is a great program. host: thank you. glad to hear a success story. we're just about out of time. if people want to understand about unemployment insurance and the policy issues behind it, where is the best resource for them guest:? em? guest: you could certainly go to our website at www.nelp.org. we also have an online form called of a plane unemploymentworkers.org. there will be a lot of information over the course of the fall. host: think you for being with us. we take you now to the floor of the house of representatives. the house coming into session.

the major legislation is quality charter schools act. day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 5, 2011, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate . the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes each, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, tonight is a very historic joint session of congress. indode, it is unique in the

history of our nation. not because it was the first time a president's request had been refused by the speaker. no. or that the president's speech is in and of itself is going to be extraordinary, although we all hope that it is. it is historic because there will be no young house pages in attendance when the president takes the podium behind me. no sea of young men and women in blue blazers with bright faces intent on shaking the president's hand and drinking in the ceremony and significance of a joint session of congress. this is sad on so many levels, especially as a symbol of why congress is held in such low esteem. many here understand the cost of a program, but fail to understand its value. dedicated staff were dismissed without notice in a decision that was announced via press

release without a chance for the people who care passionately about the program to argue for its future or help pay for it. it may save a few million dollars, but we lose the opportunity to enrich thousands of lives whose influence and contributions have spread across the decades and across america where strengthening and uplifting -- while strengthening and uplifting this institution. this is part of a disturbing trend here in congress, devaluing youth and civic education. also scheduled for elimination is the classroom law project, sponsored by we the people program and the national high school constitution competition that takes place every year all across the country. this is at a time when our friend, the esteemed documentary producer, ken

burnes, points out that the average teenager can name eight kinds of blue jeans but can't name eight american presidents. yet, federal support through civic education is not on the radar screen here in washington, d.c. this is not really any different than the other basic infrastructure that is falling victim to reckless budget knives and congressional indifference. the young people who participate in the page program and the classroom law project could easily construct a path forward for this congress and the president. these young people would craft a path forward that featured a balanced and fair revenue system that would raise revenue and reduce the deficit. they would accelerate health care reform, not put sand in the gears. they would right size and redirect our military involvement. and they would reform

agricultural programs to help more family farms and ranchers while saving money. these alumni could figure it out. whole those who control the levers of power in the house pursue an extreme jearned that is not what -- agenda that is not what america needs or what americans want. these young people, the pages may not be in attendance here this evening, but their absence speaks volumes about political dysfunction and a short-sided agenda. i hope we will all listen to them. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: mr. speaker, i come today to talk to you about something pretty basic, that is our constitution. what our constitution was set up and we all learned in civics

that this body, congress, writes the laws for the people. down the street, the supreme court, they interpret that law, they judge that law. and the executive branch is the branch of government that we expect through our constitution to execute the law or enforce the law. in fact, our constitution in article 2 states specifically about the president, it gives the president a job and a duty that no other person in this country has under our constitution. besides taking the oath to uphold the constitution, article 2, section 3 says that the president shall take care, that the laws be faithfully executed, that the laws are in the hands of the president and he's to take care that he fulfills his obligation to execute those laws, to follow those laws.

and that's the way our constitution is set up. but that is not occurring because you see we have laws in this country that this body has passed that the administration doesn't want to enforce. in fact, recently the administration has sent down through its administrative agencies and says no longer will the president be the chief enforcer of the law, he will, in my opinion, become the chief ignorer of the law, the immigration laws. you see, the immigration service has decided, we are not going to enforce the law that applies to all those people who are in the united states illegally so we are going to defer action. what does that mean? here's what it means, mr. speaker. it means who have been charged with being in the country illegally, who are waiting for their hearings, waiting to be deported, they are going to get a pass if they haven't committed some serious crime or some other condition that the immigration service has outlined. and if people are in this country illegally and they have

not committed a violent crime, well, they're going to get a pass too. they're not going to be deported because the law will not be enforced. the action of prosecuting them will be deferred indefinitely. now, whether it's a good idea or not to let certain people stay in the country because of certain reasons is not the issue. the issue is congress has not authorized this so-called prosecutorial discretion. i was an attorney. many were prosecutors before judges. it means this. a case comes before the prosecutor's office and you read the case and find out, hey, this person may not be guilty. there's no evidence to prove they did this. so you dismiss that case because the person is inspect. and the law sets up reasons for why there is prosecutial

discretion. but not so any more. the immigration service has come up and i ask unanimous consent that i submit the 20 reasons why people should not be deported any longer. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. without objection. mr. poe: there are 20 reasons the immigration service says by no means these are exhaustive reasons why these people should not be deported any longer and what that means is the immigration service has given a list why we are not going to deport these people for these reasons. they don't have the authority. congress writes the law, not the administration. just because the administration doesn't like the law gives them no authority to say we are going to ignore certain laws for this reason. i noticed that this memo that came out from the immigration service came out while congress was in recess. the chief enforcer of the law has the duty to enforce the rule of law. we write them, the president

enforces them. whether the president, the immigration service likes them or not, they have to enforce the rule of law and not come out with some memo saying, well, here are some exceptions to the law. we are not going to get out to following these exceptions and deporting people because of these numerous reasons. in essence, the administration has altered the law by eat it or by memo in this case. it is the obligation of the chief enforcer of the law to enforce the rule of law, not to give a pass to certain people who are in this country illegally because of certain reasons. don't know the reasons the president made this decision. people can conjecture up their own reason why folks are getting a pass. but it's great news for people who are in the country illegally. it's ok to stay in america as long as you don't commit some serious crime in the united states. and that is an obligation of the president to enforce the

law, enforce the immigration laws that we write and not become the chief ignorer of the law. and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, for five minutes. mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, every year the department of agriculture collects, analyzes and releases a report dealing the amount of domestic food insecurity. yesterday usda released this report. now, this may sound like a wankish policy-driven report but it's one of the most important reports written and released by any federal agency. simply put, mr. speaker, this is a report about hunger in america. our country is going through very difficult economic toims. the most difficult since the great depression. one of the results of this recession has been an increase in hunger. families who have lost their

jobs or seen their incomes reduced because of the income have had a difficult time putting food on their tables. it's common to see families who once volunteered at or donated to local food banks and food pantries now stand in line from these very -- from these very same nonprofit organizations. unfortunately, these organizations have had difficulty meeting the demands they are faced over the past few years. the good news, i suppose, is that the new usda report shows that fewer people were food insecure in 2010 than 2009. the bad news is that there are still 48.8 million americans who struggle to put food on their tables last year. frankly, mr. speaker, these numbers are unacceptable. it's unconscionable that even one person in this country goes without food, let alone 48.8 million people. it breaks my heart that 16.

million of these hungry people are children. mr. speaker, president obama pledged to end childhood hunger by 2015. it's clear borrowing some dramatic shifts in policy he's not going to achieve that goal. i regret that very much. so should every elected member of this congress. while 48.8 million hungry americans is a daunting figure, it's important to realize that these figures would be much worse if it weren't for the supplemental nutrition assistance program or snap. formerly known as food stamps, snap is a true safety net program that helps low-income individuals and families buy groceries. the added benefit of snap is that it is also an economic stimulus that benefits local economies. it's a simple concept. for every snap dollar spent $1.84 goes into the economy. despite what snap critics proclaim, they prevented

millions of americans from going without food. without a doubt yesterday's food insecurity numbers would have been much worse if it were not for snap. mr. speaker, hunger is a political condition. we have the means to solve hungry if we muster the political will to do so. snap is a proven program, one that prevents hunger while stimulating the economy. it's for both the moral reason and economic reason that any deficit reduction proposal considered by the select committee on deficit reduction, the so-called supercommittee, must not cut snap or do anything that increases hunger and poverty. cutting snap or similar anti-hunger programs will increase hunger, an action i believe is morally indefensible. that's why i'll be circulating a letter urging the 12 members of the select committee not to approve any deficit reduction policies that will increase hunger or poverty in this country. i urge my colleagues, republican and democrat, to join with me in support. mr. speaker, a responsibility of government is to protect the most vulnerable people in this

country while doing everything we can to ensure that we pass on the strongest country possible to our children and our grandchildren. cutting snap, the program that literally prevents millions of americans from going hungry, would be wrong and collectively we must do everything we can to prevent any actions that increase hunger in america. these food insecurity numbers

yesterday a study was released to confirm just that. according to the report, this new tax on medical innovation, which goes into effect in july of 2013, could cost americans as many as 43,000 jobs in the next several years. mr. speaker, there's still time to repeal this tax. there's still time to prevent this job crushing tax and retain these high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs here in the united states. made in america innovation and medical devices is an american success story, but if we don't stop this new innovation tax we could see more jobs go overseas and the decline of one of our leading u.s. industries and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. donnelly, for five minutes. -- mr. connolly, for five

minutes. mr. connolly: mr. speaker, we need a real jobs program that builds an actual success. the president tonight will be putting forward his job creation proposal. unfortunately, some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have already decided they are not even going to come and respect the president's joint appearance tonight. talk about closed minds. according to reports, middle-class tax release through an extension of the payroll tax cut. policies we know can create jobs. i look forward to working with the president and those who are willing to work with us on the other side to jump-start our economy and get jobs creating again. .

during the last two years, every federal dollar we invested we leveraged 41 dollars of private sector support for more than 2,000 projects in every state and created hundreds of thousands of jobs. build america bonds is the kind of public-private partnership that republicans generally support and we know from the recovery act they create jobs. lending venture capital investments and small businesses, especially startups, continual lag significantly behind their traditional numbers. the startup expenses gives entrepreneurs greater certainty for their financial planning and greater incentives to start creating jobs. these tax credits will enable

the private sector to do what they do best, create jobs. make no mistake, the challenge is daunting. the great recession was the worst economic collapse in 80 years and at its height americans were losing 700,000 jobs a month. so democrats in the last congress took action. we passed a recovery act which cut taxes for 95% of all americans and increased infrastructure investment, saving and creating hundreds of thousands of construction jobs. we provided educational support to train a more highly skilled work force. we enacted a hiring tax cut and saw results. after months of horrific job losses american began peaked earlier this year with three straight months of more than 200,000 private sector jobs created. we created 2.4 million private sector jobs. the public sector, however, has lost jobs every single month

this year. isn't this the result for which the republicans actually advocated? didn't they tell us that cutting government will free up the private sector? didn't why did we just have 17,000 private sector jobs created in august? in fact, the jobs results this august with a republican action plan in action, zero net jobs created. it's time to acknowledge that the republican cut to create philosophy cuts the job market and creates only uncertainty. the choice is simple, politics versus job creation, we're all going to be listening with great attention to the president and i hope all of us will attend. thank you and i yield back. . >> thank you, mr. speaker.

