their job creation programs. that has been a big mandate for dr. joe biden. how do we help these veterans who have served in two wars for a decade for this country? 1% of america fighting these wars for 10 years. how do we take care of them? how do we take care of them, if we need to force them out? it is a big deal. host: anna mulrine, "christian science monitor" defense correspondent, thank you very much. guest: thank you. host: you can find out more about the budget at our website c-span.org. we will now go to the floor of the house of representatives which is getting under way with morning business. erk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c. february 15 2012. i hereby appoint the honorable virginia foxx to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner,

speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 17, 2012, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes each but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. gutierrez, for five minutes. mr. gutierrez: madam speaker, this next sunday, february 19, i will be joining thousands of puerto ricans in old san juan

behind the banners of casa pueblo. labor unions and many others of puerto ricoo's civic society. those that demand redress from their government. in this particular instance they're demanding clear explanation of the scandals associated with the natural gas project, popularly known as gasoducto, and known as the green way. now it looks like the regime, who fired thousands of public sector employees, alleging they had no money to pay their salaries have wasted $50 million on a project that was never needed, never practical and never supported by the public, a project that many think may now be dead. it has a history of troubling insider deals and suspect relationship. mr. speaker, i pridedly march with thousands of people across the island as we make our

opposition to the gasoducto clear. we will start at the capitol building and march to the governor's mansion. one of our key messages is to the federal government and specifically to the u.s. army corps of engineers. i wrote to the secretary of the army asking for an investigation of this very cozy relationship between the jacksonville florida, district office of the u.s. army corps of engineer and the florida-based consulting company, made up mostly of retired corps of engineer staffers, hired by the puerto rican regime in order to advocate for the pipeline. i am still waiting for the response from my request. i wonder why does the corps waste taxpayers' to build a pipeline for where there is no gas? why are we not having a more affordable alternative? why are we still considering a project that has raised serious

objections from the u.s. e.p.a. and the fish and wildlife service and environmental groups across the country? why are we still considering a project opposed by no less than 70% of the people on the island of puerto rico? the public has turned against the project, its price tag its danger and its complete lack of justification. key decisionmakers in the private sector and in the federal government and in the puerto rican government, even up to and including the governor himself are slowly back peddling from what has been a headlong rush to build a 92-mile gas pipeline. even still, the u.s. army corps of engineers consider a permit for reasons in a are simply unclear to me and anyone else except they may wish to do their friends' bidding, yes, the friends they left behind at the office whom some believe left that federal office to join them. oh, the ways of washington, d.c. but the people of puerto rico have already declared permit

denied. this had coming sunday in old san juan we will stand together, environmental leaders, labor leaders, and we will speak out louder than clear. permits who destroy the environment, denied. permits that put lives at risk denied. permits that waste money to lavish the friends of the regime with no-bid contracts, denied. yes, mr. speaker, most people in puerto rico are convinced that the gasoducto is dead. but i will join with the people of puerto rico next sunday as we main vigilant and firm in our opposition of this dangerous and abusive project. together we will work to allow fairness and justice to reign once again on the island of puerto rico. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lance, for five minutes. mr. lance: thank you, madam

speaker. madam speaker, i rise to call attention to one of the world's oldest and most preventable health tragedies and to recognize efforts under way to address it. i'm speaking of the needless and preventable death of women in pregnancy and childbirth. motherhood is, of course, at the heart of much of what we value and cherish in our civilization. yet, even today in this age of scientific achievement becoming a mother still carries great risk. during the next 10 years an estimated three million women may die attempting to bring new life into the world. this is approximately 1,000 mothers per day. yet, when a mother dies we lose so much. her baby is at greater risk and so are her other children. families are torn apart and

some are thrust into poverty or deeper into poverty. maternal mortality is a problem in the developing world. it is also a problem, madam speaker, in the united states of america. as i understand the figures, mothers die around the time of childbirth doubled here in this country between 1990 and 2008. unfortunately, women in the united states have a higher risk of dying from pregnancy related complications than women in 38 other countries. yet, in acknowledging this tragedy, i rise to recognize and applaud efforts that bring real hope. in white house station, new jersey, merck has announced a new program. merck for mothers. merck has pledged a half billion dollars over the next decade to help alleviate this

situation, complications of pregnancy and childbirth. the people of merck will dedicate their expertise to help make proven solutions more widely available, to develop new technologies and to improve public awareness to save lives. making progress against this complex challenge will not be easy. it is not purely a medical problem. and there are no magic bullets. i applaud merck and other organizations and individuals who are dedicating their time, their resources and their expertise to creating an environment where no woman has to die in order to bring a child into the world. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. woolsey, for five minutes. ms. woolsey: madam speaker it

was an ancient greek playwright who originally said, truth is the first casualty of war. more than 2,500 years later, those words still hold painfully and tragically true. tomorrow afternoon, i'll join several of my colleagues in meeting with lieutenant colonel daniel davis who has embarked on a brave truth-telling campaign about the war in afghanistan. after two combat deployments to afghanistan, lieutenant colonel davis has written two reports, one classified, one unclassified in which he tells he has seen. as part of his assignment with the rapid equipping force, he traveled across afghanistan several times spanning some 9,000 miles and visiting hundreds of troops. as well as afghan civilians and

afghan security forces. what he saw was afghan police that stay in the safe harbor of their checkpoints while allowing the taliban to roam free. what he saw were afghan local governments completely unprepared to protect and provide for their people. what he heard were stories of in his words, how insurgents controlled every piece of land beyond eye shot of a u.s. or international security assistance force base. madam speaker, this is not exactly the story we've been getting from top military brass when they report on the status of the afghanistan war. lieutenant colonel davis and his experiences is yet one more example of how we're not getting the entire story, as he puts it, and i quote him, senior ranking u.s. military leaders have so distorted the

truth when communicating with the u.s. congress and american people in regards to conditions on the ground in afghanistan that the truth has become unrecognizable. he continues, this deception has damaged america's credibility among both our allies and enemies. severely limiting our ability to reach a political solution to the war in afghanistan. madam speaker, after everything americans have sacrificed, the lives, limbs, the mental capacity of thousands of our people, the billions of dollars every month, our global reputation and credibility, the least we are owed is the unvarnished truth. for the price the nation has paid, we deserve the transparency and not the propaganda we're receiving.

