reed: shame on the politicians whose inactions forced us on this precarious ledge. shame on the leadership of the past two years who put us into this box corner. good policy cannot be handcuffed by this sort of last-minute political guerrilla warfare. the process which brought us to this point is inexcusable. so much so that the average

middle class family in my district will pay more than $1,500 if we fail to act. our economic recovery in upstate new york continues to lag. preventing the pending income and estate tax hike that will hit every family and business in my district is paramount at this time. once this bill is passed, we must begin in the next congress to eradicate out of control spending. we cannot be put into this position again. i yield. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of my time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: it's now my privilege to yield one minute to the house's speaker of the house, ms. pelosi. the chair: the gentlewoman from california, the speaker of the house is recognized for one minute. ms. pelosi: thank you -- the speaker: thank you very much, mr. speaker.

i thank the gentleman for yielding, i thank him for his leadership on fairness, for growing the economy, reducing the deficit and creating jobs. that's some of what is done in this bill. i think i want to use my time to make some distinctions here. president obama and the democrats have supported initiatives to protect the middle class. we are fighting for the middle class, we are wanting to grow the economy, and to create jobs and reduce the deficit. so we must subject whatever legislation that comes before us as to how it meets those tests. this legislation on the democratic side of the ledger does create jobs. and the demand helps redeuce the deficit. for example, unemployment insurance provisions in the legislation, economists across the board tell us, return more money to the economy than almost any initiative you can name.

people spend that money quickly, these are people who are looking for work, who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, their unemployment insurance is spent immediately injecting demand into the economy, creating jobs. low income tax credit, refundable. child tax credit, refundable. all of this placed in the hands of working class people -- working families in america, again, spent immediately, injecting demand, creating jobs. college tuition tax credit, very important for america's working families and their children. so here we are with a bill on one side of the ledger that benefits 155 million americans. we have tax cuts for the middle class across the board. everybody gets that tax cut. but in order for the middle class to get that tax cut, the republicans insist that those

who make the top 2% in our country, that they get an extra tax cut. adding billions of dollars to the deficit and not creating any jobs. to add insult to injury, they have now added this estate tax provision. an estate tax provision, new mind you, the democratic side of the ledger benefits 155 million americans. in order for the president to get those terms accepted, republicans insisted that $23 billion in benefits go to 6,600 wealthiest families in america. 6,600 families. holding up tax cuts for 155

million americans. is that fair? does that meet any test of fairness that we have? again, this $23 billion, not creating jobs. this $23 billion increasing the deficit. by 8% in the fiscal year. think of what we could do with that $23 billion. we could triple our research in cancer and diabetes. i think that means something to all americans, including those 6,600 wealthiest families. we could give a $7,000 raise to every public schoolteacher in america. we could create investing in new technologies 780,000 jobs. 780,000 jobs. instead, we're giving a bonanza to 6,600 of the wealthiest people in america who really

don't need the help. it's just amazing to hear our colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about deficit reduction when everything on their side of the ledger increases the deficit and does not create jobs. tax cuts for the wealthiest 2%, most egregious of all, the estate tax provision they have that benefits not 1%, not .5%, but .25% of the american people. we have to borrow that money from china and send the bill to our children and our grandchildren. and that is not good policy. it does not have a favorable impact on the deficit. it does not create jobs. it does not grow our economy. it does not stimulate growth in our country. so i hope that our colleagues

will vote favorably for the pomeroy amendment to bring some fairness and clarity to the estate tax issue. on that, the 99.7% of all americans are exempted. 99.7% of all americans are exempted from paying estate taxes under pomeroy. but we had to get that up for 3% -- get that upper 3% in this legislation in order to benefit 155 million americans. these figures have to be engraved in our being. 155 million, you can't have that unless 6,600. i've said it other and over. then on top of all of that, on the democratic side of the ledger, we have the green initiative, 1603, that the senate put in the bill.

this is just a very positive provision. for renewable energy, wind, solar, etc. but the republicans said, that is the limit. we won't accept any more. until all of the initiatives for innovation that have been passed in the past few years that should have been extended, we said no to innovation, we said no to the future, we said no to keeping america number one for encouraging our competitiveness. so if we're talking about growth, we have to talk about investments in the future. if we're talking about being number one, we have to be -- to have an innovation agenda to do it, the republicans said no to that. they only said yes to tax cuts for the wealthy. mr. speaker pl weiner says, we recognize -- mr. wiener says, we recognize success, we all want to be part of it. god bless them for having the wealth they have, whether it's inherited or earned.

we recognize success and the job that wealth does to create jobs, etc. but we also want to reward work. we want to reward work. in order to reward work in this legislation, we had to have a big payoff to the top one quarter percent of america's wealthiest families. i hope my colleague as they review this, this is very difficult. nobody wants taxes to go up for the middle class. everybody gets a tax cut in this. we don't see why we have to give an extra tax cut to the wealthiest and extra extra estate tax benefit to the top one quarter percent. as members have to make up their mind about this, i hope they will vote for the pomeroy amendment to this legislation and they have to make their own decisions as to whether it is

necessary to be held hostage to pay a king's ransom in order to help the middle class. we cannot allow taxes to go up come january 1. previous speakers said, we have to look to how we were forced to this ledge. yes, let's look at how we were forced to this present car youse ledge. this situation, we were in a deep recession, president obama was a job creator from day one with the recovery act and pulled us back from that recession. the financial crisis that they created, president obama pulled us back from that. and, oh, by the way, remember the financial crisis? remember the banks that all that money went to and they didn't extend credit. now those same people are giving out over $100 billion in christmas bonuses.

and these republicans in this house of representatives are saying, we don't want you to be taxed to the proper extent on that $100 billion, more money in giving bonuses on wall street, think of it, over $100 billion and we want to give them a free ride in terms of paying their fair share. so when it comes to creating jobs, growing the economy, reducing the deficit, investing growth and competitiveness and innovation to keep america number one, i applaud president obama for his side of the ledger. i'm sorry the price that has to be paid for this is so high at a time when everybody is preaching the gospel of deficit reduction, the republicans come in with an increase in the deficit to the tune of over $100 billion for people in our country who need it the least and again, where it

does not create jobs. so members will have to make up their mind as to how we go forward on the bill. but i hope all of them in their consideration of it will vote for the pomeroy amendment, which addresses the most egregious, with stiff competition mind you in this bill, the most egregious provision when it comes to fairness, reducing the deficit and not creating jobs. i commend the chairman of the ways and means committee, all of our colleagues who have had to explain to all of the misrepresentations that had been made about what this legislation is about. and again, i salute president obama for getting in the bill what is in there. i'm sorry the price that has to be paid by our children and grandchildren to the chinese government to pay for the increase in the deficit that the republicans insisted upon. with that, i yield back the balance of my time.

the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: the majority party has had large bipartisan majorities in the senate, in the house and controlled the white house for the last two years. and as we know in the house, the majority can pretty much do what they want which was demonstrate with the stimulus bill, obamacare, yes there is explaining to do. why wasn't this issue dealt with before the election? why didn't the majority bring a bill to the floor before the election? now as americans face these tax increases, now a few short days before the end of the year, and now because there is a bipartisan compromise and passed the senate 81-19, there is a

recognition that there is no time to be playing games with our economy. the failure to block these tax increases would be a direct hit to families and small businesses and employers and further delay our economic recovery, and for those reasons, i support this bill and i reserve the balance of this -- time. mr. levin: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from iowa, mr. braley. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. braley: the house will vote on a bill that will explode the deficit. while this package includes several programs i have supported, i cannot support the underlying bill. as recently as last week, i voted to give every american a tax cut by making the middle-class tax cuts permanent to american families, consumers and business owners who drive our economy and i voted to

extend unemployment insurance to assist families who are struggling in this difficult time. those were some of the good things included in this deal. unfortunately, the merits do not outweigh the bad things. i cannot justify mortgaging our children's future to provide a christmas bonanza and i refuse to increase the deficit by $81 billion to provide a tax break to the westiest people in this country and balloon the deficit by $23 billion and provide an average tax break of $1.5 million to 66,000 a year and i urge no. mr. camp: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin is recognized. mr. levin: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from illinois, ms. schakowsky. the chair: the gentlewoman from is recognized. ms. schakowsky: the speaker was

talking about how republicans held hostage in favor of 6,600 families who will get this inflated break on their estate taxes. who are the families? the tea party movement have a vast and under the pomeroy amendment that family would realize over $2 billion extra dollars. the walton family, wal-mart, combined worth, $87 billion, his family will pay less -- $7 billion in taxes, republican proposal versus the pomeroy. the gallow family, the campbell soup giants, combined wealth, $6.5 billion, the mars candy company, $33 billion in wealth.