why i was at a senior center or holding a town hall meeting, one thing is clear, the people are concerned about the economy and they want congress to work together to find solutions. mr. dold: throughout august i toured several factories, held town hall meetings, hosted a job fair where over 600 people attended, organized meetings with manufacturers and entrepreneurs. at each and every one of these events, people eagerly shared their ideas about how to spur the economy, and one thing also was clear is they were fed up with washington's politics as usual. mr. speaker, we know washington doesn't create jobs. small businesses and entrepreneurs do. but congress does have the responsibility to create an environment that fosters job creation and removes barriers that stifle innovation and economic growth. tonight, mr. speaker, we're going to hear from the president, and i'm looking forward to finding common ground so we can put people

before politics and progress before partisanship so we can get america back to work. and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. defazio, for five minutes. . mr. defazio: well, we have the economy, the tax cuts will give us. eight years of bush tax cuts. two years of bush-obama tax cuts. and now the individual obama tax cut proposals. $5 trillion borrowed, discontributed generally with the bush tax cuts, principally to the job creators, as republicans call them, millionaires and billionaires. and in little bits to working americans. it's not working. so why would we do more of the same? apparently the president tonight is going to propose,

again, to extend the social security tax holiday. two things wrong with that. maybe three. one is it's not putting anybody back to work. two, we borrowed $110 billion this year to put into the social security trust fund because we cut the income of social security by $110 billion. and now we're being told to perhaps double down. let's give both employers and employees a little bit of a social security tax holiday. $20 a week to someone who earns $50,000 a year. not bad. they can use it. probably about the difference they pay for filling up their car to get to work. but exxonmobil isn't hiring or, you know, maybe they use it to put food on the table for their kids or maybe buy junk from china. it's an old economic theory. put money in the work -- the pockets of americans and the idle plan capacity in america

will rev up and make things in america. we don't make things in america because of failed trade policies. three more bush free trade proposals now adopted by obama. that will be a disaster if that's part of the so-called package. it will be a travesty. but the tax cuts, let's forget about the tax cuts. let's have a little dribble or drab of infrastructure investment because, oh, the stimulus failed. what happened? 40% of that stimulus was tax cuts. 7%, 7% was investment in infrastructure. yeah, it worked, but it was a pathetically small part of the package. in a country that has a $3 trillion infrastructure project with dams that are failing, levees that are failing, highways that are crumbling, bridges that are falling, transit systems that are based in early 19th and early 20th century technology and our competitors are, you know,

building out a 21st century infrastructure. we need a bold vision. we don't need another little dribble or drab in infrastructure, and we sure as heck don't need one of these stupid shovel-ready projects. when you do long-term investments, then the private companies, these aren't government projects, taxpayers funds them, private sector builds them, many small businesses, will go out and buy equipment. if they buy equipment, especially if we put buy america requirements, it will put people back to work in manufacturing. so this isn't just about construction jobs. it's about manufacturing bs jo, it's about engineering jobs. it's about small business jobs, but it needs to be a major bold, long-term vision on building a 21st century infrastructure for america to make us more competitive in the world. .

they don't put people back to work. guess what? if you don't have a job you don't get a tax cut. do you? let's do something for the people who snead jobs for the people who need them. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from virginia, ms. foxx, for five minutes. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, over the district work period i had the chance to attend a celebration to honor the founders of a remarkable organization called purple heart homes based in statesville, north carolina. the celebration was organized by the chamber of commerce in statesville. john galina and dale, both combat wounded disabled veterans founded purple heart homes in 2008 to help other disabled veterans live with dignity. they were severely injured in

iraq in 2004 when their humvee was blown up by an anti-tank mine. as a result of their injuries, these two friends discovered a new passion. helping other disabled -- other service disabled veterans of all ages. their mission is to provide appropriate housing solutions to disabled veterans at little or no cost. they know firsthand the value of returning home after serving america while deployed and they understand just how much it means for service disabled veterans to have a usable and accessible home. their leadership, hard work, and commitment to honoring those who have sacrificed so much for their nation have not gone unnoticed. last month, -- leaders. the people of statesville and

north carolina could not be more proud of these veterans and their exemplary dedication to serving others. john and dale have overcome great odds to succeed in their mission of serving others. their stirring example gives us commitments that they have only just begun to accomplish great things. i hope that many others follow in their footsteps and are inspired to serve those in need. >> mr. speaker today the joint select committee on deficit reduction holds its first organizational meeting. ms. woolsey: it does this as it begins its work on reaching the spending cut benchmarks called for in the debt ceiling compromise. i have a suggestion for the 12 members who have been entrusted with this responsibility. i know exactly the place they should identify for their savings. it's a government program that's been notorious for waste and

cost overruns. it's been cited many times over by neutral experts for its excess and inefishency. it hasn't achieved its stated goals and it's deeply unpopular with the american people. i'll give you a hint, it's not medicare or social security. it's not food stamps or unemployment benefits. or pell grants. or w.i.c. it's not any of the programs that comprise the safety net for our nation, it's not any initiative designed to lift up the american people giving them a chance to rise above difficult economic times. no, it's a decade-long effort that has been fiscally irresponsible, eroded our moral authority around the world, and cost our nation more than 6,000 precious lives. that's right, mr. speaker, our ongoing wars in afghanistan and iraq are the perfect target for

the spending cuts our country needs to restore fiscal balance. the supercommittee, co-signed by 23 of my colleagues so far, they are still signing on, strongly urging the committee to take a hard look at the overwhelming crippling cost of these wars. afghanistan alone is costing the american people at least $10 billion a month. to date iraq and afghanistan combined have sucked the treasury dry to the tune of a staggering $2.3 trillion, not million, not billion, $2.3 trillion. frankly this would be a rip-off at a fraction of the cost. if these wars were revenue neutral, they carry no price tag at all, i would say it's not worth it. just during the month of august when congress was in recess 70

more brave americans died in afghanistan. making last month the single deadliest month of this 10-year war. the notion that things are looking up in afghanistan is ridiculous on its face. our continued occupation is impeding progress not making it. fanning the flames. insurgency instead of putting them out. making us less safe, not more. and for this we are asking our people here in the united states to go without. less than 12 hours from now, however, the president will be speaking from the chamber and he'll be talking about his job creation strategy. my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, i fear, will react by saying, we can't spend a dime more to solve our devastating economic crisis and put americans back to work. yet the overwhelming majority of them have nothing at all to say about the trillions of dollars

we have wasted and are continuing to spend on reckless, senseless, immoral wars. it's true that -- that budgets are about choices. which will we choose? the human destruction of seemingly endless wars abroad, or the pressing human needs we have here at home? the supercommittee has a big job, mr. speaker, it would be grossly irresponsible for them to ignore one of the biggest tickets items -- ticket items when they are making their consideration. let's help solve our budget crisis, our moral crisis at the same time, by bringing our troops home. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes mr. hurt for five minutes. mr. hurt: thank you, mr.

speaker. i want to talk about the jobs crisis and virginia's fifth district. they have shown that no new net jobs was added to the economy in the month of august while unemployment remains unacceptably hiatt 9.5%. we need to get america working again. to help jump-start our economy, the house has been laser focused on supporting those policies that seek to remove the federal government as a barrier to job creation, to unleash innovation and invite opportunity in the private sector. to defend, the house has already passed so pro growth measures to spur job creation in virginia's fifth district and across the nation. the senate has refused to action on these bills blocking progress on commonsense solutions that will help turn our economy around at a time when we need it most. continuing to build on the efforts in the house to grow

the economy and to create jobs, the majority leader recently announced the upcoming fall and winter legislative schedule for congress which will focus on reducing and repealing unnecessary government regulations to create a more certain economic environment to provide our true job creators with the confidence and the freedom necessary to expand and hire. i was glad that the farm dust regulation prevention act, h.r. 1633, a bill i co-authored with representative noem, was part of this overy'all agenda on jobs and regulatory relief and i'm glad the house will take action on this important bipartisan legislation. h.r. 1633 will prohibit the e.p.a. from burdening farmers and small business owners in rural america with additional dust regulations so they can focus on grog their business and putting people back to work. to unveil his latest jobs plan, it is my hope he will take this

opportunity to urge the senate to act on the bipartisan house passed jobs bills, move past his failed stimulus measures, abandon his threats of more tax hikes and join with us in the house in supporting those policies that put our economic recovery in the hands of the people of the fifth district and all americans instead of the federal government. i thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. towns, for five minutes. mr. towns: thank you very much, mr. speaker. as the ranks of the unemployed continue to swell, all eyes have been focused on the plight of the middle-income working americans. many of their for turns have changed dramatically for the worse. many have lost their jobs to foreclosure. many have seen their retirement accounts all but disappear.

and sadly many of those who have been out of work for months have fallen below the poverty level. from 2006 to 2009 more than seven million americans joined the ranks of the poor. next week on september 13, the census bureau will publish its annual report on poverty and income. we expect dire news again. these are not just poor people. they are poor americans. the vast majority of poor people in this country have not poor because they are lazy and don't want to work or to do better. many people are poor because they grew up in poverty and could not find the means to escape. they were trapped by failing schools, broken families, poor nutrition and hopeless

conditions. in recent years we have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of children living in poverty. it looked like we were making progress at the turn of the century when the child poverty rate dipped to 16%. by 2009 the rate had risen to 21% with 15 1/2 million children living in poverty. this disturbs me greatly. children who grew up in poverty are more likely to be poor during adulthood. children who are born in middle-class families have a 76% chance of being middle class. poor children only have a 35% chance of escaping poverty. on friday, september 16, in conjunction with the national association of social workers, i will be conducting a forum on

the future of new york city's children. one thing we will be doing is taking a look at what we are doing for children in poverty. this is still the greatest nation on earth. we are still the richest nation on earth. there is just no good reason why so many of our citizens are living in poverty. we must do better. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr. southerland, for five minutes. mr. southerland: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. southerland: thank you, mr. speaker. when the president steps into this chamber tonight, he will be addressing an american public. he will be speaking to a restless nation that grows louder than ever in its demand for strong, visionary

leadership fromth government leaders. they want solutions. not one job was added during the entire month of august. i will remind all of us that it requires 150,000 new jobs each and every month for this country's economy just to break even. for 31 straight months the unemployment rate has been above 8%. the lowest percentage of americans holding a job in 28 years. over half of my lifetime. 219 newly planned regulations are on tap for the american people if not stopped costing over $100 million each. the average small business with fewer than 20 employees faces yearly regulatory costs of over

$10,000. total yearly regulatory costs equal $1.75 trillion according to the small business administration. and according to the e.p.a. knew marek criteria standards, these standards would cost the state of florida, my home state, over 14,000 agriculture jobs alone. and the g.d.p., i might say, that grew this year at just .4% in the first quarter. the american small business people, mr. president, deserves real results. they will expect that tonight. they will expect that from this entire body from this point forward. american small business people are real people. people like jay trumble. jay is a personal friend. i've known him for a long time. he lives in my congressional district. he is an independent dealer for culligan water, offices in

panama city, tallahassee and fort walten beach. he's been in business for over 30 years installing water softeners and drilling wells throughout west and southwest florida. jay told me he's never seen conditions as bad as these three years of this administration. jay estimates his personal business has dropped over 25%. jay says with continued economic uncertainty has made it difficult, almost impossible for him to expand his work force and to purchase new work vehicles. he says he receives are 25 to 30 job inquiries each and every week. people seeking employment. but he says he's stuck in a holding pattern due to this administration's failed economic policies. we've all heard similar stories with 25 million americans who are unemployed or underemployed. we can all count family, friends and neighbors among

those who are struggling to find work. the american people will be listening very close low tonight in this address. they will be hoping, they will be praying that this president acknowledges we need to chart a new course. government doesn't create jobs, but it certainly, certainly can destroy them. we need tonight to reduce regulatory burdens on our small businesses. small businesses make up 85% of this nation's economy. we need to streamline our tax code to spur investment and create jobs. we need to help the american manufacturers be more competitive. we need to expand access to safe, affordable american-made energy. and, of course, we all know we should by now that we must pay down our questioned burden of our debt. mortgaging our children's future is immoral. it is unacceptable.