a good start would be to declassify the national intelligence estimate on afghanistan as well as the public release of the classified version of lieutenant colonel davis' story. some have suggested that lieutenant colonel davis is a publicity seeker, and my only response to that is, i certainly hope so. i want the message out. goodness knows the other side of the story the official party line that the afghanistan war is a strategic success, has gotten plenty of publicity over the last decade. it's about time that a different version of events got close to equal time. i hope my colleagues, in particular those who supported the afghanistan war year in and year out will read what lieutenant colonel davis has written, and i hope they will

consider the significant risk he has taken and the patriotism he has shown. i look forward to meeting lieutenant colonel davis today, and i look forward to the nation finally heeding his words, honoring his courage and vindicating his story by bringing our troops home. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: madam speaker, i request permission and unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. poe: madam speaker, the date was april 16 1966. the pilot was sam johnson united states air force. he was a colonel and he was doing his second tour of duty

in vietnam. he was flying with a fighter squadron called satan's angels. he was a career pilot who had already flown 62 combat missions during the korean war, flying an f-86 saber jet. colonel johnson also flew with the famed air force thunderbirds. but on that day, april 16 1966, colonel johnson and his f-4 was shot down by ground fire by the north vietnamese. he was captured. he was put in a prisoner of war camp and, madam speaker, he was in that p.o.w. camp for seven years. because of the way that he would not give into the torture and to the interrogation, the enemy moved him to the famous hanoi hilton a place they called alcatraz. it was as bad a p.o.w. camp that ever existed in history. alcatraz was where 11 p.o.w.'s were put because they were the

most on city nant men and they were leaders of other p.o.w.'s. they were hard-nosed and they had to be segregated. they called themselves the alcatraz gang. they were defiant and the north vietnamese called this man right here colonel sam johnson, die-hard. they tortured him but they got no information from him. during that time, that seven years, he was beaten and tortured, sam johnson never broke down. they decided to put him in solitary confinement where he remained for four years. during that four years, all that was in that cell was a light bulb above his head that the enemy kept on for 24 hours a day. . during the nighttime they put sam jonson in leg arms, during that four years he never saw or talked to another american. while in the p.o.w. camp he and

others communicated with each other with a code by tapping on the wall. during that time he memorized the names of the other 374 p.o.w.'s in captivity. he kept that memory going so that when he got away or was released or escaped, he would be able to tell their loved ones who they were and where they were. it was brutal. it was harsh. it was cruel. it was mean. the enemy laughed and made fun of colonel sam and all he ever said was, is that the best you can do? for -- he wait weeds and pig fat and rice, he went from 200 pounds to 120 pounds. after seven years of confinement on february 12, 1973, 39 years ago this week, colonel sam johnson was finally released. after his released, colonelonson continued to serve in the united states air force for a total of 29 years. while he was in that p.o.w. camp

back home in texas his wife knew he was shot down but she didn't know what happened to him for two years, whether he was alive, dead, or missing in action. after he left the united states air force, he served in the statehouse in texas. he had his own business and then in 1991 he came to the house of representatives. where he continues to serve with distinction and represents the folks from texas. sam johnson returned to america with honor. he was a special breed. he was the american breed. he is that special warrior during -- in that time he was a captive warrior that never forsook his duty and never forsook his honor. colonel sam and other vietnam veterans were not only treated badly in vietnam, but many that returned were treated poorly by americans. these vets had no welcome home parades. they were spit upon cursed. america did not appreciate those old war horses from vietnam.

to colonel sam and all that served in vietnam, welcome home. welcome home. welcome home. some served and returned. some served and did not return. some served with the wounds of war. so the colonel sam johnson, we appreciate your service, because the worst cash ilet of war -- casualty of war is to be forgotten. that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, madam speaker. the fancy software at use in our congressional offices gives us the ability to see all of the constituent context, all of their questions, complaints, and

concerns by category. i wonder if anyone in congress has received any complaints about the safe routes to school program. i bet not. so why is the republican transportation bill eliminating safe routes to school, creating an unsafe route to school? this is a wildly popular program costing a fraction of a percent of the transportation budget, and it's had a huge impact nationally on our children because it deals with real consequences for them. a generation ago 40% or 50% of most children were able to get to school on their own. now only 13% can. it's no wonder that childhood obesity has exploded over the same period of time with one in three of our children now overweight or obese or seriously

at risk. asthma has gone up for children 74% over the last five years. there are real consequences for accidents. 23000 -- 23,000, 5 to 15-year-olds were injured and more than 250 kids killed walking or biking in 2009. getting our children to school in the morning represents 10% to 14% of the entire american morning commute. 6.5 billion trips stretching 30 billion miles. doesn't it make sense to do something about the congestion the injury, the death, and obesity? absolutely. 20 years ago as portland's commissioner of public works i started a program in my city to help teach kids how to get to school safely and to improve road and sidewalk conditions.