their estate taxes will go down $2.5 billion. are these the people that this congress is supposed to represent? let's vote for pomeroy. the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield one minute to the distinguished the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. frank. the chair: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute. mr. frank: two pieces of legislation tell us about the value of our republican colleagues. this bill will take $114 billion in revenues out of social security, helping them make the case in a self-fulfilling prophecy that we can't pay everything we want. earlier this session, they voted overwhelmingly and killed a proposal to give each social security recipient $250, not $2

50,000 or $250 million. people who are going to be face ing an increase in medicare because we learned there wouldn't be a cost of living. we couldn't afford $250 to older people who are having trouble paying their heating bills but can afford to $114 billion who will get eight times $250. the values of the republican party are revealed by this and we are in this situation because of dishonesty. when they passed the tax cut in 2001, they didn't want it to -- mr. levin: i yield the gentleman an additional minute. mr. frank: not simply are they showing their values, they said by the way, are you going to give $250 to warren buffet. they want to give $250,000 to

warren buffet. but the reason we are in this bind, in 2001 and 2003, george bush and the republican majority wanted to pass very large tax cuts despite the professed concern about the deficit, we now see from this bill that the slogan is deficit smepificit. they made very bad tax policy and i voted against it. they made major changes in the tax code and they did that roller coaster with the estate tax. that was their effort to hide the true amount. so they have only themselves to blame. but let me return. they couldn't afford $14 million to give $250 mill -- 250 to but $114 billion out of social security.

mr. camp: i reserve. the chair: mr. levin is recognized. mr. levin: i yield 2 1/2 minutes to a gentleman hob active on this issue, mr. well shall of vermont. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. welch: what we have before us is two problems facing america, one is too few jobs, 9.8% of americans who want work are out of work. millions more so discouraged that they are the underemployed, we have got to find a way to put them back to work sm the second problem we have is too much debt. and without going into the history of how we went from a record surplus to a record deficit, we went from the clinton tax rates to the bush tax rates, from that surplus of 20 million jobs created to eight million jobs lost, we have a

debt now that is approaching $14 trillion and with the passage of this bill, will be approaching $15 trillion. and the question for us to the american people is if we are going to borrow a dollar for any reason, will there be a job bang for that dollar borrowed? that dollar borrowed is coming from china and what this legislation will do is literally ask the american middle class to borrow $200 billion to pay for tax cuts. this is not an objection to wealthy people. they are generous and can create jobs. it's about whether that job -- that dollar borrowed will produce a job for an out-of-work american and it won't. so there are other alternatives to what is before us. we should not be borrowing money that will be productive.

what we should do is the very simple alternative that isn't even considered. we can extend the middle-class tax cuts as president obama wants to, but stop it at $250,000. invest the savings in deficit reduction in half and infrastructure development. we can, as mr. frank said, provide $250 one-time payment to the folks on social security who haven't had a cola increase in two years. we can have a piece of legislation that will borrow less, reduce the deficit and create more jobs. our responsibility fundamentally is to the american middle class and they know at the end of the day, they will have to repay it. their sons, their daughters. the bond holders will be ok, but the middle class will pay. i yield back the balance of my

time. the chair: the gentleman's time has ex michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: we have one additional speaker gentleman from colorado seek recognition. mr. polis: by direction -- >> by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 1776. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar 256, house resolution 1776, resolved that upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the joint resolution, house joint resolution 105, making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011 and for other purposes.

all points of order against consideration of the joint resolution are waived except those arising under clause 10 of rule 21. the joint resolution shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the joint resolution are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the joint resolution to final passage without intervening motion except, one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations and, two, one motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for one hour. mr. polis: for the purposes of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions. all time yielded in consideration of the rules is for debate only. i yield myself such time as i may use and ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks an house resolution 1776. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. polis: house resolution 1776 provides closed rule for considering houseres. -- joint resolution 105. it provides one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member, it waives all rules and points of order except those arising under clause 10 of rule 21. the rule waives all points of order against the joint resolution and the bill provides one motion to recommit the joint resolution with or without a cell phone. i rise in support of approving the continuing resolution to maintain a level and consistent funding stream for our government. mr. speaker, this resolution is aptly numbered 1776, a patriotic number for patriotic bill that will allow government to continue its normal operations until midnight tuesday to give the senate a chance to complete their deliberations. mr. speaker, i could take this opportunity to share the

frustration of our colleagues at the nabble of the senate so complete their work in a timely manner but in the spirit of the season, mr. speaker, i will simply say we must pass this continuing resolution to allow the senate to continue their important work to create either a longer term continuing resolution or an omnibus appropriations package that will allow the regular business of government to keep the people of america safe to continue. with that i reserve the balance of my time. spape the gentleman from colorado reserves. the gentleman from texas. >> theag thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sessions: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank mr. polis not only for his friendship but also being with us today as we approach the floor in this h.res. 1776. mr. speaker, i also ask unanimous consent that the entire text of my talk today be included in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mr. sessions: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, last week i stood here right -- right here to do the rule and pointed out that my democratic colleagues continued to use unprecedented, restrictive and closed process on the house floor. and i'm here today to tell the same story. but at least it's very consistent behavior. all two years we have had nothing but closed rules and here we are today in fact the same plation. except what we're doing here today is discussing a long-term resolution, a resolution that went nowhere in the senate and yet here again today doing another continuing resolution so there are -- so our government does not shut down on saturday. last week the rules committee under democratic leadership reported out an unprecedented long-term martial law rule. they gave themselves 11 days, 1 days to bring up any bill under a rule that same day and just

yesterday they reported out an additional martial law rule through christmas eve. this only continues the backlog, backroom deals, the closed zreels been been pursued throughout the 111th congress. what was promised to be the most open, honest and ethical congress by our speaker, nancy pelosi, when she took the gavel has turned into the most closed, one-sided congress in history. we tax too much, we spend too much, we regulate too much, we listen too little. mr. speaker, the american people ask for change, changes in 2008, and they got something that was far worse. in three weeks that will change. but until then i'm here to discuss another closed rule until -- or another continuing resolution. this day continues to bring about more overspending which is

a common theme of the last two congresses, not just another c.r., but another omnibus. the underlying legislation is a c.r. to keep the government running until tuesday. that is true. the democrats provided no budget this year and the president has not signed one appropriations bill into law this year. so this legislation and the rule is just another tactic to keep the government running until the majority can figure out their next priority. well, i assure you it will be all about spending. over the past three years nondefense, nonhomeland security and nonveterans affairs discretionary spending has increased by a staggering 88%. in the meantime, the nation's debt has risen to 13.-- $13.5 trillion. there have been yearly record deficits since our friends. the democrats, took the majority and record unemployment with unemployment rate has now been

at or above 9.5 for 18 consecutive months. republicans want to take spending levels back to 2008 which would save american taxpayers nearly $100 billion in the first year. i think the american people are fed up with taxing, borrowing, spending, closed rules, more rules and regulations that we've seen in the past four years, which has brought us nothing but more unemployment, higher debt and a monster deficit. americans have called for an end to the reckless spending and a new era of fiscal discipline. yet it continues to fall on deaf ears even today. this country needs leaders that are willing to make tough, tough financial decisions, fiscal decisions that will bring back our economy, stability, job growth, not just more of the same taxing and spending.

mr. speaker, as if continuing the spending levels from 2010 wasn't enough, my colleagues on the democrat side of the aisle are here acting only today to await a possible senate omnibus bill that has a total price tag of $1,100,000,000,000 to be spent in the next 10 months. that's not called running the government. running the government's already been taken care of. this is $1,1,000,000,000. when will the majority recognize that this simply cannot and should not continue? when will the democrats under that taxing and spending and putting our children in an unfavorable position for their future will not be tolerated? in true fashion, i know the democrats have an agenda and they need to continue it to the very end.