that is the agenda that the american people want to hear about tonight, mr. president. and until we do our jobs here in washington, the american people will continue to find it harder and harder. it's not impossible do theirs. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to address their comments to the chair. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, for five minutes. ms. lee: thank you. i ask unanimous consent to submit materiel torle for the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lee: i rise today as one of the founding co-chairs of the congressional out of poverty caucus to once again bring to life an issue that we have swept under the rug for far too long. the fact that millions of children, families and adults are living in poverty in america. last month the annie casey foundation released its date

book which included state by state rankings and child well-being in the united states. it's a tragedy, mr. speaker, that this report reveals that the child poverty rate increased 18% from 2000 to 2009. 18%. every gain in the fight against child poverty across america in the 1990's was lost from the year 2000 to 2009. we now have 2.4 million more children across america living below the federal poverty line. it's a moral outrage that in this prosperous country so many of our children are suffering and we know that the impact is far worse in communities of color. while the national child poverty rate is a staggering 20%, when we break it down we find some tragic and heart-wrenching numbers. the child poverty rate for

non-hispanic white children is 12%. for african-american children it's 36%. for american indian and alaskan native children, it's 35%. for hispanic and la teen roe children, it's -- latino children, it's 31%. for asian american and pacific islander, the rate is 13%. but among southeast asian americans, the poverty rate is 22%. these statistics, these children -- this childhood poverty rate, this is unacceptable. this data confirms what we've seen in our communities all along, the irresponsible fiscal policies of the primary administration plunged working families, especially those in communities of color, into poverty. . it also reveals the impact of the recession on their families. nearly eight million children live with a parent who is actively seeking employment but was unemployed in 2010. this is double the number in

2007 just three years earlier. that's why i again call upon the speaker to bring my legislation and congressman scott's legislation, h.r. 589, to the floor for an up or down vote immediately. to help millions of children with job seeking parents to get out of poverty. we have 13.9 million people out of work. 6.2 million of whom are long-term unemployed. worse yet these numbers do not include people who are trying to get a job or those who are unemployed. and communities of color continue to carry the burden of higher unemployment rate than the national average of 9.1%. african-americans have an unemployment rate of 16.7%, and latinos and unemployment rate of 11.3%. so the legislation i referenced increases unemployment compensation by 14 weeks for what we call the 99ers. our nation has a job crisis and

this is a national emergency requiring significant investment in the programs and projects that not only better our country but put americans back to work. that's why the co-chairs of the out of poverty caucus, congressman baca, butterfield, conyers, and mike honda, we sent a letter to the president asking him to create a big and bold jobs plan that will address the needs of workers and those seeking work across this country. . this will result in helping our economy, our communities, and nation's children. while we believe that the investment could and should take many forms, we urge president obama to include key programs and proposals that will support low-income people and grow our economy, restoring tanf, maintaining the emergency extension of unemployment insurance benefits. extend these benefits by 14 weeks. expand targeted federal john the job training -- on-the-job training programs. and programs that support and

train youth. initiate a work sharing program that would subsidize wages at firms that manage to substitute shorter hours for layoffs. we look for president obama to present a bold package of direct investment aimed at our nation's most vulnerable. those facing or living in poverty. most importantly, we look to the republican majority to stop obstructing democratic efforts to put people back to work. i urge the republicans to end their no jobs agenda that make it easier for corporations to send american jobs overseas, protects tax breaks, big oil, and ends medicare. i hope they know that to make it in america we must make it in america. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, for five minutes. mr. engel: thank you, mr.

speaker. mr. speaker, yesterday i just came back from a trip to israel, and i wanted to share with my colleagues some of the things that are going on currently in the middle east and some of the things that will happen within the next couple of weeks. first of all, it's always a pleasure to visit israel, the only democracy in the middle east. it's a pleasure to watch saturday, last saturday night, there were demonstrations throughout israel, the young people, the democratic way, voicing their feelings about important issues just like we do here in the united states. and the people in israel who are doing this in a region where you have governments in spira killing their own people, demonstrations and soldiers firing on people in libya and

egypt, in israel you have peaceful demonstrations and no fear of the police or the military harming the people because israel is a full-fledged democracy just like we are, just like the united states is. it was a pleasure to be in that country to see democracy at work. but you know there are several things that are happening during the next few weeks. and a number of them are at the united nations in my home city in new york. the palestinian leadership has decided that it will go to the united nations to try to get a declaration of statehood. now, that is something that i believe and any reasonable person believes should be decided in negotiations, face-to-face negotiations between israel and the palestinians. in any dispute anywhere in the world, the only way that you can

resolve the issue is if the two adversaries sit down and hammer out the issues. not by going to the united nations which is frankly a kangaroo court against israel. there are so many resolutions that get passed year in and year out against israel. israel can never have a fair shake. and thinking the palestinians are thinking if they go there somehow or other they will have a say, but in reality it will make it even worse. because what happens is that the united nations declares a palestinian state, that shows that there need not be any negotiations. and down the line the palestinian leadership will not be able to settle for anything less than what the resolution says. and no israeli government, frankly, can agree to what a likely resolution is likely to say. it will setback the cause of negotiation and cause of peace even greater.

so i would say to the countries of the united nations not to do a knee-jerk reaction but to think about what will really bring peace to the region. a two-state solution which i support, a palestinian state and israel, living side by side in peace, that is what we want. and i should say a jewish state of israel and an arab palestinian state living side by side in peace. if the palestinians truly want peace, they can get it. they can get it by face-to-face negotiations not by running to the united nations and having a resolution that will set back the cause of peace for many, many years to come. now, another thing that's happened in the region has been, frankly, the belligerence of turkey with israel. turkey's nato nation, but for some reason the leadership in turkey has decided that they want to look away from democracy. they want to look towards iran and towards the middle east.

so they have become increasingly hostile towards israel. and we have of course the flotilla incident where israel has a blockade of gaza, hamas, terrorist organization is in gaza in control of gaza, and israel has to be very, very sure that it protects its citizens from terrorism. we have had rockets and rockets and rockets, barrages, fly into israel from gaza. israeli citizens being killed. no country would ever allow that to happen if we had a situation where terrorists were firing missiles at us from any of the border countries, mexico or canada, we wouldn't stand for it in a second. we would go in and clean out the terrorist that is are threatening our civilian population. israel had the absolute right to do that and the united nations in a rare instance where it agreeed with israel just came out with a report saying that

the israeli blockade of gaza to prevent weapons and weaponry from killing israeli citizens was legal. so of course we had the flotilla, it came from turkey, and there was an incident. they were trying to break the blockade. and there was an incident and of course what happened was that -- the people were killed. and turkey as you said is an excuse to be belligerent against israel. i would say to turkey they ought to stop the nonsense, act more like a nato country and more like a country that wants to go into the european union not a country that is sympathetic to extremism and not a country that is saying the most belligerent things just tone down and scaled back is diplomatic recognition with israel. i thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until the hour of

>> tomorrow the house consideration u.s. intelligence programs for the next budget year. and a resolution marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. live coverage when the house returns here on c-span. at 7:00 eastern, congress meets in the house chamber to hear president obama's jobs plan. news reports say the president is likely to offer at least a $300 billion package of ideas to include tax relief, unemployment insurance, spending to support construction jobs, and aid to states to keep people in their jobs. business also get their own tax breaks, and he will propose a long-term plan to pay for it. you can see live coverage here on c-span.

on sunday, president obama travels to the 9/11 sites in new york, shanksville, pennsylvania, and the pentagon for 10th anniversary ceremonies. on sunday evening he and the first lady will attend a concert, and interfaith service at washington national cathedral where the president will make remarks. throughout this week, c-span3 is remembering the 9/11 event with oral histories of that day 10 years ago. tonight rear admiral david thomas recounts how he went inside the burning pentagon to search for his best friend. an f-16 pilot major penny tells how she was one of the first pilots scrambled to intercept incoming planes. tonight starting at 8:00 eastern on c-span3. >> the day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. this weekend on american history tv on c-span3, senate floor

speeches from september 12, from senators schumer, clinton, warner, and allen. american artifacts from the smithsonian's american history museum, recovered objects from new york, the pentagon, and shanksville, pennsylvania. also this weekend from lectures in history northwestern university professor howard on how societal changes in the first half of the 19th century led to the birth of the women's rights movement. get the complete schedule at c-span.org/history or press the c-span alert button to get our schedule emailed to you. oose a as we told you, congress will hear from president obama about his jobs plan this evening. this morning "washington journal" talked with a top republican on the house energy and commerce committee about the president's plan and the republican jobs plan. it's about 40 minutes. continues. host: at the table is congressman joe barton of texas,

a republican. this seems to be a day with a big story is jobs. the fed chairman is making a speech about the economy. the super committee is getting underway. the aftermath of last night's debate. i will star with a discussion among two donors about which state has a better record on job creation. let's listen in. >> governor romney left the private sector and did a great job of creating jobs. when he moved that experience to government, he had one of the lowest job creation rates in the country. he had a good private sector record. his public sector record did not match that. we created more jobs in the last three months in taxes than he created in four years. >> texas is a great state.

come tax. zero intere texas has oil in the ground. he did not create that. it would be like al gore saying he created the internet. guest: we still like to work in texas. we do have a lot of natural resources. we don't have a state income tax and we are proud of that. we're located in the trade corridor between mexico -- half the nafta trade goes to texas. they still wonder what you'll do to more in taxes instead of complaining what you did not do yesterday. it is the spirit of the people that helps create jobs. gov. perry has that spirit and

he is make sure we kept fostering that entrepreneurial attitude. host: what from texas can be applied to the nation as a whole? guest: a balanced budget. we have very good regulations for clean air and clean water. we work with industry to make sure that we implement those regulations in the most cost effective fashion. it is not a dirty word in taxes to encourage people to go out and work hard and make a profit. host: we have a tweet. guest: the minimum wage in texas is the same as the minimum wage of the country. i don't know that has any great appeal in our state. host: some of the republican candidates have suggested the

minimum wage is an impediment for people hiring. the think it keeps small businesses from hiring -- do you think it keeps small businesses from hiring? guest: especially first-time workers, teenagers. i think that it might be a good idea to suspend or lower teenage, first-time workers to see if that would help create jobs. host: talking about oil and gas exploration and homes. the head of the national petroleum institute argues oil and gas exploration domestically is seen as creating 1 million jobs in seven years. let me show this article about the special election in new york. natural gas can generate $54,000

immediately. host: you have seen huge debates over fracking in this country. would you give us your perspective? guest: that is injecting sand and water under pressure to spread the shelf formations to release the oil and gas. there is nothing magical or mysterious about it. in my district, we have probably drilled 5000 wells with hydraulic fracturing. will probably drop 100,000 wells in my state and no problems at all. we have the ability to increase our oil and gas production in the united states by using this

technology and creating those jobs. i am glad that it is part of the debate in the race of new york. new york state and pennsylvania and ohio have the same type of shale formations up there that we have in texas and louisiana. if they will develop them, it will be tens of thousands of jobs and billions and billions of dollars and lower energy costs for that region. i am glad it is part of the energy debate. i support it and think it is safe. it would create more american jobs. host: i am getting a number of people who are circling back and are frustrated about your policy about the oil spill. guest: i was trying to convey that every company in the united states that does business should

be treated to due process. i do not believe the obama administration to treatedb bp with due process. i said at the time that bp >> hear the senate caucus discussing the president's jobs bill. >> yes, we need to accomplish certain environmental things. we need to accomplish the species protection but at the same time we need to protect the jobs of the american people. it's a dramatic report. it's specific and it's a combination of the house and senate western caucus working together with, again, thank the senators for their hard work and leadership on this. at this time i'd like to introduce senator mccain from our neighboring state of arizona. he has comments about it. thank you very much.