10 years ago we started a national program, safe routes to school. schools with these programs show 20% to 200% increase in the number of kids walking or biking. studies show these students are healthier. they do better in school. there is a 49% decrease in accident rates according to a recent california study. so why are my republican friends advancing a transportation bill attacking safe routes to school, stripping it out making it an unsafe route to school? well, it's a fitting metaphor for perhaps the worst transportation bill in history. i think that may be one of the reasons they were afraid to have even a single hearing on the package that's coming to the floor this week.

they attack the foundation of 20 years of balanced transportation reform. it shatters the 30-year partnership between transit and road interests that gave 80% to roads, 20% to a transit account brokered by ronald reagan's administration. it undercuts the role of local government and metropolitan areas to shape and control their own destiny. leaving them to the tender mercy of bureaucrats in their state capital. but it's not just safe routes to school. they attack high speed rail bicycles, amtrak. they attack the basic environmental and public participation protections that have been gutted that actually have been very important to make sure that we have good projects that aren't held up politically or in court. sadly i am disappointed having

worked for years with a broad coalition of highway professional environmental, labor, business groups towards a good transportation bill and a coalition that can work together for the badly needed transportation resources. this republican bill splits away valuable allies and will make it almost impossible to get the resources we need in the future. of course their bill is $5 billion short for highways after taking all these resources and stuffing it in. this is simply the worst highway bill ever. the first we have seen that has not been at least a semblance of bipartisan, something that's never been considered in committee. too timid to do the job, it recklessly abandons the trust fund principle, raising the ire of budget hawks for abandoning user pay.

it guts the most popular programs that help stretch dollars and improve communities and as i say it shatters the coalition that we immediate to deal with the future resources. mercifully this theological statement, loppy incomplete, and ill considered has no chance of ever being enacted into law, but it's important that the house reject it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. dold, for five minutes. mr. dold: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. dold: thank you, madam speaker. one of the core functions of the government is to invest in infrastructure and transportation. this is not a republican idea or a democrat idea. it's an american one. at a time when people are so desperately looking for washington to come together, this is an issue that we should

and can work together on. this week we are debating the transportation bill. while there are many great qualities about this bill there is still need, and i would argue a great need, to improve it. that's why i'm pleased that there are literally hundreds of amendments to try to strengthen this bill. i hail from the state of illinois. illinois is a donor state which means that we are putting in more transportation funds than we are receiving back from the federal government. that is why i am concerned by the cuts facing our state. we stand to lose almost $650 million. as one of the largest manufacturing hubs of the country, our region cannot afford to lose this critical funding. our transportation funds help strengthen our local economy and keep jobs at home. let me be clear, there are some very good steps in this bill that i believe we all should be able to embrace. the bill provides long-term

certainty to states when they are planning their transportation projects. we haven't had a transportation bill in a number of years, since 2005, and this would provide a five-year stability. it includes numerous reforms that enable states to cut through the red tape. speed up completion of projects many taking about 5 years ago, that would be going down to seven or eight years in the future. i'm pleased that the bill strengthens the harbor maintenance trust fund which impacts places like roy keegan harbor. waukegan harbor is a critical part of the great lakes system and helps bring jobs home to the 10th district that so desperately needs them. that being said, there are several aspects about this bill that need to be resolved. one of my major areas of concern is that of the environment. madam speaker, the bill would open a portion of the arctic national wildlife refuge, better referred to as anwr, to oil and

gas drilling. for over 50 years the development of anwr has been debated greatly. we have an obligation to be good stewards of our national treasures and fiscally responsible in funding our nation's infrastructure. however, including the arctic refuge drilling provision will greatly complicate the transportation bill moving forward and make agreement with the senate far more difficult. anwr should be the last resort not the first one. i'm also concerned with the future sustainability of transit funding. in the chicagoland region we depend on mass transit to lessen congestion on our roads and get people to and from work. we do this far more efficiently with mass transit, 50% of the people on the area's highways and interstates would be increased if it were not for mass transit. so think about that. for the people back there that have driven through chicago, if

we were to add an additional 50% on the already conguested -- congested roads, it would make it far more difficult for moving goods and services around and people to work. this is not what we need. mass transit is a vital program and one that we need to preserve. we need to have the certainty out there for funding. in illinois our state will face a $137 million shortfall each and every year if this bill is enacted as it stands right now. and this is unacceptable. with all this being said, i believe that we have much no do and we can work together to build the transportation bill that states and gives long-term planning and completes projects faster. but we do not need to do so at the detriment of mass transit or the environment. so let's work together and make this a better bill that we can all be proud of and move our country forward. with that, madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the

gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, for five minutes. 7 -- ms. lee: thank you, madam speaker. as founder and co-chair of the congressional out-of-poverty caucus, i rise again to sound the alarm about the crisis of poverty in america. while many of us are encouraged by recent improvements in the unemployment rate, which fell to 8.3%, the rate of unemployment continues to be unacceptably high, especially of color. for african-americans the unemployment rate is 13.6% and it's 10.5% for latinos. the rate of unemployment for our youth is even more alarming, you with over 23% of 16 to 19-year-olds looking for a job. without a job, madam speaker, how can we expect our youth, the future of this country, to develop the skills and experience they need to succeed and live out their american dreams? incouragingly, president obama understands we cannot speed up