and that is what they're doing. they have shut out republican ideas for the last four years. they continue to shut out the american people. continued on the path of reckless government spending will continue -- continuing on the path of reckless government spend willing only put us in debt. congress must do better and so on behalf of my party, the republican party, we are on the floor today to recognize h.r. 1776. we're going to pose this rule, we're going to pose the additional spending and we promise to do better. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back the remainder of his time. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: the gentleman from texas has yielded back the remainder of his time. i'm the last speaker for my side and i'll yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. i could certainly discuss how the house has passed two

appropriation bills this year, the transportation h.u.d. appropriations bill, military construction, veterans affairs appropriation bill while the senate has not passed a single appropriations measure. last year the house passed all of the appropriations measure. i could certainly also discuss how in the 12 years that the republicans controlled the house there were a number of years where not a seg rel -- single regular appropriations measure was enacted by october 1. in 1996, 2002 and 2003. in those years c.r.'s were enacted 84 times. but again, mr. speaker, in the spirit of the season, in the spirit of charity, and the spirit of our colleagues' desire to complete their work in this critical for the basic functions of government to continue over the next five days, particularly during this travel season. where would we be in one of the busiest travel seasons of the year if we cut off funding for our air marshalls? ye just yesterday, mr. speaker, i was proud that this body

passed and sent to the president a bill to keep taxes low for all americans. i supported this bill along with 139 of my democratic colleagues and 138 of my republican colleagues. and in voicing their support for the legislation, many of our friends on both sides of the aisle cited the need for certainty and stability. well, mr. speaker, this bill before us today provides certainty and predictability for the basic functions of federal governing until next tuesday at midnight by which point we will undertake a longer-term continuing resolution or other measure to allow for the basic functions of government to continue. i call upon my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation and i urge a yes vote on the previous question or on the rule. i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado yields back the balance of his time. all time having expired, without objection the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas requests a recorded vote. 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 post pobed -- postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise? mr. polis: i send to the desk a privileged concurrent resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 336, resolved that when the house adjourns on any legislative day from friday, december 17, 2010, through friday, december 24, 2010, on a motion offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its majority leader or his designee, it stands adjourned sine die or until reassembly

pursuant to section 3 of this concurrent resolution, whichever comes first, and when the senate adjourns on any day from sunday, december 19, 2010, through 11:59 a.m. on monday, january 3, 2011 on a motion offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its majority leader or its designee, it stands adjourned sine die or until the time of this concurrent resolution, whichever occurs first. section 2, the speaker of the house and the majority leader of the senate or the respective designees, acting jointly after consultation with the minority leader of the house and the minority leader of the senate shall notify the members of the house and senate respectively to reassemble at such place and time as they may designate, if in their opinion the public interest shall warrant it. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the concurrent resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it.

mr. sessions: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are orered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, this vote on h.con.res. 336 will be followed by five-minute votes on h.res. 1776 and h.res. 1767. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation

with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on the motion to suspend the rules h.r. 2142.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 196, the nays are 153. the concurrent resolution is agreed to. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the unfinished business is the vote on adoption of house resolution 1776 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 256, house resolution 1776, resolution providing for consideration of the joint resolution, house joint resolution 105 making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on adoption of the resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 1884, the nays are 159. the resolution is adopted. woiks, the motion to reconsider will be laid upon the -- without objection, the the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the motion of the the gentleman from texas and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 2142, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2142, an act to perform quarterly assessments of government programs for purposes of assessing agency performance and improvements and to establish agency improvement officers and the improvement council. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 212. the nays 131.

2/3 of those not responding in the affirmative, the rules are not suspended, the senate amendment is not agreed to. the house will be in order. will members please clear the well? members will take their seats. the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: i thank you, mr. speaker. ladies and gentlemen of the house, the situation we find ourselves in at this point in time, i've talked to the

leader. he's talked to senator mcconnell. they cannot assure us that they will be able to pass anything either tonight or send us anything tomorrow. in light of that, they don't have an agreement. in light of that it's my judgment that the only alternative available to us is to pass obviously this short-term c.r. we'll keep the government through wednesday. we will leave after the votes -- last vote in this series until tuesday at 10:00 when the first votes are expected at 11:00. senator reid believes by monday they will be able to pass some continuing resolution, propes process, for some period of time. we don't know what that is. i just talked to senator reid 10 minutes ago. there's not an agreement on that.

i know that that's not a happy circumstance at a holiday period to have to return here, but it would be less happy if we waited here this evening and tomorrow and sunday and monday with the senate not sending us anything. so i don't think that's fair to you. and as a result it's my intent that we will leave here after the last votes on this c.r. and send it to the senate and the senate will take it and will pass it. senator mcconnell and senator reid have agreed that they will pass this, a simple c.r., as mr. obey and chairman lewis will explain, and i think that will accommodate us to the extent that is able to accommodate us at this time. i know everybody would like to finish today and go home for the holidays until we return january 5. i am in that rank myself. but we are where we are. that seems to me the best way to accommodate all of you while

at the same time accommodating our responsibility to take the action that is necessary to keep the government operating. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk will report. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. madam, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on december 17, 2010, at 3:15 p.m. that the senate passed senate 1481, that the senate passed with amendments h.r. 5901, that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 4973. with best wishes i am. signed sincerely, lorraine c. miller, clerk of the house.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 6400, an act 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: the house will be in order. members will please take their seats. >> mr. speaker, i have a parliamentary inquiry. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, my question is, if we take one of these green cards and sign it and have it sent back by certified mail, would that be acceptable as a vote in the house? it's more than 1,000 miles from

the capitol. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has not stated a parliamentary inquiry. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin rise? mr. obey: mr. speaker, pursuant to the rule, i call up joint resolution h.j. res. 105 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house joint resolution 105, joint resolution making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. pursuant to house resolution 1776, the joint resolution is considered as read. the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. obey, and the gentleman from california, mr. lewis, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. obey: mr. speaker, could we have order? the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. would members please take their conversations to the back of the room?

would members please clear the well? the house cannot proceed until the well is cleared. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: mr. speaker, this resolution is very simple. the continuing resolution under which we are now operating expires at midnight on saturday . this simply extends that underlying continuing resolution to midnight, tuesday. i urge support and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california

is recognized. mr. lewis: thank you, mr. speaker. i do not intend to use any of my time to speak except to express my appreciation to the sentiments of the gentleman from washington about our mailing votes throughout the country. in the meantime i do not intend to vote on the c.r. we have to vote on a couple of suspensions, i gather. with that we yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. obey: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. pursuant to the rule, all time for debate has expired. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the joint resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: joint resolution making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on passage of the joint resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the joint resolution is passed.

without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

>> mr. speaker. mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, parliamentary inquiry. mr. jackson: are there two more votes before members dash out of here tonight? there are two more votes? the speaker pro tempore: that's correct. pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, proceedings will resume on motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order, h.r. 5510 by the yeas and nays and 3874 by the yeas and nays. first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will

be conducted as five-minute votes. this is a 15-minute vote. the unfen issued business is the vote on the motion of the the gentleman from massachusetts to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5510 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5510 a bill to amend the emergency stableation act of 2002 relief program to be used to provide legal assistance to homeowners to avoid foreclosure. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 193. the nays are 134.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 210. the nays are 145. 2/3 of those not responding in the affirmative, the rules are not suspended and the bill is not passed. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. doyle, to suspend the rules and pass senate 3874 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 3874, an act to amend the safe drinking water act to reduce lead in drinking water. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 226 and the nays are 109. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and agreeing to house resolution 1767, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: house resolution 1767, resolution commending the wisconsin badger football team for an outstanding season and 2011 rose bowl bid. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to

the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of h.r. 6523, the clerk be directed to make conforming amendments to the table of contents. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. garamendi: thank you. madam speaker, i ask unanimous

consent that when the house adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 10:00 a.m. tuesday next. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of absence requested for ms. johnson of text -- mr. johnson of texas. ms. johnson for thursday december 15 and balance of the

week. ms. napolitano for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the requests are granted. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. poe: permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: the interior department said there will be a new drilling offshore drilling ban in the gulf of mexico. that will cost us thousands of good-paying jobs in the gulf region, especially around texas and louisiana. the administration promised us that domestic oil pralks was an important part of our energy future. but for the last six months, the federal government has blocked drilling at every turn, leaking a permit here and there. but now they say it's safe to drill again and what do they do, ban drilling? the cubans will partner with the russians and the chinese.

since when is it ok for china, russia and cuba to drill off our shores and not the americans. the administration is sending money to brazil and mexico to let those countries drill off those shores. is united states at war with the american oil companies? maybe so. and that's the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: any further requests for one-minute speeches? the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. burton: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the

following members may be permitted to address the house, revise and stepped their remarks and include extraneous material, mr. gingrey of georgia, today, for five minutes. mr. smith of new jersey today for five minutes. and mr. burton on the 20 and 21 for five minutes each. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? mr. carnahan: i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes to revise and stepped their remarks and include therein extraneous material, myself, mr. carnahan for five minutes, mr. conyers of michigan for five minutes, ms. lee of california, five minutes. mr. rangel of new york, five minutes. mr. langevin of rhode island,

five minutes. mr. yarmuth of kentucky, ms. clarke of new york, five minutes. ms. jackson lee of texas, five minutes. mr. fattah of pennsylvania, five minutes, ms. kaptur of ohio, five minutes. mr. defazio of oregon, five minutes and ms. woolsey of california, five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009 and under a previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. carnahan from missouri. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. carnahan: thank you, madam speaker. on the occasion of her retirement, i rise to honor a great citizen of missouri and the city of st. louis beverly bukheit. he is an engaged citizen and active in the affairs of her community.