>> thank you. i'll be uncharacteristically brief since we have a number of the western caucus here. thank you to congressman pearce. i want to mention two very important issues. one of them is free trade. 2 1/2 years ago his first address to the congress the president of the united states advocated ratification of free trade agreement with korea, with south korea, colombia and panama. the interesting and entertaining aspects of this -- and then repeatedly in every address to congress he would have one line about advocacy for ratification of these free trade agreement. the president has yet to submit these trade agreements to the congress of the united states for ratification. remarkable. and tonight i'm sure he will again call for the ratification by congress of these three free

trade agreement and still has not submitted them. and it's amazing. the farm bureau tells us it could generate $2.5 billion in economic activity. $27 million in my state alone. now, is it that the president hasn't submitted it? it's all got to do with trade adjustment assistance. billions of dollars that have been given to community colleges, to pork barrel projects, to other wasteful spending and they want it at the level of the stimulus package. we are willing to negotiate trade adjustment assistance, but we certainly aren't going to agree to negotiate a level of trade adjustment assistance which is in the billions of taxpayers' dollars in these hard times. the other proposal that i want to mention is -- that senator kyl, congressman flake and i advocated for six years and that's a resolution copper land exchange bill that would result

in the largest copper ore body in north america right in arizona. independent economic studies show that if we opened this mine that it would create 3,700 total jobs with $220 million in annual wages. in the 60-year lifetime of this mine. and this proposal to mine the richest copper ore in north america ever discovered rather than having to import copper from other countries would have profound affects. and this proposal would be blocked by democratic members by both houses and by the environmental community and not supported by the administration. we need to pass it. >> cynthia aluminum miss. -- lummis. >> well, i do want to applaud

our chairman, both senator barrasso and congressman pearce for bringing this document forward with the collaboration of members of the western caucus which is huge now and that's because of a recognition that american energy, making it affordable, clean, technologically advanced and able to serve americans all over this country is an important part of the western agenda and it's also an important part of the american agenda. it's also an emphasis on conservation, stewardship and capable management in a way that also shows if we take the shackles off unreasonable regulation and empower people who are excellent stewards of our land and have the capability through years of

knowledge and revisiting prior practices on the environment are able to move forward and to produce the goods that are needed in this country to have quality houses and homes, quality energy for -- to heat our homes and to transport us around this country. it is a positive agenda because it rejects the litigation standard by which late 20th century conservation occurred and embraces a 21st century model of conservation which seas the development of jobs in our natural resources and careful environmental stewardship and conservation, going hand in hand. and as previous speakers noted, it is a recognition not only of

what we can do differently but exactly how we can do it differently and the number of jobs it will create around this country and particularly in the west. this is not only a jobs frontier agenda for the west, it is a jobs frontier agenda for the nation. i am proud to be a part of it. i am proud to be part of the western caucus. i would like to now yield to my former house colleague who has joined his colleagues in the senate from the wonderful state of nevada, senator dean heller. how are you? >> great. >> we miss you. >> thank you, cynthia, and to senator barrasso and congressman pearce, congratulations. i think this is job well done. this jobs frontier booklet impacts no other states more than the state of nevada. we are the state with the

highest unemployment, highest foreclosure, highest bankruptcy. if there's anything that can create jobs in the west and impact the state of nevada more, this pamphlet does that. now, there are specific projects that impacts nevada. there are other areas that i think are just as important that emphasize this specifically in the area of mining. if you try to permit a new mine today, going through the process takes 10 years. you take the other developed countries in the world and the average is two years. yet it takes 10 years, 10 years to develop and to get a permit to open a gold or silver mine in the state of nevada and anywhere in the west. i believe that needs to change. if we do that i believe we can create tens of thousands of jobs not only in nevada but across the west if we just get the federal government out of the way. another area i think is critically important and also mentioned is green energy. we have problems -- we have more geothermal sites in northern nevada and the solar

energy that's available in southern nevada, if they allow transmission lines so we can move that energy from point a to point b we could create the green energy jobs that the administration continues to doubt. but we can't put those transmission lines in place. that being the case, obviously we can't create those jobs. if we get the transmission lines in, get the federal government out of the way, create the green jobs, we can create jobs not only in nevada but throughout the west. congratulations to the western caucus and their efforts on the jobs frontier. thank you. >> thanks. i want to compliment my neighbor from wyoming, senator barrasso, and congressman pearce for their leadership in the western caucus. many of us are members of that good organization and continues to grow, and not too long ago the western caucus put out a report documenting this administration's assault on the west called the war on the west, and it almost seems as if

the administration is kind of almost openly hostile to the way in which people in the west make their living and, you know, it overlooks the fact there is so much opportunity for the ideas put forward in the jobs frontier by the western caucus to create jobs in this country and to get the economy growing again. you know, you look at whether it's in the area of energy production, and there is abundance of resources in the west, oil, gas, coal, renewables, whether it's agriculture, farming and ramplinging, recreation, there are so many ways in which western states can contribute to getting this economy back on track and creating jobs out there that it's sometimes -- we're at a loss to explain why the administration takes the path that they do toward the western states and many of the job-producing ideas that are -- they're available and are being originated in those states. so i'm proud to be part of this effort and part of the western

caucus. as i traveled across the state of south dakota during the month of august, the one thing i heard over and over and over again is get the government off our backs. excessive regulation and red tape are hamstringing our job creators' ability to get out there, to invest in their companies an to create jobs. that's something we have to change, and i hope that the president in his remarks tonight will embrace many of the ideas that are included in the jobs frontier because they could go a long ways toward addressing what is the primary and most urgent concern facing the american people and that is economic growth and job creation, getting people in america back to work. and the ideas put forth by the western caucus and the jobs frontier i think can go a long ways towards addressing that goal. thank you. >> well, thank you. cory gardner from colorado. my district represents the rocky mountain national park, some of the greatest

agricultureal -- agricultural land in this country. the opportunity for trade, the opportunity to access our energy resources should be unlimited. unfortunately, oftentimes hand are tied when it comes to the development of our resources, when it come to the progress that we can make in agriculture and our ranch lands and our farm lands. i earlier this year passed the jobs and energy permitting bill out of the house. a bipartisan support. a bill introduced by ms. lisa murkowski. this would allows us to access our energy on the west coast, the sea of alaska. this bill would make sure we have the opportunity to create 54,000 jobs through passage of this legislation, the jobs and energy permitting act. 54,000 jobs could be created across the united states if that bill were passed. one million barrels of oil could be brought online. creating american jobs and lowering the price at the pump. as was testified before the house energy and commerce

committee. over 100 years ago one said go west. that's good advice. right now the west is leading by job creating ideas and i hope that everybody takes the time to read a solid report put together by the western caucus that truly is about job creation, about getting our country back on track and making sure that we're taking an abysmal unemployment rate and we're driving that down by creating jobs right in our own back yard, utilizing the resources and the opportunities that we have in the west and throughout the united states. >> well, i'm happy to join my colleagues and raising so many issues that are important. you know, later tonight we are going to hear from the president to offer i think more of the same failed economic policies that he's been pushing since he took office. and what we need to look at is new solutions. we know will promote economic growth and create jobs. and that's what the western caucus jobs frontier report is all about. putting forward solutions to create jobs and get more americans back to work.

western sites are not im-- states are not immune to this weakened economy, but many of our states such as my home state of utah have lower unemployment rates than the national average and, of course, this can help lead us to economic prosperity. now, one area is domestic production. we in utah had over 130 projects that had parcells of land up for auction. we gone through years and years jumping through environmental hoops. our estimate is seven years. we finally got complete approval by mlb and then all of a sudden the -- b.l.m., and then all of a sudden they sued to stop this par sell, to stop 77 -- parcel, to stop 77 of them and then in federal court and then all of a secretary the secretary of the interior looked at the 77 liked he prejudged the case. we would have won that case, by

the way, and lifted those 77 parcels up, and stifled economic development in my home state in utah. we know that utah, colorado and wyoming have somewhere between 800 billion and 1.6 trillion barrels of oil in oil shale and it's recoverable. it was odd to me that people from estonia came to visit me in my office to talk about developing utah oil shale because estonia has been developing its own oil shale for 90 years. then a company from brazil came to talk to me because they've been developing oil shale for a number of years themselves and yet we're stifled here. the president likes to promote green energy companies like the one that just announced it was going bankrupt last week and which all kinds of money went down the drain. american made energy has been creating jobs for centuries. now, we have american energy sitting on the sidelines under acres and acres of federally

controlled life that drive for production and president obama and his liberal allies keep it closed off to play in izz anti-oil agenda at a time when we need energy and energy costs are going off the chart. and it's only getting worse. rather than streamline an overly bureaucratic system the bureau of land management would add a whole new layer of red tape that is duplicative. the western energy alliance recently released a survey that found that $1 billion has already been shift aid way from the rockies and that $3 billion in future investments will continue to be shifted to other regions. now, that needs to stop. harnessing american energy creates american jobs that helps american families. it's a win-win-win for our economy. increasing affordable energy is just one of the eight planks of our jobs report.

i am proud to stand with my colleagues to work toward job creation efforts for our country. and it isn't just energy. it's our farmers and ramplingers. it's our recreation fees. utah is owned by mostly federal government. we're stifled in being able to do things that would help feed our families and help this country pull out of the economic mores a that it's in. i want to thank the leaders of our caucus here and express my gratitude and appreciation for them in leading these type of efforts. thank you. >> as others have said, i want to thank john and steve for writing this report. steve in the house and john in

the senate. i'm from dodd city, kansas. if that ain't west i think it's dreadfully wrong. >> not as west as us. >> just don't come inside the city limits. you know, marshall dillon will take you on. this is going to get a lig technical. i am also the ranking republican on the sometimes powerful agriculture committee. and we need senate action. i mean, this is isn't we shouldn't be doing and we have a bill to fix it and yet we can't seem to get traction here with the majority leader. we need action on a bill called home run 872. home run 72. write that one down. prior to october 31 we have a deadline to deal with in order for public health officials, to underscore that, public health officials, we got a lot of deaf take from the hurricane, a lot of pools of water sitting around everywhere and lo of mosquitoes. and they are famous for carrying a lot of infection

diseases we don't want -- infectious diseases we don't want. we are in a drought. east we are putting up sandbags on the missouri river. farmers have to apply pesticides from time to time to save their crop. ranchers, same thing with their live stock. foresters, same thing to protect our trees. and for that matter anybody who wishes to spray a pesticide near water to be protected from burdensome e.p.a. permits. they are unnecessary. let me point out if you are applying a rodent side, pesticide, whatever cide, you are already regulated under something called the federal insecticide act. it is a wonderful bill. i have had to deal with it in six farm bills. and you really get to know lab rats on a personal basis. the house has already acted and passed home run 872 with strong

bipartisan support. the senate agriculture committee reported home run 872 with bipartisan support. only one vote against it. we are now waiting on leader reid to bring h.r. 872 to the floor to vote. if we don't act a mere 54 days from today. e.p.a. estimates approximately 365,000 pesticide applicantors will need permits, individual permits that they have to fill out, about 23 pages, to cover about 5.6 million applications per year costing hardworking americans about $50 million. that's just unnecessary. e.p.a. estimates this will require one million hours to implement each and every year. this is the kind people have been talking about when they go to a meeting and you cannot go to a meeting without somebody sitting up saying, pat or john or steve or whatever, orrin and saying, what are you doing back

there passing all these regulations that are about to put us out of business and it doesn't make any sense? and many times we used to say, did you read the bill? and then they said, did you read the regulations? now they're saying, are you aware of the regulations? well, we are going to try to fix it. now, this is baurdsome requirement. nothing but a paperwork exercise. it provides no additional environmental benefit. in fact, it could create a public health crisis by limiting quick responses from public health officials regarding a pest outbreak such as mosquitoes. so we need to put a jar of mosquitos on harry's desk and see if we can get action here. i encourage harry reid to act on this. this is an easy one. it could cost us a lot if we don't act. thanks, guys. it's a pleasure to write this. i didn't get the -- i didn't get the dress code. blue side out. i'm sorry. >> i'll be very brief.

