you have to admit you committed the crime. so you're losing sympathy with the jury. host: trevor aaronson is a contributing writer to "mother jones" magazine. you can find the store on our web site, c-span.org, as well as motherjones.org. trevor aaronson, thank you for being with us. guest: thank you. host: that does it for today's "washington journal." [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

washington, d.c., september 14, 2011. i hereby appoint the honorable -- 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 gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur, for five minutes. ms. kaptur: thank you, mr. speaker. you want to know why we have a budget deficit? we have a budget deficit because we have a jobs deficit. and we have a jobs deficit because our nation has been outsourcing millions of jobs for over a quarter century. white house after white house and congress after congress has allowed our manufacturing and jobs base to be windled away through a trade regimen that outsources u.s. production and american jobs, financed by the

same big wall street banks that caused the financial meltdown. year after year the united states continues to rack up enormous trade deficits with nation after nation. the numbers don't lie. and they tell us that over 2.7 million manufacturing jobs alone were lost just during the bush administration. washington must finally confront our so-called free trade failed policies if we are going to be serious about creating jobs in order to balance the budget. last year the trade deficit was another astonishing half a trillion dollars. imagine half a trillion, half a trillion, half a trillion year after year after year. that equals just for last year seven million american jobs that were not created here because of our job-killing trade policies. rather than stopping this enormous outsourcing of america, we're being offered up more of the same. more failed free trade

agreements this time with korea, panama, colombia. has washington learned nothing or has the powers bearing on washington so great the american people can't be heard, they're being suppressed? these agreements are another expansion of the same policies and processees that were enacted with nafta. we were all told in 1993 that nafta would create millions of jobs. instead, we have seen exactly the opposite. millions of jobs decimated. our trade deficit with mexico just last year was over $66 billion in the red. in 1993 proponents of nafta, like gary hoffbauer and another said we'd have an annual account surplus with mexico of $10 billion. that was an absolute falsehood. they were all wrong. dead wrong. instead, we saw over a third of

all manufacturing jobs in the united states disappear since we signed that agreement and $1 trillion accumulated trade deficit with mexico. not a single year in the black. we heard the exact same fairy tale regarding china's fermnant most favored nation status. we were told that agreement in 1998 would create millions of jobs in america. instead the result has been a cumulative $2 trillion trade deficit with china alone. when you think about the budget deficit you better think about the trade deficits because they are absolutely interlinked. you are not going to balance the budget until the american people go back to work, and they can't go back to work when their jobs are being sent elsewhere. if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you always got. the economic policy institutes analysis predicts that the agreement that's proposed with south korea will cost us an additional $1 -- 159,000 jobs in our economy. since this january we have

already had a $700 billion trade deficit. if you want to see how poorly negotiated the korea deal is, take a quick look at the auto provisions. there's no reciprocity. last year korea sold nearly half a million cars in our country, 500,000 cars. the united states -- you know how much we sell to them? 6,000. what kind of deal is that? we will be lucky under this agreement if there is a hope we sell 75,000 cars to south korea. they get half a million. we get a handful? panama and colombia, the latest nafta expansion. what are the commercial interests there? the government accountability office has identified panama as a major haven for, guess what, tax avoidance. panama is a popular destination

for the very same multinational corporations that want to avoid paying their fair share of taxes by creating offshore subsidiaries. and how about colombia? which is the most dangerous country in the world if you care about labor rights and no free country in the world have labor rights. what a pleasant place to do business. and there has been no justice for their victims and their families in the majority of those murder cases. and what is the largest economic interest we have with colombia? it has three letters. it isn't a place to export u.s.-made goods. rather, it's oil. how can those that support these failed trade agreements want more? we need to create jobs in this country again because in order to balance the budget you have to put the american people back to work and you can't do that when you're outsourcing more of their jobs. mr. speaker, i yield back my remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the

chairman recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. smith, for one minute. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. for two years 14 million americans have been out of work. yet, illegal workers hold seven million jobs. it is inexcusable that american workers have to compete with illegal immigrants for scarce jobs. congress has the opportunity to open up millions of jobs for unemployed americans by requiring all u.s. employers to use e-verify. this program checks the social security of new hires. e-verify is free, quick and easy to use. individuals eligible to work in the u.s. are confirmed 99.5% of the time. the public also supports e-verify. according to a recent rasmussen poll, 82% of likely voters think businesses should be required to use e-verify to determine if a new employee is in the country legally.

this is one of the most important job creation bills congress should pass and the president should sign. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, for five minutes. mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, this week the joint select committee on deficit reduction began work on a road map to bring down our nation's deficit and restore our fiscal health. they heard from doug, the director of the congressional budget office, who reiterated once again what we already know -- our nation's current fiscal position is not sustainable. we also know that from the problem we're facing stems in part from buying things without paying for them. including two wars, tax cuts

for the wealthiest in america and a prescription drug program. but what matters now is taking action. over the month of august we heard very clearly from the american public that they want us to work together on the issues they are most concerned about, jobs and the deficit. action on one issue will directly impact on the other. creating jobs and growing the economy is one of the most important things we can do to bring down the deficit. and getting a handle on our fiscal situation will give confidence to encourage economic growth and job creation. both the bowles-simpson supported this by calling for immediate action to boost the economy while laying out a plan to reduce the deficit over the long term.

this is why the joint select committee must succeed. we have a responsibility to show americans and the international community that we can meet the challenges we face, that we can joint together to spur growth and to bring our debt under control. i believe the committee must go beyond the $1.5 trillion target in the deficit reduction bill. if we hope to strengthen our economy and seriously change our nation's fiscal outlook. over 60 economists and former members of congress signed a law encouraging the joint select committee to reach the biggest agreement possible, and i want to join with them in that request. in their letter signed by co-chairs of both the bowles-simpson and

domenici-ripley commissions they said, quote, we believe that a go big approach that goes well beyond the $1.5 trillion deficit reduction goal that the committee has been charged with and includes major reforms of entitlement programs and the tax code is necessary to bring the debt down to manageable and sustainable levels. improve the long-term fiscal imbalance, reassure markets and restore americans' faith in the political system. closed quote. i am in absolute agreement with that proposition. as they indicate, they must put all options on the table. that's a challenge on the republican side, it's a challenge on the democratic side. but it must be done because we cannot get to where we need to get without doing so. the math is irrefutable. we cannot get to where we need

to go if we ignore revenues or if we fail to ensure our safety net is sustainable for generations to come. a balanced approach that looks at defense spending, revenues and entitlements is the only real way we are going to put america's fiscal house back in order. a balanced approach is also key to making sure everyone pays their fair share. we cannot ask the middle-class families and seniors to bear the entire burden of balancing the budget. the most well-off among us which is most of us, by the way, in this body, must also contribute to that objective. but as we focus on ways to restore our budget balance, we cannot and must not forget the immediate jobs crisis that too many families face. any plan to bring down the deficit must start as bowles-simpson and

domenici-rivlin both observed must start with getting people back to work. that is why i hope republicans and democrats will work together to bring the president's proposed american jobs act to the floor for a vote without delay. as the president said, we have 14 months to wait to the next election. people without jobs, people whose homes are underwater, people who lost their homes, they don't have 14 months to make. the jobs program suggested by the president mirrors many components included in the house democrats' make it in america agenda and will help create jobs in the short term. all of us, democrats and republicans alike, must be invested in the committee's success. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to be committed to the success of reaching agreement in this

committee of 12. this is a time to put partisan politics aside and do the hard things, very hard things, the courageous things that we have to do for our country. i believe we're equal to the task, and i say to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, if we are not equal to the task, then all of our citizens will rightfully be extraordinarily disappointed as they are today in their elected representatives on both sides of the aisle. success of this committee, success of this house and the senate in reaching and meeting the challenge that confronts us is essential if the confidence level of our own citizens and the international community is to be raised and given the level necessary for future success. .

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: mr. speaker, many, many years ago the second american revolution took place when washington, d.c., was invaded by the british in the war of 1812. many forget that the capitol, the white house, washington, d.c., was burned to the ground by the british. after the war of 1812 was over with, america found itself in a situation that's not untoo familiar with us today. it was out of money. so what did people decide to do here in this body of congress, of how to get more money into the federal treasury? they thought of a unique

approach that maybe we ought to think of and do today. right now we talk about raising taxes, cutting spending. we need more revenue. maybe we ought to think outside of the box when it comes to revenue instead of more government taking from the people and giving it to its special groups. let's do what they did at the end of the war of 1812. the federal government decided that it would sell some of the land to americans. what a novel thought. and let americans own america, they could produce that land, and then they could pay more taxes. that's what they did at the end of the war of 1812. we are talking about the land in america, who the biggest landowner in this country is, uncle sam. uncle sam owns 27% of the landmass in the united states. this poster here shows the land area in red, including alaska, that is owned by the federal

government. uncle sam. 27% of the land. half of the land west of the mississippi, or in the west, belongs to the federal government. those folks in the west, half of it belongs to uncle sam. he's their neighbor in almost every state. it's different in the east because much of that land was sold at the end of the war of 1812. 27%, what does that mean? that's really hard to understand how much that is. if you were to superimpose the 27% of the landmass in the united states into europe, you would find that uncle sam would own almost all of europe. western europe is about 27% of the landmass of the united states. and of course that includes the united kingdom, netherlands, belgium, france, switzerland, germany, austria, italy, poland, and even spain. now we are talking about a lot of land. does uncle sam really need all

of that land? much of it's unproductive. not paying any taxes, not paying any revenue to local and state governments. so maybe we should do something that our forefathers, our ancestors did. sell some of that land to americans and allow that revenue to come into the federal treasury so we can pay off all our debts that we have accumulated over the years. 27% of the landmass is 623 million acres in this country. ronald reagan tried to do that when he was president, but it did not go very far at all. you know, even president obama mentioned about a month ago that there's 300 acres in los angeles county that's owned by the federal government. we could sell that for $2 billion. maybe we need to think outside of the box. i have introduced the american land act. we talk about the american jobs act. the american land act would require that the federal government sell a portion of

that land over a period of years. i'll be careful to state we are not talking about the national parks. we are not talking about yosemite. we are not talking about the mashes in environmentally sensitive areas in this country. we are talking about unused land by the federal government. and then we go raise some revenue. the o.m.b. says much of this could be up to about $200 billion of land -- revenue that would be brought in to the united states. sell it to americans. when americans can own america, they can develop that land and then they can be productive and then they can pay more taxes. land, property tax, primarily goes to local and state governments which pays for our school systems. so that undeveloped land, that unused land, some of that should be sold to americans and let americans buy america. real property in the lands of real americans. what a novel thought that is. uncle sam, the federal government, is all about power

and control over everything. loosen up a little. and let america buy part of america. uncle sam shouldn't prevent americans from having a real stake or share in our country. the united states of america. it doesn't belong to uncle sam, at least it shouldn't. it should belong to americans. and the united states owns most of the grand estate in this country and it's time to let more americans own it because america should belong to americans. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. it's unfortunate there is an attempt to scapegoat americans' unions for the economic problems that beset us. after all, it was not americans' grocery clerks, nurses, teachers, postal workers, and electricians that nearly caused the meltdown of the economy. it wasn't americans' labor

unions pushing for tax loopholes that made our revenue system a hopeless inefficient mess. it wasn't unions that pushed for short cuts for workers' safety that produced the tragedy that we have seen in our mines. americans' working men and women didn't engineer poor loans, systematically cheat consumers, transform financial institutions into giant casinos. no doubt there were some consumers who took unfair advantage as well as others who were not as diligent as they should have been in the financial meltdown. but the truth is they were part of an unprecedented economic scheme that played on those weaknesses, the gullibility, and some individual greed to make it into a vast industry. are there some areas where unions are too effective in securing benefits for their members? that problem defends on who you ask about and the give and take of the collective bargaining process. the leadership of unions are, in

fact, much more democratic than their corporate counterparts. union officials are routinely challenged for re-election. there are a surge of insurgents even in the most powerful unions. something one seldom sees on the boards of public corporations. how many business directors are defeated? it's easy to even have -- it's not easy to even have opposing nominees through shareholder democracy. it's pretty sketchy compared with what happens with unions. there is a very direct remedy for union power in the negotiation process. for 18 years i was a local ebe lective official, part of that time responsible for a collective bargaining program. i'd like to think i bargained tough but i bargained fair. but i bargained. i supported collective

bargaining rights for public employees since i was first in the oregon legislature and still believe that honest, tough, principleled -- principled negotiations will lead to the best results. having someone attempt to dictate working conditions unilaterally is not calculated to produce enhanced productivity. it matters how people are treated and how they feel. employee-owned corporations illustrate this principle in spades, some of which are not only employee owned but have unions in addition. one of the best performing of the world's economy is germany where they still manufacture and have a huge export market for high value products. the germans work hard to integrate labor and business with government in the decisionmaking process. something that is sadly too rare in the united states. unions are not the answer for

every employee and every company, but every employee and every company ought to have that option. even companies that are nonunion benefit. i have had executives from successful companies candidly tell me that they treat their employees right because they don't want them to unionize. even these nonunion company employees benefit from higher wages, better benefits, and a system that respects worker rights because of the competition with the unions. instead of treating employees fairly by allowing them to organize, far too many corporations have chosen instead to attack the fundamentals of collective bargaining. it is today an art form in some companies to stall, delay, intimidate, even flagrantly violate the laws of collective bargaining in this country, weak as they are, and ineffectively

as they are enforced. collective bargaining has been systematically under attack by my republican friends in congress. as republican administrations have fought to have a national labor relations board that is toothless, passive, and unable or unwilling to protect the rights of employees to organize. this is not calculated to produce a spirit of cooperation. it's not clear that people need to cheat in order to avoid any excesses of collective bargaining. i would argue the opposite. it's not just workers and companies, union and none union, that benefit from unions. american society benefits. it was organized labor that spirited the effort for a 40-hour workweek. it is not just rhetoric that unions brought you the weekend. unions have played a key role in extending security to millions of america's workplace consumer

safety and environmental protections. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, for five minutes. mr. broun: thank you, mr. speaker. legendary georgia businessman recently called the obama administration, quote, the single biggest impediment to job growth, unquote. that same man, mr. bernie marcus, also says that the business that he founded would have never succeeded if he was trying to start it today. home depot, his georgia-based company, currently has more than 2,200 stores all across the united states. and they support more than 300,000 american jobs. and they generated $68 billion in revenue.