economic recovery without investments that create jobs. i was pleased to see in his 2013 budget proposal critical investments to create good jobs and his job training program for communities hardest hit by our struggling economy. by targeting economic assistance where it's most needed, the president's proposed budget goes a long way to level the playing field to give every american the opportunity to succeed. . there's a lot my republican colleagues can learn from the president's budget. redousing the deficit and fighting poverty can be achieved together. let me be clear, there are cuts in this budget that may undermine some of the things our economy is making. low-income heating assistance and affordable housing programs will hit already struggling families especially hard. during these difficult times we really do need to protect programs that are a lifeline

for the most vulnerable. we need to increase fudding for programs like snap and w.i.c. which keeps millions of american families out of poverty. but keeping people from suffering the worst effects of poverty is not enough to restore our economy. even with the recent increases we have seen in job creation, long-term unemployment remains at record levels with 5.5 million workers who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more. and until republican leaders in the house can pass president obama's american jobs act or put forth any kind of reasonable plan for job creation, we must ensure that the safety net is strong and so madam speaker, again i call for an immediate up or down vote on congressman bobby scott and my bill, h.r. 589, which will give the millions of job seekers who continue to struggle to find a job just 14 more weeks of vital unemployment benefits. this would allow them to have just a little more time to find a good job and to support their family while our fragile

economy continues to recover. also madam speaker, this congress has a lot of work to do. we are just a few days away from when unemployment benefits are set to expire for millions of americans across the country. low-income families were hardest hit during the recession, and they cannot afford another year of a republican congress that fails to focus on jobs, refuses to strengthen our middle class and tries to end the medicare guarantee for all of our seniors. it's incumbent upon this conference committee to ensure that the bridge is strong enough to deliver us all even our most vulnerable, over these troubled waters. madam speaker, let's put our nation before our party. americans really cannot wait, and neither should this congress. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. graves for five minutes. mr. graves: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes and to revise and extend my remarks.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. graves: well, thank you, madam speaker, and, you know, we hear a lot about transportation this week, and it's the transportation re-authorization bill. that causes us to maybe reflect back. why are we re-authorizing something and where did it originate and what is our plan forward? in fact, this comes from decades and decades and decades ago, and it's a chance where we can say to ourselves, are we on the right path is this the right path for this congress and the future of our nation? and i think back to the last election cycle when the american people said, we want to see things done just a little bit different and i want to talk that just a little bit this morning because today when it comes to transportation, all states pay 18.4 cents per gallon for every gallon of gas they purchase. and they send that to the federal government and the federal government's distributing that out across the country. now, a lot of people say, well, that comes back to our states,

doesn't it? well, in fact, it does not. there are 28 states in this nation that send money to the federal government and don't get it all back. georgia being one of them along with many others throughout the country. we're referred to as the donor states. so in addition to these 28 states not getting back all their money, there are all these mandates that occur to each and every one of these states. so as we can imagine these 28 states, they want to get back all of their money. and in fact georgia sent a resolution to congress, and i want to read a section of it here and then submit it for the record because the georgia general assembly said that this body meaning georgia general assembly urges the federal government to cease the collection of motor fuel taxes in georgia so the state can collect and distribute the taxes without the delay caused by the federal collection and disbursement. so georgia and many other states are asking for changes. they're asking for the federal government to do something just a little bit different, but yet

we're entering into this debate about re-authorization when maybe we need to rethink the program altogether. now, in georgia $800 million was not received by the state of georgia that was submitted by the taxpayers of georgia, hardworking georgians sending money to the federal government, $800 million of it was sent somewhere else in the country in the last re-authorization. $15 billion from the other states were sent to states outside of their boundaries to be spent on other projects. now, this program started in 1956, and in 1956 when congress was debating the interstate system, it was a great debate. as they debated they said this will be a short-term tax we will implement. it will be a tax that will be starting at 3%, will last for 15 years build an interstate system, had a great plan to do it and there was a debate about, well, what happens when we come to the end of the 15-year period? well, here's part of the exchange that happened in the

ways and means committee when they were debating this tax and it was in 1956 when congressman boggs of louisiana and congressman fallin said they agreed at the end of the 15-year authorization period, the interstate -- and this is their quote, the interstate system is built and paid for. and there is no obligation beyond the period of construction. and yet here we are 2012. so far removed from that debate and not only are we at three cents per gallon we are at 18.4 cents per gallon. at the end of that 15 years it was actually supposed to go to 1.5 cents but ever since it's always gone up. here we debate about spending more and more money and we just learned from previous speakers this isn't going all to roads and bridges and highways. in fact, it's going to bike paths, planting flowers and bushes walking frails and

other things. shouldn't it be about -- walking trails and other things. shouldn't it be about moving people and freight? as we consider the re-authorization i hope we consider a reflection of a new program, a new path forward. so i'm offering an amendment that changes all this. it says it's complete, the interstate system has reached that point of completion. maybe let's deinvolve this back to the states. let's empower the state to collect the taxes, spend it on their priorities, not deal with the red tape of washington or the exchange fee that's occurring but in fact power the state to collect their taxes at the rates they choose and spend it on the priorities that are most important to them. keep it back in the home states where they know where the needs are. instead, we're debating how they should spend their money and mandating all these hundreds of various program lines they have to spend it on. it causes us to reflect, refocus on where transportation

should be as we are in the 21st century. so, madam speaker, as i close, as we move in this debate on re-authorization, i hope it will be a time when this congress remembers what the american people said in 2010, let's eliminate some of this government and devolve it back to the states. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from alabama, ms. sewell, for five minutes. ms. sewell: thank you madam chair, madam speaker. today, i rise to recognize a critical role of community colleges and the role they play in economic recovery and the continued growth across their communities. in the seventh congressional district, the state of alabama and this country, the most important issue is job creation. in parts of the seventh congressional district that i am so privileged to represent, unemployment rates are as high as 16%. this persist sent high unemployment -- persistent high