beverly has been a valued member of my staff as a lie aceon to the city of st. louis and specialist on senior issues. shown by her commitment to the public schools of the city of st. louis, as an educator, administrator and community leader. she also served as an elected official, our democratic committeewoman in the city of st. louis for 30 years. beverly is a woman of strong faith and family. she is a long time member of the lutheran church in st. louis. she and her late husband were married for almost 32 years and raised three children. beverly also deeply loves her seven grandchildren and two great-grand children. bev is a friend to many and loyal to her nation and to her

st. louis and friends and her family. her work whether it be volunteering in her neighborhood or mentoring students and teachers, she has influenced so many. as a testimony to her reputation as an educator and citizen, faithful friend, loving mother and a good neighbor. i have relied on beverly for counsel and advice throughout my political career, first as a state representative and now as a member of this house. i'm proud to call beverly a neighbor, a member of my congressional staff, but more importantly, i'm proud to call bev my mentor and my friend. i wish her well. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. burton from indiana. without objection the gentleman is granted five minutes. mr. burton: madam speaker, last

tuesday, north of the mexican-american border, a number of our board patrol agents were trying to stop some band its, mexican band its, who were stealing and killing people who were coming across the board illegally. one of the people that was involved in this and was shot was a fellow named manuel a/k/a asario. he was convicted. a mexican. he was convicted in 2006 for aggravated assault. he had been deported to mexico twice and was in the united states with his colleagues committing more crimes. and a border patrol agent, mr. brian terry was shot to death on

the border in that area last tuesday night. now the reason i bring this up and my good friend, mr. poe of texas, who will be talking about this and probably some other things related to it later. we wrote a letter, mr. poe, myself and ed royce and ralph hall of texas and pete olson, all of us wrote a letter to the president of the united states. and this was in october. and we said, mr. president, we have sent 17,000 national guards people to the gulf during the gulf oil spill because it was a threat to the environment and to the people's livelihoods who live down in that area. and yet the mexican-american border is 17,790 miles long and when the president decided to help our border, he sent 1,300

national guardsmen down there and only for a short period of time and they were not on the border. we have a war -- weapon of a war going on. today we talked about taxes we talked about tax extendsers and all of those things are extremely important. but we have a war going on the mexican-american border with drug dealers and thieves and terrorists coming in from mexico. and now we understand that we're training down in central america some of the local law enforcement and military with our military people to stop them from moving into places like costa rica. we're talking about the drug dealers. we have a major problem in our hemisphere that threatens the stability of the entire southern part of the united states. texas, new mexico, arizona. and as we know, the arizona governor has tried to do everything she can to deal with the problem and nothing's

happening. in fact, the president of the united states and the justice department have been fighting her. it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. we need to get on with doing what we promised to do and that is build that border fence and put enough border agents down there and national guardsmen to deal with the problem. and if necessary to work with the president of mexico to put military personnel on both sides of the border to stop these terrorists, drug dealers and the people that are disrupting what's going on here in the united states. you say, well, that's the border, that doesn't deal with us. there are signs in arizona 80 miles north of the border, 80 miles into the united states that say to merk american citizen, don't go south of here because it's not safe. we've got ranchers and farmers that have been beaten up and killed in the united states by these drug dealers and these terrorists that are coming across the border.

and so we wrote to the president on october 26, mr. poe and i and my other colleagues, and we followed up with another letter on november 4 and you know what we've heard from the president? not a darn thing. nothing. and it's been, what, a month and a half to two months. the president is ignoring this problem. and people are dying and the security of the southern part of the united states -- in -- and the security of the southern part of the united states, in fact, the entire united states, is at risk. if i were talking tonight and i know, madam speaker, that i can't talk to the president because we're not allowed to talk to people outside the chamber, but if i were talking to the president i'd say, mr. president, answer our letters, pay attention to what's going on and secure that border. go talk to the president of mexico and the others in central and south america and make sure we stop these drug cartel terrorists from disrupting the united states and threatening the security of our border. this is a war, mr. president,

get on with it. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: madam speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed with an amendment h.r. 5116, cited as the america competes re-authorization act of 2010. in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will recognize mr. conyers from michigan. the chair will recognize mr. poe from texas. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes.

mr. poe: request permission to address the house for five minutes, to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: madam speaker, it was about midnight when gunfire erupted in a remote area of rio rico, arizona. a city near the border of mexico and the united states. border patrol agents and unknown gunmen exchanged shots in the dark and one shot proved to be deadly. claiming the life in this war zone, our southern border, the third front. radio chatter alerted dispatch of the incident and a call for assistance was received this tuesday night about 11:00 p.m. border patrol agents were making rounds in a very isolated and rugged area just north of the bordertown. they were trying to catch bandits, the kind that target illegal immigrants. they rob and steal and pillage those immigrants and our border

patrol agents protect those immigrants. banditos have long stole from these individuals. but while on patrol tuesday night, united states border patrol agent, brian kerry, and this is his photograph, madam speaker, brian terry and team members encountered a group of armed gunmen. terry and the other three border patrol agents, individuals, opened fire on agent terry and his comrades, with automatic weapons. border patrol agent terry was shot in the back with an ak-47. he died en route to a hospital. four suspects have been arrested for this dastardly crime and one individual still is at large and on the run. justice is deserved and needed for these well -- for these murders -- murderers.

agent brian terry is irreplaceable, yet another life, another american claimed by the violent border war on the third front. agent terry was 40 years of age. he was a brother, he was a son. his family called him a tough big guy who committed his life to public service. terry was headed home today to michigan to see his family for christmas and he had just purchased his plane ticket earlier this week. he was an agent for three years, but he had a military background. right out of high skeel joined the united states marine corps -- high school he joined the united states ma kin report and he served part of that time -- marine corps and he served part of that time in iraq. he later became a police officer, he joined the border patrol in the year 2007 and his life was dedicated to public service and the protection of the american people. he had been a member of the elite border patrol tactical team and according to his family, he loved that job. he would call home before going on a mission and he would call

when he got back in. the excitement of protecting this nation fueled his passion in the workplace. and he put his life on the line to protect our security and our sovereignty as a nation and he paid for it with giving his life. madam speaker, going back to the year 2004, i have a chart here that shows assaults that have occurred on our border patrol agents. in 2004 about 400 assaults occurred, all the way to 2009 and even this year there are over 1,000 assaults committed against our border patrol agents by illegals arrogantly coming into the u.s. namely those assaults are by rocks being thrown at those border patrol agents and causing injuries. you don't hear too much about the assaults against our border protectors, but the media sure tells us a lot about how important it is that we let people in this country that are here illegally stick around and make the rest of us pay for it.

agent terry's fatal shooting is not the first murder of a border patrol agent. border patrol agent robert rojas of campo, california, was assassinated in 2009 while responding to criminal activity in an alien and drug smuggling area. the men and women on the border are under constant assault and they are the iron gate keepers to a violent battle that reveals each day and every night uncontained authority. because you see, madam speaker, whether we want to admit it or not there are portions of the texas-mexico border, the u.s.-mexico border that are under the operational control of the drug car dells. the united states does not have -- cartels. the united states does not have control, mexico does not have control. not in all areas, but in some areas. and that's where this ruthless third front has taken place. the border war is a bloody battlefield between the law and the outlaws. once a texas ranger told me, congressman poe, after dark it

gets western on the border. he says, we're outmanned, outgunned and outfinanced by the enemy. madam speaker, we need the moral resolve as a nation to secure the dignity of our borders and to protect the people that are protecting us, our border patrol agents. they are doing the job that we -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. poe: so it's long overdue that we protect the border of this country like we protect the borders of other nations so that no more american board par petroleum agents will be murdered by those -- border patrol agents will be murdered by those who sneak into our country and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: ms. lee from california is recognized for five minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much, madam speaker. i rise today as chair of the congressional black caucus to pay tribute to our colleagues, congresswoman kilpatrick, congresswoman watson and congressman meek, members of the congressional black caucus who

