members will kindly clear the well and the aisles so we may continue by. -- continue business. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 2925 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: s. 2925, an act to establish a grant program to benefit victims of sex trafficking and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, and the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, each control 20 minutes.

the house is not in order. the chair urges members to remove their conversation from the well and the aisles. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and

include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house is not in order. members will remove their conversations from the well of the house and the aisles. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, madam speaker. the primary purpose of this bill is to provide for the specific program to assist children who are victims of the brutal and devastating scourge of child sex trafficking in this country. it offers grants to appropriate victims' services entities to create comprehensive, victim-centered approaching

addressing the sex trafficing of minors. particularly this legislation allows funds under the burn and other grant programs to create deterrents for the sex trafficing of minors and provides funding for a national crime information center. in addition this legislation strengthens laws amented and apprehending pacificers while improving the ability of law enforcement officers to find child victims. importantly, s. 2925 also encourages states to treat minor victims of sex trafficking as crime victims rather than as criminal defendants for juvenile delinquents. we make steady progress in recent years in addressing the sex trafficking of minors under the trafficking victims protection act which passed demonk 2000 on a strong, bipartisan basis, and was recently re-authorized by the

william wilber force trafficking re-authorization act of 2008, which i was pleased to help develop and shepherd through the house. we worked for some time through legislation and other efforts such as the congressional caucus on sex trafficking which i co-chair with the gentlelady from new york, mrs. maloney, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, and the gentlelady from texas, ms. granger to bring more attention to the need to better address the issue of domestic sex trafficking, particularly trafficking of minors. unfortunately, we have encountered -- we recognize that these children are victims not criminals, and now under the leadership of the senate and the congressional caucus on sex trafficking this is finally changing. we finally have legislation before us that not only recognizes the children caught up in domestic sex trafficking are victims but also addresses the unique needs of child

victims in being rescued and helping them put suing a protected life. we are improving the senate bill to remove nonessential portions of the bill and ski my colleagues to support the bill and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman. mr. poe: the house recognize this is important bill, s. 2529, the sex traffickings deteshts. it was introduced by senator weidner of oregon and passed in the senate by unanimous consent. we had a similar bill introduced in the house this year by my friends mr. smith of new jersey and mrs. maloney from new york. i would like to thank them both for their leadership on this important issue. domestic minor sex trafficking is modern day sthravery and a scourge on our society.

according to shared hope international, at least 100,000 minor children are used in prostitution every year in just the united states. some sources estimate the number of minors may be as high as 300,000. though the actual number is difficult to really track. girls as young as 11 years of age are sold on internet websites, exploited by men for their youth and by gangs for their quote reusable qualities. these traffickers and the customers who buy them are the filth of humanity. in my other life i was a judge in texas and a former texas ranger told me, judge, when you find one of these traffickers in court, just get a rope. not that we do that, but this is how bad this crime has -- is affecting our community. in my hometown of houston, texas, we have a human

trafficking rescue alliance, one of 42 in the nation. texas is a tyre one trafficking state and houston, unfortunately, is a hub for human trafficking. this means that the rescue alliance is on the front lines of the war against trafficking. they are doing all they can to combat trafficking in texas and other states. but i hear from them over and over again, they just need more resources to care for the victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. too often in our system, crime victims, those women, those young girls, who are sold into slavery, are treated like criminals. they are not criminals, they are victims of crime and it's time we as a community treat them as victims. not criminals. senator widen's bill, s. 2925, addresses the problem by authorizing the department of justice in work with the department of human services to award grants to organizations in six regionally diverse

locations that provide services for child sex trafficking victims. such service mace include temporary and long-term placement of victims as well as a 24-hour emergency services. the funding may also be used to provide mental health counseling. most importantly, funding may be used for specialized training for law enforcement officials and social service providers to properly identify and care for minor trafficking victims. when this legislation passed the senate, important amendments were added to strengthen the ability of law enforcement officials to further prevent the sexual exploitation of children. unfortunately, a number of these amendments were stripped before the bill was brought to the house floor. i disagree with that approach. we need tougher laws, not weaker law, apprehend, convict, and incarcerate traffickers and those who buy young girls were sex. this bill is a good first start toward building capacity to

care for victims of minor sex trafficking. not one more american child, not one more kid, should be allowed to wand you are our treats -- streets with their innocence for sale. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i yield to four minutes to the gentlelady from new york, who has been working hard on this bill and has been a leader in making sure this bill continues and has been very instrumental in making sure it's on the floor today, the gentlelady from new york, four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from new york for four minutes. mrs. maloney: i thank the gentleman for his kind statements and for yielding to me. i rise in support of s. 2925, the senate companion to my bill in the house, h.r. 5575, the domestic minor sex trafficking deterrents -- deterrence and control act, a bipartisan bill i introduced with representative chris smith and have worked on with jackie speier and chairman bobby scott

and others. i am grateful to senator widen for his leadership on this extremely important and devastating issue that is found right here in our own back yard. and to chairman bobby scott for his strong support and a record of action on this issue. i thank him for holding a hearing on this bill, having numerous meetings and for his vital input into the bill. what we do today will impact the thousands of girls who have been duped, kidnapped, drugged, and forced into selling their young bodies for sex. it is truly a national tragedy. too many people believe that child sex trafficking is a problem that exists only in foreign countries, but experts estimate that a minimum of 100,000 children in the united states, most of whom are american citizens, are exploited through the commercial sex trafficking every year. the national center for missing

and exploited children estimates that there's as many as 300 to 400 missing children and that most of them are in this terrible sex trade. sgral though it is hard to believe the average age of first exploitation is 12 to 13 years old. in the years i have worked on this issue, the age keeps getting younger and younger and younger for these children. these are our daughters, their schoolmates, and their friends. as founder and co-chair of the human trafficking caucus, i have been working for years to end the slavery of the 21st century, the trade in human lives for sex. human trafficking is a $10 billion industry worldwide. it is the third largest organized crime ring in history, preceded only by drugs and guns. but unlike drugs and guns, which can be sold only once, the human body can be sold over and over again. sadly a young girl of 12 or 13

is at even greater risk of being sold for much longer period of time, usually until they die. despite the need a congressional research service report that i requested found that funding for specialized services and support for these young girls, these victims of domestic minor sex trafficking are very, very limited or nonexistent. through the the country, organizations helping them collectively have fewer than 100 beds. to address the needs of an estimated 100,000 young children each year. this is simply unacceptable, this bill responds to the problem and gives law enforcement the tools to investigate and prosecute sex traffickers who exploit underage girls and force them into the sex trade. a pimp selling just four children can earn over $600,000 a year. the risks are low and the gain

is high. we live in a country where a person is more likely to serve time for selling marijuana than selling a 14-year-old girl. this bill will change that and treat these young women as crime victims, not as criminals. it will create a six-state pilot program to help law enforcement crack down on pimps and traffickers and create shelters and provide treatments, counseling and legal aid for the underage girls that are forced into sexual slavery. importantly, the legislation will strengthen deterrents and prevention programs aimed at potential buyers. this bill -- mr. scott: i yield the gentlewoman an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. maloney: this bill cracks down on sex trafficking by focusing on the demand side, the users. the bill will be considered a model to help cress cue the hundreds of thousands of underage girls believed to be

forced into the sex trade in america. with this bill, we renew our promise of the 13th amendment to the constitution and redouble our efforts in the fight against human trafficking, the 21st century form of slavery. we set up a new standard to combat the sex trafficking of children in the u.s. and we accept our moral obligation to help the neglected victims of the horrible crime and crack down on their abusers. we must not let our children suffer anymore. i urge my colleagues to vote unanimously for this bill. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i yield four minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith who has been instrumental in this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for four minutes. mr. smith: i thank my good friend judge poe for yielding. i rise in strong support of the legislation. i want to thank chairman scott and carolyn maloney with whom

i've worked closely on the house companion bill. i will say that the as a member of congress who has devoted more than 15 years to prevent trafficing, prevent victims from exploitation and abuse and prosecute those who enslave with up to life imprisonment, i'm mape to say that in -- in many of our states, laws have been passed that mirror the tpva so they have powerful weapons and tools to use against those who would so crewly misstreet -- mistreat -- cruelly mistreat trafficking victims. you are considered a victim if you have not attained the age of 18 or if you are 18 if there's an element of force or coercion. i rise in strong support of this bill which takes this even

further. s. 2925. slavery is third most lucrative criminal activity in the world. it estimated that it grows each and every year on the order of $31 billion. under presidents bush and obama, domestic task forces to combat human trafficking have been established in 40 cities, 900 american children have been rescued and many thanks is owed to the f.b.i., state police and local law enforcement. still, madam speaker, much more needs to be done. the national center for missing and exploited children believes that at least 100,000 american children, perhaps tens of thousands more, some estimates put it as high as 300,000, mostly runaway girls, average age 13 are exploited in the commercial sex industry each year.