unemployment number -- there are important and critical parts of our nation's growth and i think that the junior colleges, our community college system can play a vital role in developing our nation's greatest resource, our people. a lasting partnership between the private sector and community colleges is key to creating an economy built to last. these partnerships ensure that future workers are being prepared to take advantage of every opportunity in the employment sector as we recover in this economy. in order to win the future, we must continue to outinnovate outeducate and outcompete our global competitors. i want to commend the president on his recent release of a blueprint to train two million workers for high demanding industries through our community college to career fund. the new $8 billion community college to career fund would promote the development of

community college partnerships that would train skilled workers for unfulfilled jobs. what a great way to not only promote our community colleges but also help to train future workers. as america regains its position as the world's preeminent innovator and developer, the need for trained skilled work force becomes even greater. this proposed fund would freezing rain and support the training of -- would train and support the training of work force development throughout the nation. the community college to career fund would also institute a pay for performance in job training. this new initiative will serve as an incentive to businesses that will provide and help them provide work force training. it will also help individuals find employment while encouraging businesses to assist workers in this endeavor. this is critically important, and it is not only enough to train our workers but we must also ensure that they can find jobs right here in america.

in addition, this job training fund, state and local governments will be allowed to apply for grants that will help them recruit businesses to their states. this incentive to locate businesses right here in america will help create jobs disencourage outsourcing and encouraging insources. we have to start making things right here in america and promote that endeavor. we must create an environment that gives more americans a fair shot at achieving the american dream, a dream that the unemployed in my district and across this nation are waiting to grasp. they just need opportunities and resources. the community to career fund will inspire and train the next generation of entrepreneurs. these workers could be responsible for the next google the next apple, microsoft or other cutting edge technology. it will promote american exceptionalism and will propel this nation back to the fore

front of work force -- forefront of work force development. the president's blueprint to build a highly skilled work force through our community college system is the right thing to do. it will allow community colleges in my district, for example, shelton state and wallace state community college greater access to resources to educate those ready and willing to take jobs, hiley skilled jobs in our -- highly skilled jobs in our work force. at a time when these initiatives are critically important because we in america can ill afford to be left behind when it comes to innovation, i believe that the president's blueprint should be applauded and supported. i know that in my own district mercedes-benz, a very important employer in my district, has taken such initiatives to another level. they've encouraged high school students, giving them a chance to learn how to use their machines and participate in a program and they've also said that upon completion 75% of those students will actually have a job in mercedes-benz

plant in alabama. i think initiatives such as this should be encouraged. it's critically important that we not only support private sector and their endeavors to create public partnerships with our community colleges but also to grow our economy and help us -- this recovery effort actually exist. so i support these endeavors and i support the president in this initiative. i look forward to working with the president on this initiative and supporting the initiative in this house and i ask and urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support such initiative. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas rise? >> request to address the house for five minutes and to seek unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from kansas, mr. pompeo, for five minutes. mr. pompeo: thank you, madam speaker. on monday this week yesterday -- excuse me, monday, two days

ago, the president released his budget plan. it will take america's deficits to -- total debt to over $27 trillion. that's a big number. it's hard to get our heads around numbers like that. so i want to talk about how it impacts a particular industry and a particular group of people. how his budget and plan will put under attack 1.2 million americans, an industry known as general aviation that generates over $150 billion for our u.s. economy. the general aviation industry is an industry this president has been assaulting ever since he took office. it is one of america's last great manufacturing sectors, indeed, a manufacturing jewel still here in america, and yet it has become a bit of a political punching bag to a president who constantly refers to the entire industry of nothing made up of corporate fat cat jet owners. but i want to talk about the job creation. i want to talk about how the general aviation industry impacts real people. i want to tell some real stories of how lives are

impacted when a president speaks about an industry this way and then presents a budget in a has such an enormous impact. there are real consequences. i can tell you that each time the president attacks the general aviation industry, machine shop in wichita, kansas, is impacted. west virginia company loses a sale or a private company putting jet fuel on airplanes in california feels the squeeze. . i also want to talk about these people. this general aviation industry produces aircraft that are a tool that increases productivity and ultimately the success of businesses across our country. it's about helping part supplier, fellow named jim who wrote a story to me from michigan, helps him deliver parts all across the country so not only can his company succeed and grow jobs, but all of the folks that jim's company serves. it's about getting a daughter to a hospital who is very ill on an angel flight. a wonderful nonprofit

organization that uses excess capacity for small planes all around the country to meet the medical needs of people all across our nation. it's about the town of fort morgan, colorado who relies heavily on aviation and is a lifeline for this small town's continuing success. it's about a fellow named william in alabama who wrote knee and said, quote, i work for a manufacturer. we build jet engines, we have seen firsthand how prom's rhetoric hurts our industry. we lose sales. why would the president attack an industry that provides hundreds of thousands of good union jobs when he says his entire focus is those jobs? i wish the president would encourage general aviation and not attack it. i think william's got it exactly right. in my hometown of wichita, kansas, which is the headquarters for beech craft and cessna know these stories too well, also. for the third time now the president's budget he's called for user fees on every flight of