just last year. now imagine the impact on our country with companies that start out like home depot, that start out as an individual store, small business, weren't able to flourish. that is what the obama administration is trying to do to the american dream today. by creating a huge bill with obamacare and failed stimulus bill, and piling thousands of new government regulations on to the backs of small businesses, it's no wonder that job creators are afraid to expand and hire new people. and so after 2 1/2 years of growing the federal government, and $4.5 trillion in spending later, the obama administration has given us another proposal of the same old failed policies. unfortunately their latest solution to our 9% unemployment

rate comes with a price tag of almost a half a trillion dollars. money that we just simply do not have. so to pay for the american jobs act, as i like to call it, stimulus part 2, our democrat leaders want to hike taxes on families and job creators. we have been down this road before. the stimulus did not work two years ago, and it will not work today. hiking taxes in the middle of a recession will make our economy worse not better. when will this administration learn that more of the same just simply isn't good enough. anymore. jobs will come when government gets out of the way by getting rid of obamacare, stopping the reckless spending here in washington, and the threat of hire taxes and by ending -- higher taxes and by ending the

uncertainty in the marketplace. congress needs to pass my jobs bill which would immediately and permanently lower the corporate tax rate to zero. and it will permanently lower the tax -- capital gains tax to zero. this will stimulate our small businesses so that they can do what they do best. grow, expand, and to thrive. in the words of mr. marcus, the founder of home depot, quote, it's time to stand up and fight, unquote. the free enterprise system has made this country what it is today, and we must have policy that makes it prosper. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes mr. gutierrez for five minutes. mr. gutierrez: i thank you, mr.

speaker. i rise today to ask us to take action on a scaling department of justice investigation of a police department that, quote, regularly violates the constitutional rights of civilians through illegal searches, detentions and arrests, that, quote, continues to demonstrate a deliberate indifference to the public safety and the civil rights of individuals engaging in protected speech activities during protests. a police force who, quote, officers engage in a pattern and practices of unreasonable force and other misconducts to suppress the exercise of protected first amendment rights. the report details the abuse against the people of puerto rico that they are facing by the puerto rican police department. underscore, i said, i rise to bring the urgent attention of the u.s. house of representatives to a human rights and civil rights crisis. i further stated, where the

right of students protests are being maimed by pepper spray. i spoke on the floor months ago. the d.o.j. states that the governor of puerto rico has, quote, supreme authority over the police. did he use that supreme authority to respond to puerto ricans who asked for help? yes, he did. the governor's ruling party took immediate action after i detailed the abuse. the ruling party was outraged. it was outraged that me, facing a civil rights crisis, the ruling party of puerto rico acted without hesitation, conving the legislature to urgently pass legislation to censor me for speaking out. in part, the crensure reads, congressman luis gutierrez expressed himself in a denigrating and malicious manner about the puerto rican police all damages the images

of the police department in puerto rico, end quote. they are not concerned about the abuse of the people. only that the world might notice that abuse. they tonight seem to understand if you roff people you stand up and you speak out, not pretend that everything is all right. for standing up, the government of puerto rico gave me a 600-word censure but the government didn't give one word of censure to what happened to rachel hiskey. and here's what the d.o.j. describes what happened to her. a student journalist, quote, rachel entered the capitol with other individuals in attempted to access the senate chambers. puerto rico police officers stopped her and hit her. she was not resisted or combative, the report continues to say. hiskey then sat in the hallway with other visitors. they sprayed her with chemical irritants as.

as she tried to get up an officer came and hit her across the back with a baton causing her to fall. they continued to strike her with the baton, droifing her towards the doorway. when she finally reached the door of the capitol in puerto rico the officer shoved her one more time onto the concrete stairs using his baton and hitting her in the neck. hiskey was never arrested or charged with any crime. instead of protecting people like rachel, the government derighted the people. this governor's chief of staff, a man he's absurdly tasked with responding to the department of justice report said protesting workers would be treated as terrorists and boasted he would personally kick protesting students off campus. this government cannot fix the problem they helped to create and expand. the students, bloodied with batons, deserve more. the workers beaten and the journalists pepper sprayed

deserve more. and to be clear, the many honorable and brave members of the puerto rican police officers, men and women who are incorruptable, who do their jobs right and risk their lives every day, they deserve more too. when crimes like these are brought to light we expect criminal indictments. i want to see a special prosecutor appointed, the grand jury seated, the trials begun and see those responsible, not just the police officers following orders, but those who directed the police to systematically repress free speech sent to jail. the goal must be to re-establish the rule of law and to re-establish a police department in puerto rico that protects and serves the people. the goal must be a police department fighting crime, not committing crime. the goal must be that no government can act with

impunity against its people. and i have one last recommendation. the governor of puerto rico should apologize to his people. puerto ricans have called out for help. in response the governor and the ruling party have led an effort to demonize them for standing up for their civil rights. governor, the department of justice of the united states of america has just made clear that your people were right and you were wrong and it is time for you to say you're sorry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman creck recognizes from georgia mr. westmoreland for five minutes. mr. westmoreland: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, there are men who watch life go by as a spectator and then there are the 10 mallries of the world. one of life's greatest history, ted mallory's life came to end after a late diagnosis of stomach cancer. major general theodore ted

malloryiii had embraced many gifts and lived one of the fullest lives i have ever been privileged enough to encounter. the bible says iron sharpens iron so another man sharpens another. ted made it his personal mission to sharpen the lives of those men and women around him and he pushed people to their highest potential. after attending auburn university, ted entered into the u.s. air force training school in 1965 and graduated with a u.s. air force outstanding graduate officer award. among many other awards that he obtained while in training. these are the first of many commendations that ted would receive throughout his 36-year military career. a recipient of the distinguished service medal, legion of merit, meritorious service medal, national defense

service medal with one bronze service star, republic of vietnam, gallantry of cross with palm, ted truly embodied the airman. he also -- i would need an hour on this floor, mr. speaker, time just to list all the rest of ted's accomplishments. his education did not stop at auburn university. in addition to the military professional education programs offered through the air force, ted is also an alumni of the john f. kennedy school of government at harvard university. after he left active duty service, ted entered into the air national guard where he served for 30 years and held the roles of group commander, wing commander and chief of staff. he was promoted to major general in 1997 and retired in

2001 as commander of the air national guard, air education and training command. while serving in the air national guard he remand active in his community, serving on the fayette county school board for 10 years as chairman and on the georgia school board of education as president in 1996. ted served on several additional boards including my academy nomination board and was president of joseph sam school board of directors. a school serving the needs of children with mental and physical disabilities, and ted took me on a tour of that facility about two months before he passed away. his accomplishments reached far beyond military service, though. ted was also a very successful businessman in the aviation industry. his focus was always on safety and flying where he was training new pilots or senior

vice president of chief safety and security officer for air star air cargo. general mallory is now flying far above us all. watching down on his loved ones left behind and my wife, joan and i, will continue to pray for alice, his wife of 44 years, his soulmate, his children, teddy and t.j. and their families whose grandchildren, mallory and thomas and his sister and brother-in-law, molly and tom. may all those who have been touched by ted's life find comfort knowing that his legacy will live on in both our lives and our memories. so, ted, until we meet again one day, i want to thank you for everything you did to better our lives and our country. i miss you, ted. we all miss you. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. woolsey, for five minutes.

ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, yesterday the u.s. embassy and nato headquarters in kabul were attacked. the taliban, which we know has exerted its influence in many of the remote regions of the country, is now flexing its muscle in the supposedly secure capital. it's just the latest piece of evidence that the military occupation of afghanistan is having exactly the opposite of its intended effect. nearly a decade after we allegedly defeated the taliban and drove them from power, they remain as fearless and as undaunted as ever. the longer we have boots on the ground, the more we prop up the very enemy we're supposed to be fighting. and for this, the american people have the privileged of shelling out $10 billion a month. -- privilege of shelling out $10 billion a month. i ask my friends on the other

side of the aisle, the one who are lecturing us every day about spending, isn't there something better we can do with the taxpayers' money? well, it turns out there is, and it would do more to support security and counterterrorism than waging a bloody and violent war. for years now i've been promoting a platform i call smart security. smart security represents a wholesale change in the way we protect our country and promote our values abroad. it puts us in a position of partner, not invador. it's -- invader. it's smart because it treats warfare as a very, very last resort. it's smart because it uses different tools to engage other nations and resolve global conflict. it's smart because it emphasizes diplomacy, it per sues multilateralismings -- pursues multilateralism.

it is smart because it would dramatically increase our investment in international development projects that will lift people up instead of tearing their country down. what we need, mr. speaker, in afghanistan and poor countries around the world is a civilian surge, one that will rebuild infrastructure, powerlines, schools, hospitals, economic opportunity and much more, whatever that nation would find useful that we can help with. you think it sounds expensive. it's a drop in the bucket. i'm talking about pennies on the dollar compared to a 10-year military occupation. in fact, "the washington post" noted last week that civilian efforts in afghanistan have cost the united states about $1.7 billion over the last two years. that's compared $1.7 billion

over two years compared to $10 billion a month in afghanistan. even that level of funding is now facing tough scrutiny here on the hill. are you kidding me? let's put this into prospective. $1.7 billion, we spend that much on the war in afghanistan in less than a week, and that's what we invest in two years of civilian efforts. if we ended this war we could reinvest the money in the bigger, bolder surge that we really need. and still have plenty left over to create jobs right here at home and meet other important obligations. but right now, mr. speaker, our priorities are completely distorted. we're sacrificing the lives of our troops in a morally reprehensiblear war that's fiscally reckless and strategically and epic historic

failure. after 10 years it's time to bring our troops home, make the change we so desperately need, embrace and adopt the principles of smart security. i yield back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. bucshon, for five minutes. mr. bucshon: in the last few weeks as i traveled across my district, the 24th district of texas, it became very obvious to me that the number one issue on the minds of my constituents is the out-of-control federal spending. in the last lemming session in texas, my -- legislative session in texas, my former colleagues in the texas legislature, passed a resolution addressing this out-of-control federal spending. this resolution requested that the congress pass a balanced budget amendment to the

constitution and send it to the states for ratification. this is the resolution i have in my hand. it was sent to me by the state representatives and the senators in my district that i represent. by overwhelming votes in both houses, the house and senate, the texas legislature passed this resolution that i'm holding right here in my hand. mr. marchant: the texas house of representatives approved this bill by a vote of 115-17, on april 13. and the senate adopted the bill on may 19 by a vote of 28-3. this resolution calls on congress to enact the best measure to stop run away federal spending. we can best ensure our future prosperity by passing the balanced budget amendment. i would like to personally thank the members of the texas legislature that represent parts

of my district, the 24th district of texas. and i applaud them for accepteding this resolution urging us to take action. my sincere thanks goes to state senator jay nelson, state senator chris harris, state senator john carona, and state representatives vicky truett, burt solomons, linda harper brown, and todd staples. these brave men and women have taken a courageous stand on this issue and i feel it's my obligation to follow through with their request. the federal government must end sustained deficit spending. in fiscal year 2010, the federal government accumulated a deficit in excess of $1.3 trillion. an annual deficit that exceeds the entire gross state product of texas.