s. 2925 seeks to address the lack of shelter, the lack of a safe place to go for domestic trafficking victims. as representative maloney said, some put it at 50 and that is unconscionable. as victims or some type of incarceration just doesn't meet the need. these girls require a place, a safe haven, a place where they can go to help with the huge trauma that they have experienced. the legislation authorizes six pilot grants between $2.2 million to $2.5 million in order to provide care to address trauma. the legislation provides law enforcement training and beefs up reporting requirements so that missing children are immediately entered into the national missing children data base, the latter so that law

enforcement finds a missing girl before the pimps do. madam speaker, this is a good bill, a bipartisan bill and will assist our young runaways who are cruelly exploited by human traffickers. i yield back to judge poe the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i yield to a very strong supporter of the legislation and run who represents a shelter in his district that he is a strong supporter of, the gentleman from virginia, mr. moran. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. moran: thank you, madam speaker. and i thank my very good friend and extraordinary leader on the judiciary committee, congressman scott. i appreciate your principle, congressman scott. and i'm not surprised he has strong backing nor am i of the fact that representatives

maloney and smith offered this. this is bipartisan. there is no reason to oppose this. and every reason for this entire congress to get behind it. you know, it could happen to anyone really that has a family. we're talking about adolescent girls, girls who are growing up and sometimes they have a challenging family environment, but oftentimes it's the challenge of being an adolescent, lots of emotional issues and all. and sometimes, they'll run away trying to prove something to their parents. oftentimes they go to the mall. the mall closest down. they are afraid they don't want to give up to their parents or whatever, and a predator starts scling the mall, an older guy, someone who suggests will get them food, find them a place to stay and they trust them.

and oftentimes, that little girl is raped, given drugs and then she's threatend, that what has happened to her is going to be exposed to her parents or to her peers, and she's scared to death. and so she's afraid to break away. in every one of these sex trafficking cases, this is about slavery where the victim wants to escape and has no where to go. unfortunately, as much as the need is enormous as ms. maloney and mr. smith said, 100,000, maybe 300,000, these young girls, we have 100 shelter beds, very few of them. most municipalities, particularly today don't have the money, but there's also a

whole lot of zoning issues and reaction, not in my neighborhood, they say this is very important, but there is another neighborhood. 100 beds is all we've got. it's not go to go happen unless the federal government takes the initiative, provides the funding. and this is tough. you know, initially, they have to put up a quarter of the costs. then it's 40%. by the third year, they have to find 50% of the funding and by the fourth year when these girls are dependent upon the shelter, they have to find all of the funding. this is no handout, but just a kickstart to do something that is terribly important. i know mr. smith knows all the sex trafficking that goes on around the world. you know, nepal, cambodia, thailand and russia, how can this happen? and yet it's pervasive within our own society.

we would like to look the other way not knowing about it, but it's there. we have to do something about it. this bill does something about it. it establishes a foundation. it will create model programs. and then what will happen is that other communities realize the need. some parents will start to speak up. and most importantly, the victims will be empowered and secure enough to speak up themselves. they are leading this effort. we have a shelter called courtney's house, young victim of sex trafficking and named it after her daughter. we have to do this, it's the right thing. no good reason to oppose it. and i appreciate the fact it's bipartisan. this should be one of the last bills this congress passes and hopefully it is something we can all be proud of. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i yield to the gentleman from california, former attorney general of california, for four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. lungren: i thank the gentleman from texas. we rarely speak on this floor of evil. most of the issues we talk about here are areas of controversy where you can have men and women of goodwill with areas of disagreement. and in our society, we shun the idea of talking about evil because it sounds judgmental. this is one example where evil reigns. this is the worst in our society today because this affects the most vulnerable among us and it is a population that is largely hidden from view. in some cases because we have --

we avert our eyes and in other cases, we don't spend the time to know. the problem of domestic sex trafficking of minors is one that hits every community in community. people say, not here, somewhere else, new york city, the big cities. but it's a problem that knows no jurisdictional boundary. there are traffickers and pimps cross borders with impunity. it is a problem that exploits the young and vulnerable and robs them of their innocence and it is a problem that we can do something about. believe it or not, many of my constituents, many in the general sacramento region would be surprised to know that we hold the unfortunate distinction of having one of the highest incidences of minor sex trafficking in the nation, at least according to the f.b.i. when they did their stings at least a year or so ago.

one of the reasons could be that we are at the intersection of major highways that go north and south and come east and west and that might be a comforting thought to others, but we find that most of the people come from our own region and most of them are victims. we have a courageous police chief just outside of my district in the community of truckee right near lake tahoe. he is one of the experts in the nation, in the world on this. and one of the things he always stresses in the programs he established is this, these young women, these girls are victims. they get caught up in in arrests for prostitution and the system looks at them as criminals. and yet, you are looking at almost every one of them, and they are victims. and we don't do much about about

it. oftentimes when these young girls are able to escape from their i am prisonment because law enforcement intervenes, they are let out on the streets. they have no where to go. and what happens? the pimps start coming around again. and they are the only ones who give them perverted ideas of love, commitment. this evil allows the per version such that these young girls have no other place to look. we have to do something about this. we are doing something in california and in sacramento. we have to do it as a nation even more as we did it before. these pimps don't recognize boundaries and don't recognize laws. they recognize one thing and that is the vullner built of these -- null nerkt of these

young girls. in this christmas season, we can do nothing better than to give this great gift of a start towards helping communities understand the nature of the problem, begin us to refuse to avert our eyes to what's happening in all areas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. . mr. lungren: and allow us to support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: i yield to the young lady who has worked hard on this legislation, the gentlelady from california, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentlewoman from california is recognized for three minutes. ms. speier: thank you, mr. chairman and for your able leadership on this issue. a special recognition must be offered to congresswoman maloney

for her effort in bringing this to our attention and i'm very proud to be associated with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have come together in a true bipartisan effort here because i think we recognize that this is a travesty. and to speak about 300,000 youngsters in this country, girls and boys, mostly girls, but girls and boys, who are caught up in sex slavery is an abomination. it is a mere $45 million and six projects throughout the country. we are talking about hundreds of thousands of young people impacted. so i hope as part of this effort today, we are going to redouble our efforts and expand this program, because i, like so many of you, have spoken to local

d.a.'s, have spoken to local u.s. attorneys, have spoken to the f.b.i., have gone on ride-alongs in oakland and witnessed firsthand what is going on. i have gone to courtney house and gone to many of the shelters and talked to victims. i want to share one story about one victim. here in washington, d.c., age of 16, who got caught up in this sex trafficking because she wanted to leave home and saw this as a way to make a new life, because this young man took her to mcdonald's and bought her lunch and wanted to be her boyfriend and then they needed money, so, of course, she needed to sell herself. in the course of her enslavement and i asked her this, how many times a day were you forced to have sex? and she said between 10 and 15

times a day before she finally was able to run away. this is horrific. and it's time for us to do much more than fund six projects across this country for $45 million. a good step. and i embrace it. but members, we have to do much more. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. mr. scott: four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized fore-- for four minutes. ms. jackson lee: i want to thank the gentleman on the crime subcommittee, i want to thank him for his leadership as chairman, i've had the

privilege of serving with him. i think we've accepted some of the most provocative and innovative bills that changed the lives of human beings and i thank him for his service. let me applaud as well congresswoman maloney and congressman smith and my colleague from texas. madam speaker, slavery is alive and i rise to support the underlying bill dealing with domestic trafficking and thank the senate for getting this over in the hours in which we have to function and make sure that we move this legislation forward. houston is particularly an epicenter if you will, for this kind of activity. being not so far away from the border, we have seen the increase in human trafficking and smuggling grow exponentially. certainly we all are familiar with the tragedy that happened in victoria, just a few years ago, where we saw the loss of life of human lives being trafficked. we know there's a constant,

steady flow of individuals coming. this is the most heinous aspect of it. i'm glad my colleagues have indicated this is a domestic problem. even though we can go to bangladesh, parts of africa, part os of south asia, we find human trafficing in our backyard. i remember our former colleague, hilda feliz, now secretary of labor, mentioning the loss of live on the u.s. border when women would disappear. some were prostitutes, some young girls and to this day, those girls are still missing. so the stories go on and on and on. frankly, i think there could be no better initiative to come in these last hours than this legislation. i want to pay tribute to some of the individuals that are on the ground if you will, that we don't hear of quite frequently. sheriff adrian garcia

recognizes the sheriff in harris county, recognizes the devastation of human trafficking and set up a task force which we are working with and attempting to make sure he has the funding to stop the tide of those who call themselves pimps but project themselves as boyfriends and friends and counselors and nurturers and take these young girls in. some girls you never, ever find again. i want to pay tribute as well to the children at risk. another houston-based organization that acknowledged and wrote a report on human trafficking that occurs in our locale. it's important to note that these various organizations really had to be self-starters because as they began to talk about human trafficking, no one else was and you were in a city, by yourself, why are you talking about human trafficking? isn't that global or

international or far away from here? i want to pay tribute to katherine griffith who has an organization that might have a provocative name, been there, done that. she's dealing with not only this question broadly of human trafficking, but prostitutes who come in all ages who are attempting to rehabilitate themselves. she's established a home and is trying to counter the ridiculousness of 100 beds existing for these young girls that find themselves in these conditions. so madam speaker, i started out by saying that slavery does exist and i frankly believe that one of the aspects of this bill is to be able to go after the service builders, if you will, the pimp the users, to be able to ensure that there is a place for someone to go and to claim -- the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlewoman has expired. mr. scott: i yield the -- how

much time do i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 1 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. scott: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from texas. mr. jackson lee -- ms. jackson -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one additional minute. ms. jackson lee: as my colleague from texas indicated, we may want to be tyre one in education but we're not trying to be tyre one in modern slavery, human smuggling, and therefore enough is enough. i look forward to this bill being signed by the president and i look forward to us bringing relief and acknowledging that slavery is here and we are ready to stamp it out. i yield back my time and i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from virginia. mr. scott: i'm prepared to close if the gentleman will yield back.