are retiring at the end of the 111th congress. i will say a bit about each of them in a moment but i do want to recognize and first thank them all for their service to their constituents and to our country. and really to the world. each of them in air own way have contributed to the cause and the mission of the congressional black caucus which was founded almost 40 years ago and continues as the conscience of the congress. since our founding in 1971, the congressional black caucus has remained true to its mission to root out inequality and injustice. our voice has been heard throughout the halls of congress and throughout the world. we've been advancing the role of government to empower and protect families and children with every legislative tool at our disposal. congresswoman kilpatrick is an immediate past chair of the congressional black caucus who i served under as first vice chair during the 110th congress. congresswoman kilpatrick is a

brilliant and focused lawmaker who i have also had the pleasure of serving with as a member of the house appropriations committee where she has been a forceful advocate for her constituents and the state of michigan. while serving on capitol hill, congresswoman kilpatrick has worked to level the playingfield for minority-owned media outlets and advertising firms that face discrimination with major advertisers. she has hosted forums on diversity and advertise -- in advertising and was a leading force in the successful effort to secure a presidential executive order compelling all federal agencies to increase their opportunities with minority businesses. prior to her coming to washington, congresswoman kilpatrick taught business education in the detroit public schools before being elected to the michigan state house where she served for 18 years and was the first african-american woman to serve on the michigan house appropriations committee. congresswoman kilpatrick has a

deep commitment to our young people and the security of their future. she established the sojourner truth project to inspire young african-american women to be leaders. her spirit, her heart and her intellect sores. the world is a better place because -- soars. the world is beater place because of this woman. congresswoman diane watson, my friend, our colleague, believe it or not is a former elementary school teacher. she continues to educate us all each and every day. also a school psychologist who has lectured at both california state universities at los angeles and long beach. in 1975 she became the first african-american woman to be elected to the los angeles unified school district's board of education. and she led efforts to during some very tumultuous times to expand school integration and improve academic standards. for almost 20 years, congresswoman watson served in the california state senate

where i served later but let me tell you, she was the first african-american woman to serve in that body. and she became a statewide and national advocate for health care long before the rest of the country was talking about health care reform. she was an advocate for consumer protection, women and children. during her tenure in sacramento, she served as chair of the senate health and human services committee and as a member of the judiciary committee. and let me tell you, and i always say this about congresswoman watson, there were 40 members of the california senate and i came to politics as a result of congresswoman chisholm running for president and she was the first african-american elected to this body. congresswoman watson, i used to watch her as being the only african-american woman in california in the state senate and how she was able to maintain her integrity, her principles, her intellect and who she was as a black woman and yet negotiate very important legislation on

behalf of the whole state. so i just want to salute you, congresswoman, ambassador watson, also served as ambassador to micronearbyia. she represented our country in a magnificent way and has throughout her career really demonstrated her mastery of foreign policy. she's really an international leader and she's dr. watson who served in this capacity until 2001 as ambassador. whether she returned to california to run for congress and a special election after the untimely death of our beloved congressman dickson. she's an exceptional public servant and she's demonstrated throughout her life a remarkable commitment to improving the human condition and so we salute you, congresswoman watson, and we look forward to this next chapter of your life. and also let me just take a moment to honor the extraordinary career of congressman kendrick meek, man who took up the torch from his mother, our former esteemed colleague, congresswoman meek, and he's carried it further than

any of us would have ever imagined. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. ms. lee: thank you. other members will talk about congressman meek but we salute all of our retiring members and wish them well and god speed. thank you again.pand god speed. the speaker pro tempore: mr. johns from north carolina. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? mr. gingrey: ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gingrey: i ask unanimous consent to submit for the record two one-minute speeches honoring the calhoun jell-ojacket football team for their achievements. i'll submit those for the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gingrey: i come to the floor to make the case why the

detention facilities at guantanamo bay should remain open and while muhammad or any other hardened terrorist residing at guantanamo bay should never be transferred to the united states to stand trial or for continued detention. when a clear majority of american people support keeping gitmo open. as you can see from this chart, madam speaker where this pie chart says when you ask the american people what should happen to guantanamo, fully 55% say keep it open. only 32% are in favor of closing guantanamo bay detention facility and 13% had no opinion. madam speaker, president obama made closing guantanamo bay an immediate priority upon taking office and he pledged to close the facility within his first

year of office. it has, indeed, been troubling that the administration has pushed to close guantanamo bay to so-called improve our world standing and has let untruths dictate the popular story line about how the united states treats its detainees. rather than expend the effort what have become blatant fabrications, they are fighting congressional attempts to ban any transfer of detainees to the united states. guantanamo bay has been and it remains a best option to detain terrorists that pose a threat to our national security at home and abroad. let me be clear, guantanamo bay houses some of the most dangerous terrorists in the world, some of whom have succeeded in their plots to kill american citizens and soldiers. despite their record of killing,

beheadings, our military personnel provide the detainees with a host of rights, privileges and yes, indeed, respect. if the administration won't tell the full story about how we treat guantanamo detainees, madam speaker, then i certainly will. among the rights and privileges extended, include 24/7 medical care service, comprised of things like annual dental checkups, eye exam, mental health services and one medical staffer for every two detainees. detainees are afforded four to 20 hours of outdoor recreation daily, unmonitored legal communication, access to 15,000 books, magazines, dvd's in 18 different languages and they are indeed allowed to observe their religious customs. cultural and dietary needs are met and receive up to 6,800

calories per day from six men use. no wonder the average weight gain has been 15 to 20 pounds. that's the reality. having gone to these lengths it is incomprehensible that we would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to transfer these detainees to our shores and make accommodations to them within our borders especially with a $13.8 trillion national debt that is only growing. terrorists who cannot be prosecuted should not be released. this is particularly true given the data that was released last week indicates that up to 25% of those released from guantanamo bay have re-affiliated with terror groups and rejoined the fight against us, continuing to kill americans. madam speaker, the american people know that the gitmo detainees which include terrorist train yees, bomb

makers, osama bin laden's bodyguards, terrorist recruiters and suicide bombers, they aren't minor offenders. the attempted attacks on our homeland in the skies over detroit and streets of new york city and courthouse square in portland, oregon, remind us that the battlefield is not limited to our efforts in afghanistan and iraq. those who seek to do us harm should never be transferred to our soil or tried in our federal court system where they would be provided the same protections under our constitution as the very citizens that would love to kill. madam speaker, thank you, and i submit the rest of my remarks for the record. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. langevin from rhode island. mr. langevin: permission to address the house for five minutes and revise my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection. mr. langevin: madam speaker, i rise today to honor my colleague and good friend, congressman patrick kennedy from rhode island. i have known and worked with patrick for more than half of my life now. we were first elected to the rhode island general assembly together in 1988. and i must say i'm having a bit of a hard time imagining coming back to work in january without him serving in the congress. i still remember hearing about his first run in the state house. young kennedy taking on the establishment in providence. people thought he didn't have a chance but they didn't know patrick very well. he knocked on every door, shook every hand and fought for every last vote. in the end, that race wasn't even close. in the state house, he showed his independence, refusing to tow the party line, much to the surprise of the house leadership at the time. i remember well, one much his early efforts to enact responsible gun control measures, an issue important to me as well.

patrick arrived in the halls of congress and as the nephew of president kennedy and son of edward kennedy, a legacy followed him close behind. but patrick didn't strive to fill anyone else's shoes. he chartered his own course and fought for his constituents in rhode island. but, and perhaps without intention, he not only hell -- upheld his family's legacy, but carried it forward by knocking down new barriers as well. his passion for promoting social justice was evident when he spoke out on behalf of those suffering on mental illness and addition and we have gained awareness of the americans who are struggling with mental illness or addiction. these people had no voice, no champion until patrick took on

what some many others were afraid to say out loud. patrick kennedy fought for every vote just as he did with that first state house run. he met with every chairman and sat down with every member and raised this issue at every event even if he brought attention to his own greatest weakness and did so without hesitation. once he spoke openly, he could move the debate forward and help others seek treatment and overcome their own challenges. most people who known patrick as a passionate and outspoken advocate for millions of people. watch him sit down one on one with a constituent. , whether a child or a senior citizen and politicians are running from place to place to the next event trying to shake the most hands, patrick would rather sit down and talk with

one person about their experience, rather than jump to event to event. he cares about what he votes on and how his actions and the things he did, what they meant to each rhode islander and i know how much each conversation, each meeting. patrick, i know your dad must have been proud to serve with you for these past 16 years. together you forged a better path for social justice and better quality for the people of rhode island and to the people of our nation. as you prepare to leave, know that you have made a profound difference during your time in this great institution. one that will endure and continue to resonate throughout our nation. i look forward to continuing our work together inside and outside the halls of congress and to quote your dad, the work goes on. the cause endures, the hope still is and the dream shall