in order to finance our current deficit, we borrow 40 cents of every dollar we spend. 40 cents on the dollar. money that could easily go to pay our national debt down. the longer we wait only results in more debt, debt that we will pass along to our children and to our grandchildren. national debt -- our national debt currently stands at $14.7 trillion, which equals a debt per taxpayer, per taxpayer of $131,288. this is a problem that we can no longer ignore. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the texas legislature's request for prompt passage of a balanced budget amendment. i ask for unanimous consent, mr. speaker, to include in my

remarks the texas legislature. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. marchant: house concurrent resolution resolution number 18. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, for five minutes. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to discuss the topic of underaged drinking. it is an issue that challenges every generation of public officials, parents, educators, law enforcement, industry members, and concerned citizens. but through bipartisan leadership and almost three decades of public and private effort, our nation has made some substantial progress. i mentioned bipartisan because it was president reagan who teamed up with democrats in congress to enact the national minimum drinking age act of 1984. at the signing ceremony, the

president's remarks are a great lesson in federalism and national leadership that remains very important today. he said that underaged drinking is a problem, that is, and i quote, bigger than the individual states, end of quote. he called underaged drinking a grave national problem that touches all our lives. president reagan concluded that with the problem so clear-cut and the proven solution at hand, we have no misgivings about this judicious use of federal power. i said that this was a bipartisan effort and our colleague from the other body, senator lautenberg of new jersey, was instrumental in guiding the measure through congress and he continues to be a force for advocate for young people today. according to the national highway safety administration, the number of fatalities in teen drunk driving crashes has

declined 74% since the early 1980's. studies from the department of transportation and government accountability office indicate that the 21-year-old drinking age has saved tens of thousands of lives. most government measures of underaged drinking have also declined. parents, educators, and other adults who have influence on young people need to recognize that older teens are still capable of making youthful mistakes, and some of these mistakes can be fatal. we should not do anything that allow our young people to obtain capitol before they reach the legal drinking age. we need to remain involved in their lives and do everything we can to encourage and insist that they make responsible decisions. back in 2006, our colleague, lucille roybal-allard, led the effort to enact the sober truth on preventing underaged drinking

act, better known as the stop act. the law established a framework for cooperation among federal agencies with responsibility to address underaged drinking. in mid july, we received a report from the federal interagency coordinating committee that was formally established by the stop act. it documents federal government prevention initiatives across 17 agencies, including the federal trade commission, which created the we don't serve teens program as a public education and outreach initiative. the 20,000 -- the 2011 launch of we don't serve teens occurred last week in chicago and throughout the nation. one purpose of the we don't serve teens initiative is to inform parents and all adults that teen drinking is not inevitable.

the number two and number three beer suppliers are both headquartered in the district i represent in chicago. both companies have reported the we don't serve teens program since it began in 2006. i am pleased that these two companies have joined the f.t.c., members of congress, chicago officials, and thousands of concerned citizens to support we don't serve teens. we need everyone at the table. industry members have a unique ability to reach out directly to local stores, bars, restaurants, and other places where capitol -- alcohol is served. the we don't serve teens message is reinforced. i commend these efforts and especially do i commend these distributors of these alcoholic beverages in their effort to make sure that teens handle alcohol responsibly, and the

best way is not at all. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, for five minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lee: mr. speaker, i rise today as the founding member and co-chair of the out-of-poverty caucus. the 42-member caucus works every day to ensure that we meet our economic and, yes, our moral obligation to the most vull nerble across this nation, those people facing or living in poverty. yesterday the united states census bureau released data showing that 2.6 million more americans fell into poverty. making 46.2 million people living in poverty in america. this is the highest number since the census bureau started keeping these records in 1959.

15% of americans lived in poverty last year. the poverty rate among african-americans in 2010 was 27.4%. for non-white hispanics it was 26.6%. for asian pacific islanders it was 12.1%, and for non-hispanic whites it was 9.9%. digging deeper into the disparities, the data reveals the real median income declined for white and black households between 2009 and 2010. real median income for each race and hispanic-oriented groups have not recovered to the pre-2001 recession, all time high. according to the center for budget and policy priorities, the census data reveals that both the number and percentages of people living in deep poverty hit record highs, meaning that

some 20.5 million americans had cash incomes below, mind you, $11,000 for a family of four. in addition, the census reports that the median household income fell 2.3%, or $1,100 in 2010. those at the bottom of the income scale have lost far more ground than those at the top. income inequality continues to grow at alarming race. and we know that this crisis is even worse in communities of color. the national average of children living in poverty in america is 20%. that's outrageous. now for african-american children, it's 36%, and for latino children, it's 31%. it's hard to believe. the median net worth of white families in 2009 was 20 times greater than that of the average black family, and 18 times greater than the average hispanic family.

now, these are not just statistics. these are real human beings who deserve an opportunity to live the american dream which to our dismay, unfortunately, has turned into a nightmare for millions. so the out-of-poverty caucus could he chairs, congressman butterfield, honda, and myself we sent a letter to the president asking him to address our nation's jobs crisis which is a national emergency through a bold package of direct investment which is aimed at our nation's most vulnerable, those facing or living in poverty. we ask that he consider including programs like the tanf emergency contingency fund which gets money out of the door across the country efficiently and effectively and it puts people to work. we asked for on the job training directed at communities most adirected by the great recession which of course is a depression for these communities, and programs we asked for that will help train and put our nation's

young people to work. thankfully, and we are pleased that in the president's jobs bill he did embrace some of our suggests -- suggestions, including building on programs like tanf emergency contingency fund, and on-the-job training, youth employment, and extension initiatives, and of course extending unemployment compensation. but we also still believe that unemployment compensation must be extended to those who have exhausted their benefits after 99 weeks. until we create these jobs, because there are four individuals looking for one job. after 99 weeks, these individuals, of course, are no more eligible -- no longer eligible for unemployment compensation. so we are asking that h.r. 589 be considered which is a bill by congressman bobby scott and myself to extend this unemployment compensation by 14 weeks. that's the least we can do. make no mistake about it. people are suffering. children don't have enough to eat. people want and need jobs as we

saw during the congressional black caucus' very important and successful jobs tour, and the congressional progressive caucus speak out for jobs tour. people want our economy to grow but they know they need a job to do this. that our country needs full employment to be able to turn the economy around. more and more people are falling into poverty than ever before. and from all walks of life and educational background. the out-of-poverty caucus will continue to sound the alarm about the growing crisis of people living in or facing poverty. i want to remind everyone that many middle income people are on the verge of falling into poverty. and as we say, many are one paycheck away from poverty. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, miss spehr -- speier, for five minutes -- ms. speier, for five minutes. ms. speier: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today as i have done

virtually every week to tell a story of a man or woman in the military who has been raped. 19,000 are raped every year in the military. only 13% report the rapes because there has been such an ineffective addressing of this issue. today i rise again to tell another story. i hear from victims who have been sharing their stories for me -- to me by emailing me at stopmilitaryrape@mail.house.gov . we've been known for this problem for over 16 years. we've had 18 hearings and reports on this issue and yet nothing changes. so today i'm going to tell you a story about darshell mitchell, an airman. she writes, i never thought i would be a victim by such a horrible event nor would it be

under the blanket of freedom i swore to fight for. i wanted to be an example of my two boys and. in my first year i began to accept the unwanted comments of my shape, size and looks as though it was part of something to deal with when working and living with men aboard a ship. it escalated to the uncomfortable motions by a superior trying to pull me into a two-man rack that was in the office. i reported the incident to my immediate supervisors, requesting that they speak to him and the responses was always that the superior meant no harm and he was just being playful. this led to my superior grabbing me by the top of my head and pushing it into his genital area state stating, quote, i bet you i can make you say o god. after reporting this incident i suffered the backlash of being black walled. my job assignments became very difficult and i bounced around

from command to command until someone was willing to take a chance of me being an airman trying to advance. i tried to remove the negative light that was cast upon me. i went to duel class petty officer in less than two years. after advancing and volunteering the stigma remained with me. i decided to move my family to another country in an attempt to step away from the negative light. within the first three months of my tour in italy i was raped by another service member. i did everything in accordance with the trading provided by the military. i reported the incident to the mcis and suffered through a rape kit. my children were present and had to experience something that no parent could ever dream of allowing their children to go through. with the d.n.a. found in my rape kit, his fingerprints found in my room and my ripped

clothing, he was found not guilty. it's no question that his genitals touched your genitals but it is reasonable to believe that he thought he had your consent, unquote. from that i was expected to return to work as if tomorrow was just another day. my superiors continued to treat me as if i brought shame to their command. the trauma was so overwhelming that i attempted to take my life on two occasions. despite the constant reminder that the military is a man military, i graduated with my masters in business administration, volunteered at numerous organizations and regained some confidence in my safety around people. this was not supposed for the intended meaning of sacrifices that veterans go through to serve their country. i pray that my experience, though might completely in vain, and that one day no one will ever have to suffer what my family and i are still suffering. for darshell and every other

service member we must take steps to prevent this crime from happening and punish the perpetrators when it does. we should not be a country in which it is more likely to be taken into someone's room, to be violated, to have violence committed against you by another member of the service. more likely than by the enemy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until 12:00 >> the house is taking a break before resuming legislative work at 12:00 noon eastern. when they come back a resolution expressing disapproval in the president's recent decision to raise the debt ceiling. also a bill regarding international religious freedom. we'll have live coverage at noon and there will be two republican members coming to the u.s. house this week after special elections yesterday in new york's ninth district and the nevada second district.

live coverage of the house when they resume at 12:00 noon here on c-span. we'll take you live to a hearing that's been looking at the safety of foreign made pharmaceuticals. the senate health committee came in just about an hour ago or so. live coverage here on c-span. >> consolidated their drug manufacturing to fewer facilities, fewer lines for products for which the economics are not great. they are not highly priced products anymore. they have not fully invested in those products. the agency takes the problem very seriously. we are doing what we can to prevent it. last year, for example, when we notified of shortages early, we were able to prevent 38 different sthortages because we were told early we could work with the manufacturers to see if the products were good enough to go to patients. to work with creative solutions like, for example, if a product has metal shavings. we worked with the company to

send a filter so the product could still be used in patients. we are also working to have public meetings with stakeholders to talk about this. it is a multifaceted problem that requires a multifaceted solution and all the stakeholders to step up to the plate. with respect to the market, that's a real concern. shortages create a incentive and opportunity for people to at best charge an awful lot of these products, at worst introduce counterfeit products. one that would help is track and trace system. the pharmacies and hospitals would be able to know that these products being offered to them from new sources at high prices are legitimate products. they would know everybody who touched it throughout the supply chain. >> my time has expired. i would welcome an opportunity to follow up with you and your staff on this issue, particularly as to those 38 instances that you mentioned and what we can learn from them and maybe the others where there was no action and what we can learn

from them as well. does the f.d.a. need additional authority for track and trace? >> yes, we would need additional authority to make it clear that -- enforceable standards for track and trace. also to require manufacturers to notify us of shorts. right now the authority on that is limited. if we know about shortages, we try to prevent them. at least knowing about them in advance helps them deal with the problem. >> track and trace wouldn't be a solution to shortages. >> it would not be a solution to shortages, but it would be something to address from a public health risk. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you very much. we have gone to our second panel. i just briefly want to ask one question. most of the testimony and most of the discussion today has to do with the prescription drugs. could you just briefly address to yourself to the over-the-counter drug supply, the same problems accrue there, and also to the use of

exsipents, a word i didn't know about until i got into this area, the inactive ingredients, which going back to the 1930's, ethol was one of those. so both over-the-counter drug supply, and as to the inactive ingredients that go into drugs and the problem that you may see in both those areas. >> yes. by all means. one of the ways i can look at the pharmaceutical supply because i have been working in this area for so long should the innovator products, generic products, over-the-counter products components all represent similar but different challenges. the generics industry by talking to us about a user fee package has recognized us on the challenge enharnte with generic drugs. with respect to our ability to police supply chain in general. over-the-counter drugs present a challenge because most are done through a mono graph system. a cookbook system.