senator hatch mentioned that utah's 70% publicly owned. arizona is 87% publicly owned. it's very difficult if the federal government stands in the way of economic development. they can really hold up job creation. senator mccain mentioned the home run 1904, the southeast arizona land conservation act. simply by doing this land exchange it will create something like 4,000 jobs and also get the federal government control of some very environmentally sensitive areas that doesn't have control of now. so it's a net plus for the environment and it also will create jobs in arizona. it's one area where the federal government just steps back, jobs will be created. so i commend john and steve and everyone who has put this together and gland to stand with you. >> take questions. >> what do you want to hear

from the president tonight on his jobs speech an you are talking about jobs today? >> well, we want specifics. we don't just want more spending which we know doesn't work, hasn't worked in the past. we want to know he understands the impact, the heavy wet blanket that regulations are on our regulators. we want to make it easier and cheaper for them to make jobs. we think whatever comes out of the white house makes it harder and more expensive to create jobs. >> proposing -- one of which is a payroll extension. can you support that? >> orrin wants to talk about that. >> we can't support. we are -- i think most of us are for tax cuts. that would amount to a tax cut. as you know it was the shumer-hatch bill, one of the first bills passed in this administration. let me just say a couple other things since you asked that question.

i'm hoping that he'll bring with him the three trade agreements, free trade agreements for korea, colombia and panama and submit them so that we can vote on them up here on the united states senate and the house of representatives. should we pass those free trade agreements that will create upwards of 250,000 new jobs. i can't for the life of me understand why this has gone on and on and on for this long. to get that done it seems that senator reid will have to amend the g.s.p. that's just been sent over by the house. the generalized system -- preference system, and so forth, he will have to amend that since it's a money bill from the house with the t.a.a. and then send it back to the house so we can automatically get this done. number one, i'd like to get those free trade agreements done and i hope he has it with them to hand it up to the united states senate. there are so many other things that we can talk about that

really would help us with jobs, help us with the economy, but that's one i just want to bring up. >> given the democrat-controlled senate, what do you think the future of this package really is as far as being signed by the -- >> free trade agreement? >> all of the whole jobs package that has to be approved by the senate and -- >> i think everybody would like to see some legislation that would help create jobs. there's no question i think almost every -- i think every republican would like to see these free trade agreements brought up that has been delayed. they were promised before we went on recess in august and we're still not there. every time we turn around they want something else added to it. so i believe the president's sincere in wanting to do that. i was shocked a week ago when he suggested we ought to pass those bills. we can't pass them without him submitting them. under the rules. so i'm hopeful he'll bring them up, submit them today and then we'll go from here. there are so many other things

we can do to create jobs in this country. and the payroll deductions, just one of them, but i hope it's not conglomerated with bunch of other things that won't create jobs. >> let me answer your question that in addition to what both senators said i would like to see the president go ahead and address in his state of the union. he said adequately that our corporate taxes are so high. we're the second highest in the world. since that time japan has lowered theirs. really we need to take action so we can remain competitive and keep the jobs here rather than sending them overseas because of the tax policy. >> there's another press conference at 11:30. so thank you very much for being here. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> you've bullpen listening to the senate -- you've been listening to the senate western caucus. next we'll hear from senate

republicans about the jobs, the economy and the president's address tonight. we expect them to start shortly. this is live coverage on c-span.

>> on capitol hill today, legislative work in the house begins at noon eastern. members will work this afternoon on expanding charter schools throughout the u.s. the bill authorizes $300 million for state grants to help create charter schools. alternative to public schools but they are overseen by the local public school system. eight amendments are allowed.

final passage is expected by 2:00 eastern. the house is planning to recess by 4:00 eastern to allow a security sweep of the chamber in preparation for the president's job speech tonight before a joint session. that's at 7:00 eastern. the senate is spending the day on a house-passed bill changing u.s. patent law with votes at about 4:00 eastern. the senate will also recess for the president's jobs speech. after the speech senators will return to session for a procedural vote on disapproving an increase in the debt limit.

>> as we're waiting for senate republicans, again, the house will work this afternoon on expanding charter schools throughout the u.s. the bill authorizes $300 million for state grants to help create charter schools. privately run alternatives to public schools that are overseen by the local public school system. eight amendments are allowed and we expect that vote -- debate rules around 1:30 eastern. any votes on the bill after that will be held next week. at 7:00 eastern, congress meets in the house chamber to hear president obama's jobs plan. news reports say that the president is likely to offer at least a $300 billion package of ideas to include tax relief, unemployment insurance, spending to support constructing jobs and aid to states to keep people in their jobs. let's go now to senate republicans.

>> good morning. president obama's coming to the congress tonight to talk about jobs at a time when we've had persistent unemployment at a greater level than any time since the great depression. this is exactly the subject we ought to be dealing with, and this is a speech the president should have made 2 1/2 years ago instead of proposing a change in the health care law that actually took a health care delivery system that cost too much and expanded with mandates and taxes that made it harder, more difficult to create jobs. no one blames the president for the economy he inherited, but he should take responsibility for -- by his policies making it worse. whether it's the health care mandates, taxes, whether it's undermining the right to work law, whether it's running up the debt, whether it's the

smothering wet blanket of regulations spread across job growth in this country, all of those policies by the president have made the economy worse. republicans are ready to work with the president and to make it easier and cheaper to create private sector jobs. we suggested a number of ways to do that. lower tax rate with fewer loopholes, fewer regulations. the president could send the three trade agreements that have literally been on his desk since the day he took office. in our state of tennessee alone it would permit us to sell auto parts and things that we grow around the world, adding thousands of jobs and millions of dollars. we could work on lower health care costs, work force training and we could find more american energy and use less of it. these are all ways to create an environment in which it's easier and cheaper to create private sector job. but unfortunately the president's policies have made it worse. they've thrown a big wet

blanket over the economy. we're hoping his proposals tonight will show how we can make it better. senator thune is chairman of the republican policy committee. >> thanks, lamar. you know, i think that the record that the president has put up is pretty clear, and i think tonight you're going to see probably the same plays called from the same old playbook, but his hopeless economic policies are costing too much and making the economy worse. his hopeless economic policies are costing jobs in our economy and making it worse. his hopeless economic policies are costing us economic growth in making matters worse. you don't have to look very far. it's all out there. since this president took office there are two million more people unemployed in their work. when he came to office the debt has gone up 39% sibs he -- since he took office. the number of people on food stamps has gone up 49% since he took office.

gas prices have nearly doubled since he took office. health care costs are up 19%, notwithstanding the health care debate said it would be lowered. that is the economic record associated with this president's policies. so we are certainly hoping that he is willing to change those policies and to try a new direction. and so as we anticipate what he's going to say this evening, we're somewhat hopeful and optimistic that will be the case. what we've seen with this president over and over again is a gap between what he says and what he does. he says some of the right things, but his policies tell entirely different stories. so as we look at the impact that his policies are having on the economy right now, the way it's costing us jobs, the way it's running up massive amounts of debt, we believe that the time that this president actually work together with us on things that will add jobs in this country, will create

economic growth and get the economy back on the right track. you heard senator alexander say, serious tax reform could go a lock way to creating economic growth in this country, there are trade bills, trade agreements that have been dealt with years ago that have been languishing since this president took office. we are awaiting him for him sending them up here for ratification. the message i hear over and over again in south dakota, and i think all of my colleagues would echo during the august break is, get the government off our breaks. these excessive regulations, the red tape is hamstringing our small businesses' ability to put people back to work and to invest in their businesses. we would love to work with this president to roll back a lot of these regulations that are driving up the cost of business in this country, making it more difficult for our job creators to create jobs and making our economy worse. it is, as senator alexander

said, throwing a wet blanket over our economy at a time when we can least afford it. we ought to be looking ways to enable economic growth and create jobs rather than making it more costly. we hope that the president will sound a different tone tonight and come to us with a different agenda. like i said, we hope that's the case and wait and see what he has to say. senator sessions. >> thank you, john. the debt crisis, the debt is a job crisis. there's no doubt about it that the debt of the united states is causing great concern throughout our entire economy. that is therefore costing jobs. we also have the reinhart study that says when your deficit reaches 90% of g.d.p. you suffer economic growth loss.

and that's from 1% to 2%. i've been using the 1% loss but the numbers were really 1% to 2%. the numbers they were using -- this is an impeercal study of countries around the world have had. their numbers from growth debt. our growth debt hit 90% of g.d.p. early this year, have already exceeded 100% of g.d.p. this year and that could well be the explanation of growth that was projected. in other words, we were expecting 3% growth this first half of this fiscal year. we are going to come in below 1%. i see that the oecd is predicting much lower growth for the united states in the second half than they had projected just a few months ago. and so is it a factor? i believe it is.

so what i say is we have to ask ourselves, can we run up more debt in an attempt to stimulate the economy today and get a net benefit to growth and jobs? the white house has said that 1% difference in growth, 1% difference in g.d.p. will add one million onto this economy. so growth is the key to job creation. growth is the key to helping bring down our deficit. but we are not going to be able to do it, i believe, with more borrowing and more debt. so i'll be looking tonight to see if this proposal is indeed paid for or just another attempt to gain a sugar high by immediate spending that will increase our debt and actually weaken our economy and job creation now, not in the future, now. thank you.

>> well, thank y'all for coming here. i'm new to town. my background is as a manufacturing and business owner. i've been building the same business for about 31 years. i've made investment decisions. i've made decisions to hire people. i have firsthand knowledge. the fact there's such a high level of uncertainty, such a lack of confidence, that just freezes the actions of business. that's really what's keeping our economy from growing. the fact of the matter is, yes, president obama did come into office with a very uncertain economy. but his policies have made matters worse. senator thune just kicked off all the metrics that basically prove that point. i mean, when you add $4 trillion to our nation's debt, when you drive that debt to g.d.p. ratio up over 100%, when you pass a health care law rather than concentrate on economic policies for growth and job creation, when you pass dodd-frank that is starving

small to medium-sized businesses of capital, when you put your agencies on regulatory hyperdrive, that creates such a high level of uncertainty that businesses simply are afraid to invest, they are afraid to put on additional workers. so if i were going to be proposing a jobs program, the absolute first step i would propose would be the total repeal of the obama agenda. we peel health care law. repeal dodd-frank. repeal all these regulations. now, i don't think president obama is going to have a change at heart. i don't think he's going to propose that tonight. we should at least put a moratorium on new regular lacings -- regulations. that's why i introduced a bill right before we left on break. we should pass that bill. and that would basically do -- what that would do is impose a moratorium on regulations until our unemployment rate drops below 7.8% which is the level

it was when president obama took office. give our economy a chance to get growing again. but i'll turn it over. >> thank you. i come from a small business family as well. my husband has a small landscaping and snowplowing business and employs about 20 business. and over the break i traveled around our state, had town hall meetings and met with many of our small business owners and i asked them, what is the best thing we can do in washington to help you expand and create more jobs? and what i heard was, get off of our backs. stop passing regulations that make it more difficult for many of our businesses that do interact with the government, do business with the government, that really makes it difficult to create jobs.

i do think we should put a regulatory moratorium. i think the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and getting the same result. well, i would ask the president tonight, we saw that with the stimulus, we did not get the results. we lost 1.7 million jobs since the stimulus. and so the same old policies are not going to get our economy moving. what will get our economy moving is pro-growth policies, have companies tell them not to worry about what will come around the corner. creating tax reform that will create a competitive tax climate for this country. we are not competitive as you know in our corporate rate with other countries around the world. we can do that together to help get our economy moving. these are the things that we need and not the same old policies of the past. so that is what i'm hoping for tonight from the president's

speech and we stand ready to work together to get people back to work but we can't keep doing the same thing here and the same old business in washington. we've also seen that adding to our debt, i can tell you what i heard from my business owners was the more you spend in washington the more you add to the debt the more we get worried that we're going to pay for it through increased taxes. so please, get your act together. we saw with the downgrade we did not do enough with the agreement we came to, so i'm hopeful we will show the markets that we're prepared to do more in that s.p.r. committee -- supercommittee was set out to do. we need to show people we are serious about getting our fiscal house in order in washington. so i look forward to the president's speech. there are areas when we look forward to working with him and those have been outlined today. and most of all to make sure we get people working in this country.