mr. poe: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: i want to thank the gentlelady from new york, mrs. maloney, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, both sitting here together to show their support for this bipartisan legislation. i believe that important, good legislation passes this house when it is bipartisan. anding in nothing could be more important than trying to protect the greatest resource we have in our community, which are those young children that live among us. this legislation is important for a whole lot of reasons. it's ironic, madam speaker, that in international sex trafficking, if we have that situation in the united states where, say, a young girl is trafficking into the united states from honduras and she's rescued by law enforcement, she's treet like a victim of crime because -- at least

treated like a victim of crime because she's an international individual. if the same situation occurs where a american citizen is trafficked from houston to sacramento, california, and she's rescued in sacramento, she's not treated as a victim of crime, she's generally treated as a criminal. that especially is true in places like texas. where domestic trafficking victims are treated as criminals. and not to blame law enforcement but they don't know what to do with these young girls. there's no place to put them no place to take them, so they file charges on them for prostitution, a minor, committing prostitution, so that they can protect them by locking them up. that is why many times they file charges. unfortunately, though, they are not criminals. they are victims of criminal conduct. once they have that label of prostitute, even though it's a

minor, we all know because of records and public records nowadays, that sticks with that young girl forever. no matter what turns out in that criminal case. so we have to change the mindset in this country. to make sure that we understand that when a victim, when a young girl is put in that situation because of her environment, whatever, she gets put in that situation and forced into modern day slavery that we treat her as a victim of crime and when she is rescued by law enforcement that she is rescued and not put in the criminal justice system. this bill moves us in that direction and it's important that we continue to understand that. this is a hard situation. young girls that find themselves in that position who go into prostitution because of being forced to do so, once they're rescued, they are difficult to deal with. they have a hard time coming back into a normal society.

because they are beat down emotionally and they're beat down physically. and so it's difficult to deal with them. it's not easy to bring them back. but just because it's hard is no reason we shouldn't be involved in helping the youth of our community. make sure that we rescue them one at a time and take whatever funds are necessary to make sure that we treat them with the dignity that -- that they deserve. then on the other end, when we capture that trafficker, that individual who makes money, that filthy lucre, from transporting a child from one part of the united states to another, that we treat him as he deserves and he gets justice at the courthouse. and the customer who buys that child for sexual favors, we treat that person with justice. they get justice whether they want it or not. and we hold them accountable for the way they have treated the youth of this nation. so we have a long way to go,

but this is a start. recognize that those young girls, mainly young girls, are victims of crime. i want to thank the sponsors of this legislation, i, too, want to compliment those in the houston area under the rescue alliance, the children at risk, a nongovernment agency doing everything they can to rescue those children, sheriff adrian garcia, constable hickman, all working together to stop this epidemic that is consistently growing in this country. i can agree that there's no more important legislation that we can pass than legislation this time of year to take care of our greatest natural resource, young children. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. scott: thank you, madam speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from texas for his statement and i thank the gentleman from new jersey and the gentlelady from new york for their hard work on this bill. many children in the future

will benefit from the work of these two individuals and the house of representatives and the u.s. senate. with that, madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to support the bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back. all time for debate having expired, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 2925 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? >> madam speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 1782 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 259, house resolution 1782, resolved, that upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to take from the speaker's table the bill, h.r. 3082, making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans' affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes with the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate amendment thereto and to

consider in the house without intervention of any point of order except those arising under clause 10 of rule 21 a motion offered by the chair of the committee on appropriations or his designee that the house concur in the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate amendment. the senate amendment and the motion shall be considered as read. the motion shall be debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to final adoption without intervening motion. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for one hour. mr. polis: for purposes of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes for debate only to my colleague, mr. sessions of texas, all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. i i ask unanimous consent that all members be given five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on house

resolution 1782. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. polis: the rule makes in order a motion offered by the chair of the committee on appropriations or his designee that the house concur in the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate a amendment to h.r. 3082. though rule provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the committee chair and ranking member. i rise in snovert continuing resolution to maintain a level and consistent funding stream for our government. it's one of our primary constitutional responsibilities as members of congress to keep the federal government running through the passage of appropriations legislation. all money spent by the federal government needs to be approved by this body, madam speaker, right here in this congress. this continuing resolution will ensure that all necessary and vital functions of government will continue uninterrupted until march 4, 2011, instead of

grinding to a halt at midnight tonight. if we do not act now, the federal government will shut down tonight at midnight, something i hope no one in our body desires. the c.r. will fund the federal government at levels already approved by the house in f.y.-2010 appropriations bill aside from a small number of programs that both parties and the senate have agreed on have expired or been disrupted. it's a straightforward matter, to keep the government running and keep us going the next few months into the next congress. these are funding levels we have voted on multiple times this language is the result of bipartisan negotiations in the senate and it's my hope my colleagues on the other side of the 50eu8 will work with us now to move this important measure forward to passage and avoid a government shutdown. avoid a go. we have four days until the christmas holiday and we are weeks away from the end of the year. i can't thinking of anything we would do to undermine what this

congress has done. the uncertainty that a failure to pass that this rule is a affecting our retailers and millions of americans who depend on critical services. let me give an example. the next few days are the busiest travel times in the year. is it wise to cut off funding for our federal air marshals. this would allow the air marshals to have the coverage levels for international and domestic flights. this funding allows for continued training, including investigative techniques, criminal terrorist behavior, reblingnigs. this allows the marshals to fulfill their mission in protecting air passengers and crew. this funding is critical. what a christmas gift it would be to all of the families across our country traveling to visit their loved ones if the airports

are closed, flights are delayed, grandma's visit is canceled because congress chose to be a grinch. for families across our country we must ensure our airports and travel remain open during this busy holiday season to visit loved ones across the country. this would allow the commissioner of customs and border protection to keep personnel in place. this would provide proper funding to keep priorities out of the u.s. and facilitate trade and travel and hundreds of u.s. travel. u.s. customs and border protection enforcement serves as our front line. it's important we maintain a consistent level of personnel. if we fail to pass this c.r., it would be a christmas gift, it would be a christmas gift to terrorists and criminal cartel because we would let down our

watch on our borders during this holiday season. by interrupting these funds, we would be jeopardizing the ability to do their job. this funding will enable our officers to inspect our borders, combat terrorism and smuggling. in addition to extending the existing authority to the department of homeland security to regulate chemical facilities that are high levels of risk for terrorists fer terrorist attacks. this maintains the $23 million in funding to the department of intro's and this monitors offshore oil rigs. in light of the disaster we witnessed in the gulf of mexico, can we imagine what would happen if we let down our watch. this is critical. these funds allow existing rigs to continue operating in a manner that is safe to workers on the rigs. interrupting these funds would

put their lives in danger and our economy in danger with potentially devastating impact in florida, texas and the other gulf states. this continuing resolution provides continued funding for important allies such as israel, egypt and jordan. it will provide assistance to our allies in the middle east and make a vital investment in national security. it continues the rate of operations for the pakistan insurgency capability fund at $700 million. this section continues the terms and conditions included in the 2009 and 2010 supplemental, which helped and maintain the capability of pakistan. madam speaker, this christmas season is not a time to let down our global watch on the war on terror and we must redouble our efforts particularly with regard to assisting pakistan to root out al qaeda operatives. this c.r. would also support

vital programs that are important to the american people. these programs include federal funding to levels 2007 before the crisis for our national domestic priorities. these funding levels would provide low-income home energy assistance and pell benefits and supporting over $4.3 billion in reduced fee loans. it is critical that families across america are able to enjoy their holidays. so, too, must this body ensure we don't give a christmas gift to the drug cartels and criminal terrorists that threaten our nation's security and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. sessions: madam speaker, it's my understanding in prior conversations with the gentleman, mr. polis, that it would be his idea we would take the minimum amount of time and i appreciate him yielding that 30 minutes to me, not only with us as friends, but trying to work through the loads so we are able to get home. i would like to inquire of the gentleman if i can if he has any further speakers that he would anticipate at this time on his side. mr. polis: i have one speaker who wants to speak for three minutes. mr. sessions: i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i yield three minutes to the gentlelady from texas, misjackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman for his leadership and i want to express my