that don't require in most cases affirmative f.d.a. approval. if they follow our rules what has to be there and how they are lablingd, they can come on the market. that means that there is a greater opportunity for firms to introduce products without us knowing. those products could go straight from, frankly, a facility in china we have never seen to a pharmacy in any state. so that is a real challenge. that's why we talk about really needing to understand the global supply chain and put in particular the authorities at the border. show us something right about your products before they come in. exsipents also present a real challenge, the inactive ingreed yet. theet ol has led to deaths. there is a huge number of exsipents out there and they are used in a lot of different products. the same thing used in drugs might also be used in foods. that's why we talk about the

need for manufacturers to be responsible for policing their supply chain. because it will never be the case, frankly, that f.d.a. can go to all those facilities and ensure they are doing everything right. have to be incumbent upon a manufacture who is selling pharmaceuticals that people rely on to save their lives to go and make sure their components are satisfactory. >> thank you very much. we have a senator that wants to submit questions in writing to you. thanks very much for being here. thank for your testimony. we'll call our second panel. i'll introduce them as they take their place at the table. first, from my left, we have dr. marcia cross, director of health care for the g.a.o., government

accountability office. she's been at the g.a.o. since 1983. she comes to us today with significant experience in evaluating public health issues. her work focuses in particular on evaluating areas such as biomedical research, and pharmaceutical regulations. next we have ms. ken doctor martello, assistant general counsel for pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america, otherwise known as phrma. we appreciate you being here. next is mr. gordon johnston, senior advisor for regulatory sciences at the generic pharmaceutical association. has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the past 25 years. was formerly the deputy director of the f.d.a.'s office of general narke drugs. we thank you for being here. mr. martin van triest, hope i pronounced that correctly, senior vice president of quality at amgen and past chair of the rx-360, a pharmaceutical supply

chain consortium. as the past chair of rx-360, he led industry members in creating better objectives to better share information regarding counter fits, thefts, and a adulterated materials in the pharmaceutical supply chain. thank you for being here. last is alan cookle, did i pronounce that right? the director of medical programs with the pugh health group. he oversees pew's initiatives related to pharmaceutical supply chain safety. july the pew released an interesting report that shed new light on the weaknesses and gaps in our pharmaceutical supply chain and we thank you for being here. all of your testimony will be made a part of the record in their entirety. i'll go from left to right. ask if you could sum up in five to seven minutes. appreciate it. we'll start with you, dr. cross. >> thank you, mr. chairman, ranking member enzi, and members

of the committee. i'm pleased to be here today to discuss f.d.a.'s oversight of the drug supply chain. over the past several years g.a.o. has issued a number of reports on the challenges we identified and f.d.a.'s oversight of drugs that are manufactured in other countries for the u.s. market. while f.d.a. is making progress, we have concerns about the agency's use of information and the pace at which it is implementing changes. globalization has placed new demands on f.d.a. as the pharmaceutical industry has increasingly relied on global supply chains in which each manufacturing step may be outsourced to foreign establishments. in compging these issues, we have particularly focused on the challenges for f.d.a. in insecting these facilities, the limitations on f.d.a.'s knowledge and information about these facilities, and the steps f.d.a. is taking to improve its oversight of the supply chain. inspections of foreign drug manufacturers are an important

element of oversight. as we have heard, f.d.a. is far from achieving foreign inspection rates comparable to domestic inspection rates where the agency's required to conduct inspections every two years. to frame this with some numbers, in 2008, we reported that it would take f.d.a. about 13 years to inspect the foreign establishments that were then on its inventory. since that time, f.d.a. has been increasing the number of foreign inspections it performs, reducing the estimated time to inspect all establishments to about nine years. however while the agency is trying to catch up, it's facing a continually growing number of foreign facilities. in addition, although f.d.a. has been working to develop risk information to help it prioritize its foreign inspections, the risks of the products being manufactured have not been the real drivers of which facilities are inspected. rather, foreign establishments have generally only been inspected when they have been

named on an application for a new drug. conducting inspections abroad also continues to pose unique challenges for the agency. for example, f.d.a. cannot require foreign manufacturers to allow it to inspect their facilities and lows gistical issues preclude f.d.a. from conducting unannounced inspections as it does for domestic establishments. in addition to the challenges of conducting inspections, we previously reported that f.d.a. lacks complete and accurate information about these facilities. information critical to understanding the supply chain. f.d.a. data bases contain incorrect information and the agency still does not have an accurate list of the foreign establishment's manufacturing drugs for the u.s. market. this hampers f.d.a.'s ability to make inspection decisions and adequately oversea shipments arriving at our ports. the contaminated heparin crisis provide add useful case study of

some of the problems f.d.a. is facing, including facilities that had never been inspected. mixups in f.d.a.'s data bases. outdated testing standards. questions about manufacturers' validation of their supply chains. delays in gaining entry because of visa requirements. f.d.a.'s inability to require cooperation by foreign facilities. difficulties tracing contaminated supplies to end products, including medical devices. and difficulties in recalling products thought to be contamm dated. -- contaminated. give given the difficulties has faced in overseeing the supply chain and recognizing more inspections alone are not sufficient to meet the challenges posed by globalization, the agency has begun to implement other initiatives to improve its oversight. as we have heard today, f.d.a. established new offices overseas and have taken other positive steps such as collaborating with and exchanging information with foreign governments and developing systems that would assist its oversight of products at the border.

f.d.a. should be credited for its recent actions which represent important initial steps toward addressing these challenges. however, as the agency has acknowledged, there are additional steps that it still needs to take. we have previously made recommendations to address some challenges such as poor information and planning, and the agency has identified additional authorities that could provide it with necessary enforcement tools. in light of the growing dependence upon drugs, manufactured abroad, and the potential for harm, f.d.a. needs to act quickly to implement changes across a range of activities in order to better assure the safety and availability of drugs for the u.s. market. mr. chairman, ranking member enzi, this concludes my prepared remarks. i would be happy to answer any questions that you or other members of the committee may have. >> thank you very much. dr. motello, welcome. please proceed. >> thank you very much. mr. chair, ranking member, and members of the committee, my

name is ken doctor martello, assistant general council with the pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america or phrma. our members represent the leading biomedal research companies. last year investment was greater than $67 billion. a record. our companies invest on average more than $1 billion over 10 to 15 years to research and develop a new medicine. additionally, our companies provide directly and indirectly millions of stable, high-paying jobs for american workers. jobs that can help fuel our nation's economic recovery. i'm pleased to offer this testimony today on securing the pharmaceutical supply chain. we appreciate the committee's long-standing interest in this issue and want to acknowledge in particular the commitment of the chairman, the ranking member, and senator bennett to considering solutions to these important issues. my remarks today will focus on four key points. first, patient safety is of primary importance.

patient's trust with the medicines they take meet high standards set by the f.d.a. no matter where they are made and phrma member companies are committed to improving the lives of patients and producing high quality safe and effective drug products. second, the u.s. drug review approval and oversight system is the gold standard worldwide. it's this comprehensive hegtory system coupled with our closed distribution system closed by congress in the mid 1980's that helps provide the high level of product quality, safety, and integrity we enjoy today. no one aspect of the system in isolation is responsible for protecting our secured supply chain. in addition to the requirement to obtain approval of a new drug application before a new drug can be sold, manufacturers must also follow current good manufacturing practices. these regulations recognize that testing and inspections alone

cannot ensure the quality of a product. these requirements apply to all new drugs sold in the u.s., no matter where they are made, and g.n.p.'s apply to all components of a finished drug including the ingredients no matter where they are sourced. third, it's a shared responsibility. even with our comprehensive regulatory system, the globalization of pharmaceutical supply chains presents new challenges that require us to be adaptive and flexible. everybody has a role to play. every manufacturer whether brand or generic, o.t.c., or component recognizing that nearly 80% of the drugs suspended in the u.s. are generic medicines and i ever importer has a role to play in the safety and security of the drug supply chain. we all must work together. and phrma and its member companies are committed to doing our part. to the extend that an intend, whether a finished product or another entity in the supply

chain circumvents established requirements, that place patients at risk and disadvantage those who strive to comply. fourth, as we consider challenges presented by globalization, we believe any new authorities must be grounded in sound science and driven by risk. risk-based approaches to regulation are not new and are widely accepted by both industry and f.d.a. for example, we support giving f.d.a. the flexibility to prioritize inspections based on risk. reliance on certain risk factors such as compliance history and time since last inspection will enable the agency to efficiently and effectively target its resources to the benefit of patients. we also encourage giving f.d.a. the discretion to rely on satisfactory inspection results from foreign countries with comparable drug regulatory systems or to use accredited third parties to conduct some inspections. this would in no way take the place of f.d.a. inspections.

rather, it would allow the agency the flexibility to leverage the work of other competent authorities and maximize its own resources. all without limiting in any way its ability to inspect a particular facility. we also believe that those who produce components and products destined for sale in the u.s. should registered with f.d.a. this will help provide transparency to those who supply products and components sold here and will help f.d.a. develop a risk-based inspection approach. in conclusion, our comprehensive regulatory and closed distribution system helps provide assurances in the safety, quality, and integrity of the new drug products sold here in the u.s. patients rely on this system to safeguard the medicines they need to improve their health and sustain their lives. the challenges of globalization present new opportunities to discuss how best to strengthen our existing supply chain. but they also remind us how critically important it is to maintain this existing closed

distribution system. phrma member companies are committed to doing our part and working with the committee, members of congress, and other stakeholders on this important issue. thank you. >> thank you very much, dr. martello. now we turn to mr. gordon johnston, welcome and please proceed. >> good morning, chairman harkin, ranking member enzi, and members of the committee. thank you for asking me to participate in this timely and important hearing. i am gordon johnston, senior advisor for regulatory sciences at the generic pharmaceutical association, or gphagpha represents the manufacturers and distributors of generic pharmaceuticals and active ingredients. generic pharmaceuticals now fill 78% of all prescriptions dispensed in the united states, but consume just 25% of the nation's total drug expenditure. prior to joining i served the u.s. public health service and in 1987 was assigned to the food

and drug administration and became the deputy director of the office of generic drug in 1994. securing the nation's pharmaceutical supply chain is of vital importance to gpha and our member companies. we also have a keen interest in a level and accountable playing field of all participants in the supply chain. we commend the committee for your focus on ensuring the safety of america's pharmaceutical supply, brand, and generic. gpha's committed to doing everything possible to work with congress and the f.d.a. to promote a vigorous and rigorous oversight of the nation's drug supply. as the committee begins to take a closer look at this important issue, it's critical to understand the fundamental underpinnings of the current system and acknowledged the global dynamics of our pharmaceutical supply here in the u.s. first as my colleague -- as phrma mentioned, i certainly want to make it clear that the

u.s. drug supply is the safest in the world. however we recognize that globalization has added new and complex challenges to continue to assure this safety. narment marketplace that f.d.a. oversees in today's global age, however, looks drastically different than it did in 1938 when congress passed the statute. and that's the federal food and drug and cosmetic act. as mentioned previously, today nearly 40% of all drugs dispensed in the u.s. are manufactured outside of the country. and nearly 80% of the ingredients used in these drugs are manufactured abroad. according to f.d.a. estimates, the number of drug products made outside of the u.s. doubled between 2001 and 2008. unfortunately, this growth has outpaced the law's reach, as well as the funds needed to allow f.d.a. to hold participants to the same high quality standards. the act of 1938 requires

american drug manufacturers to undergo surveillance inspections at least every two years to confirm that these facilities are complying with good manufacturing standards. however the act is not imposed the same biannual inspection requirement on foreign facilities. further this disparate and degree of oversight experienced by domestic versus foreign facilities, reduces american competitiveness by creating an uneven playing field while at the same time creates opportunity for threats to the u.s. drug supply. also delays in foreign inspections slow the approval of products that serve unmet medical needs such as those facing drug shortages. to paraphrase recent statements by h.h.s. secretary kathleen sebelius that they are looking to congress to modernize its anti-kuwaited authorities so f.d.a.'s legal tools can keep pace with globalization.

gpha is in agreement with the secretary and f.d.a. that it's essential to modernize the laws governing the u.s. supply chain. as noted in my opening remarks, the responsibility of ensuring safety is a shared one that rests with all industry and not just f.d.a. as my colleague and new noted in their report, it's also critical that manufacturers continue to go beyond g.m.p.'s and ensure the supplier qualification tools are used and using risk-based assessment to assure the quality and integrity of suppliers abroad. such practices which are intended to prevent potential contamination and adull teration should also be supplemented by a tracking system with uniform standards across all states as opposed to a patchwork of random state enforced regulations. even with these significant

efforts in place, however, the generic industry has realized more needs to be done. that's why the industry stepped up to the plate and is now finalizing its generic drug user fee program with f.d.a. one of the main goals of this user fee program is to hold all generic players, foreign and domestic, to the same inspection standards and enhasing f.d.a.'s ability to identify, track, and register all distributors involved in the generic drugs in the united states. in conclusion, mr. chairman, gpha standards ready to support congress and f.d.a. in strengthening its oversight, updating the law, and investing more resources to ensure u.s. continues to be a world leader -- leader in the world when it comes to safety and also maintaining the american industry's competitiveness. i thank you for this time and would be happy to address any questions from the committee as we move forward. >> thank you very much, mr.