>> are the republicans going to give an official response to the president's speech and if not why not? >> well, we'll give in the senate 47 responses to the president's speech. i don't know whether the leaders selected an individual to give a response. i don't know but we have been anticipating the president's speech. we are going to be at the president's speech and all of us will be responding to the president's speech after it's over. >> you both talked about a need for moving in a different direction and you talk about some of the areas where you want to work with the president. we are now getting some of the details about what the president is likely to announce this evening. infrastructure spending, extending the payroll tax cut, refurbishing schools. do you think that is the direction you are looking him to move in? >> i can only speak for myself but i'm not a -- first off, i think that the president -- first, senator sessions made a great point. is this all going to be

borrowed money? what we saw with the last stimulus bill is $1 trillion of borrowed money and spending and all the interest costs we are going to be paying for for a long time to not get an unemployment rate down to where it's 1.7%. senator ayotte said we lost jobs since the stimulus bill. this sounds similar what they are thinking about doing. to get better schools we need to work to reform nclb. i don't think all this massive spending that the president is talking about doing will be the solution. with regard to the payroll tax thing -- and i think everybody may have different opinions on this. i'll just speak for myself. i was not a big fan of that when it happened last time. it's $112 billion cost and it's also something that in my view is a very short-term -- sort of sugar high, maybe get a little economic pop from it in the near term but we ought to be

focused on our long-term policies that will promote economic growth and provide the certainty that senator ayotte was referring to. and, plus, you get the whole issue if you borrow money from the general fund to pay back the trust fund and the whole idea of social security being something that's always been dedicated to payroll tax revenues coming into, there are just lots of issues this creates for me. but that's my own view. so what i've seen so far -- i'm going to litigate each individual point of what the president may or may not say but it seems to me a lot like more of the same of what we've heard before. what we heard before and what he's done before haven't worked. >> senators, the biggest item will be the payroll tax, extending that, maybe even expanding that. the tax cut, it is something that republicans have backed in the past. can republicans really be in a position of voting against extending a tax cut that most every worker is going to

benefit from which would mean a tax increase in january? >> well, as one republican who voted for the tax agreement a year ago which included the one-year payroll tax, my preference is for permanent reductions in tax rates for everyone, including workers, rather than short-term fixtures -- fixes which are gestures. i think what our economy needs is permanent changes for the regulatory structure, permanent lower tax rates. perhaps paid for by closing loopholes rather than short-term fixes. so i have a strong preference for the permanent solution rather than a one-year -- a one-year short-term fix. we've had enough of those and those don't seem to work. >> senator reid said last night and again this morning he's bringing forward the $6 billion disaster relief bill. it's not going to be paid for.

again, a bit of challenge to you obviously on a notion of whether or not this kind of spending should be paid for. what do you make of this particular move? will you support this bill if there are no offsets? >> well, let me -- i think the senate appropriations committee upon the recommendation of both senator inway and senator cochran yesterday acted responseably. they stayed within the limits that were set by the budget agreement in august which is at a level that 10-year historical amount. and one senator proposed that we anticipate there would be a need for more spending and that we just go ahead and allocate the money. and both senator inouye and senator cochran said that would be irresponsible. that we appropriated yesterday through our committee money for every single disaster that the president has declared and has been certified by fema and for

us to start picking out a number and spending money that's not been asked for by the president or certified by fema would be exactly the kind of thing the guys are dealing with in the first place. i follow the lead of the appropriations committee in the senate yesterday rather than the suggestions senator reid made this morning. >> infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy and would that have to be offset? >> well, i mean, i think, again -- i think any of these will be looked at in light of the whole -- whatever the package is and whether or not he proposes to pay for it. i heard different -- in the discussion about that, suggestions of whether or not it will be paid for and whether or not it will be paid for by higher taxes. we are going to wait and see what comes out of this. i think in terms of his suggestions. but i just will say -- go back to where i started. many of these same sorts of ideas have been out there.

the thing at administration proposed in the past. some of which were included in the original stimulus bill. those are things that were not succeeded. they haven't worked. you know, i think that what we're interested in working with this president is policies that will create conditions that will stimulate economic growth in the long term. as senator alexander said, so many of the things being proposed, including the payroll tax -- and frankly that was something we supported last time around because that is what we had to do to get the rates extended but it is a short-term fix. it isn't something that's going to i think create the kind of incentive for investment in the long term that will really put us on a stronger footing. both with regard to the economy and the fiscal picture that we're facing. one point about disaster relief because my state has been impacted by this and i have been asked a number of times. i think and certainly in the past there has been some history and some precedent about putting these bills on the floor and not offsetting them, but i think lamar is

right. this is a different time. we are living in very different times and these are not ordinary circumstances. i think we got to figure out how we pay for these things and we ought to know what the damage assessments are before we start, you know, deciding what the numbers are going to be. so often around here, i've seen in the past where democrats will throw a number out there and say, we're going to appropriate $6 billion or $7 billion and really don't know what the impacts are. i think we need to know if we're going to be responsible about this before we move forward what the damage assessments are and that we act in a way that is consistent with that and not just start throwing numbers out there. >> thanks very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> this one of a number of briefings we've covered already today ahead of the president's address this evening as he lays out his jobs plan before a joint session of congress tonight at 7:00 eastern. news reports say the president is likely to offer at least a $300 billion package of ideas to include tax relief on employment insurance, spending to support construction jobs, aid to states to keep people in

their jobs, and businesses would get their own tax breaks. and he will propose a long-term plan to pay for it. you can see live coverage here on c-span at 7:00. follow online at facebook .com/c-span and we'll take your comments after the speech. on sunday the president will travel to the 9/11 sites in new york city, shanksville, pennsylvania, and the pentagon. he'll join the 10th anniversary ceremonies at all those locations. he and the first lady will attend a concert at washington's kennedy center will the president will make remarks. now, throughout the week, c-span is remembering -- c-span 3 is remembering 9/11 with oral histories. on the day 10 years ago, brought you a number so far this week. tonight, rear admiral david thomas talks about when he went around the burning pentagon to search for his best friend and f-16 pilot. major heather penney says she was the ones scrambled to

intercept the plane. that's tonight at 8:00 on c-span3. the u.s. house will work this afternoon on expanding charter schools throughout the country. the bill authorizes $300 million for state school grants to help create charter schools. privately run alternatives to public schools, but they are overseen by local public school systems and districts. eight amendments will be allowed and we expect the first vote on debate rules at 1:30 eastern. any vote on the bill will be held next week. the house is planning to recess by about 4:00 this afternoon to allow a security sweep of the chamber in preparation for the president's jobs speech tonight. again, that's at 7:00 and we'll have coverage. the senate, meanwhile, is spending the day on a house-passed law changing patent laws. the senate will also recess for the president's speech, and after that the senate will return to session this evening for a procedural vote on disapproving an increase in the

debt limit. part of the debt agreement before the recess. we take you live now to the house floor here on c-span. the speaker: the house will be in order the prayer will be offered by our guest chaplain, reverend clark johnson from the first southern babtist church

in topeka, kansas. the chaplain: i'd be delighted if you'd join me in prayer. lord god, we begin our day by humbly thanking you for your love from which comes the blessings of life, among those blessings none seem more important or more needed to this legislative body than the gift of wisdom. we pray that each member of this congress will seek the wisdom that comes from you. we are thankful for the leaders who use that wisdom to discern direction and implement the right course of action to enrich the lives of the citizens they represent. i pray for them personally, the demands upon them, the heavy burdens and responsibility, the lifestyle interruptions, that they will physically, mentally and emotionally remain steadfast to the task. lord, we collectively give our nation to you that it will be a

blessing to you and those whom we are involved with throughout the world. it is in the name of that we pray. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentlelady from california, ms. chu. ms. chu: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: without objection, the gentlelady from kansas, ms. jenkins, is recognized for one minute. ms. jenkins: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker: without objection. ms. jenkins: i am so pleased this morning to welcome fellow kansan to the halls of congress, pastor clark johnson is here today serving as guest

chaplain to the house of representatives, and i have to say it was a nice start to the day with a prayer infused with a little kansas spirit. pastor johnson joined the topeka community in 1989 when he accepted the call to become senior pastor of the first southern baptist church in topeka and over the last 20 years pastor johnson has built a true family at his church with members steadfastly working together for the greater glory of our lord and savior. kansas and topeka are so blessed to have pastor johnson in our community and the house is especially blessed to have pastor johnson with us today. i want to thank him for his service and wish him well for many years to come. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 further one-minute requests on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one

minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, house republicans today are seeking to empower parents through the empowering parents through quality charter schools act. the charter schools are public schools created through a contract with an authorized agency or local school districts. this bipartisan legislation encourages states to support the expansion and development of charter schools. it allows for successful charter school models to be duplicated. finally, it accounts for an evaluation of the impact charter schools have on students, families and communities. more importantly, it encourages the sharing of best practices between charter and traditional public schools. charter schools have enabled parents to have a more active role in their children's education. it paved the way for teachers to have fresh teaching methods while providing a viable option for students to escape from underperforming schools. this legislation is important to the educational needs of our

nation's families and children. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. chu: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. chu: american families are profoundly worried. many have lost their jobs. they have seen college tuition rise and watched their nest egg shrink. unemployment is constituting at 9.1%. you can feel the pain. that is why jobs bill is so critical. and yet after nine months of the republicans taking over the house they haven't passed a single jobs bill. instead, they voted 10 times against job creation plans. they passed bills that gut millions of american jobs. and governor perry even attacked one of the few programs still keeping americans afloat calling social security a ponzi scheme, blaming seniors for defrauding

younger generations. americans need more than empty promises. tonight we will hear a proposal from the president. let's work together to finally provide real solutions that will put people back to work and give them hope for the future. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. over the last month i've had the privilege to travel across the 14th congressional strict in illinois. i met with hundreds of my constituents at town hall meetings, coffee shops, diners and their workplaces over and over. i heard the same concern about our economy and our nation. we talked about how to get our economy moving again and many of my constituents are convinced that we must get government out of the way, cut spending, cut red tape, keep taxes low. they know as i do that

government, itself, cannot create jobs. they know that the best thing we can do is to help our economy is to crete a pro-growth environment, -- create a pro-growth environment. i am pleased that that will be our agenda here in the house this fall and i look forward to serving my constituents by giving our job creators the certainty they need to expand, hire and get our economy going again. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. moran: mr. speaker, tonight the president will try once again to restart this economy. but the problem is not with the president or his policies. it's here with the house majority who will oppose whatever he proposes. they will say that we tried the stimulus and it didn't work, but one of the reasons why the

economy is slowing down is that stimulus dollars are drying up. they will say that we need to cut corporate tax rates, but corporate after-tax profits are at an all-time high. they will say that we need to deregulate the financial markets, but it was that kind of deregulation that put us into this mess in the first place. what we need is the faith to invest in this country's future . there are $2.2 trillion of infrastructure projects that need to be funded. every $1 billion that goes into this country's infrastructure creates 47,500 more jobs, and it generates $6.2 billion of additional economic activity. that's what we need to do. that will work. that will make our country stronger. it will reduce the deficit and put people back to work. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona rise? >> i ask to speak to the house for one minute and to revise

and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, jise 1. >> i rise to talk about sergeant curley. he died in a fire in his community where he lived with his wife, pauline, and his three children. sergeant curley was a dependable public servant and outstanding family man whose smiled was warmed. he was second counselor in the church of geez u.s. christ of latter day saints. sergeant curley was a kind man who was always willing to do for others and dedicating his life in protecting the security of the people of the navajo nation where he was raised and lived his life. mr. gosar: they have the experience and courage to serve and protect our communities as well as put their lives in

danger for the safety of others. my prayers and thoughts are with sergeant curley's family and the broader law enforcement community for such an outstanding individual. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this summer i heard one message over and over as i visited my district. we need to create a jobs program to get our people back to work. i was sent to washington to set aside the partisan bickering. yet we wasted a tremendous amount of time this summer fighting over debt ceiling and issues that had nothing to do with creating jobs in this country. starting today, let's get back to work. mr. hochul: i was also very offended when i was at an akron -- when a marine held up a cap that said united states marine

corps and it said, made in china. i have an amazing company that could have made that. make it in america. let's get the job done. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. bilirakis: while working in august i hosted two small round tables, business roundtables because i wanted to hear from my constituents on how the federal government can best help the small business community. their message was loud and clear. washington needs to get out of the way so small businesses can innovate, grow and create desperately needed jobs. burdensome regulations, the crippling cost of health care reform and uncertainty surrounding the tax code are holding businesses back from making crucial decisions.