appreciation to chairman obey for his years of service. we have had opportunities to thank him personally, but i wanted the record to reflect this may be his last c.r. and i don't want to misspeak because he finds ways to do good, so we may see him again, but i do want to express my appreciation. i thank and to recognize his partner and ranking member, mr. lewis as well. i wanted to acknowledge that this is something we have to do to keep the government open, but i wanted to express my appreciation. let me go, first of all, to the transportation and security administration. i'm the subcommittee chair on the transportation security and infrastructure protection committee and it is interesting that as we near the holiday, christmas coming on saturday, we are reminded certainly of the

christmas day bomber of 2009 and so as millions of americans are now traveling and will continue to travel through this holiday season to gather with friends and family, either domestically or internationally, we recognize the importance of providing transfer authority for t.s.a. to allow for efforts against terrorist attacks such as occurred in northwest flight 25 and recent attempts against all cargoo. in addition, we recognize the importance of increased staff. this is a holiday time. there will be overtime and we want to make sure that all of the levels of intensity of ramping up are provided for and i'm very grateful that this c.r. chose to do that. additionally, many of us have heard from our small businesses and we aren't going to eliminate or this will prevent the eliminations for small

businesses. i'm a supporter of providing funding and had a daughter to work for a group called teach for america. these are outstanding and well-informed individuals. i raise a question because my district is dominated by inner city schools and the teachers that are recent graduates. does that eliminate our experienced teachers and take away from the experience. i would close by saying, i view this as an important step, but i'm disappointed, not delighted, that we had to go this route and could not look to a rational response to the work that so many of us have done. some may call them earmarks. i call them designations of funding in cooperation, collaboration with our executive. and it's a tragedy -- >>

the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlewoman has expired. ms. jackson lee: could i have 30 seconds? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for 30 seconds. ms. jackson lee: victims of human trafficking will not be able to be responded to or those trying to rebuild their lives, ex-offenders or infrastructure projects won't get funding. you don't save money. you just hand it over to the executive and it finds its way in some other direction. i'm delighted that we are having the government work and i appreciate the work that was done for the c.r. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. ffment the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: i ask unanimous consent to insert in the record the full text of my speech, please. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. sessions: madam speaker, today is a historic day also as

two of the stalwarts of this house of representatives, perhaps are here tonight to argue as chairman and ranking member of the appropriations committee on behalf of not only themselves, their committee, but also their teams that they represent, gentleman, mr. obey, perhaps will be on the floor tomorrow, i don't know. but tonight, i will be here, and i would like to recognize not only the service that mr. obey has given the united states congress. i have been with mr. obey the last 14 years in the rules committee. have seen him very early in the morning and very late in the day. mr. obey has presented himself not only in a professional manner, but represented his party and his thoughts very well. and it would be my hope that i would be able to offer a warm hand and extension to him to say

job well done, sir. on my side, the gentleman from california, mr. lewis, will be on the floor here in just a few minutes as they present what would be this package, this final spending package, c.r. the gentleman, mr. lewis, has been a dear friend of mine over the years. he has been very gracious about hearing the activities that i believe are important, including those of the gentlewoman who sits in the chair tonight as the speaker pro tempore from wisconsin for issues related to sight and the ability we have to create a better life for those who have lost their sight. the gentleman from, mr. lewis, has been responsive not only to this member, but also to other members in this body in dealing with health issues, understanding that research and development is a key part of technology and medical break

throughs for people who count on making choices on how we spend the people's money. i extend to these gentlemen, not only a thanks for a job well done, knowing that tonight they will be ready to go home for christmas and the holidays. madam speaker, the republican party finds itself in the position where we are here on the floor just a few days before christmas, the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis has outlined the exact need of not only this administration, but i believe the american people and certainly this congress, the ability to make sure that we act responsebly, that we -- responsibly, that we provide the funding that is necessary. the president of the united states has asked for this and he has the constitutional authority to move forward. and i believe that that is a rational argument. the republican party finds itself in a circumstance where we have attempted for quite some

time to bring to the attention of the majority what we believe is an overriding need to cut the amount of spending that is taking place by the united states congress. i believe it has created excessive, not only spending, a bloated government and adequate ability to get out of the way of government, that a government that is empowered toll roll over the free enterprise system and individuals in the marketplace to perhaps also in the scheme of things, the republican party is worried about the future of this country and what our children and our grandchildren will have to pay with a monster debt that loams over us. i recognize, i think the entire country recognizes that this debt, the doubling and tripling of debt that is under way came as a result of a political

opportunity with the democratic party by the president, the house and the senate to collectively determine that they were going to go and increase spending in a dramatic basis. republican party, through myself, as our rules committee person, recognizes that we, once again, are here on the floor of the house of representatives at the late hour, even though i believe what is inest tabble with this continuing resolution to say, we believe there should have been a better effort on behalf of this majority to substantially review not only the excessive spending, but to put into place those stop-gap measures, which would prove to the american people that washington, d.c. does get it. what we need to get is this, as we loom forward in the future, another debt limit opportunity vote which means we have to take the tough votes here on

this floor and raise that debt limit so we're as responsible as we are tonight, what has been described by mr. polis about making sure the government funds itself. the republican party believes we should have immediately last year when we recognized not only continued unemployment, massive debt, have done something about stopping the spending. we spent about $4.5 billion too much every day. more than what we -- what comes in. that $4.5 billion is important when you add it all up. it adds -- it amounts to about a 40% of all the spending goes to debt. so we don't have to yell and scream, we have to succinctly come to the floor, we have to protect the turf we believe is best for the american people and that is that i will tell you on january 5, when we elect a new speaker and the

republican party becomes the majority, we pledge our -- ourselves to having not only the ideas about how to turn this country around but i believe we'll have the guts to make tough votes and we will ask the american people to listen and look at every single vote we make. today, we're kicking the can down the road, today, i guess we're ready to go home, the republican party is here to say, we disagree, we think every dollar and every penny that's being spent to the detriment of the future of this country is a problem and so that's what we're doing here today. i appreciate the gentlewoman not only tirelessly for her efforts sitting in the chair today but also recognize our leaders, the gentleman, mr. obey, the gentleman, mr. lewis, and i thank the gentleman, mr. polis and wish him the best of holiday seasons and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields

back. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, madam speaker. i want to further describe something the gentlewoman from texas mentioned in her remarks. this continuing resolution would expand the federal definition of highly qualified teacher to include a wider range of teachers, including whose who are alternatively certified. it's important for programs that data shows are effective, like teach for america that improve student outcomes for our students. this would promote greater district control and flex to believe the help ensure good teachers are in public school classrooms. this was largely agreed upon by democrats and republicans but a court recently said the preevepbs language was unable to be interpreted that way. we use this continuing resolution to ensure these good teachers can stay in the classrooms and programs like teach for america can move

forward instead of losing their ability to teach midway through the school year. madam speaker, today we -- and tonight, we are on the brick of a government shutdown if we fail to pass this c.r. we shouldn't let our partisan bickering between 99 cents or $1 or $1.01 let this economy grind to a halt, allow drug cartels cart lanche on the border and ensure that grandma can't visit her grandkids in topeka. we asked for a continuing resolution two weeks ooling and acted quickly to maintain government operations and the senate failed to overcome on instructionism. today we have what i'm sure some will describe as an imperfect resolution to continue government funding through the new year which is cleeferly preferable to a government shutdown. i thank sharme obey for his leadership not only on this

bill and continuing resolution but for his hard work and his staff's hard work. madam speaker, the house did pass two appropriations bills this year, the transportation h.u.d. appropriation and military veterans affairs appropriation and the senate hasn't passed a single one. so rather than continue with futile work, i think it's important to get about the business of funding government to ensure we can move forward. with the spirit of chairman obey guiding us in the 112th congress. i praise chairman obi and his staff for their hard work on this bill. i yield back the balance of my time and move the question on the previous resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. all time for debate 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, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to

reconsider is laid ton pe -- upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? mr. obey: pursuant to house resolution 1782, i call up the bill h.r. 3082 with the senate amendments to the house amendment to the senate amendment thereto and have a motion at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill, designate the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate amendment and designate the motion. the clerk: h.r. 3082, an act making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans' affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes. the house amendment to the

senate amendment to the senate amendment, mr. obey moves hat house concur commt house amendment to the senate amendment to the house amendment to s. 3082. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 1782, the resolution is debate nl for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the house on preepingses. 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: i have only one speak own this side and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. lewis: thank you, madam speaker. i too will be brief. the -- madam speaker, christmas is almost here and we are no closer to having a budget for this fiscal year. that one began in october. we're no closer than they were last christmas regarding that work.

as mr. obey would say, i have minimum high regard for the process that has led us to this moment. the house managed to pass just two appropriations bills this year. i understand the senate passed none, i heard earlier. the remaining 10 bills never even received a full committee consideration. the house has dithered away the year on insignificant suspension bills, we've named hundreds of post offices and praised every sports team in america. but the house has failed in completing its essential work, the work we were elected to do. that is, passing a budget for the new fiscal year. this isn't exactly how any of us envisioned we'd be wrapping up our legislative business this year but with the hour growing late, it appears that we are limping into the new year with another short-term c.r. and that's the best we can do under these circumstances.