johnston, we turn to mr. van triest. thank you. >> chairman harkin, ranking member enzi, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. my name is martin van triest and i'm senior vice president of quality aggen, in addition i'm the founder and past chair of rx-360 and its on their behalf i testify here today. our rx-360 was filed in 2009 in direct response to the commickly motivated result of heparin with the mission to enhance the security and quality of the pharmaceutical supply chain. our membership has quickly grown to over 65-member companies, including most of the large pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and generic drug manufacturers along with our key suppliers. this industry is extensively regulated by the f.d.a. in a variety of ways, including through compliance with good manufacturing practices or

g.m.p.'s. however economically motivated alteration and counterfeiting are not g.m.p. issues. they do little to prevent unethical players or criminals to exploit the complexities of the supply chain. let me give you an example of the lack of transparency in the supply chain was able to be exploited which is outlined in the chart i committed to the committee, up here on the easel. inactive ingreedents used in many pharmaceuticals, in this case the government of panama unknowingly purchased adulterated glycerin to be used in cough syrup which resulted in 67 deaths. investigation into this tragedy revealed several breakdowns in the supply chain which were hidden from the manufacturer purchasing the ingredient. as ill traited in box one, the problem began in china at the glycerin factory there which produced a technical substitute for glycerin which was not pure glycerin at all but contained

antifreeze, which is three times cheaper than glycerin. this factory was never inspected by the chinese and as boxes two, three, and four describe a series of brokers and traders moved the material through the supply chain, changing the name and material, the manufacturing site, the expiration date of the product, and never performed any testing. this was then used to manufacture cough medicine leading to fatal consequences. learning from this example of the manufacturer of the cough syrup knew they were really purchasing antifreeze, and these fatalities would have been prevented. this is why transparency of the supply chain is so important. rx-360 members recognize that we are responsible for our suppliers. and the supply chain. and must address the challenges associated with the global supply chain. in our short period of existence, we have implemented many solutions in four key areas. these include, one, conducting and sharing of detailed audits

of our suppliers. developing throwings to prevent and detect adult'ations. implementing best practices for industry, and conducting active surveillance and issuing supply chain security alerts to our members. all these efforts are intended to be key pieces of a proactive attempt to eliminate security gaps in the supply chain. the f.d.a.'s full of good people doing a tough job and we intend these activities to be complementary of their extensive work in this area. as policymakers look at ways to imhe prove the integrity of the supply chain, it is important that any legislative or regulatory proposals are carefully considered such as adding to the complexity of the supply chain, creating unintended drug shortages, and adding significant costs to the health care system. as you examine these issues, i have a few points for consideration. is first, some issues are

related to the fact that ingredients suppliers don't always disclose the actual manufacturing site of those ingredients to drug manufacturers. this was the issue in the glycerin i discussed earlier. by requiring a disclosure to the drug manufacturer, we can ensure enhanced oversight of our suppliers. second, there are many foreign suppliers who register with us but have no intention of distributing product in the united states. they use this registration to convey some sense of f.d.a. approval. and undermining integrity of the registration system. other points that are worth considering include increased f.d.a. inspections of foreign manufacturers, using investigators who are specifically trained in fraud detection. allowing the use of qualified third party inspectors, and increased criminal penaltieses for knowingly engaging in economic adult'ation and counterfeiting. in conclusion, on behalf of rx-360, i thank the committee

for its examination of thisish shue. i appreciate senator ben it's work -- bennett's work in this area and interest of chairman harkin and ranking member enzi in finding solutions to these complex issues. rx-360 stands ready to assist the committee as they continue to work on this important issue. thank you. >> thank you very much. and now mr. cokele if you summarize. >> thank you, mr. chairman, ranking member enzi, and members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to testify. my name is alan cockle, i'm a pharmacist and director of medical programs. we recently released a report called after heparin, protecting consumers from the risk of substandard and kearnt fit -- counterfeit drugs. our key findings are consistent with what you have heard. pharmaceutical manufacturing is now globalized and increasingly outsourced and to ensure safety both the f.d.a. and manufacturers must adjust. the pew report is based on published studies and grouments

and dozens of interviews with experts as well as the two-day conference that included regulators and broad representation from industry. we outline a series of case studies to illustrate the kind of rare but potentially very serious risks we face. we identify systemic problems and practical solutions. we called the rofert 56 heparin because it was a wake-up call for industry and regulators and because it so clearly showed many of the failings of our current system. for example, the u.s. manufacturer in that case failed to perform a timely audit of its chinese supplier. the f.d.a. approved the supplier without an inspection partly because an agency data base confused two different facilities. the standard tests for heparin then in use was outdated and not designed to detect a contaminant there. were significant manufacturing quality issues. even after the fact, neither the f.d.a. nor the manufacturer, was ever able to gain complete access to that upstream supply chain hampered in part by lack

of cooperation from chinese authorities. less you think this is -- lest you think this is arabent history, just last month f.d.a. issued a warning letter in china on heparin. others today have is stressed the need for increased foreign inspections as an area where there is a good deal of consensus and i would be happy to expand on what we see as key changes to ensure safety and a level playing field. speakers have also mention add need for manufacturers themselves to ensure quality. that's crucial. one speaker at our conversation last year was a china based pharmaceutical auditor whose business involves visiting manufacturing facilities in asia on behalf of u.s. and european companies. i'd like to share a photo he shared with us. you can see here this is a facility in china. just by the rusted pipes and broken windows you know this is not using good manufacturing practices. of course there are very good facilities in china. this just wasn't one of them.

but it is the start of a supply chain for a western company. sometimes substandard facilities fail the show called show factory, high quality facilities that sell products it didn't make. in mr. andre's experience, american and european companies are misinformed about the identity of all or part of their supply chain more than a third of the time. our report examines a number of other case studies including where manufacturers falsified or concealed records and we know the risk of patients receiving counterfeit or stolen products that ben trait our system. -- penetrate our system. let me reiterate the ethol poisoning where the material moved from a manufacturer in china to another broker in china to a broker in europe to a broker in another part of the world. each time the label was changed and replaced with a new inaccurate label and each time the history of the product was destroyed. it was poisoning with this exact

same substance that led congress to fast the food, drug, and cosmetic act in 1938. the children who died in the panama, patients who died in that example were largely children. we must ensure that it reflects today's reality. the necessary steps are practical, feasible, and crucial. many have been included in previous bipartisan legislation before this committee and in senator bennett's bill introduced last year. as mentioned inspections and needs of manufacturers better assess their spliers and they are accountable for doing sow. we also need to ensure that testing standards are updated and that the f.d.a. has the tools it needs. for example many people are surprised to learn that the f.d.a. can't order the rble of a drug product. they can do it for medical devices and food, they should have that authority for drugs. if they have it, it's less likely they'll need to use it. then while the regulatory scheme will reward the good players and ensure the bad actors don't create a race to the bottom.

in conclusion, let me say that americans support these changes. pew commission add poll last year which found likely voters are concerned with drugs from developing countries, and across the political spectrum they overwhelmingly favor many of the provisions i have outlined. as congress did seven years ago, we -- 70 years ago we urge you to act to ensure safety. we shouldn't wait for another tragedy. thank you. >> thank you very much. we'll begin a round of five-minute questions. start with you dr. crosse, in the past you reported that f.d.a. data paces, i heard this from others, too, contained incorrect information about foreign drug establishments. what's the reason for this? is this still the case? that they contain incorrect information. >> it is still the case. there are several reasons. you heard the paper-based

registration that previously existed. now we have gone to an electronic system which has reduced certain errors of data entry, but they still don't have in place a retirement for any -- requirement for any sort of unique identifier for facility. they ask companies now with electronic registration that they submit a unique identifier. a number that they can enter into the system. they cannot require companies to commit that. while many are complying, perhaps some of the ones you'd most want to have information about may not be complying with that. but nevertheless you continue to have other systems that are populating f.d.a. data bases with incorrect information. when shipments arrive at the border, the customs and border protection has a data system that does not use a unique identifier and that then sends incorrect information to f.d.a. >> so this is a question for all of you. could, should we have a

requirement that any finished drug, any ingredient, or exsipent, that is manufactured in a foreign country that comes to this country have attached to it at all levels, we know very seldom they don't go directly from a small plant in the united states, they go through brokers here in spain as you pointed out and canada and other places like that. should we require that every one ever those three that i mentioned that they have a bar code attached to it so that it can be immediately trace and back to its origin? back to the very plant where it started? is that possible? and should we do it? dr. crosse. >> i'm not sure about the feasibility of that. i think until you get data systems aligned between customs and border protection and f.d.a., you may still have problems with inaccurate information showing up from one

agency to another. >> i'm asking if that one plant has to put on, no matter what it is, they have to put on a bar code and that has to follow that all the way through to the final purchaser. dr. martello s. that possible? >> i can't speak to the feasibility of that. my sense is that that would be a significant cost and complexity added to the distribution system that may be challenging for folks to comply with. i think we do have a strong -- very strong system today. we should look for opportunities to make that stronger, but i worry about the cost and complexity of such a system with so many independent actors in the supply chain. >> i'm just asking for a simple bar code. every step. way. mr. johnston, what do you think. ? is that possible? >> gpha's members looked at bar codes for track and trade purchases in the united states. it's dwog it domestically -- it's doing it domestically. we see the feasibility as being

probable because you can utilize integrated technologies and we can have manufacturers, pharmacists, wholesalers on the same page. some of the challenges are when you get into international regions finding this harmonization so that the same bar code, readers, technologies all ally. so when it comes to the international scope, i think there is issues there that would have to be looked at to make sure that the viability of a bar code applied in china would be read all the way through the system and that data would be available to the end user. so there is challenges there. >> i think the use of bar codes is definitely possible. we see it in superintendents. i think the complexity comes in with the integration of this data from a worldwide perspective and how long that would take to be implemented. i think you can get the end result you need by requiring everybody in that supply chain to tell the final person who is

going to use that raw material, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, who that original manufacturer was. and the pharmaceutical manufacturer can provide oversight of the entire supply chain once they know t if we don't know it then we know we have a problem. i think just requiring that transparency and disclosure will get to where you want to go much faster. >> i agree. i think underlying sense here is that manufacturers need to know their complete supply chain and the quality standards are in place anti-f.d.a. has to be able to get access to that data if they need it and we need everybody to be on the same page about which facilities we are talking about. whether it's a bar code or some other means matters less. >> thank you very much. senator enzi. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. van trieste, your testimony suggestion that poorly declined reforms could exacerbate drug shortage problems. could you elaborate? >> as we talked earlier about if

we increase regulation, certain players who are in the business today may decide to get out of the business. and they might make key -- might be the only supplier of a key ingredient for a critical medicine to treat patients. any legislation that we do i think we have to give the secretary some latitude to prevent those suppliers from existing the market and give them enforcement discretion on where to apply the regulations. we don't want to see people exit the market which are sole suppliers. >> dr. crosse what's what's wrong with the supply system and what does the f.d.a. need to do to fix them? >> there are several problems. they had a long history of poor information technology systems and they are in the process now of trying to upgrade those systems across the board, across the entire agency. that's taking several years, its encountered many difficulties in trying to integrate what had been a number of different

freestanding systems that were compatible. i mentioned just a moment ago one of the problems is that some of the key information they get comes from another agency, from customs and border protection, which is not providing accurate information in many instances because of the way certain identifiers are generated in that system. f.d.a. has been taking some steps to try to verify information that they have. they have actually hired contractors to go now and look at certain suspect facilities to see if they are actually located where they have told f.d.a. that they are. and they found a number of facilities that are not at the locations they have reported. but it's taking f.d.a. a very long time to try to go through and make up time on these systems and they still don't all talk to one another. >> thank you. dr. martello, can you give us an overview of your member company's quality control

systems. do they customarily audit or inspect their suppliers? >> thank you for that question. the quality systems approach is really embodied in the current good manufacturing practice regulations. and our companies take great steps to comply with those. the g.m.p. regulations require that each facility has in place a quality control unit that's responsible for all aspects of the manufacture of a drug product for all control of all incoming ingredients and periodic testing throughout the process. taken with the new drug approval requirements, the requirements in our closed distribution system help provide assurances that the medicines patients take are safe and have the identity and quality that they are purr propertied to -- purported to represent. >> thank you. mr. coukle, pew sports mandatory recall authority for drugs. how many times has a drug manufacturer refused f.d.a.'s request to conduct a voluntary recall? >> thank you for the question,

senator. i can give you an example of in 2008 when the f.d.a. had to go to court to get some contaminated heparin off the market. i think the bigger concern is not the refusal but if public health is at risk, the time it would take if the f.d.a. does have to go to court. it's the kind of authority that if they have it, i think it will bring everybody to a consensus much more quickly about whether a voluntary recall is necessary. >> if a manufacturer refuses to conduct a voluntary recall, how does making it mandatory help? >> presumably there would be some sanction involved for refusing to do a mandatory recall. >> mr. johnston, the law requires f.d.a. to inspect domestic drug establishments every two years. but the law is silent about how f.d.a. must inspect foreign establishments. can you elaborate on the need to level the playing field? >> thank you, senator enzi.