every general aviation aircraft. and set up a system whereby it's become more expensive through the tax code to purchase these aircraft, these american built aircraft. but it impacts lots of folks in different places, not just the manufacturers. chris from los angeles wrote me and said, my little flight school employs five full-time workers and three part-time employees. through now i have been able to weather the economic storms. unfortunately despite the claims the piston aircraft will be exempt these user fees will hurt us, mr. president. i'll be forced to shut my doors, thereby laying off my employees. this is not about fat cat corporate jet owners in the corner office. this is about the livelihood of those eight people in california who depend on this industry to put food on the table for their families. call from plano, texas, wrote me and said like others have said they use it for productivity as a tool. i wish washington would recognize that an airplane is a tool just like machinery and a

delivery truck. the whole time the president is criticizing the aircraft industry, he flies around in one of the great jets built in kansas, air force one, his cabinet members fly on airplanes across the world and i'm proud of that. but unfortunately the president doesn't see the value of general aviation except for when it's his own. i have invited the president multiple times to come to wichita, kansas, to see the workers who build these great planes and yet it continues. the president tries to destroy an industry that employs over a million people. this is not leadership. this is division and envy. and i wish the president would cease to do so. it's a travesty. it's not good for jobs in america and it's not good for our general aviation industry. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. lipinski, for five minutes. mr. will pin i ask: -- mr. lipinski: thank you madam

speaker. as one of only a handful of engineers in congress, i'm proud to once again sponsor a resolution honoring our nation's engineers during national engineers week. next week will mark the 61 stth annual engineers week and the eighth year i have introduced this resolution. i like to thank the gentleman from illinois, mr. manzullo, for joining me in leading this bipartisan effort for the second consecutive year. the central goal of engineers week attracting new students to engineering careers, has never been more important. as the 2010 national academy report explained, only 4% of the nation's work force is composed of scientists and engineers. this group disproportionately creates jobs for the other 96%. engineers drive our economy by designing and building every product, including bridges, airplanes, roads computers, medical devices cars, power

plants, just to name a few. america's 2.5 million engineers have helped make our country great by solving problems and turning dreams into reality. and america's future depends on them. in these uncertain times, we always look for ways to promote job creation. educating america's youth about engineering and science needs to be a national priority. each year national engineers week seeks to do just this. events aimed at inspiring students and public awareness of the vital contributions made by engineers. these events including the future competition, engineering day, and discover engineering family day all in part appreciation of the wondering of engineering to children of all backgrounds. the importance of these events is underscored by 2012 survey by the intel corporation that found american teenagers are more

likely to consider a degree in engineering after learning about what engineers do. this year's theme is seven billion people, seven billion dreams, seven billion chances for engineers to turn dreams into reality. this theme emphasizes the potential for growth among the community of engineers worldwide. it also highlights a challenge to our position as the global leader in engineering. last month the latest science and engineering indicators released by the national science board show that the number of students obtaining engineering degrees in the united states continues to rise. by production of new engineering degrees have been dramatically eclipsed by china, where 30% of of all undergraduate degrees are in engineering compared to 4% in the united states. inspiring bright young minds to consider careers in engineering is more important than ever for our economic competitiveness.

growing up in chicago i was fascinated by figuring out how mechanical devices worked. i remember how my high school calculus teacher and physics teacher helped mold this fascination into an interest in engineering. these teachers together with informal experiences like at the museum of science and industry and brookfield zoo, helped motivate me to pursue an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at northwestern university, and then a degree in engineering economic systems at stanford university. one of the essential -- central goals of national engineers week is to provide this kind of inspiration for the next generation. during engineers week, i will be attending the award benefit where the washington award will be presented to chicago native and pioneer of the cell phone, martin cooper. and also where students will be honored for their participation

in numerous competitions, including the future city competition. i am a always greatly inspired when i go to this banquet to see one of the great pioneers of engineering talk about the work they have done and to see the students and the work that they are doing today and know the future of our country will be great with their help. madam speaker, i'd like to encourage all my colleagues to co-sponsor this resolution but more importantly to go home and participate in engineer's week celebrations in your district. this is a great opportunity for us to thank the engineers who contribute so much to our country, inspire the next generation of engineers that our country needs to stay competitive. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee, mr. duncan, for five minutes. mr. duncan: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes.

mr. duncan: madam speaker, i rise to talk for a few minutes about security. i know that almost no member is willing to vote against something that has the word security attached to it but i wish that most members would consider these words professor l. stig, professor at university of pennsylvania, he wrote several years after 9/11 about the war on terror money feeding frenzy. he wrote this, quote, after september 11, 20 2001, what accounts for the vast discrepancy between the terrorist threat facing america and the scale of our response? why absent any evidence of a serious domestic terror threat is the war on terror so enormous so all encompassing and still expanding? the fundamental answer is that al qaeda's most important accomplishment was not to hijack our planes or hijack our political system for a multitude of politicians interest groups

professional association corporations, media organizations, universities, local and state governments, and federal agency officials the war on terror is now a major profit center, a funding bonanza, and a set of slogans and sound bites to be inserted into budget project, grant, and contract proposals. for a country as a whole however, it has become a maelstrom of waste. he pointed out an example that even dungin doughnuts franchise had received touchdown 2 million in federal counterterrorism loans. madam speaker, in addition to that shortly after 9/11 when every government department and agency was requesting more money for security the "wall street journal" carried an editorial that said, quote any bill with the words security in it should get double the public scrutiny and maybe four times the normal wait lest all kinds of bad legislation become law under the phony guise of fighting terrorism. unfortunately we haven't followed the guidance of