i do want to commend our colleagues in the senate for making the right decision and resisting the temptation to vote for a legislative christmas tree, widely known as the 12-bill omnibus. this holiday turkey, which had grown to nearly 2,000 pages with a price tag of $1.1 trillion, simply collapsed under its own weight. the last thing the american people wanted for christmas was yet another trillion dollars of government spending. so today, we're passing a c.r. that allows the essential operations of government to continue into the new year when the real work of writing fiscally prudent spending bills can begin. that work will be guided by our new committee chairman, hal rogers who will be my only speaker this evening besides myself, and hal's full committee ranking member norman dicks.

i want to wish them both well as they take on their new responsibilities. while david obey and i have not agreed on very much this year, let me also pause for second -- for a second to express my appreciation to david and wish he and his wife joan good health and happiness as they pursue new opportunities outside of the congress. the moe way let me say that david obey is passionate about the things he's passionate about. i don't agree with him on many policy issues, but i do want you to know this, david. the country and both of our great parties need an awful lot more people with the kind of passion you display and if we had that, we'd get our work done in an entirely different fashion. before closing, let me make two other brief comments. as frustrating as this year has been for me, i know it's been

an even more frustrating year for the highly professional house appropriations committee. our committee is blessed with hardworking, dedicated people who receive very little credit for the fine work they do. they are asked to sacrifice time away from family and friends and do so willingly, working day and night and weekends and even holidays. for that, and for so much more, i want to express my personal thanks to both the majority and the minority staff of our commefment they are deserving of the appreciation of the entire house and i wish the entire house was here to express that to them by way of their applause. let me also take just a moment to thank my own staff director, sitting beside me, jeff shockey who will be leaving the committee to pursue other opportunities after assisting chairman rogers and his staff with transition.

jeff is well known and highly respected by every member of the appropriations committee, our leadership, and the members of the house. the committee's loss is indeed a loss for the entire house. jeff is one of the finest individuals with whom i've worked for over 15 years and i ask the house to join me in wishing him well. mr. don't realize that some 15 years ago, jeff actually began with us as an intern and has worked his way prettily close to the top and hasn't broken too many bones on the way. with that, mr. speaker, let me close by wishing our colleagues and staff on both sides of the aisle a merry christmas and a happy new year and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: i have in error, we have two speakers on this side and i now yield one minute to the distinguished speaker of the house. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker is recognized.

the speaker: thank you very much, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise not to talk about the continuing resolution that is before us, but in praise of the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. obey, the chair of the appropriations committee. this hopefully will be the last piece of legislation, not hopefully that it's your last but the last that this this body will hear from the appropriations committee and i want to take the time on this bill to express the gratitude of our colleagues in the house to the people of our country who care about america's working family and to all who care about a world at peace. to thank mr. obey for his tremendous leadership. he is -- i rise to celebrate his career and the contributions -- i think he is one of the greatest appropriators and one of congress' greatest legislative minds. for more than four decades he has fought in favor on this

floor for the people of wisconsin's seventh district and for america's middle class. he is a visionary for a better life for the american people and a legislative genius. he has an ability to see around corners, anticipate challenges and opportunities and sustain a fight on behalf of what is right. i had the privilege of serving on the appropriations committee under the leadership of dave obey. he was my chairman on the full committee and on labor, health, and human services and he was chair for a long time of the foreign operations subcommittee of appropriations which appropriated our foreign aid. to that committee, the foreign ops committee, he brought the values of middle america to our foreign policy. values based, people-oriented, again in the interest of our national security, the strength of our country and recognizing

that that strength was also about our values. he then chaired the health and human services subcommittee, where he measured the strength of our country in another way, in the health, the education, the economic well being of my's working families. to see him operate on that committee was to see a master at work. we use that phrase from time to time in the case of dave obey, it is an understatement. i sometimes think when he's working of the phrase, you'll understand when you understand, because when david sees so far down the road from the rest of us, sometimes we're not quite up there with him and then he is always right. i don't know whether he's a self-fulfilling prophecy or he's just always right from the start. the start. from half a century, more transparency in our caucus, ethics reform, he has been union

yielding and unflinching reformer. mr. obey was my chairman and as a chairman he had no parallel. he refused to harm our air, water and environment. and after 9/11, he reached across the aisle to secure funding for first responders and recovery efforts and to extend our investment until homeland security. of course, he championed federal investments in education and devoted his energy to making health nurns a right, not a -- health insurance a right not a privilege and it was a privilege to see him gavel down the health care reform bill, a well deserved privileged for him, a recognition by his colleagues in the house that he was the one who should do that. and every hearing in his committee and every vote, chairman obey sought to

strengthen the middle class and acted on the belief that how we invest the public's money reflects our value as a people and will determine the future of our country. the reach of mr. obey's achievements has extended nationwide but his first priority has been to the families, workers and businesses of his beloved district. liheap for one, we always knew how important low income -- liheap is a term of art here and he has been a great champion. he has been for pell grants and other initiatives that affects america's working families. his constituents, their hopes and challenge, that was his call to action. his official biography opens with these hard, every american should share in the bounty of

america. this has been his statement. he has been a transformational figure and his leadership on behalf of the american people is unsurpassed. he has been blessed by a wonderful family and we are all grateful to his wife joan and his sons for sharing david with us. we always want to salute his staff person, his staff director, beverly, for her leadership and her excellent work and some might say, her patience with this great mind. i just have to tell this one story on dave obey, because i just love it so much. dave obey was the chair of foreign ops subcommittee. some years after charlie wilson was chair, i had the privilege of becoming the ranking member

on that committee, no longer the majority. when we went to the floor on the first bill that i was managing on the minority side, i was very prepared and ready and wanted to please david, so i made my case, we won our amendments, i see swam lowey is here, and after we won our amendments, and it was very bipartisan and wasn't confrontational. after it was finished and the job was done and i looked to david for some sign that it was over and david said to me, that -- you did all right rkts but i think -- but i think you could could have been more diplomatic. hearing david say i should have been more diplomatic, david, of all the things he is known for,

diplomacy is not among them. and that was on the heels of running into barney frank on the way to the podium to manage the bill, he said to me, that suit you have on, give it away, it looks terrible on you. i thought this in one day, fashion advice from barney frank and diplomacy advice from david obey, maybe i'll go home and start all over again, with all due respect to their various strengths. the former visionary, public servant, david obey has our gratitude and appreciation. we'll miss him enormously. he cannot be replaced. his legacy will live long in this body and in this country. we will long benefit from his leadership, his commitment, his values, his i am patience, his eloquence, his archie, his archie, his words of wisdom have

guided us on occasion where other eloquence has fallen short. we'll miss dave obey and we hope he leaves here knowing the high regard that his colleagues hold him in, the deep respect we have for his intellect, his boundless energy and from time to time, yes, his humor and occasionally, his diplomacy. so, mr. chairman, thank you. it's been an honor to serve with you. i know again, i speak for our colleagues to call you colleague. thank you, mr. obey, for what you have done for our country. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lewis: madam speaker, i only have one speaker, but i'm very happy to yield all the time he

might consume to representative rogers, the chairman-elect of the appropriations committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: thank you, mr. lewis, for yielding time. it's been a real pleasure, and i mean that very sincerely, working under the leadership of jerry lewis on our side of the aisle, both as chairman and ranking member of this committee for these last six years. he's been gracious in every way. he has led his talent and wisdom to us as we are prepared to do business and not the least, he has volunteered his terrific staff, led by jeff shocky, to help us in the transition and i can't say enough to thank jerry lewis and all of the staff for all the great work you do for

the country and we continue to do and we have heavy work for you as well, and to the staff. madam speaker, in my language, one of the most compliment tear things i could say, a person is a difference maker. a difference maker sees circumstances that are not correct and applies wisdom and intell against and perseverance and talent to change. and i can't think of a bigger difference maker, sometimes i thought in the wrong direction, but a difference maker, than in david obey. during my tenure here, we have watched him over the years with that ten asity and innovation,

sometimes blustery, sometimes entertaining, but always very efficient. and we will miss david obey in this body. this is the last chance that we will have perhaps to say good-bye and best wishes, but i think i speak for the entire body when we say to david obey, thank you for your service to america. thank you for your leadership and your talent on this committee. and we wish you the very best in your future endeavors, especially during the next week, as we all celebrate the birth of the christ child. to beverly and all of the staff, the long hours that these people put in so that the rest of us

can look good perhaps is not appreciated fully and we need to continuously do that. so to david obey, bonvoyagee and thank you for the service you have rendered to this country. mr. obey: madam speaker, parliamentary inquiry, there is a rampant case of mistaken i had fent occurring -- identity occurring? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. obey: i yield two minutes to the distinguished the gentleman from new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mrs. lowey: i thank the chair for yielding to me because it has been an honor for me to serve with david. david obey, one of the most effective legislateors this body

has known and we are sad to see your service in congress coming to an end. people have described david in many ways, direct, gruff, and maybe even some words not suitable for the congressional record. but to me, it has been such a great honor to serve with somebody who ex emapply files exactly what a representative should be. he is one of the most principled legislateors. his role in bringing to an end the vietnam war, a sad chapter in american history is well known. he understands and takes seriously the congressional role in authorizing more -- war and peace and has never taken lightly our solemn obligation to the american people in this

regard. he has served this institution with great honesty. regardless of your request, idea, opinion or question, you never have to wonder about where david obey stands. he's always going to tell it to you straight. and even in holding one of the most powerful positions in congress, he never lost sight of who exactly september him here, the people of wisconsin's seventh district. to this day, more than 40 years after he was elected to congress, he still maintains the fierce, dogged determination on behalf of the health, education, safety and economic opportunity of the people of wisconsin. the united states congress is a better institution. the people of wisconsin are

better off today as a result of your service. and even though some may describe you in colorful ways, i will always be proud to call you a dear friend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. obey: i yield one minute to the distinguished majority leader. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i hesitate to speak left we get off message. i said i hesitate to speak lest we get off message. i'm going to take that opportunity. i have had the opportunity to serve a long period of time with mr. lewis, mr. rogers, ms. lowey, ms. delauro, mr. dicks on the appropriations committee.