currently there's two components to i think answering that question. the first being the parody that foreign establishments should be inspected at the same level, intensity, and frequency as domestic facilities. there is a substantial cost for inspections to drug companies. and i might use the example of companies setting in philadelphia or new jersey may have f.d.a. visiting each month or every other month. and it takes resources, time, personnel to accommodate these inspections. the contrast is foreign inspections when companies, facilities are visited on a three, four, five-year basis there's additional cost to the american industry and more importantly to the public health by having equivalence in terms of inspections, f.d.a. has the opportunity to evaluate these

foreign facilities, determine if there are any g.m.p. or quality problems, supply chain issues, and have those addressed in a timely basis. bringing comparability in inspection requirements we believe is a very important component of supply chain security. >> thank you. my time has expired. i have questions i'll submit. >> thank you, senator enzi. senator franken. >> thank you. i'll try to be fast because i know senator bennett has to get out of here. i have to preside in a few minutes. dr. martello, as we heard from mr. johnson, the generic companies are working with the f.d.a. to do their fair share and provide the f.d.a. with additional resources to increase foreign inspection capacity. while i realize that the brand companies don't occupy as much of the market as generics do, would your member companies be willing to contribute to securing the supply chain

through increased user fees? >> thanks very much for that question. i think it's important to recognize that since 1992 the user free, prescription drug user fees that we are look fog re-authorize next year have supported preapproval inspections since their inception in 1992. as the g.a.o. has reported, the majority of facility inspections that are conducted are both preapproval and g.m.p. inspections combined. our industry is really committed to this issue and has supported inceptions in the form of user fees since 1992. there will never be enough resources for the agency to get to all the places they need to get. that's why we believe using a risk-based approach to target facilities for inspection and focus on areas of highest risk will help do a great deal. you could couple that with reliance on third parties again whether it be accredited third

parties or foreign regulatory authorities with competent regulatory systems. using those things together we can expand the reach of the f.d.a. and help them do their job by focusing on the areas of highest risk and really increasing the number of facilities that the f.d.a. is visiting on a routine basis. >> i guess i didn't totally understand your answer. mr. johnston, the generics put more resources into the supply chain, something the f.d.a. did? >> thank you. the user fee proposal that f.d.a. is considering and i think we have reached agreement on doesn't specify how much resources, how many of the resources go into inspections. however there are performance goals that will certainly drive the utilization of the resources

towards inspections. and as we heard, 80% of the incoming materials are important, and 40% of the products. f.d.a. will dedicate probably 40% or 50% of the user fee resources from the generic industry towards inspections and support for those inspections. >> i guess dr. martello, i was asking are you willing to put in more toward that end? >> the user fees have gone to support preapproval inspections since their inception in 1992. >> preapproval inspections. >> preapproval. when a company files a new drug approval application, the f.d.a. has the discretion -- >> i'm not talking about preapproval. i'm talking about supply chain, foreign supply chain. >> and many times as the g.a.o. has found, a preapproval inspection is coupled with a good manufacturing practice inspection. so the facilities filing new drug approval am significances

with the agency are getting those inspections on a regular basis and they are supported through the user fees. >> ok. would phrma be willing to put more in to do that? to do the foreign supply chain? i think that's what i have been asking. i don't quite feel like i'm getting a real answer. i feel like i'm getting a circular kind of answer. >> across the board the prescription drug user fee act and the agreement just released increases resources for f.d.a. to conduct the necessary reviews of new drug approval applications. >> into drug approval. >> with that some are for inspections. >> about what about existing drugs? >> our companies do a fair share. >> would you do more? >> i think we would be happy to engage in conversations around that. giving the f.d.a. the opportunity to use risk to drive intervals which they inspect facilities will help expand their reach and help them maximize and use their resources efficiently. we know that resources are not unlimited. >> ok.

thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator bennett. >> thank you, mr. chairman. again i really want to thank you for holding this hearing. this is an issue that i have been working on ever since i got here now i know why. the testimony i think has been excellent today. i'm familiar with the work everybody here has done. i find remarkable the degree of consensus around a lot of the issues that we face. and i think it reflects how big the gap is between a statute written in 1938 and the world we are living in today. the changes that are accelerating because of the shrinking global economy that we face. and this lack of -- or lack of a regulatory regime that reflects reality is bad for our consumers, and it's bad for our business. and i think that's why we need

to be urgent in fixing it. and it's been remarkable to read some of the polling data. the mandatory recall suggestion -- first of all everybody thinks the f.d.a. already has that. they don't. 94% of the american people support it. and they believe that when they walk into their grocery store, their pharmacy, that their drug has been likely produced in the united states. that's not true. and they believe that somebody has looked at it to make sure that it's safe. that's not true, either. what we have learned from the testimony today is that even if we discover that there is a problem, it's hard to track it down to the source in china. so there is a lot of work to do here. whatever i can do to help you with it, i want to do. i'd like to ask mr. couckle and then let anybody else on the panel answer it. i just have one question. pew's done some great work on

this. after heparin report you talked about. i think it's very important. in that report it made the observation the compliance with internal quality systems and regulations can represent up to 25% of a finished drug manufacturer's operating cost. and at the same time as we heard from ms. crosse, g.a.o., it would take the f.d.a. nine years to inspect the foreign facilities. so you begin to add this stuff together and ask yourself about an american manufacturer here who is following good manufacturing practices, and still can expect a surprise in special -- inception every two years from the f.d.a., maybe more frequently, versus a foreign firm that will never be inspected, or may never be inspected. doesn't have to follow any of these practices. and on top of everything else, when they are inspected, as we heard from the testimony in the first panel, they are given warning that the inspectors are

coming. mr. couckle, what do you think the three or four most important things we can do are to level this playing field? and make sure that we are protecting both the safety of our citizens, which is the most important thing, and also the playing field for american business which is a vitally important part of our economy? >> senator, thank you for the question. and for your continued commitment to this issue and this area. i think you make a very important point. the good actors, whether they be in the u.s. or outside the u.s., are spending time and resources to make sure that their manufacturing is sterile, consistent, and predictable and high quality. so if you have somebody out there who is tempted to cut corners, and not do things to a high standard, and there's no chance that anyone's going to

show up and hold them to the high standard, then they can do that. so that does create an uneven playing field. so we absolutely need a system where we take the existing in special resources and deploy them in the highest risk facilities wherever they are are getting inspected and we are taking steps to make sure that finite resources are stretched so that we aren't inspecting the same facilities that the europeans are inspecting twice in a year where somebody else is not getting inspected. or we are relying on additional sources of information. and where the manufacturers themselves are providing better documentation when they are taking all the right steps. again if you are an importer and you have something coming in to the country, it costs you money. if it sits there. meanwhile the f.d.a. is dealing with how do we screen all the stuff coming in. so if -- >> this senate house committee hearing on the safety foreign

made drugs continues. we'll cover it liven live on c-span.org. we'll have it later for you in our program schedule and watch it later in our video library at c-span.org. we are leaving because the u.s. house is coming in for legislative work. this afternoon they'll debate a resolution disapproving an increase in the debt limit that. resolution would need to pass both chambers and overcome a presidential veto. also in the house this afternoon, a bill that re-authorizes the u.s. commission on international religious freedom. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. go z -- import restrictions against farma. also floor speeches this afternoon on proposed fema aid on recent disasters. $7 billion in additional spending. you can watch the senate live on c-span2. next up the u.s. house here on c-span.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. love and gracious god, we give you thanks forgiving us another day -- for giving us another day. bless the members of this assembly as they set upon the work of these hours of these days. help them to make wise decisions in a good manner and to carry their responsibilities steadily with high hopes for a better future for our great nation. deepen their faith, widen their

sympathies, heighten their aspirations. gimbing them the strength to do what ought to be done for this country. give them the wisdom and perseverance to work together constructively to address the pressing issues facing our nation. may your blessing, o god, be with them and with us all this day and every day to come and may all we do be done for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof and pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentlelady from massachusetts, mrs. tsongas. ms. tsongas: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republican for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with

liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to 15 one-minute speech requests. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker: without objection. mr. poe: mr. speaker, ron and cynthia bars from texas sent me this email. the folks who are getting the free stuff don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff. because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay both for the free stuff and their own stuff. and the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff. on top of the free stuff they're already getting. so now the ones who are forcing the people to pay for the free stuff have told the people who are receiving that free stuff that the people who are paying for this free stuff are mean and greedy. so the people who are getting the free stuff have been convinced they need to desspice the people who are paying for the free stuff and they are promised more free stuff if they

vote for the ones who force othered to pay for the free stuff. mr. speaker, there's just not enough stuff for free and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island -- from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> madam speaker, last week president obama laid out a plan of action to create new jobs and strengthen our economy. now the american job act has been sent to congress and it is up to us to catch the ball and run it into the end zone. the american people are suffering. they are in pain, they are hurting. mr. baca: they need and deserve our help now, not tomorrow, they don't need more excuses. the american jobs act contains tax incentives, federal

incentives that will give our economy an immediate boost. 98% of businesses will have payroll tax cut in half, the new tax credit will encourage businesses to hire returning veterans and 280,000 teachers will be saved from being laid off. new investments will help build our roads, our bridges, our airports and rail systems and not the bridges to nowhere. let's invest in the american people and work together to build our economy. this is not about allowing president obama a win. this is about the american people, people who need jobs now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. baca: in building our economy. let's work together, let's help the american people who are suffering. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. baca: i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to speak to the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. fleming: mr. speaker, instead of president obama's no jobs plan which is just more of the same, i'd like to give my two cents worth. on what it takes to create jobs right here in america. why? because i know what it's like to take a risk and to open a business. to hire someone and to make a payroll. putting a moratorium on all new regulations would be a good start, repealing the job-killing obamacare and dodd-frank financial reform laws which are actually no reform at all and they're already decimating our economy. and lastly, putting forth a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. if president obama adopted these approaches immediately capital would start flowing which would then create jobs. what we can no longer afford are

the current big government, sokesist policies that will only put us -- socialist policies that will only put us furlt into debt and hurt job creation. i've created hundreds of jobs in my district and that's in louisiana, and how many jobs has the president created in his 2 1/2 years? i would say negative on that. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, madam president. mr. quigley: on january 21, 1990, over 300,000 ukrainians joined hands to create a 300-mile human chain in a show of unity and support for ukrainian independence. one year later, on august 24, 1991, ukraine rose from under its soviet yolk and declared its independence. i stand here today to comment rate the -- commemorate the 20th anniversary of ukraine's independence and to commend them on their many democratic

achievements over the last two decades. yet as we celebrate ukraine's severing of the soviet chains we must be aware of new restraints. for new shackles in the form of press crackdowns and opposition intimidation threaten to rechain ukrainians and reverse their many hard-fought freedoms. i have faste faith in the spirit of the ukrainian people and hope they will join hands again as they did 20 years ago and continue to stand strong for freedom and democracy, knowing america will always be standing beside them. as they say in ukraine, together we are many, we cannot be defeated. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> madam speaker, today i rise to honor a soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice and laid down his life for our freedom. u.s. army officer david r. carter. chief officer carter dedicated

himself to over 24 years of military service. as a member of the colorado army national guard, he deployed to afghanistan this summer. on august 6, 2001, he was piloting a ch-47 helicopter on a mission to reinforce a unit under attack in afghanistan. on that tragic day he was one of 30 americans who lost their lives when their helicopter was brought down by enemy fire. mr. coffman: david carter was regarded as one of the most highly trained aviators in colorado, with multiple combat deployments and over 4,000 flight hours. he is also remembered for the tremendous impact he had on his family, friends and community. friends we call -- recalled that he was never too busy to help out with a problem. chief warren officer david carter personifies the honor and

selflessness of service as a citizen soldier, his bravery and dedication and duty will not be forgotten. as a marine corps combat veteran, my deepest sympathies go out to his family, his fellow soldiers and all who knew him. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> madam speaker, the american people have waited too long for this congress to put the focus where it belongs, on creating jobs and getting the nation back to work. now we must boldly make up time for lost time. we need a plan as serious as the challenges we face and the american jobs act is that plan. we will harness the industry and energy of the american people, we will give small businesses the back bone of our economy, the incentives and assistance that they need to hire and to grow.

we will put people to work building a transportation infrastructure worthy of our 21st century. mr. hanna: we will stop teachers from being laid off -- ms. hahn: we will stop teachers from being laid off. the american jobs act is good news for veterans, construction workers, teachers, firefighters, the long-term unemployed and good news for all americans who can look forward to a stronger economy and a more competitive nation. let's work together to pass this bill and get the american people the help they need and the support they deserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> madam speaker, there are 14 million americans out of work. we have a record 13 straight months of unemployment at 8% or above, the longest stretch since the great depression. that's simply unacceptable.

the president and congress must work together to grow the economy and create jobs. as a business man for over 30 years i have seen firsthand that the government does not create jobs, the private sector does, small business does. mr. buchanan: my jobs plan would expand overseas markets for u.s. goods and services, lower taxes on business, eliminate frivolous lawsuits and abolish unnecessary regulation. and we need to get our financial house back in order and move towards a constitutional balanced budget amendment. it's time we worked together to get america back to work. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from massachusetts rise? without objection. ms. tsongas: madam speaker, we need to put people back to work and it is past time that this issue is finally getting the national attention necessary to get something done. as we work to finally enact a

jobs plan, we should be investing not only in our work force but also in our future competitiveness. which is why we should invest in the next revolution, clean energy technologies. we export billions of dollars each year to import the energy that powers our country. if we can harness the power of clean, renewable energy we will not only create high-paying jobs but we can begin to address the real threat of climate change as well. by investing in clean energy technologies such as wind and solar, we can begin to replace many of the manufacturing, construction and high-tech jobs lost during the recession. we should take advantage of this unique opportunity to immediately create good jobs here in america while safeguarding the future of our children and grandchildren at the same time. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> i ask permission to address

the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: madam speaker, the nation's unemployment rate is a gruesome 9.1%. this marks the longest period of high unemployment since the great depression. more than 14 million americans are unemployed, more than 25 million americans who want a full time job don't have one. in today's "politico," it was reported that, long-term jobless at 50-year record. the state's front page today revealed the nation's poor have swelled to a sad record of 46.2 million people. the democrat chairwoman says the president owns the economy. the president's policies are sadly failing. he's on the wrong track as evidenced in new york. and he needs to change course with a bipartisan tax cut in the tradition of presidents kennedy and reagan. the president's proposal for a second half trillion stimulus is a repeat of failure. out of control borrowing and spending and the failed stimulus have aggravated unemployment.