professor lustig or the "wall street journal." i thought of these writings by him and the "wall street journal" when i read two recent articles. on december 20, two months ago vanity fair magazine carried an article on its websitecy which said as you stand in endless lines this holiday season, here's a comforting thought. all those security measures accomplished nothing at renormous cost. the magazine said, since 9/11, the u.s. government has spent more than $1.1 trillion on homeland security. then the article added this, quote, to a lrge number of security analysts this expenditure makes no sense. the vast cost is not worth the benefit. not only has the threat been exaggerated, but the great bulk of the post-9/11 measures are little more than security theater. action that is accomplish nothing but are designed to make the government look like it is on the job. in fact, the continuing expenditure on security may

actually have made the united states less safe. and then a second article by abc news probably, madam speaker, the most needless, useless agency in the entire federal government is the air marshal service. "usa today" once reported that more air marshals have been arrested than were arrested by air marshals. talk about a soft, easy job. all these people do is ride back and forth on airplanes, back and forth, back and forth, mostly in first class. a few days ago abc news reported that air marshal took taxpayer paid trips to visit families and to go to vacation spots. one supervisor was even photographed asleep on a flight while carrying a loaded pistol. abc reported that managers at the air marshal service acted like quote, a bunch of schoolyard punks and that they, quote, repeatedly made fun of blacks, latinos, and gays according to agency insiders.

i guess they had too much time on their hands and too little to do. i know as i said earlier it's almost impossible to get congress to vote against anything that claimed to be for security. but this almost $1 billion that we give to air marshals each year is a total, complete waste. when we go ridiculously overboard, madam speaker on security, we are taking money away from individuals and families who really need it. and taking money away from other good things on which this money could be spent. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from california, miss speier -- ms. speier, for five minutes. ms. speier: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. speier: madam speaker, thank you. i rise again today to highlight the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the military.

this issue was recently brought up on fox news by a commentator who ignorantly declared that women who join the military should expect to be raped. yes, believe it or not this was what the commentator said. i don't think our women choose to enlist in the military with the expectations that they might get raped. this morning i'm going to tell you the story of u.s. marine stephanie schroeder who was raped in a public rest room by a fellow marine. he shoved her down, beat her, and force the her on her back. he ripped down her pants and raped her. then he ejaculated on her in they are thigh and spit on her. private schroeder reported the rape to command. her commander laughed at her and said, don't come blanking to me because you had sex and changed your mind. don't come blanking to me? that's the response that was given to private schroeder.

that was her leader. that was her commander saying that to her. instead of helping her, her commander called her a liar and restricted her from seeking medical help or any type of counseling. what's worse is that her commander did nothing illegal. the military judicial system allows commanders complete discretion for handling cases of rape and sexual assault. . the commander did absolutely nothing wrong. this story is one of thousands that happens during the military every year. by the department of defense's own statistics, 19,000 men and women are sexually assaulted or raped in the military every year. this is not a secret. congress and the d.o.d. have worked on this issue for a quarter of a century, but very little has changed. the issue has been treated like a game of tag.

congress calls a hearing and then tag, d.o.d. submits a report. then tag, congress has a hearing and then, tag, d.o.d. has a press conference about a new report. the game goes on and on but no real changes actually occur. well, i have my own game. it's called truth or dare. first, truth. the women in our military are more likely to be raped or assaulted by colleagues than they are to be killed by the enemy. truth, only 13.5% of victims report the crime. truth, only 8% of the cases are actually prosecuted. truth, the sole arbiters that go free are in fact the commanders. and now there is a dare. i dare the department of defense to create a fairer way to handle sexual assault. instead of continuing a system that punishes victims and

sweeps sexual offenses under the rug, i dare the department of defense to create an impartial office to review and handle these cases with experts in prosecution and investigation. so what actually happened to sergeant schroeder? well, she got transferred away from her rapist to a new duty location. prior to her arrival her command called and told her new supervisor that she was, quote, a trouble maker. two weeks after the transfer, her new superior made a pass at her. she refused to have sex with him and he retaliated by public leija rassing her at work. -- public leija rassed her at work. she got pink eye and he asked her if she let a man ejaculate in her eye. she awoke to the same supervisor sexually assaulting her. again, she reported to her command. this time the command took action against private schroeder.

she was disciplined for having a man in her room. private schroeder, the victim of sexual assault, was punished after a sex offender broke into her room and harmed her. private schroeder learned not to report crimes submitted against her so six months later when she was sexually assaulted by a marine in a truck she told no one. how he attempted to have sex with her or when she refused he began to masturbate in front of her and locked the doors. he said, show me your tits and help me masturbate. this is outrageous conduct that should not be allowed in our military. for now, victims of rape and sexual assault must follow the chain of command, even if their commander chooses not to report the problem. we need to overhaul the system. i introduced h.r. 3435, the stop act that would take these cases out of the chain of command and create an office in

the military that will handle them. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess >> live coverage of the house when members return at noon eastern here on c-span. and ahead of that we'll take you to a news conference with house republican leaders and more details on the agenda ahead.