and i served on the labor, health and human services and education subcommittee on the appropriations committee and i went on in january of 1983. i won't go through every year from 1983 to today. that would take too long and would bore you stiff. but i had the great privilege of sitting just a couple of chairs from the gentleman from wisconsin, who had been in the congress some 12 years before i came. having been elected in 1969. served over four decades in this body. i will adopt all the words that were ascribed to him by the gentlewoman from new york, but three words that i would use are tough, courageous and effective.

i think the gentleman from kentucky called it as well. he is a difference maker. i think, congressman rogers, your words were very appropriate, not because you agreed or others agreed necessarily with the difference he wanted to make, but you knew if david obey was engaged in an issue, he would make a difference in that issue. from my perspective, the good thing is, david obi was engaged on issue he is thought affected average people who were not oaverage at all. whether it was their education, their health, their housing, making sure the n.i.h. was trying to find cures to diseases that afflicted them, whether he was standing up to make sure that people in the cold of winter had heat or in

the scorching heat of summer had air-conditioning to keep them healthy. david obey could always be counted on as a strong, unwavering, uncowering voice on behalf of people who needed a voice. they had a special interest but they did not have money to hire voices, they needed voices in this body that we need as -- that we know as the people's house. the people on some 20 occasions returned david obey to the congress of the united states. maybe it was one more than that. 21 occasions. returned david obey to the congress of the united states. because they saw in david obey that voice they needed and wanted and respected.

david obey, in addition to the three attributes i ascribed to him, is honest. one of the things i most admire in david obey and one of the things i most cherished, was his slay the -- slaying the dragon of hypocrisy. i don't think anything angered david obey more than seeing hypocrisy. there's too much hypocrisy. we say, o', we're for this, and then we vote for that, or vice versa. we could always count on david saying, hey, you want to be honest? stop posing for holy pictures. i'm sure that's been mentioned in the course of this. it's a famous phrase we'll all remember from david obey. by that, he meant, of course, be real. don't fry to flimflam the public. -- don't try to flimflam the public, stand up for what you

believe in, not what you think people want to hear. we had no better example, no more faithful example of that performance than david obey. i want to thank david obey. i want to thank him for being my friend, i want to thank him for being an example of what members of congress ought to be. i want to thank him for being a sfed fast, faithful voice for the people who needed a voice. a leader on behalf of the principles that i think this country was speaking about then it said that we establish a government to protect the general welfare. david obey believed that to his very core and every day of his service, his belief was manifest in his actions. i also want to thank my friend jerry lewis. jerry lewis and i have served every day that i served on the appropriations committee, i served with jerry lewis. almost every day with hal rogers. hal came a little after jerry and i came with to the

committee. one of the things that i recall to people about this committee is that for most of my service, not all of my service, unfortunately, but most of my service it was arguably the most bipartisan committee in the congress of the united states. we worked together, made determinations together and yes, there were differences, but we did so in a civil, collegiate, and way that the american public, i think, would have appreciated. jerry lewis has been someone who has focused on our institution. for many of the years i have served, jerry lewis and fazio of california were chairs of the committee and they worked together to make this committee

better able to serve its members and the members better able to serve the nation. i want to thank you for your service as chair of a committee and as a member of a committee that didn't get much publicity and sometimes was a thankless job and was a job you and vic did in the best traditions of what the american public says it wants, bipartisan cooperation, positive partnership, i thank you for that. hal, i wish you the best of luck as you undertake these responsibilities. we're losing a giant. as david obey retired. -- retires. david obey chose to retire, there's no doubt if he chose to run again, his people would have sent him back. so david obey, you've been a great member of this congress. you have served your country, your state, and our people well. we are all of us in your debt.

god speed. mr. obey: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from connecticut. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. ms. ke lauro: i was elected to this body 20 years -- ms. delauro: i was elected to this body 20 years ago, i sat at the end of a long table and listened to people come in and tell us what we needed to know about the institution. i listened to one david obey at the far end of the table from wisconsin he spoke about appropriations and he spoke

about the budget process and the budget committee, etc. and i said to myself, my god, what have i done. i am in so far over my head, i'm never going to make it. 20 years, david obey has become one of my -- bhoiven dearest friends my mentor, and yes, we do conspire to try to do good things. he has shown me the power of this great institution and how it can change people's lives, to make opportunity real for people, for ordinary people. he is a smart, savvy legislator, no one knows more about the issues, about the politics and about the process. and about getting it done. he is incorruptible and as many

know, he does not suffer fools. and he is a real flesh and blood human being. he has passion, the issues that we deal with and they are based on a wellspring of values born and raised in working class family in wisconsin. he knows what the struggle is about. he has walked in the shoes of the people of this cubtry and he knows that it is this great institution that can turn it around. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlewoman has expired. the gentlewoman is recognized an additional minute. ms. delauro: he tells the truth fearlessly and is a patriot in every sense of the word. i will miss david's commitment, his dedication, his integrity.

and though soon no longer to be a colleague, he will always be my friend and i think i know that whenever i'm in trouble, i can pick up the phone and say, david, what should i do? i will miss you deeply, my friend. i will miss you deeply. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from texas, mr. edwards. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. edwards: madam speaker, david obey would be the first to say our democracy is bigger than any one of us. but i come here tonight to say that in the history of congress, he is truly one of its giants. it's hard to imagine congress without him. he's been a giant of courage, a

giant of ethics, a giant of insight and wisdom as an institutionalist who believes in this house with all his heart and soul and a giant in the fight for everyday citizens who often don't have a voice speaking for them. i want to pay special tribute to chairman obey for what he's done so quietly behind the scenes for america's veterans. he has been their unsung hero. in the four year he is has chaired the appropriations committee, these past four years, we have ended up under his leadership and partnership with speaker pelosi, with 3,000 new v.a. doctors, 13,000 new v.a. nurses, 145 new v.a. community clinics. all of that means better care, more timely care, more quality care for america's heroes and their families. it means respect to those who

have served. respect with our deeds and not just with our words. the greatest tribute i could pay as a father to dave obey is he has truly made a difference for my family and for the american family. perhaps the greatest tribute he could hear, though, is that i would say if archie the cockroach and richard bowling were here today on the floor of this house, they would say, mr. chairman, job well done. it has been a privilege to work with you and to learn from you. you will have left this country a better place. for that, we all thank you and salute you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from washington. madam speaker, can't you put an end to all of this.

>> i want to thank david obey for all the help he's given me over my entire career. i can remember the first weekend i was going to be on the committee, i called him at home and said, do you think i can offer this amendment to change the size and ratio of subcommittees? and he said, they'll never let you do it, but i'll vote for it because it's the right thing to do. that's how i first met david obey and when i became chairman of the subcommittee, i relied on him for a good 403b allocation and because of that good allocation, we were able to do some incredible things. we had been working together on the national parks. we had worked on the fish and wildlife refuges. mr. dicks: we worked on

improving the arlts and humanities. the interior -- the arts and humanities. the interior appropriations bill is one david eenjoyed immensely, he was always asking me, how is this going, how is that going? i want to thank him for everything he's done in the last few days. over the years he has done great things for this country. our natural resources are stronger because of david obey. i've been -- i've enjoyed working with him and joan out at olympic national park this year, we've had wonderful experiences. i want to say to my friend jerry lewis,ierry and i have have been friend, we've traveled together, when i became chairman of the defense subcommittee after the loss of our great friend jack murtha, jerry went with me on almost every single trip to help me, be there and show support and it made a great difference and i want to say, jerry, i will

always remember it. hal, i look forward to next year, we'll work together and i hope that we can have a successful year, that we can get these bills passed and you will have my cooperation. and again, bev and all the staff, you know, those are the people, paul is here from the defense subcommittee, i have never seen people work as hard as the staff of the house appropriations committee. they are there every day, nights, weekends, it's amazing to me the work they put in. and i just appreciate so much having been a former staffer myself how much more professional and how much more capability this staff has. david, you and bev built a great staff, and we hope to keep that staff. thank you for your help and thank you for your friendship and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: i yield two minutes

to the distinguished gentlewoman from north carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is reck -- the gentleman is recognized. >> when i realized this spontaneous tribute was going on here on the floor of the house, i rushed over here, i want to add my words of friendship as we recognize dave obey's years service in this baddy and his retirement. i have been -- in this body and his retirement. i have been drawn to dave and his knowledge of this institution and his mentorship and leadership ever since my earlierest days here. mr. price: i came as a student of congress and here was actually an architect of the modern congress who was very generous with the stories and the accounts of the early days with the democratic study group and the reforms that transformed this place in the 1970's. the 1970's.