jeff, a constituent, who owns a moving company, told me, gus, i have money in the bank. i'd love to do something with it but i can't when everything is so uncertain. reducing unnecessary regulations and simplifying the tax code would help provide the certainty that business owners like jeff need to make the decisions that drive the economy forward. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i fear that in every assembly members will obtain influence by noise, not sense, by manyness, not greatness, by contracted hearts, not large souls. mr. quigley: mr. speaker, john adams wrote those words to his wife over 200 years ago, but the same lives today, congress

is back in town and someone will ask when, not if we will tear each other apart. as we move into september and tonight's address, let's remember how john ended that letter to agigale. there must be decency and respect and ventilation of every rank or we are undone. and a popular government wrote adams, this is our own way. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina rise? ms. foxx: i ask permission to address the house for one minute and, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. the seasons may be changing but our nation's jobs crisis is not. with unemployment still at 9.1% and no measurable job growth in august, i'm glad to hear that this administration is ready to find common ground with republicans to help create jobs.

but before he addresses the nation tonight, the president should take a close look at our plan for america's job creators and know that house republicans have already paved the path to job growth for him. so far this year house republicans have passed more than a dozen bills that do exactly what countless employers around the country are asking of washington, get out of the way so that our private sector can begin creating jobs again. this fall we'll continue to roll back job-killing regulations and rebuild long-term confidence for job creators. we all hope the president will join us in this effort. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from vermont rise? mr. welch: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from vermont is recognized for one minute. mr. welch: thank you, mr. speaker. the theme -- scene to my right

is the result of the fury of hurricane irene, the damage to homeowners, to businesses, to the state infrastructure is immense. this scene inflicted itself on 47 districts, represented by members of this house of representatives. the fury of irene was indiscriminate on who was on the receiving end of a very bad storm. that was an act of god. the relief will come as a result of the act of congress. democrats represent republicans in our district, republicans represent democrats in their districts, we have the tools to get back to those first responders, municipalities, the volunteer firefighters, who are doing the work to recover from hurricane irene. we had a meeting this morning for a coalition to fight for relief from hurricane arein. we're going to get the funds

back to our municipalities and states to get the job done. i thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has ex-tiered. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, this morning, a jobs now chant reverberated throughout the rayburn center. mr. brooks: mr. speaker, there's a sure fire way to create jobs now for american citizens. evict all illegal aliens from america and immediately open up millions of jobs for american citizens. that also forces blue collar wages up, helping american families afford and pursue the american dream. unfortunately, the white house chases a different dream, a nightmare that pits unemployed americans against illegal

aliens in a competition for scarce jobs. the dream act gives amnesty for millions of illegal ail generals, thereby legitimizing illegal conduct and depriving millions of job opportunities. congress and the white house must create jobs now, we must fight for american citizens, not illegal aliens. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticutth -- from connecticut rise. >> to address the house for one minute. : the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. courtney: i was at home and i heard the same message, congress, stop the bickering and get the work done. we have federal aviation, research and development, disaster relief and by the way the post office is going to go bankrupt.

with all these items, the leadership of the house has only ski squled five full working days. that's a schedule which would make homer simpson blush. it is time for the leadership of this house to scrap that ski jurel, get us to work, create some certainty in this country and some confidence that washington can get the job done and stop the lackadaisical, do-nothing schedule leading this country totally without trust and confidence about whether or not we as a nation can address the challenges facing us. i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from mississippi is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise to honor the victims of the shooting in carson city, nevada, including five of my fellow national guardsmen. i have the utmost respect for

what these men and women do on a daily basis and the trials and tribulations every time they put on a uniform and shouldn't have to face danger in their own back yards. unfortunately, the sacrifices they make for our country go largely unnoticed by many americans. i hope my colleagues in the house will join me in commending the work our national guard does every day here and overseas. mr. palazzo: my thoughts and prayers go out to the meebs families killed by the senseless act of violence. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the supercommittee begins this week with the goal of setting a course for fiscal stability. we need to reduce the debt and deficit but we need to do in it

a responsible and plansed manner that supports and rebuilds the middle class. mrs. davis: nobody is more patriotic or knows more about sacrifice than the brave americans who serve in the military. a retired pilot wrote to my office, the stress that every american should -- to stress that every american should contribute to a solution, especially those in his income bracket. he now makes over $250,000 a year in the private sector and is eager to do whatever he can to help put the nation back on track fiscally. the debt crisis impacts every american and every american should contribute to the solution. we're all in this together. it is the wrong approach to put the entire burden on those struggling the most in the economic downturn such as the middle class, the unemployed, or seniors.

i urge committee members to adopt a balanced approach to solving our fiscal crisis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. scalise: the president will be addressing the joint committee tonight, i hope it's not like he's talked about in the past where he pushes programs that didn't work. i hope he brings us all together in ways that are proven to create jobs. if you look at the legislation we already passed out of the house, just to get us back to work exploring for american energy can create over 250,000 jobs. there are free trade agreements sitting on the president's desk. he's refused to act on them. that would create over 350,000 american jobs. there's bill after bill but

there's regulation after regulation holding back our ability to create jobs as you talk to small business owners across the country. the president acknowledged that when he rolled back the ozone standard that e.p.a. is out of control. we've got to roll back the crazy regulations killing jobs as well. that's the solution to this problem that will get our economy back on track. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. capps: sunday marks the 10th anniversary of one of our nation's most tragic days. this weekend we honor those we lost an those they left behind. in the days and weeks following those attacks, our nation was in mourning but there was also hope as we worked to have a stronger country. 10 years ago, we stood on the capitol step, democrats and

republicans alike, to call for unity. that was only a small gesture but one we seed knead to see again. let us channel the strength we found in the aftermath of 9/11 and begin a new chapt for the rebuilding america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> as hurricane irene came through the area, our homes were battered by winds and damaged by water. our thoughts and efforts are with those people injured and harmed and our heart felt sympathy goes to those who lost loved ones, including the family of michael kenwood a rescue worker who died on duty.

mr. holt: now, water, today, is coming back to exact further vengeance with even greater floods in some areas in new jersey. many are helping, including fee masm yes, a government agency. whether it is a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or economic hardships, americans pull together as a nation. it is unwise for anyone to suggest that people are on their own, to deal with a natural disaster or to find work. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. slaughter: -- mrs. maloney: mr. speaker, our unemployed are hurting and america's infrastructure is crumbling. it would seem morally intestifiesable and fiscally

irresponsible not to take the opportunity to help solve one problem by addressing the other. the latest data from the bureau of labor statistics shows that 14 million americans are looking for jobs. while the total number of job openings is just over three million. if every single job was miraculously filled overnight, there would still be 11 million unemployed americans looking for work and needing a job. and at the same time, all across america, there is work that urgently needs to be done. our bridges, our roads, our schools, and other infrastructure, are structurally deficient. the two most important responsibilities this congress faces are keeping americans safe and helping to create jobs. this is our chance to do both.

let's choose to build a stronger america through making it in america, building it in america, with american workers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the american people -- mr. engel: the american people sent us here to work together and are tired of the partisan bickering and finger pointing. i think it's important to tonight as we listen to the president talk about creating jobs that we work together to work with him and i hope my republican friends on the other side of the aisle don't summarily reject what the president is saying, just to play politics. we need to create jobs in this country. franklin delano roosevelt, many years ago, decided that -- decided that in order to get america back to work, he would

create infrastructure jobs from the government. i think that's something we should do. i hope the president mentions it tonight. we have crumbling roads an bridges and all kinds of things that could put america back to work. let's not have a repetition of what happened a month ago when standard and poor's downgraded the united states in terms of finances. let's work together. let's work with our president. let's support him as he tries to create more jobs. less finger pointing, more working together, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands rise? mrs. christensen tok to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. christensen: thank you. tonight, the president will speak to us and all americans to talk about how to put america on a stronger track to recovery. house democrats have kept up

the drum beat for jobs since we came here. we need more jobs, what with tornadoes, floods, fires and more to come. i hope that we in congress can make sure the jobs package we pass is big enough to do the job. we are where we are now because we listened to the deficit hawks and agreed to a recovery act not big enough to bring us out of recession. our constituents all over the country are hurting and i hope we can put aside partisanship and put them first and we can get an important two-for because job creation is deficit reduction. when we make sure american cans take care of their families, we'll be making sure america can take care of its debts. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. fudge: i spend a lot of time talking to -- talking to my constituents at home. recently they presented me a package with signatures asking us to support social security. i want to make sure that it's understood that those who get by do so because of social security. we need to raise the cap. we don't need to say it can't be fixed, we need to raise the cap. again i'm going to say, it is not a ponzi scheme, it is something that hardworking americans deserve when they have finally retired after working for 25 or 30 or 40 years. it is not a ponzi scheme. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise?

>> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: before i begin, mr. speaker, i cannot help but acknowledge that we are days away from memorializing those lost on 9/11 and i am reminded of that time some 10 years ago and how this body drew together. i don't know if our leadership has thought of it but i think it will be more than appropriate if we went to the steps of the capitol and sang again "god bless america." i hope we can do that pause we did that, we did it together. tonight i hope we can be together as the president commands the attention of the american people. i hope we can be together to lift up the concept of make it in america, rebuild america, put our small businesses and inventors and geniuses back to work. i hope we can come together

with the f.a.a. authorization so houston, texas, won't lose $90 million in airport construction. i hope we can come together and recognize that when we do a supplemental to help our friends with the wildfires in texas, my constituents and others and lloyd doggett's constituents and all in the northeast, we are coming together to place jobs. there is nothing more bipartisan than putting america back to work. thank you, mr. president. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? police clay: to -- mr. clay: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. clay: mr. speaker, i ask our friends in the majority to put their country ahead of their party and join us by enacting the make it in america jobs agenda. jobs is not a democratic issue or a republican issue. putting america back to work is what we all should be fighting

for. when working families hurt, america hurts. and what elevates them lifts up the entire nation. we must pass without delay a re-authorization of the vital highway and transit bill. we need to enact make it in america agenda to strengthen our manufacturing, technological and industrial base. we need to build up america's infrastructure by putting people to work, rebuilding our roads, bridges, railways, ports, schools and airports, and we need to speed disaster assistance to hard-hit communities without injecting partisan politics into the process. the time for political games is over, and the time for jobs is now. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair lays before the house a communication.

the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission in granted clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on september 8, 2011, at 9:27 a.m. that the senate agreed to without amendment house concurrent resolution 74, with best wishes i am. signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina rise?

ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. by the direction of the house republican conference, i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 395, resolved, that the following named member be and is hereby elected to the following standing committee of the house of representatives, one, committee on small business, mr. shilling. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina rise? ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 392 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 70, house resolution 392. resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill

h.r. 2218, to amend the charter school program under the elementary and secondary education act of 1965. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on education and the work force. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on education and the work force now printed in the bill. the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. all points of order against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. no amendment to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order

printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, a, at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare

the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 1892, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the united states government, the community management account, and the central intelligence agency retirement and disability system, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments specified in this resolution and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the permanent select committee on intelligence. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. b, in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the permanent select committee on intelligence now printed in the bill, it shall be in order to consider as an original bill

for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute, consisting of the text of the rules committee print dated august 31, 2011. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. c, no amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution and amendments en bloc described in subsection f. d, each amendment printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the .proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole.

e, all points of order against amendments printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules or amendments en bloc described in subsection f are waived. f, it shall be in order at any time for the chair of the permanent select committee on intelligence or his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of amendments printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules not earlier disposed of. amendments en bloc offered pursuant to this subsection shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the permanent select committee on intelligence or their designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. the original proponent of an amendment included in such amendments en bloc may insert a statement in the congressional record immediately before the disposition of the amendments en bloc. g, at the conclusion of

consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 3, a motion to proceed with regard to a joint resolution of disapproval specified in subsection a-l of section 3101-a of title 31, united states code, a, shall be in order only if offered by the majority leader or his designee, and, b, may be offered even following the sixth day specified in subsection c-3 of such section but not later than the legislative day of september 14, 2011.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. foxx, is recognized for one hour. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. for the purpose of debate only i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks . the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. foxx: house resolution 392 provides for a structured rule providing for consideration of h.r. 2218, the empowering parents through quality charter schools act, and h.r. 1892, the fiscal year 2012 intelligence authorization act. my colleagues on the house education and the work force committee and i have been working to re-authorize the

elementary and secondary education act. h.r. 2218, the empowering parents through quality charter schools, is just one of a series of bills the committee has considered this year. during committee consideration, this legislation received strong bipartisan support, including that of the committee's ranking democrat member, george miller. h.r. 2218 re-authorizes the charter school program and modernizes it by allowing the replication or expansion of high-quality charter schools in addition to the creation of new charter schools. the charter school program is important to ensure that parent and students have choice in education. with this bill the house education and the work force committee has begun the bipartisan process of re-authorizing esca, and i urge my colleagues in the full house to support this rule in favor of the bill. the rule also provides for

consideration of h.r. 1892, the intelligence authorization act for fiscal year 2012. mr. speaker, the intelligence community plays a vital role in our national security and defense. the bill was reported out of committee by a voice vote, and the committee has worked with the senate to develop a bipartisan, bicameral bill. therefore, i urge my colleagues to support the bill. under this rule the rules committee has made it in order to consider six democrat amendments and three republican amendments to the intelligence authorization bill. we've also made in order five democrat amendments, two bipartisan amendments and one republican amendment to the charter school bill. i'm pleased to work with my colleagues on the rules committee to report rules for floor debate and the consideration of legislation that promotes transparency and participation. and mr. speaker, i again urge my colleagues to vote in favor

of this rule and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from north carolina reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. today we will be discussing two good bills, both bills under this rule are bipartisan bills. one will support students across this nation, give parents better choices, improve the quality of our charter schools in our country. and so, too, will improve the intelligence gathering in our nation that keeps us safe. the charter quality school act will improve student access to quality and effective public charter schools. i find, mr. speaker, sometimes it's necessary to help educate some of our colleagues on the definition of what charter schools are. charter schools are established by school district, authorizers. they are public schools. have to accept all students

equally. the concept of these schools is that they have site-based management. again, as a public school with a site-based management, that's a brief definition of a charter school. now, that's not better or worse than a district running a school. it can be better. it can be worse. as we look across the country we see good charter schools and bad charter schools. just because it's a charter school doesn't mean it's good. what we strive to do is improve the quality of the authorizing practices of the states and the districts as they go into, a, evaluating charter schools, making sure they serve at-risk students and closing the achievement gap and, two, make sure they follow through what their charter contains. a charter is a synonym for a contract. they operate through contracts with public authority, namely, authorizers, states, state charter institutes, regions, school districts and they're able to operate under those contracts and fulfill their role as public schools.

what are charter schools not? i hear, is this corporate run schools or something? no. sometimes for-profit companies are brought in as vendors to run schools this can happen with school districts just as surely as it happens with charter schools. some of the larger incidents have been charter schools because charter schools are much more mom and pop. but that's a discussion about what vendors can and cannot be brought in to run public schools. in the state of colorado, we don't allow for-profit institutions to hold the charter. now certainly, we don't restrict charters in school districts and they bring in a variety of vendors, i think every school district in the country uses private, for-profit textbook vendors, as an example. but charter schools and school

districts have great discretion about what vendors they use. this ups the ante on the accountability, oversight and assisting with the growth of quality charter schools. many charter schools across the country focus on particular areas of learning or emphasize particular aspects of curriculum. we have excellent art charter schools, montessori charter schools, english language accusation, outdoor learning charter schools, they can function more independently than a large district because they do have site-based management that allows for flexability. they can have different school calendars, different school days and different curriculum. this allows charters to function and benefit children in school. with experimentation, not everything you try is going to work, and for every example of a charter school that serves at-risk kids, there are

counterexamples of charter schools doing as poorly or more so than schools children were in before. i have direct experience founding and running charter schools in colorado that fill particular nearbies. i founded and served -- -- particular niches. i founded a school when i realized that english as a second language classes -- classes were dropped. i approached several people about starting a school for 16 to 21-year-olds learning english. we now have several schools. we worked backwards from the customers. why weren't they in school in the first place? they had day jobs so they needed a night school. 40% of the young women had children, they needed on site

day care or a day care voucher. just as importantly, we made sure every member of the staff, the teachers, every single one of them is passionate about helping new immigrants learn english. that is what brought them to our school and actually improved the faculty morale pause they were able to practice their passion rather than it being an afterthought as it was in some other conventional schools. i also founded the academy of urban learning, focused on educating homeless students in denver. here in washington, d.c., we've seen the success of several excellent charter schools that have outperformed public schools including the k.i.p. school. we have seen across the country, as a result of the charter school movement, great experimentation, some successes, some failures. it's time, 10 careers on to learn from our experiences with charter schools and replace the federal authorizing act with one that can really up the ante, take the learning that's occurred over the last decade into account and approve -- improve both the quality of

charter schools generally and the quantity of good charter schools across our country. this bill wouldup date the existing federal initiatives, we provide critical investment in quality alternatives. the bill carves out 15% of funding for facilities, capital and credit enhancement. the remaining 80% goes to new charter schools. the bill would ask the states to revive 0% of the charter school funds. it also introduces the all-star act which would add for the first time federal law, state level funding for expansion of successful charter schools. again we have examples of what works in public education, why not do more of it? yes, we want to turn around failing schools, yes we need to improve on what doesn't work and yes we need to hold charter schools that aren't working fully accountable under the law. but we have an example of something that works. a simple example in my state

and district, the academy in westminster is a k-8 charter school that opened four years ago. i'm glad that one of the amendments made in order is an amendment from mr. paulsen and i that would say that schools with three years with -- of success would be eligible for expansion. it provides after school studying, full day kindergarten, every student studies chess. it's 95% latino, 86% english language learners, 90% free and reduced lunch, that means poor families, yet they've scored far above the state average. the state average, including our wealthy suburban districts like some other areas i represent in the past three years. they scored 95% to 100%

proficient in math, 77% proficient in reading and writing and for third through fifth graders averaged 30% higher than other schools. other charter schools in denver have achieved positive outcomes with low income students. i'm surewell have the opportunity to talk about many of the amendments made in order under this bill. we did propose an open rule for these bills and it would have been nice to have a more thorough discussion, which is why i oppose the rule but i'm glad it made in order several amendments, including one of mine. mr. speaker, this rule also bridges another important bill to the floor, fiscal year 2012 intelligence authorization act. it continues the recent bipartisan tradition of passing authorization bills to reform and conduct oversight of our intelligence community. every member of the body believes strongly in keeping our country safe. when we're discussing the threats to our nation, the war on terror, the front line of that war is our intelligence

gathering apparatus and intelligence community. in this time of budget constraint, we know we need to spend money wisely and i've argued that instead of wasting hundreds of billions of dollars invading countries preemptively, western use the force to learn where problems arise this bill makes a compromise between our budget realities and our national security needs. this did find savings, it proposes to cush personnel growth, while it invests in select high priority needs and achieves savings by handling contractors the way the president handles pay for civilian employees. mr. speaker, i'm glad that this body was able to come together with both of the committees of jurisdiction, intelligence, and education and work force around strong bipartisan compromise under these two bills and while i wish we had the opportunity to further discuss additional recommendations for amendments

urn the floor, i'm appreciative that there will be a robust discussion with regard to the charter school bill under this rule and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from colorado for his support of the bill and support of the concept of charter schools and congratulate him on his involvement and say that i think this is a great example of bipartisan cooperation and i will reserve the plans of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. it's my honor to yield three minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts a colleague of mine on the rules committee, mr. mcgovern. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. mcgovern: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i would like to talk for a couple of minutes about a serious matter that relates to the intelligence bill we will

later consider. for the past decade, colombia's intelligent agency, the department of administrative -- administrative security, or the d.a.s., has been involved in illegal activities. it provided paramilitary death squads with the names of trade unionists to be murdered and carried out illegal surveillance on journalists, human rights defenders, political opposition leaders and supreme court judges. american cash, equipment, and training to help shut down truck trafficking may have been used for spy operations, smear campaigns and threats against civil society leaders in colombia. several u.s. agencies aided the d.a.s. the state department, pentagon, d.e.a., c.i.a., even as scandal after scandal became publicly known. it was only in april, 2010,

when u.s. ambassador william brownfield, suspended usaid to the d.a.s., diverting the resources to the colombian national police. yesterday, congresswoman schakowsky and i sent a letter to the secretaries of state and defense, the u.s. attorney general and c.i.a. director asking them to provide documentation of all forms of aid to the d.a.s. and what it was used for. that's not too much to ask for. there has been a -- there has been a shocking lack of oversight of the d.a.s. funds in the last decade. colombia appears to be doing its part. the attorney general is carrying out an aggressive investigation and series of prosecutions. six former high-ranking intelligence officials confessed to crimes. more than a dozen other operatives are on trial with more still under investigation.

president santos promised to dismant they will d.a.s. and replace it with a new intelligence agency but in the meantime the old intelligence structures remain. witnesses cooperating with the attorney general find themselves an their families threatened and human rights defenders even now are under surveillance. mr. speaker, i'm sure that u.s. intentions were good but i also believe that the d.a.s. was generally up to no good. i find it impossible to understand how the state department and embassy officials can say with certainty that absolutely no usaid funding was used by the d.a.s. for criminal purposes. congress must insist on safeguards tone sure that no funding, equipment, training or intelligence sharing with any colombian intelligence agency is used for illegal surveillance now and in the future. the administration or congress must prohibit any further funding -- the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman's time has expired. mr. polis: i yield the gentleman 30 seconds. mr. mcgovern: the administration must prohibit further funding they are d.a.s. until the attorney general has completed all investigations and prosecutions, finds out who ordered the illegal activities. i ask the committee chair and ranking member to guarantee that no further aid will be provided to the d.a.s. and if that's not in this bill that they will work with the sthath to include it in the final conference report. i yield to the gentleman. >> i thank -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. polis: the gentleman can continue on his own time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. dreier: i don't have any time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado reserves. the gentlewoman from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield such time heas may

consume to the distinguished chairman of the rules committee, mr. dreier. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he shall consume. mr. dreier: i thank my friend for yielding. i didn't control the time, i was simply here as an observer. i was going to begin by congratulating my friend on his very strong and passionate commitment, let him know i share the desire to ensure that human rights are recognized in colombia and other parts of the world, i worked with him when he was a staff member working for mr. smoke lee working on el salvador. it's imperative we resolve it and ensure our tax collars are not use for nefarious purposes. having said that, i want to rise in strong support of this rule and i do it because i think that it's been a long time since we've had the occurrence we did yesterday in