never die. with that, i yield to the gentleman from maryland, mr. moran, the balance of my time. mr. moran: i thank migrate friend, mr. langevin from rhode island. madam speaker, no one has brought more passion to the floor of this congress than patrick kennedy. patrick has never hesitated to speak out for the poor and the powerless, those who faced mental and physical disabilities , those who needed someone on their side. the kennedy family has always been about bringing the marginalized out from the shadows. and so the entire kennedy clan should be so proud of this man, patrick kennedy and this nation should be as grateful for his

presence in this congress. and let me emphasize, madam speaker, the fact that mental health parity would not have become law if it had not been for patrick kennedy. that is a legacy for which this nation should always be grateful. patrick kennedy's legacy will continue for generations to come. we can't thank him enough for his service to this nation and this congress. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. smith from new jersey. mr. yarmuth from kentucky. mr. yarmuth: madam speaker, last may, president richard levin of yale university delivered a commencement speech and the message he conveyed in that speech is worth repeating here for the members of this body and

also for the american people. i'm going to read a portion of the speech and ask unanimous consent this the entire commencement speech be inserted in the record. these are the words of dr. richard levin. ars to the will says we are political animals but do we recognize the species we have become. 18 months ago the united states elected a new president who was prepared to address the most confronting problems of the nation, education, health care, climate change and improving america's image in the rest of the world. the financial crisis intervened and economic recovery and financial sector was added. what was added since not to deal with important problems. why is this happening? dr. levin says let me make two observations and trace their implications for how you might conduct yourselves as citizens

and participants in political life. contemporary political discussion is dominated by i'd lolings with superficial logic to the americans. and too little attention to the cost and benefits of their actions. in the federal lift number 10, james madison addresses these in the context of the constitution. he notes that the tendency to pursue self-interests cannot be suppressed but mitigated by the proper design of political institutions. the protections that our form of government against ideology have aten you ated greatly. first, mass communication increases the opportunity to sway voters by a simple formulation. the rise of mass communication could be a tool for rising the discourse for more education of

the electorate. but the second factor that the money required to win elections through the media has created dependence on funding from special interest groups and these interest groups that distort reason and dialogue by oversimplifying messages. we need to raise the level of political discourse. you as the leaders of your emerging generation must rise to the challenge. in the first paragraph of federalist number one, writing about the republic about whose constitution he was defending, hamilton averts, it has been remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country by conduct and example to decide the important question whether societies are really capable of or incapable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice. there is much in america's history in the past two centuries that would conclude that hamilton's question has been answered in the affirmative. our institutions of representative government have

proven to be durable. rules of law prevails and it is expanded far beyond what the founders envisioned. today in the dominance of narrow interests, we must wonder again whether hamilton's question is still open. women and men of the yale class of 2010 falls to you. the leaders of your generation to rise above ideology to bring to bear intelligence and powers of critical thinking and public discourse to participate as citizens and to answer the call to service. only with your commitment can we be certain that the future will be decided by reflection and choice in the broad best interests of humanity. you can do it, yes you did. dr. levin made this call to the young men and women, but all of us should listen. as we end this congress and begin a new one, our nation faces challenges as complex as they are consequential and we stand at a tipping point.

more special interest money is flooding our political system as ever before. congress is the media is often more a source of polarization than information. and the american people don't know who to believe. if anyone. and i don't blame them. the result is that our ability to have serious discussions about serious challenges is severely damaged. and now arguably the most significant challenge facing our country is figuring out how to have that's conversations. that must be our calling for the 112th congress. if we fail in this effort we not only fail congress, we fail our country. madam speaker, i once again ask unanimous consent that the entire text of dr. levin's commencement address be inserted in the record and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel from new york. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california, ms. watson, rise? ms. watson: madam speaker, to

offer my thanks to barbara lee who is the chair of the congressional black caucus and i want to read to you something i will leave to every member and staff of this house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is granted five minutes. ms. watson: thank you. a happy wish for you to receive only the best, that this -- the best that this season offers. i thank you for making my experience here one of learning, training and developing legislative solutions. my motto is, lift as you climb. so that is why i'm so pleased that california speaker emeritus will take my place. so with that said, i appreciate knowing you and i want you to know how privileged i have felt

serving in this house. as i conclude my 10th year, i go back to los angeles to see if i can find another job. i always said that, you know i can't keep a job. and as you heard, i started out teaching school and i became a school psychologist. that was the most important work i could do because i was able to analyze with the young people what it took to give them a quality education and improve their behavior for improving their lives. and then serving in the california senate for 20 years and chairing the health and human services committee, i could guide and fashion legislation that would benefit all californians. and to be able to represent the united states of america abroad was one of the highlights of my life.

never thinking that i could rise to that level, but it happened. and then crowning my public service serving here in this house and i want to thank my colleagues, i want to thank the staff, i want to thank my friends for the privilege you have given me and i would say to you, so long for now, hope to see you again next year. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: ms. clarke from new york. ms. clarke: thank you, madam speaker. as the 111th congress comes to an end, it was with deep sadness that i come to the floor to wish a found farewell to several members of the congressional black caucus, who will not be moving to the 112th congress. these members, congresswoman kilpatrick, congresswoman

watson, congressman meek and congressman davis will be missed. congresswoman kilpatrick, a.k.a. aunty, as i affectionately called her, has been a friend and mentor throughout my service in congress. a proud native of detroit, congresswoman kilpatrick has led a long and distinguished career in public service. before her service in the michigan state house and later in congress, she enriched the life of young people as an educator. throughout her tenure in the house of representatives, congresswoman kilpatrick has consistently supported the development of minority businesses and brought numerous projects to her state as an appropriator. also leaving us will be congresswoman diane watson who was also manier to, whom i affectionately have referred to as lady di, due to her grace and elegance. congresswoman watson began her career as a school psychologist. upon entering politics she's been a tireless advocate for

consumer protection and health care. she was a member of the california assembly and an ambassador to the federated states of micronesia during the clinton administration. congressman davis has also faithfully served on capitol hill, a former federal prosecutor, congressman davis has led a career in public service, he served on the house ways and means committee and has been a strong advocate for improvements in health care and education throughout the years. and finally hailing from the great state of florida, congressman kendrick meek will be leaving us. he is one half of a historic mother-to-son succession to the u.s. house of representatives and affectionately known as my brother. after years in law enforcement, congressman meek continued in public service by entering politics. he became can -- he came to congress at the retirement of his mother. in the house of representatives he faithfully represented the people of miami and south florida by focusing on policies that create jobs and improve

health care. the work of representatives kilpatrick, watson, davis and meek have not gone unnoticed. their contributions will provide great assistance for not only their constituents but for all americans. i firmly believe that they all will continue to be changemakers in which ever path they follow. their role as civil servants will always -- as public servants, excuse me, will always remain strong as they continue to enhance their communities. i wish them the best of luck in their next endeavors and i will cherish the lasting friendship we have always shared. and i, madam speaker, i yield back. the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: ms. jackson lee from texas. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, madam speaker, and before i begin my tribute to my dear

friends that are leave, i want to make mention again of a dear friend that we lost this week, that is the honorable richard holbrooke, who served this nation ably and who was given tribute today by h.con.res. 335 as amended. just a brief word about ambassador holbrooke as i begin to talk about the outstanding members that i wish to pay tribute. i'm reminded not only of his courage, the magnitude of his physical size, the love that he had for his family, the love that he had for the nation and the admiration that he received from around the world, but i'm reminded of his tenure at the united nations and he did something that was equal to moving the earth. he brought peace between the two

giants, one, the vice president of the united states who in fact came to speak about something and he drew also to that very issue of then chairman of the foreign relations committee, foreign affairs committee, chairman jesse helms. he thought that was a great accomplishment and we did too. and members of the congressional black caucus went to the united nations at that time. so i am rising to acknowledge ambassador holbrooke and submit my statement into the record that will join with my other colleagues who honored him earlier today. but i have the great, if you will, honor of honoring wonderful stellar organizations that are coming to pay tribute to the number of members of the congressional black caucus and i say organizations because i know that sororities, fraternities, the naacp, women's organizations, so many would want to say thank you to the

following members. first, my dear sister, the honorable ambassador diane watson. i always call her ambassador. and that she is. she carried herself in a framework of peace, wanting to bring people together, a challenging hour -- challenging our consciousness and doing it with courageousness. let me thank you for the work that she did in honoring dr. dorothy heights and let me thank her for the work she did in helping to carry forth the vision of dolores tucker and now because of my sister diane watson and myself and the late congresswoman mcdonald, i can say that we have the sojourner truth statute in the united states congress, always will be remembered by this great work. and her sister, the honorable carolyn kilpatrick, who took up the sojourner truth movement. we thank her. when the first woman or the first woman, african woman,

second african-american woman to be appointed to the appropriations committee, and i can tell you carolyn kilpatrick never wavered from investing in people and ensuring that people had resources that came from the taxpayers' dollars, my hat is off to the former congresswoman and chairwoman of the congressional black caucus. might i thank a colleague on the judiciary committee, congressman arturo davis. yes, a former u.s. attorney, but a vigorous speaker and a progeny of the civil rights movement. he was in fact the beneficiary of the civil rights movement and carried it in dignity by becoming the first, i believe, or a u.s. attorney in the district that covered alabama. we thank him for his work on the ways and means committee and we thank him for his service on the judiciary committee and wish him well. the honorable kendrick meek is to all of us like a brother. we loved his mother, carry, and we saw in him those traits. as he worked hard in the