he was a young member. he has carried that spirit of reform forward, though, and so i have been intrigued with that, as have many colleagues and learned a great deal from david obey from that history and also from that day-to-day association. he has an incomparable knowledge of the history of this place and mastery of the house and a great loyalty to the institution. and we all know him and admire him for that. in recent years, dave has been best known as the distinguished ranking member and then chairman of the appropriations committee. here, too, he has exemplified what we like to think the spirit of appropriation, the mastery of the bills, the careful work, the holding of the administration accountable, no matter which party is in charge in the white house. the sense that appropriations is really at the heart of this

institution's power and its role and we need to do it well and do it cooperatively and we need to maintain an effective front sometimes against the executive agencies. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. mr. price: he has been a master of procedure and strategies. master of procedure and strategy, masterful of appropriations. finally, let me say, sometimes it's thought around here that in order to be effective and in order to be well liked, in order to do the job, you have to be a go-along, get-along kind of guy. that is not dave obey. it is because of his forcefulness and his passion for justice, his union yielding willingness to for what he believes in, he has the effectiveness of the institution that he has. in that respect, and as in so many others, he has been a role

model and i'm proud to join in this salute here tonight. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: i yield two minutes to the distinguished the gentleman from west virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you. i'm pleased to stand up and have the opportunity and honor to say a few words about the chairman, the distinguished chairman of the appropriations committee, my chairman, david obey. we all operate on teams here in the congress and i'm especially proud to be on david obey's team, serving as one of the chairmen on one of the subcommittees under david's jurisdiction. he has long distinguished himself in public service. he started in the wisconsin assembly in 1963 and served until 1969 and i'm advised in the beginning of his career, he may have stumbled into the wrong political party, but seeing the

joe mccarthy experience, soon developed an aversion for duplicity and felt that the democratic party was the home for him. and they best reflect his mid-western values and progressive values. and i think it is pleasureable to be a part of his team. i'm sure it has been mentioned here before that david served in congress for a long time and he came to the congress as the youngest member when he came at 30 years old and he served 42 years and so, do the math. and now he is voluntarily retiring from this institution, having a distinguished record from the beginning. arriving with new ideas how the congress ought to operate and how it ought to be more open and

embracing of new members, he was extremely effective in implementing those ideas. moving on through his career to higher responsibilities and becoming ultimately chairman as we refer, the powerful appropriations committee. his values that he came here with, he continued to want to express and very important for him to be on the labor -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. . the gentleman is recognized for an additional minute. mr. mollohan: very important for him to serve as chairman of the labor-h.h.s. subcommittee where he could affect those constituencies which allowed him to do those things that were important to him and express that progressive attitude. madam speaker, david obey has been a real contribution to the united states congress. during his career and it will be lasting after his career, his mark is indelible in the reforms

that are reflected in how we do business here. and i don't know of a person in the institution who could have assimilated within the appropriations process the rules and changes in procedures and the way we did business in response to legitimate concerns about the appropriation process than david obey and his ability to separate the chaff from the grain and understand what were legitimate expressions of concern about the appropriations process and to deal with them and his embracing the prerogatives of the appropriations process, at the same time realizing it reflects the prerogatives of the legislationtive branch, that was his legacy. and i want to thank david owe way for his personal consideration. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lewis: i had no additional speakers, but with this display of love and affection this evening and my colleague, tom cole, just had to come down for a couple of minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: i thank the gentleman for allowing me to have time. i was in my office, signing letters, with the television off, muted, and i noticed a group of democratic speakers. which as former of nrcc chairman was a horror. i thought, we must be getting beaten to death. i flicked on the sound to see mr. rogers from kentucky come on and i knew it was a bipartisan love fest going on. we don't have a lot of that

going on here, and i wanted to participate. this isn't a good time to be a member of congress. none of us of held in highest team by the american public and this is a difficult time to be a member of the appropriations committee. we aren't held in much esteem by ouron colleagues. i heard so many things from our friends on the authorizing committees, they forget that they authorize more money than we spend on the appropriations committee and we are usually left with the tough job of reconciling differences that have been unresolved on the authorizing committees. and it's something that needs to be experienced, frankly, by every member of congress before they appreciate the magnitude and the quality of work that goes on in this particular committee. i had the opportunity to know my good friend, chairman lewis, many, many years ago. in 1991, i arrived in

washington, d.c. to be the executive director of the national republican congressional committee. i have been here a few weeks and i get a message to see my friend, the conference chairman. i have only been here a month and had the opportunity to offend one of the most powerful members in congress. i brought a staff member with me and maybe he could handle the problems and we chatted a minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. . mr. lewis: i yield an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cole: he said i want to get to know you because i heard a couple of things. he has been kind and generous to me. and frankly, i have watched him define what a member and an prapetor ought to be year in and year out in the minority and majority. he served this body with incredible class and

professionalism every single day. and i would be remiss not to talk about my chairman as well. i heard about chairman obey from my old boss. and mr. edwards told me he was often wrong, but always honest and i found that to be the case on the last two points. not necessarily the first. wonderful chairman, a wonderful colleague, someone who is a credit to this institution, a credit to his district and i think defines as my friend, mr. lewis, does, who and what a chairman ought to be and how a member of this body ought to act. if everybody in america knew these two gentlemen, the opinion of this institution would be enormously higher. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. . the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: we need to bring this to a conclusion. so i think the last speaker is the gentleman from vermont. i yield to the gentleman one

minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kagen: the person who is elected to congress faces how do you challenge the institution, but -- mr. welch: how do you stretch the limits and see its importance. and david obey has done it. he came here at age 30. when he came here and saw what was here, he didn't like what he saw. and he did challenge it. and he moved up in the hierarchy here, out of turn, faster than many people thought he should. he did challenge it but rment respected what the congress had to do as an institution. but he leaves this body -- people talk about his temper or -- but he leaves with the same passion to challenge the institution, to challenge its limits, but to respect that this

institution has institutions that we are custodians of. and david obey, you have done that and thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. . the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: i yield one minute to the distinguished the gentlewoman from ohio. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. kaptur: hard to find an honest man in life, but i would like to place on the record that david obey is an honest man and he served the people of his district admirebly all his years and some have wondered about his nature on occasion and you have to understand what a badger is to know where that comes from. he has been a great husband, as i know his wife agrees, a very good father, he has been a good friend to all the members he has served, he has treated us fairly and brilliance reflected in the

books and laws and efforts he has made over the past decades. we from the midwest know what we are losing as he chooses to leave this institution. i want to thank him for all he has done for the great lakes region, for the people of ohio and for our country and setting a standard for those that follow that will be very, very hard to meet and probably will never be fully met. i thank this great badger for helping america. god bless you. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house an enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 4748, an act to amend the office of national drug control policy national authorization act of 2006 to require a northern board crournlt narcotics strategy and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: does the gentleman have any remaining speakers?

mr. lewis: i have no additional speakers besides my saying good night. mr. obey: i have only one. if the gentleman would like to yield back, i'll complete my remarks and we can vote. mr. lewis: is the one the gentleman i'm speaking with? i'm more than happy to express my deep appreciation for his service. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. obey: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and stepped their remarks and include extraneous material on the pending legislation. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. obey: i appreciate all the kind words said about me tonight. i must confess that sometimes i'm more at ease when i'm being

pummeled than when i'm being praised but maybe that's just my quirky character. but let me simply say that this is the last time i will be making any comments on this floor. i want to thank the members on both sides of the aisle for their courtesies over the past 42 years and i want to say that it has been a privilege for each and every one of us, whether we have served here one term or 21 or even more, it is a privilege for all of us to be have been sent to this place, to the people's house. i can think of no greater privilege. you cannot -- this is the only place in the government that you have to be elected in order to occupy our jobs. in the senate, you don't have to be elected. in the presidency, you don't have to be elected under quirky

circumstances. i think all of us can be proud of that distinction. let me also say, madam speaker, that i do think i need to say at least a word or two about the subject at hand. this piece of legislation. john wesley said that his rule for living was this, do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. i wish i could say that this legislation lived up to that lofty goal. it does not. it has many, many shortcomings. the only reason for supporting this legislation today, and ts an overriding one, is to keep

the government operating. if i were to vote my preferences, i would vote no because i believe we should have before us today a continuing resolution for the rest of the fiscal year. the only reason we do not is because only in the united states senate can you get a majority of votes for any proposition and still lose because of their peculiar rules. i think the difference between the way our two respective parties have handled similar situation is interesting. four years ago, when our party took control after 12 years of rule by our friends on the other side of the aisle, the outgoing republican majority chose to simply dump most of the work for that fiscal year onto the incoming democratic majority by passing a short-term c.r. that meant that we had to spend the first two months dealing with the previous year's

business rather than being able to start with a clean slate in dealing with new problems. in contrast, today's outgoing democratic majority has tried mightily to clear the deck for the incoming republican majority by producing a full year c.r. which attempts a compromise by reducing funding levels that were $46 billion below the president's budget and amounted to a freeze at the previous year's level. passage of that legislation would have meant the incoming republican majority would be able to start with a clean slate in working with the president on a whole host of major problems. but instead, we are here today confronted with this legislation which expires on march 4 and which will require the incoming republican majority to spend the first two months of its stewardship dealing with last year's business. i think that's unfortunate.