tax increases destroy jobs. house republicans will continue to lead bipartisan efforts of creating an environment for job creation that promotes small businesses. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. butterfield: madam speaker, despite the fact that we face persistent unemployment and slow economic growth, republicans would rather waste time with debt ceiling disapproval resolutions and risk default again than come up with real answers to our most pressing problems. democrats want to pass the american jobs act right now, to get people back to work. we want to offer payroll tax breaks to small businesses who create jobs, not continue corporate welfare to major oil companies. we want to create infrastructure banks to repair and rebuild our communities, not delay these

highway projects to score political points. monday in "politico" a senior republican aide was quoted as saying, he didn't want to hand obama a win on jobs legislation. it's clear, it's clear that republicans care more about beating the president than beating unemployment. the jobless of this country cannot wait another 14 months. pass the american jobs act today. . i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? without objection. >> madam speaker, our country is facing record deficits, high unemployment, and stagnant economic growth. yet president obama is doubling down on the double threatt of taxation, legislation, and spending that is crushing job growth. this week the president has been touting his so-called jobs plan. but his debt plimental policies have forced the a company in texas to close five facilities and sacrifice 500 middle class jobs. the impact of this e.p.a.

shutdown will reduce generating capacity in texas by 1,300 megawatts, a move that could spur future power outages. these regulations hurt middle class jobs and harm electric reliability in texas with no scientific evidence that power generation in texas is causing nonattainment of clean air standards in other states. mr. flores: not only are this administration's disastrous policies preventing future job creation, they are destroying existing jobs. instead of proposing the same failed ideas that washington can create jobs, we need to get washington out of the way and rely on commonsense, mainstream solutions that put americans back to work. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline, rise? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cicilline: i rise today to honor the cumberland little league team from my home state

of rhode island. they reached their first world series after beginning the new england region nap championship, was one of 16 teams out of 6 kgs 800 little league all-star teams worldwide who made it to the world series in williams port, pennsylvania. congratulations for working so hard and showing such great sportsmanship in the world series. in my record book they are a champion not because it drove in the most runs or caught the most fly balls but because of the dedication and respect and sportsmanship they showed while playing this great game. little league baseball is more than a game. it's an enrichment activity that fosters community spirit and helps young people develop skills. the officials and parents who cheer from the stands played valuable roles in making them a success in providing a safe and nuturing environment for these young people to grow. thank you to all who made this possible. again my congratulations to each of the little league baseball players. i ask unanimous consent that the

team roster be printed in the congressional record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi rise? without objection. >> madam speaker, this morning nasa announced the design of a new space launch system which will be the basis for future exploration beyond earth orbit. it's a critical step with you but one among many. it is long overdue since it was mandated by the nasa authorization bill passed in the last congress. this announcement combines existing technologies while enabling new ones. all the while attempting to maintain the most skilled and dedicated work force in existence in human space flight. mr. palazzo: it still lax the destination focus i would like to see and we must be diligent in keeping costs manageable especially in these economic times. but the investment in our nation's space program enables men and women like those to do what they do best, test rockets

for space flight. america is the leader in human space flight. today's decision helps continue that leadership role. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? without objection. mr. sires: madam speaker, two weeks ago hurricane irene ravaged the east coast, including the state of new jersey. earlier this year tornadoes leveled parts of the midwest, and now texas is experiencing one of the worst wildfires in its history. furthermore, on the heels of hurricane irene, tropical storm lee hit new jersey, causing more damage and forcing more people from their homes. homes have been destroyed, businesses are suffering, and many areas are still covered in water. while many major disaster declarations have been made, the a1r5eu8ibility of federal assistance remains uncertain. today i rise to ask my colleagues to work in a bipartisan manner to immediately pass emergency disaster relief

legislation to support recovery efforts. communities across the country have witnessed unthinkable destruction, endured great loss, and it is the federal government's responsibility to replenish the disaster relief fund to ensure these communities receive help in their times of need. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting supplemental disaster relief. we must come together now to provide disaster assistance to these devastated areas. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? without objection. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise today with great disa poiment. in the president's most recent propose the bill to create jobs, i was hopeful that the president would offer commonsense, progrowth agenda. unfortunately i believe the house continues to stand ready without a proposal that is acceptable. this administration continues to offer the same tired big

government proposals. for one example is the section that produces and creates in 17 pages a wholly government-owned corporation, that's right, government-owned corporation. complete with chief financial officer, chief risk officer, chief operations officer, chief lending officer, general council, board of directors, and new billions of dollars of taxpayer money. mr. suther lapd: it appears once again this administration -- mr. southerland: it appears once again this administration is growing government not jobs. mr. green: thank you, madam speaker. members. the american jobs act is the solution. and i hope that this house should consider on the floor immediately. this bill would help reverse the flow of jobs overseas. it will help rebuild manufacturing base in america. providing good jobs for

hardworking americans. make it in america creates jobs in america. this bill builds america. the long-term f.a.a. re-authorization would create 150,000 jobs and re-authorizing the surface transportation bill would support 134,000 projects around the country. 5,000 mass transit projects, and nearly one million jobs over the next year. the national infrastructure bank proposal would combine public and private resources to build and repair the country's infrastructure. this build would also create jobs through the tax code. the proposal cuts the payroll tax in half and the 98% of businesses on their first five million in payroll. it offers a $4,000 tax credit to employers hiring long-term unemployed workers. yet among the tax rolls and not unemployment rolls. and starts returning heroes hiring tax credit between $5,600 and 9,600 for firms that hire unemployed veterans. we have a responsibility to help our country climb out of this

tough economy and this bill is a proposal that deserves bipartisan support to help accomplish that. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> madam speaker, i rise today to join the chorus of americans asking washington to stop damaging the economy with job-killing regulation. small businesses don't thrive when they are hit with additional burdens from the federal government. as unbelievable as it sounds, some in this body actually believe that new regulations create jobs because they force businesses to hire people to comply with the new mandate. madam speaker, this defies commonsense, and that's why i'm introducing two bills, one which would pause all new regulation for a year so businesses would know the rules to live under, and another to require regulators to analyze their impact of the rules on jobs and least costly tern for each mandate. mr. yoder: let's come together and agree that regulations don't create jocks.

and let's pass commonsense legislation to get america working again. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? without objection. >> i rise today to discuss the urgent need to create jobs in america. millions of americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and finding a job now is as hard as it's been in generations. our country needs decisive action and we need it now. earlier this week the president submitted the american job acts -- americans job action to congress and ask my colleagues in both parties to put partisanship aside and work together to create jobs desperately needs. mr. mcnerney: many of the proposals included in the american jobs act enjoy bipartisan support and i call on speaker boehner and leader cantor to work together in good faith to bring forward good jobs proposals from both parties to congress. we will have an economic recovery without putting people

back to work. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? without objection. mr. langevin: madam speaker, too many people in america are out of work. and as the president said in his speech last week, too many people living day to day, paycheck to paycheck, struggling to find work, that's why we need to pass the american jobs act now. consequences of such high unemployment is poverty. yesterday the census bureau reported that our country's poverty rate last year was an astonishing 15.1%, the highest it's been in almost two decades. with totaling 22% of our children living in poverty, this makes clear who has born the brunt of our economic woes. i believe all my colleagues share a strong love of this nation and children. in order for them to succeed we must ensure they have access to

health care, housing, and and put their parents back on a path to work. it's a travesty to have one child living in poverty let alone one in five of our children. it's also unconscionable to allow our actions or inactions to affect their future prosperity. let's work together in a bipartisan way now to pass the americas jobs act today. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. sanchez: madam speaker, 53 years ago china declared ownership of the islands in the eastern sea which include the spratly and parasell islands. on september 14 of 1958, then prime minister dong of north

vietnam issued a diplomatic note informing the declaration of china regarding the chinese ownership of those islands. when this decision became known, vietnamese students and bloggers organized unprecedented protests in hanoi and in saigon against china's violations of vietnam's sovereignty in the eastern sea. the vietnamese security police were ordered to end the public demonstrations regarding the issue of the islands and detained over 40 activists who were involved in this protest. since early august of this year, at least 13 young patriots have been arrested by police and the ministry of public security in vietnam, and several of these activists are prom nentbloggers such as the -- prominent bloggers such as the congregation of the most holy

redeemer for this same issue. as a co-sponsor of house resolution 352, i call for framework in accordance to the united nations convention on the law of the sea for a peaceful concurrent resolution to this conflict. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. -- the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from california rise? without objection. mrs. capps: madam speaker, as i traveled through my district these last few weeks, one issue dominated all conversations. jobs. as my colleagues on the other side created the default crisis this summer, the american people threw up their hands in disgust and dismay. and i don't blame them. our constituents know the number one issue facing this country is jobs. and they know this congress must take concrete actions to grow our economy and it must take them now. the good news is we have a plan.

the american jobs act is commonsense, bipartisan actions to put americans back to work and strengthen our economy. it keeps teachers in the classrooms. cops and firefighters on our streets. it rebuilds our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizes our schools, ribts our neighborhoods. it cuts taxes for small businesses, workers, and their families. the time for political games which are costing jobs and creating economic uncertainty, that time has passed. i urge the house leadership, help us pass the american jobs act and let's pass it now. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? without objection. >> mr. speaker, today we learned that 46 million americans are living in poverty. more people are suffering economically than at any time since the great depression. mr. moran: but we learned from an excellent article by scott

lily of the center for american progress that history maybe repeating itself. in 1937 conservative republicans succeeded in virtually eliminating the federal jobs programs of the new deal so as to eliminate the federal deficit. but the results were catastrophic to america's economy and society. half of the eight million jobs that have been created by the new deal were lost and unemployment went over 19%. economists generally classify the economic reversal of 1937 and 1938 as a second depression, not until military spending began to revive activity in 1940 did unemployment again drop to less than 15%. that was a long and painful experience. it would be tragedy figure we permitted the new conservative crowd in washington to repeat it by killing president obama's jobs act and sending us back into a double dip recession. those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? without objection. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to discuss the all-important issue of jobs in america. as i travel around my district i frequently hear discussions about jobs but more importantly i hear discussions about jobs that have gone unfilled. in my district alone that is 2,600 jobs. in america it is 3.2 million jobs that are ready to be filled today. we must come together as members of congress to provide assistance that helps us train people, relocate them or do whatever is necessary to bring people to jobs. 3.2 million people back to work, that's significant. i hope that my colleagues in congress will work with me to put 3.2 million americans back

to work. this is not a situation where there are not jobs, this is a situation where there are unfilled jobs. thank you very much, madam speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? mr. clarke: to address the house for a minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. clarke: thank you. madam speaker, i offer this congress and this country a simple yet powerful way to create new, good-paying manufacturing jobs in the united states. and that's by investing in detroit, by allowing the tax dollars that detroiters pay to be invested back in detroit. invested to help make the streets of detroit safer, to help improve detroit's schools, to help train detroiters for jobs, to help rebuild our city.

you see, this type of investment will definitely create jobs in detroit. but more importantly detroit's manufacturing know-how, our trained work force, investing in detroit will help put americans back to work. so by helping put detroiters back to work you're going to help put this country back to work. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. all time for one-minute speeches has expired. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on the additional motion to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote occurs -- incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20, any recorded vote on the postponed question will be taken tomorrow. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2867. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2867, a bill to re-authorize the international religious freedom act of 1998 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, and the gentleman from california, mr. berman, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: thank you very much, madam speaker. first of all, let me thank ileana ros-lehtinen, the chairwoman of our committee, and mr. berman, for their fine work on this legislation. i want to thank especially congressman frank wolf, the author of this legislation, who is also the author of the original international religious freedom act that was passed back in 1998 against considerable odds, opposition from the clinton administration, for example, opposition from a number of people on both sides of the aisle. but at the end of the day, that legislation, historic, was signed into law, and was signed by president clinton. so he came around and actually put his signature on that historic legislation.