30-something in the first couple of years in which he was in the congress, trying to get us back in the majority but more importantly speaking to the people. he ran a fantastic, open, wise, welcoming race for the united states senate. his great days are before him. his wonderful wife and children were a fixture around this place and we pay tribute to him because of the passion and sacrifice he made for haitians in his area and for the many people that he represented. so, madam speaker, let me say to you, sadness falls because we will be losing to great things members like congresswoman diane watson, congresswoman carolyn kilpatrick, congressman arturo davis and congressman kendrick meek and as my dear sister congresswoman diane watson is on the floor of the house, i will tell you that's indicative of her work, that she was here for us in the morning, here for us late at night and so i have no doubt that she will be carrying forth the torch in california as

will all the others will be doing, having just hosted -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. ms. jackson lee: i know that you will be a great comfort and nurturer to her. with all of that i say thank you and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: ms. woolsey from california. ms. woolsey: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, there are some days when i find myself completely baffled by the cynicism of many people who have the privilege to serve here in washington. last week, for example, the united states did it again. the united states senate did it again. staying true to its reputation as a graveyard for good legislation, using the filibuster once again, a minority of senators blocked the 9/11 health and compensation act. this bill which the house passed in september would be the

greatest expression of our gratitude to the 9/11 first responders. it would provide health care for those workers who enkin -- incurred health hazards in their efforts to save lives in the aftermath of that horrific tragedy, but apparently, madam speaker, some in congress are unmoved by the plight of firefighters and emergency medical personnel who breathed in toxic fumes on 9/11. the only way it appears the right wing in america knows to commemorate 9/11 is through exclusion and religious shoveism in. by insisting that a muslim community center must not be built, even a few blocks away from ground zero. they've got no interest whatsoever in lending a compassionate hand to those who answered the call on 9/11. no apparent interest in responding to 9/11 with healing rather than dividing. no wonder mayor bloomberg of new york called rejection of the

bill a devastating indictment of washington politics, a tragic example of partisan politics trumping patriotism.ing patriotism. if i had a dollar for every time a colleague on the other side of the i'll invoked the bravery of 9/11's first responders, i would have enough money to offset the cost of the bill. but talk is cheap. they want to play lip service to heroism. they just don't want top invest any actual money to help the heroes. hundreds of billions in tax breaks for the very richest americans, that's not only ok by them but one thing that ex emapply files the republican party than anything else. funds for american heroes who got sick answering the call of duty, sorry, that's just too

expensive. actually, madam speaker, there is one thing that shows them, and that is support for endless military occupation halfway around the world. i have yet to hear any of the so-called deficit hawks ask questions about how we are going to pay for that. i will not, madam speaker, take any claims of fiscal responsibility seriously from anyone who is not willing to put afghanistan war spending on the table. between iraq and afghanistan, we have now spent more than $1.1 trillion in taxpayer money on wars that have undermined our national security goals, increasing, rather than diminishing the terrorist threat. what about the folks who were there on that one day where the terrorists attacked? who jumped right into the debris and now suffer from lung damage and devastating respiratory

illnesses? they can't get a modest fund from the country they embodied that morning nine years ago. it's an appalling set of priorities. we ought to bring our troops home at once and invest the money in our people, including those who showed such courage and sacrificed so much on 9/11. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. mr. murphy from connecticut. mr. fattah from pennsylvania. ms. kaptur from ohio. mr. defazio from oregon. under the speaker's announced policy january 6, 2009, the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the

minority leader. mr. gohmert: it's an honor and a privilege to address thr house especially when you know the history of this place. i would like to comment about our friend across the aisle who was talking about the 9/11 first responders. those were heroes. they are here oorsloost. they are -- they are heroes. and they are true test taments to the good in america. so many as first responders were going up the stairs to rescue people as most everyone else was fleing, they are true heroes. what is not as heroic, in fact, not heroic as all, is to bring a

bill before the floor and say here is a bunch of heroes we need to help. we're not going to cut spending in any other areas. we know there's massive waste, fraud and abuse all over the place. we know there are entities that really have not been able to show any real benefit to the american economy, to american freedom, to american security. but we aren't going to cut those, because those are favored in our eyes, too. but we want you to borrow more money from the chinese and whoever is willing to keep buying bonds and apparently, some people aren't willing to buy bonds at all and to finance our continued astro no, ma'amic debt. and so, apparently chairman

bernanke assured us he wasn't doing it, whatever he wants to call it, it sure sounds like printing money and whether you do it directly or buy it from a third party who has just bought our debt. those are the kind of things we are doing. we're saying, we see these heroes that deserve to be cared for and deserve to have their health needs met. we agree on that. there is total agreement on that, as far as i know. what we didn't agree on was saying, and so these little children being born now, these little babies that are in their cribs all over the country, we're going to load them down with tens of thousands of dollars of debt before they ever even first -- before they get

their first job. we are going to load them up with debt, because we don't have the financial responsibility to carve out money that's being wasted and say, this is where we need to send it. had that been done, i know the people on my side of the aisle that i know and talk to about that bill, that was so noble in its intent would have voted for it as well. but it doesn't even have to be that heroic. just carve out some of the waste, fraud and abuse that this government's involved in and pay for these things. that was another problem with the so-called tax extender bill that came before the house this week. there were 36 republicans that voted against it. not terribly heroic, even most of us knew that there could be consequences and i hear that

there are those who want to further take away committees. some of us have been told we won't be subcommittee chairmen in the new congress. it is ironic to see those who have the most afill yailings with tea party groups and conservativism except for a precious few, they are being shut out. there are consequences to being shut out of any type of leadership power on this side of the aisle when we stand firm on our convictions. we need to extend the tax rates. it wasn't going to stimulate the economy, but it was going to help prevent a disaster, a double-dip recession, whatever you call it. extending the current tax rates was the thing to do. it should have been done months

or years ago. the problem was that we didn't have enough courage on our side of the aisle to stand firm and say, we ran on being financially response i will -- responsible. we ran and the majority made clear, we were going to stop the deficit spending. we made it clear that if you give us this one more chance in the majority, then we're going to be responsible, financially, we aren't going to bring bills to the floor, no matter for what heroic purpose or noble purpose. we need to protect those children being born and to be born in this country from having to shoulder the debt that we irresponsibly would not address. that was the concern of the 36 i

know that voted against it. we weren't keeping our promise. now, i know that tax extension at current rates is absolutely critical. i also know and the members on our side of the i'll that i know voted for -- i'll that i know voted for that bill are just a bunch of wonderful folks and have the best interests of this country at heart. i know people on both sides of the aisle love america but we have a different vision of how we do that. and frankly, the democrats won the majority in november of 2006, because we had been doing some deficit spending. and even there were wars going

on, it needed to stop. and america said that, ok, democrats, you made clear, you are going to stop the deficit spending and we'll give you a chance to do that. four years later, the deficit spending had gone on steroids like like anybody has seen. $300 trillion in deficits. to come in when we have already saddled that much debt where we are borrowing over 50 cents of every dollar that this majority across the aisle was spending, that's just irresponsible. it's just wrong. so i deeply regret that my friends across the aisle that brought forth the 9/11 first responders' bill did not also

carve out the money for things that were not worthy and say this money can be better spent for heroes in this country. and we're going to responsibly do it without adding debt to those who come after us. because in our position, our generation, those of us who are serving in congress now, we're only here not because we deserve to be born in this country or those who emigrated to this country. we were here because of the grace of god, the blessings of god and because this nation was blessed for 200 years, over 200 years as a nation and 200 years, 300 years before that, going back to columbus, his sacrifice and courage and putting his life

on the line when the crew was ready to turn back and putting his life on the line in an effort to keep the crew on track, to give it a few more days, which they did and as a result, we have so much for which to be grateful and thankful. but we have been irresponsible. and there are those of us that knew by taking a stand against unpaid-for spending that we ran the risk of being further ostracized by our own party, being removed from committees, not being given chairman inspects, but this was an important principle. it was important that we try to keep our word when we can.