through the use of the senate filibuster, it has been assured that we could not complete a full year c.r. that action simply mirrors the procedural resistance with which we have been faced all year long with the senate minority engaging in more than 87 filibuster actions in order to grind matters to a halt and frustrate the congress' ability to do anything on the budget front by majority vote. that is unfortunate but at this late date, there is no point in arguing. the die is cast, obviously. the only responsible choice at this point is to recognize reality even though that means that the early days of the next congress will be unnecessarily confrontational and partisan. it means that on budget issues, most of next year will be about demonstrating political leverage rather than working through honest, substantive

differences to reasonable conclusions. because of that, i most reluctantly but firmly suggest an aye vote. i want to take an additional minute to thank two people in this chamber who the public will never know. but there are many, many of them over capitol hill who work day in and day out to produce a better country and the public never knows their names. one of them with us tonight is jeff shockey, who's done an admiral job as minority staff director on the committee for years. sometimes i wish he hadn't been so good but i do appreciate the work that he has done. lastly, i can simply say i do not know what i would have done without beverly peto as chairman of the appropriations committee.

she is an absolute true professional. she has imagination, she has courage, she has stamina and most of all, she has an amazing ability to put up with me and that alone ought to get her the congressional medal of honor. so with that, i would simply say good-bye to you all and i would hope that we would cast a responsible vote so that we can get about the country's business next year even though many of us will not be here to participate. thank you all. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin yields back his remaining time.

all time for debate has expired. pursuant to houseres. 1782, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion by the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. obey. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. lewis: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on the motion to concur will be followed by a five-minute vote on suspending the rules with regard to h.r. 6547. 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 165. the motion is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from california, mr. george miller to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6547, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title

of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6547, a bill to amend the elementary and secondary education act of 1965 to require criminal background checks for school employees. 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: on this vote, the yeas are 314, the nays are 20, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 3082 an act making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans' affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., december 21, 2010, i hereby appoint the honorable donna f. edwards, or if she is not available to perform this duty, the honorable gerald d. connolly, to act as speaker pro tempore for the remainder of the second session of the 111th congress. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the appointment is approved. the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, madam, pursuant to section 5605 of the patient protection and affordable care act, i am pleased to appoint mr. marcus peacok and mr. phillip chicago illinois to the commission on key national indicators. both have expressed interest in serving in this capacity and i'm pleased to fulfill their requests. signed sincerely, john a. boehner, republican leader. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, madam, pursuant to section 235 of the tribal law and order act, public law 111-211, i'm pleased to appoint mr. thomas getty of fran,

california to the indian law and order commission. mr. getty has expressed interest in serving in this capacity and i'm pleased to fulfill his request. signed sincerely, johna boehner, republican leader. the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, madam, pursuant to section 1238 b-3 of the flide b. expense of the national defense authorization act, 22 u.s.c., i'm pleased to appoint mr. larry wattrell to the review commission effective january, 2011. he has expressed interest to be in this request this position and i'm please to fulfill this request. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal request.

the clerk: leaves of absence requested nor mr. culberson of texas for today and the balance of the week, mr. dial for today, mrs. mcmcmorris odgers and mr. young of florida for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. the chair is prepared to entertain one-minute requests. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. thompson: permission to address the house for one minute , revise and stepped my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend.

the gentleman may proceed. mr. thompson: thank you, madam speaker. i recognize a public servant who is retiring from my congressional office. mrs. dorothy harry has served the citizens of my district for 14 years. dorothy has been the first contact in the district office for more than a decade. the constituent calls have been growthed by her with a professional, courteous and caring attitude. she has never been late by even a minute. her service leaves nothing undone. she joined the staff with a lifetime experience working in her family's insurance agency. constituents have contacted her office with insurance-related issues and had guidance. she is the mother of two daughters and has been quick to share that one of her daughters created christmas ornaments that hung on the white house christmas tree. she will retire from public

service as a member of the pennsylvania fifth congressional district at the age of 21 young ears old. the citizens have been served by her, job well done and thank you, dorothy, you will be missed. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. olson: permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. olson: madam speaker, i rise today to congratulate the oilers for winning the texas class 5-a division one football championship last weekend. in front of 43,321 fans, the third largest in texas history, the oilers achieved a

heart-stopping 28-24 victory defeating the number one ranked team in the entire nation. the oilers referred to as the underdog but an underdog doesn't use a play called the dead man to score a 54-yard touchdown. they demonstrated their ten asity in the final seconds. garrison broke ip a fourth quarter pass, ceiling the win for the oilers. always striving to make one more play, give one more degree of effort for the benefit of the team. the oilers finished the season with a perfect 16-0 record and brought home to the rigs, the first 5-a championship. i congratulate them on their

historic victory and well-deserved honor. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: madam speaker, when a young girl is kidnapped in a foreign country and brought into the united states and used as a sex slave, law enforcement gets involved, she is treated as a victim of crime. if a young girl, who is an american citizen, is forced into sex slavery as an 11 or 12-year-old and trafficked across the united states and law enforcement gets involved, that girl is not treated as a victim, but a criminal and criminal charges are filed on her for prostitution and goes through the system. and many times, law enforcement does that just to protect that young child. we need to change that and today this house of representatives passed legislation the domestic trafficking victims' act which will treat those victims as

victims and give resources to put them in places throughout the united states where we can protect them, rescue them, prosecute the trafficker and prosecute the customer who buys that sex from that poor girl for money. and we need to treat these victims with the dignity they deserve. this legislation is important. i'm glad it passed the how. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona rise? >> address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. flake: i rise to honor john shadegg. john shadegg is ending his service to this institution after 16 years. john came here? 1994 and served the state of arizona extremely well during that time. he has promoted the principles of limited government, economic freedom, individual responsibility and a stayed true to his principles and a valued

member of his delegation. arizona has great legislateors, including barry goldwater and mo udall and others and john now adds his name to that list of great arizona legislateors. i pay tribute to him and tell him how much the arizona delegation and all of us will miss his steady, constant principled leadership here in the house of representatives. well done, john. well done, john shadegg. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? without objection. mr. engel: i rise today to speak in honor of my friend and colleague, steven sollars who passed away last month. when i first came to congress, congressman sollars was a senior member of the foreign affairs committee and inspiration to me

as i joined that committee. i enjoyed his advice and counsel. i sat on the top rung of the committee and that's where i'm sitting today. he made speeches that made his colleagues stop and listen. he was a guru and the world will miss his knowledge and expertise. at a party, i met the former foreign minister of israel. together we shared the determination to protect america's relation with israel. we both understood that the u.s. must continue to engage on issues of importance around the world. like me, congressman sollars is a figure from new york's public schools. we shared the passion for public service and i will miss his advice and friendship. i consider myself lucky to have

known him all these years. my wife goes out to his wife nina and children randy and lisa. the rest of the country and the u.s. house of representatives mourns with them. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered to, the following members may be permitted to revise and extend their extraneous remarks. mr. shimkus. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does gentleman rise? >> any special orders heretofore entered to, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes to revise and stepped their remarks and include materials, mr. mcgovern for five minutes, mr. rangel for five minutes, mr. jackson of illinois for five minutes, ms. kaptur,

mr. defazio, ms. woolsey for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. burton of indiana. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? mr. shimkus will be recognized for five minutes. mr. shimkus: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shimkus: thank you, madam speaker. i come down tonight to put into the record names of some fighters who have been jailed not only politicians, but also members of the news media after

the elections in bella ruse of two nights ago. the opponents of the dictator were as follows and their locations are unknown, some have been jailed. victor, nick lay and dim my try. tens of thousands converged in the capital heeding opposition leaders that called sunday's election a farse and locked in a dictatorship. they gathered on the 19th and on the 20th. also arrested are prominent journalists and civil society

activists, figures that are friends of individuals i know, leader of the united civic party, his wife, dimitri and natalia, editor of charter97.org. the organization for security and cooperation in europe called the elections flawed and the united states and european union condemned the crackdown. with me i have some photos of the evening of december 19 with protestors, of course we see members of the security forces and in this photo here, you actually see them wielding their clubs and beating one of the opposition members of the party. this is what we have in europe, the last dictatorship in europe