so i again want to thank mr. wolf for his famous leadership. he has been a leader on human rights and on religious freedom in particular for more than 30 years and that culminated, at least on the religious freedom side, with the enactment of the international religious freedom act. madam speaker, religious freedom, the right to worship and practice one's faith according to the dictates of one's own conscience, is the foundation of human right. not only is it an essential element in our constitution, it is intrinsic to the human dignity of every man and woman on this earth and was enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights. but it is a right denied or curtailed for millions, really billions, and according to some estimates even a majority of the people living in the world. for cops in egypt, for christians in china, christians in central vietnam, buddhist

monks in burma and of course this riding tide of anti-semitism, not just in the middle east but in many parts of europe, and even in the united states, the ability to live their faith without threat of persecution is a distant and unrealized promise. i was pleased to work with mr. wolf years ago, as i mentioned, on this legislation and i chaired the hearings on the legislation and again there was considerable opposition that was turned around at the end of the day, this legislation did become law. the u.s. commission on international religious freedom was an important part of this effort. it was created as an independent body of experts to review the facts and make policy recommendations from a vantage point outside of our diplomatic corps where bilateral and other concerns had sometimes resulted in the soft peddling of severe, ongoing violations of religious freedoms around the world. even today when the quality of state department reporting on religious issues, while it's

improved, the commission continues to serve as a critical role and a sounding board and catalyst. one indicator is the fact that the commissioner's list of recommended what is called countries of particular concern for severe violations of religious remains larger than the number actually designated by the state department. they ought to be the same. but they are not. just yesterday secretary clinton rightfully designated the people's republic of china, burma, iran, north korea, saudi arabia, sudan and uzbekistan as countries of particular concern. but the state department's list does not add any new countries from last year and one of the most glaring omissions of all, vietnam, whose policies have more than earned that badge of shame. secretary clinton did not designate egypt either or iraq, nigeria, turkmenistan and pakistan as recommended by the

commission. so unfortunately their recommendations went unheeded but it does provide an important backdrop and framework to review and to look at what it is that the state department is doing. we need, madam speaker, this commission more than ever. already in the congress we have had three comprehensive hearings on religious freedom. one in the tom lantos human rights commission this january, regarding the religious freedom minorities in the middle east. one in the committee that i chair, the africa global health, global human rights committee, regardsing the prioritization of religious freedom in u.s. foreign policy and one just last month in the helsinki commission on the particular plight of coptic christians in egypt. that hearing brought to light an egregious policy that is acted out in egypt each and every day where young coptic christian girls, some as young as 14 and 15, are kidnapped, they are forced into islam and then they

are at age 18 or thereafter given in marriage, forcibly, to an islamic man. that is an outrage against women's rights, human rights and religious freedoms as well. the commission has been an invaluable resource to congress as we monitor the protection and promotion of religious freedom around the world. and the response of the administration on this very important issue. they have also been resource to governors, seeking to remedy religious freedom abuses within their own borders. for instance, in indonesia the commission worked with members of the indonesian house of representatives and several society groups and introduced measures to strengthen provision in the criminal code regarding its acts on religious gatherings and amend the law regarding religious venues. it also helps network human rights and advocates in indonesia and elsewhere around the world, working to defend individual as i accused of blasphemy and religious

minorities facing intimidation and violence from extremist groups. the commission's work in indonesia will have practical impact on the exercise of human rights and the preservation of peace in that country. other governments have looked to the commission as a model for their own religious freedom commissions. the bill before us today includes a number of bipartisan reforms to the commission, authorities and operations to make their work even more effective. again, i want to thank ms. ros-lehtinen, the chairwoman, and thank howard berman for their leadership in ensuring the bill came to the floor today and for their support for the bill. reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's recognized. mr. berman: i rise in strong support of h.r. 2867, the united states commission on international religious freedom reform and re-authorization act of 2011. i'd like to thank the sponsor of the legislation, the gentleman

from virginia, mr. wolf, who has been a leader on this issue for, as my colleague mr. smith pointed out, well over a decade on the question of international religious freedom. we're fortunate to live in a country that was founded by religious refugees on principles of tolerance. we strive to adhere to article 18 of the universal declaration of human rights which states that, quote, everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. this right includes freedom to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. but elsewhere around the globe religious freedom and human rights are routinely violated. countless men, women and children face violence, persecution and discrimination because of their faith. violent extremists a-- extremist attacks have taken place in the middle east and south asia, the regimes in north korea and iran

actively repress religious freedom. blasphemy laws have fueled discrimination against religious minorities in afghanistan, pakistan and saudi arabia. other religious minorities like tibetans buddhists, muslims, bahais, asyrian christians in iraq face violence and government restrictions. and anti-semitism is still prevalent around the world. just yesterday secretary clinton designated burma, china, iran, north korea, saudi arabia, sudan and uzbek stan as countries of particular -- uzbekistan as countries of particular concern who have engaged in violations of religious freedom. while these may be the worst offenders we have serious concerns about religious freedom in many other countries around the world. more than ever we need the u.s.

commission on international religious freedom to continue its important work. the bipartisan bill before us today re-authorizes the commission, also known as userf, which is set to expire at the end of the month. the bill also contains some sensible reforms that will strengthen usrfs efforts to monitor and report on the status of freedom of religion abroad. these reforms include the process of selecting the chair, terms of service for members of the commission, and a g.a.o. study on improving the effectiveness and coordination of all u.s. government bodies that focus on international religious freedom. in particular i would like to thank mr. roe for agreeing -- wolf for agreing to include a provision that clarifies workplace restrictions and civil rights laws as the rest of the federal government. congress has long provided that the federal government, including the executive and leggetsive branches, is subject

to laws intended to keep the american workplace safe and free from discrimination. including the family in medical leave act, title 7 of the civil rights act, the americans with disability act, osha and workplace protections for veterans. however, under current law it is unclear whether usrfs employees could resolve disputes over workplace productions -- protections through the procedures designed for executive branch workers or under the procedures that apply to legislative branch employees through the congressional accountability act. this legislation will ensure that all claims will now be resolved under the procedures created by the congressional accountability act, it supports this provision and i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: i yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the subcommittee on commerce,

science, and related agencies. the author of the original act, an historic piece of legislation, and today's re-authorization. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. wolf: thank you, madam speaker. before i begin i want to thank foreign affairs committee chairman, ros-lehtinen, ranking member, mr. berman, the human rights subcommittee chairman, mr. smith, who has been a champion on all these issues from the very first day he got in there and their staffs. i think sometimes it's profound. the staffs have made all the difference in the world. i want to particularly thank the chairman's staff, and doug for their help. and also the leadership on both sides, my side, and the leadership staff who have really tried to work this and get this thing through. i'm going to say some things, hopefully not too controversial, but i do want to thank them for getting this thing out and getting it moving because if it didn't move today it may very

well come to an end. i rise in support of this critical legislation to re-authorize and reform the u.s. commission on international religious freedom. the sad truth, though, madam speaker, this bill has been held hostage, hostage by the other body. keep the word hostage out there as we think in terms of what this bill would do and what's taking place around the world. if we do not pass this bill in this form today, the likelihood of this commission shutting down is very, very high. i wish i could name, i know the house rules and i would name the members over there, if anyone asks me, but it's being held hostage. some in the other body are even saying these are not the changes they would like to see to the commission. and quite frankly i believe that some over there and this very administration would not mind seeing this commission shut its doors. scoop jackson is with a bipartisan issue for years.

a leader, jackson-vanik. president reagan to my side, reagan said the words in the constitution were coveted to the entire world not just the people in philadelphia in 1787 but the entire world, yet religious freedom often referred to as the first freedom essential to our american values and should be featured prominently in foreign policy, but sadly the constituency for human rights and religious freedom issues is growing smaller and smaller in washington and in this congress. these issues have become second class sit dense in this congresstry. there are no big law firms in downtown. they are representing the saudis, the chinese, they are representing filth and garbage in certain cases, but no one represents human rights and religious freedom. i'm concerned, and all the members that have agonized that

push and pull and want to kill this, i'm concerned as we stand here today and debate, you got to know this, iraqi christians are being killed. people who speak the same language as jesus, the aramaic language, and more biblical activity took place in iraq than any other country than israel, and iraqi women are being forced to do terrible things to keep their family. they never talk about iraqi christians. yet many of them supported the iraqi war and yet they say nothing. the baha'is, the baha'is in iran and egypt are being marginalized. marginalized. i never hear a word saying. chinese bishops, i can remember congressman smith took holy communeon from bishop su. he was arrested and never been seen since. maybe once being forced into a public security police car and taken away.

protestant pastors are being arrested today as we speak in china and yet this doesn't seem to bother this place. it's almost like, well, you know, what are we going to do? man does not live by bread alone. these are important issues. go back to scoop jackson. go back to ronald reagan. go back to the constitution. go back to the declaration of independence. the christian minister in the government was gunned down because of his faith, because he was a christian. the armandy muslims in pakistan are being persecuted. they are going through a very, very difficult time. the coptic christians, i was in egypt in july. the coptic christians, 8.5 million, are going through a very difficult time. and as mr. smith just said, anti-semitism is running rampant. anti-semitism is running rampant in this world, yet there are some who are trying to kill this

commission for some reason over in the other body that we are having such a hard time. the buddhists in tibet, they can't even have a picture of the dalai lama. hue shin chow, the current president of china, was the one who cracked down on tibet and raided all those monasteries, and yet this bill, some are just saying, well, i don't know. i don't know. i don't know. through this bill, this bill is not what we originally planned. the commission has said they can live with these provisions. so the commission may remain a reliable voice for the world's persecuted people. as mr. smith said, there probably is not a time that you do need this commission more than now. since the passage of this legislation, religious freedom has been elevated at times in u.s. foreign policy, but it still does not enjoy the pre-emence it deserves.

sadly a strong u.s. voice on these critical issues has arguably never been more needed. it faces extinction at the end of the month and members of congress know, you knock this bill down, you want to kill this commission, and vote no, it will go out of business by the end of this month. if the congress fails to pass it. just yesterday as mr. smith said, the state department released its annual international religious freedom report. in the report several challenges to religious freedom were pinpointed. people around the world continue to face violent extremist attacks of blast mi laws and repression and anti-semitism. and according to the pew research study released in 2009, 1/3 of all nations containing 70% of the world's population severely restrict religious freedom. madam chair, i have more and i will just revise and extend. i want to thank, again, ms. ros-lehtinen and mr. berman and my good friend, mr. smith, and

their staffs. i don't know what we would say to the christian community around the world and the baha'is and those concerned about the anti-semitism and buddhist community in tibet and the uighurs in china. they would say what's taking place in washington? why is this no longer an issue that this congress and this administration cares about? so i hope we would pass it. i think we should have a roll call vote. every member should stand up and explain what they are going to do. with that i thank the gentleman. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: madam speaker, i have no further requests for time. if the other side is -- has other witnesses, i'll reserve the balance of my time. otherwise i yield it. mr. smith: i'm going to spend another minute.

mr. berman: i yield back the balance of my time. mr. smith: i do ask that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. smith: i want to again thank congressman frank wolf, chairman wolf, for his eloquence and passion for those men and women and children of faith who suffer terrible, terrible injustices around the world, including persecution. the book that got me involved in all candor in religious freedom issues, there were two incidents in my first year in congress, 1981, tore ture by richard rembrandt, an evangelical pastor who spent years being tortured in romania because of his faith. and he made an appeal, he said do not sit idly by while men and women of any faith are being tortured and persecuted because of that faith. because it's not just the

individual who suffers. the entire family suffers. and very often they are incarcerated and tortured as well. the other was a trip to the soviet union with the national conference in 1982, january, 10 days in moscow and wlenin grad, meeting soviet jewish refuse nix who were persecuted, put into psychiatric prisons simply because of their faith. a couple years later, mr. wolf and i went to camp 35. it took years to negotiate our way in. this is in 1987, we met with persecuted jewish refuseniks and christians who were there and political prisoners simply because of their faith. it was where sherr ran i ask spent a number of his years incarcerated by the cruel dictatorship of the soviet union. in china today the believer christian uighur, tibetan, are just -- buddhists are tortured

beyond anyone's imagination. it's real. it's happening today. in vietnam there has been a backlash against people of faith ever since they got trading benefits and the bilateral trade agreement and m.f.n. or permanent normal trade relations -- pntr. they have done a backlash to men and women of faith. they ought to be on the list. the international religious freedom commission, i hope people will go to the website, check out this wonderful commission, which if it is not renewed by the end of this month, goes out of business. and i would call on our members on the other side of this capitol, the other body, to pass this legislation immediately. we ought to be strengthening and significantly expanding it not doing less than status quo, which is what we are doing today, because of some budget concerns that people have. this is the quintessential watchdog agency in this town.

doesn't get the big press as mr. wolf said. doesn't have the big bucks. no k street lobbyists, but it is a wonderful and very important and effective commission that keeps track of religious persecution globally, keeps you us -- keeps us in line in the house and senate, and also the state department. i read their reports. i read them from cover to cover. please, i would ask members in this body support this legislation and call on our friends in the senate to do likewise. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2867 as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, mr. smith: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having

arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> madam speaker, pursuant o section 3 of house resolution 392 and as the designation ig knee of the majority leader, i have a motion at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mr. reed of new york moves that the house proceed to consider the joint resolution, house joint resolution 77, relating to the disapproval of the president's exercise of authority to increase the debt limit as submitted under section 3101-a of title 31, united states code, on august 2, 2011.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 3101-a-c-3 of title 31, the united states code, the motion is not debatable. the question is on the motion. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. the clerk will report the title of the joint resolution. the clerk: union calendar number 134, house joint resolution 77. joint resolution relating to the disapproval of the president's exercise of authority to increase the debt limit as submitted under section 3101-a of title 31 united states code on august 2, 2011. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 3101-a-c-4 of title 31 united states code, the joint resolution is considered as read. the previous question is considered as ordered on the jore