and i appreciate what my friend from michigan, congressman mccotter said in talking and justifying his vote against the massive deficit growth, because, as we all know, we won the majority, the republicans won the majority. come january 5, we will have the majority in this house. republican speaker, john boehner, will be in the speaker's chair up there. we will control the house of representatives for the first time in four years. we'll have additional senators we didn't have two years ago and four years ago. and president obama will still be president, but we will hold the majority in the house of representatives. so what congressman mccotter said is that forcing us to vote

for a bill even though it had this extension of the current tax rate that would help avoid a massive recession is a bit like cufter saying, come on, boys, let's attack before there are more of us. didn't make a lot of sense to some of us. we were going to have more leverage to do what is right or best for this country before we had a majority because it seems to me once we had the majority if we stand on principle then, that we can tell the senate, we aren't going to deficit spend. you can't dangle things we know in our hearts are good for the country and expect for us to buy into your deficit spending. we aren't going to do it. that would have been an awful lot of leverage. and we also know that are

taxpayers at the lowest tax-paying levels were going to see their income tax go up 50%. people that pay 10% in income tax were going to have their taxes go up to 15%. that's massive -- that's massive when you're not making very much. the highest earners will see their taxes go from 27% to 37.5%. it's an increase but not anything like the lowest wage earner level. so there's going to be leverage. i appreciate mr. mccotter's comment. it's like custer say, come on, boys, let's attack now. before there are more of us. well, the tax extension bill was passed and there are those who said, louie, you were the one who came up with the

payroll tax holiday. and this bill had your bill, your idea in there. it did not. it had a 2% reduction from 6.2% down to 4.2%, as the social security tax rate. so it was clever, but that also gives members of congress over a 2,100 -- over a $2,100 raise because our social security tax , and i guess by saying that, some people in america are shocked take don't know we've been paying social security tax the whole time i've been in congress for the last six years but like everyone across america, our social security tax will be dropped by 2% down from 6.2% to 4.2%. but here again, it was not paid for. we're going to do that on the backs of our children, our

grandchildren, great grandchildren. it's wrong. it needed to be paid for. we ran on the fact that we would do that. and i know the people i talked to that supported that felt like it was what had to be done. some of us saw it differently. it may cost us politically. but it was the right thing to do. the social security so-called tax or payroll holiday was not paid for. and that was never my idea. to have an unpaid for tax holiday. the fact is that we have enough money from the porkulous, stimulus, whatever you want to call the $900-something billion bill that the president passed immediately, got through congress at his demand, and

speaker pelosi's pushing majority leader reid's pushing, they got through that monstrosity of a debt increaser , we could have take than money and had a tax holiday. we could have taken and in my bill proposed taking the money from tarp. i realize, i know, i've read the data, yes, wall street contributes to my democratic colleagues four to one over republicans. i get it, i understand. so obviously they would be for helping wall street, many of them. i've got their friends who were as offended as i was at bhaffs happening. i'm grateful for their friendship and their stance. it did cost some of them. but we didn't need to be running up the debt. that's why my tax holiday bill would have allowed people to keep their own money in their

own paycheck and instead of allowing the secretary of the treasury, and i agree with newt gingrich that probably hank paulsen was probably the worst treasury secretary we've had, certainly in my lifetime, and timothy geithner is enjoying having a slush fund where he can throw out, dole it out as he sees fit, secretary paulsen's credit, he was able to bail out his buddies at his firm goldman sachs and see that they not only avoided bankruptcy but got mega wealthy on the backs of the american taxpayers and also that a.i.g. was kept from having to reorganize in bankruptcy, so they could stay wealthy as well and also paid like $9 billion, whatever it was, they owed mr. paulsen's buddies at goldman sachs.

anyway, four to one contributions to democrats over republicans from wall street and it is really reaped them benefits. the only thing they've had to endure on wall street is having the president, having some of the democrats by words accuse them of being greedy and money grubbing and all those words. but they've been able to endure all of the slings and arrows that words have brought from the democratic leadership, including the president because they knew they were getting mega wealthy from their friends they helped elect in the democratic party. but a tax holiday needed to be paid for. it would have stimulated the economy. but this -- and i realize there are political calculations, i will readily admit, i may be wrong, but i believe that those who think that having the tax rates extended for two years so

they have to be debated as the presidential election is coming up in november of 2012, will help republicans, i didn't see it that way. i still don't see it that way. i think republicans are going to pay a price because that 2% reduction on social security is going to push social security more quickly toward bankruptcy, or default, and it will enable our friends across the aisle to say, ah-ha, it's about to go broke, now you have to raise taxes. let's do it on those who create jobs. let's do it on the wealthy. let's do it on those in small businesses. let's pop them hard, raise their taxes, and because people will not want to see their tax rates go up, including their social security rate go up, then they will probably be --

there will probably be more political interest in raising taxes that our friends across the aisle were not able to do in the last few months, they may be able to do it through the senate, through the things that are sent down here in late 2012. because as one of our friends here on this side of the aisle had said, we've got to be careful because as this tax extender/stimulus bill showed, when we send a clear message to the administration and the white house and to our friends in the senate that we stand firmly on our principles, we will not yield, we will not give in to deficit spending, unless you give us something in the bill that we know will be good for america, then we'll keep deficit spending so we get a net wash and maybe net damage.

that's not a message we needed to be spending that if you'll give us something that we know helps america, like extending the current tax rates, we'll forego our principles on standing firm on stopping deficit spending. very unfortunate. but i would also submit that with regard to the unemployment benefits, 13 more months that were added, i understand, the thought was, this is out of compassion to help those who are not working. when real compassion would be creating jobs. the best christmas present you could give so many americans this year would be a job. that would have been the thing to do. instead of paying people to continue staying at home. now i know people who have been looking constantly for

employment but because of their age, the things that they have been doing for a living, they can't find a job. i understand that. but true compassion would have been to say, you know what? we went from a matter of months of unemployment insurance, we would pay, to year -- to two years, 99 weeks of unemployment that our democratic friends had pushed through. and now we've added unpaid for deficit spending, 13 more months of unemployment on top of what we've already done, compassion would have said, we're more interested in you getting a good job than paying you to continually lose more and more of your self-esteem because you can't find a job, continually go into more depression as so many i know

are because they can't find a job, we would have been better off saying, you know what? in 26 weeks, a year, 99 weeks, another 13 months on top of that, you haven't been table find a job, six months or a year, if you haven't, then this is what we need to do. we need -- instead of paying you to sit at home and not work, because there are no jobs in your area of expertise, we're going to pay you to retrain in areas where there are jobs. that would be more compassionate. recreate some self-esteem in people who have lost theirs. that would be more compassionate. now, we're coming back next week into session and of course it costs money every time we bring this body into session,

people fly back in from all over the country, drive back in from some places, some people stay here and don't go home much and lose track of their constituents but those of us who go home when we're not in session, it costs money to come back and forth. it shocks people sometimes to see us flying commercially because they think just because speaker pelosi had her own 757 that we all have private planes and fly on those, we don't. to soon-to-be speaker boehner's credit, he's given back that 757 to the air force. that's going to be a big deal. that's going to be so helpful to those serving in our military service that have been without that plane for the last seven years now. but we're coming back next week, it really wasn't necessary, except that there are members in the majority of the senate who are not

satisfied to have a continuing resolution that would extend the current rate of spending into next year. what was discussed in here, some of our friends across the isle -- across the aisle, they were willing to have two or three-month, some less, some more, probably two-month continuing resolution to continue the current level of spending into, say, next february, and that would give republicans a chance to get in here, wouldn't give them much time, it's going to mean a lot of work to figure out the proper appropriations to fill in, carry forward after that resolution runs out, but that was going to be agreeable, it sounded like, to this house. however, the senate said, you know what, we're not satisfied. we want to pull out more christmas presents from the american public, from the

taxpayers, even though we realize they don't have the money now, we'll have to borrow it, we'll have to print it, we have too many more christmas presents we want to come up with to help our buddies with and so we're not ready to just continue this current level of spending, we've got too many christmas ornaments we want to put on that spending resolution. that's why we're coming back next week. we've got a five-day resolution, keep spending at the current level. we'll have to come back next week because the democrats in the senate, and i can really understand, majority leader reid had a tough-fought race and had tough opposition, lots of people helping, narrowest race that he might have expected, but he won and so, by expected, but he won and so, by golly, as the old