>> good morning, everyone. the president's policies are not helping our economy. matter of fact a lot of people would argue those policies are making it worse. when you look at the president's budget submission on monday it shows a real lack of leadership. this will be the fourth budget that will have over $1 trillion worth of budget deficit. when you add the budget deficits up over the president's submissions over the last four years, we are talking about over $5 trillion worth of new debt. no real activity when it comes to cutting spending. when you look at the budget you'll see $1.5 trillion worth of new tax revenue over the next 10 years.

and $1.9 trillion worth of new tax revenue. and $1.5 trillion worth of more spending. what we need in our economy is to get control of our spending, cut spending, keep taxes low in order to get more americans back to work. our focus all year has been on jobs. we have 30 jobs bills sitting over in the united states senate. if the president's serious about getting our economy going again call harry reid and tell senate democrats consider these bills. they all passed the house with broad bipartisan support and they deserve consideration in the united states senate so we can put the american people back to work. >> good morning, i think you may get tired of hearing me say this, but really the leadership in this country and what is needed out of this president is leadership focus on small business. small business is the economic engine and backbone of this country and they are the ones we

ought to be concerned about, making it possible to provide incentive for small business men and women to create jobs. we saw out today a gallup poll. and the gallup poll was a poll of 600 small business people. 85% of those people said they are not looking to hire new workers. they cited oilingly the reasons that they are not looking -- overwhelmingly the reasons they are not looking to hire new workers is because of the fear of rising health care costs out of the government and health care law. they said the reason they are not hiring is the fear of increased regulation that will make it more difficult for them to keep the doors opened and the lights on. we asked this president, please let's try to setaside the differences but focus on small businesses. we are going to be bringing forward a package of bills. we are going to be bringing forward a measure which provides the 20% tax cut to small businesspeople. those are the kinds of things we need to do to help grow this economy. and let's get out of the

political mode and start doing some things that help people get back to work. >> gloom. -- good morning. the president likes to use the phrase built to last. when you look at the budget it's built for last. nothing to go after our deficit. it raises it higher. it does nothing to stop the entitlements from going bankrupt. it does nothing more an energy policy where you see gasoline continues to rise above $4. it does nothing to create small business. it only continues to harm it. it is time for real leadership. on the floor you'll find many bills we are bringing. they are sitting in the senate that has job creation. if this president is serious about putting america in the first place, i would relook at the budget. >> the president's going on the road today to try to sell a new budget that is just dripping in red ink. good luck, mr. president. are you going to need it. four years in a row of trillion

dollar-plus deficits. $11 trillion more added to the national debt. tax increases on small businesses and job creators. more spending. the president's policies have failed. they are making the economy worse. and that's why he continues to try to thrive on the politics of division and envy. but washington has a spending problem not a taxing problem. the president's tax increases, even if you gave him every sing isle one of his job-killing tax increases, that's about 17% 16% of the additional debt that he's proposing to impose upon our nation. to drag on -- it's a drag on job creators. it's mortgaging our children's future. house republicans have a plan for america's job creators that will improve jobs, help this economy, but unfortunately due

to the president and harry reid, it still stacks up in the democratic controlled united states senate. it's time to pass these jobs bills. >> earlier this week the president released his budget and what we saw it includes record spending, record deficit record tax increases. it's a budget that continues to harm our economy. and, yes over the next -- this is the fourth year in a row that we have seen at least a deficit of $1. trillion from the president. -- $1.2 trillion from the president. just to put it into perspective i have two children, coal who is four, and greg who is 1. right now their share of the national debt is $50,000 apiece. under the president's budget it will increase to 80,000. as we have seen in greece, no country can escape the consequences of big government policies. the president has actually

proposed a road map to greece. americans deserve bert. our children, our grandchildren deserve better. and most of all we need a president and a budget that's going to get america back to work and get our economy back on track. >> i'm shelley moore capito from west virginia. you heard my colleagues talking about the president's budget. i think one of the most telling statements in my opinion that came from the white house was there the white house spokesperson when he was asked a question about whether the senate was going to produce a budget. and his response was, the white house has no opinion on that. well the single mother who has two children who is trying to make ends meet, does she have the luxury of having no opinion on her own home budget? does a senior who is trying to figure out how to pay for food and medicine, does he or she have the luxury of no opinion on how they are going to budget to make the ends meet at the end of the month?

to the college student who is trying to pay tuition work and bill for a brighter future have the luxury of no opinion when they are trying to build a budget with their family to meet the challenges of their monthly obligations? no. so for me it's more about a lack of leadership. yes, it's a spend and tax, tax and spend budget. but it's a lack of leadership and sort of the nonchalant attitude of here's my budget. i have no opinion about whether the senate controlled by my own party is going to produce a budget. for those of you in america who have to live on a budget and actually adhere to a budget, i really have no opinion. and so i think what the american people the speaker will be so happy with me, need to do is talk about jobs. that's what people want to hear about. they want to have jobs for their families, for the seniors, for the single mom, and for the students who are working to make a brighter future. thank you.

>> mr. speaker on payroll all along and last week you insisted the payroll tax extension must be paid for. what's the about-face? a we are not going to allow the democrats to continue to play political games and raise taxes on working americans. and so we made a decision to bring them to the table so the games would stop and we would get this work done. >> there are some in this conference who don't like this deal. what's your message to them? do you see any potential for this being -- >> we are not going to allow democrats to continue to play games and cause a tax increase for hardworking americans. [inaudible]

>> we have worked all year. when you look at the results from last year you'll see $2.1 trillion worth of spending that was cut from the budget. almost all of it on the discretionary side. understand here we are also going to make sure that the extension of unemployment is under a reform program and is paid for. and the so-called doc fix will be paid for as well. i do expect if the agreement comes together, like i expect it will, the house should vote this week. >> [inaudible] >> trying to work out all the details. agreement in principle. there are a lot of details that are yet to be worked out and i'm hopeful that will be wrapped up today. thanks.

>> the u.s. house coming back in about 45 minutes to begin work on one of the three parts of the surface transportation bill. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> a conversation about the visit of chinese vice president ping who was in washington yesterday continues his u.s. visit. we were joined this morning by two congressmen, members of the u.s.-china working group. >> congressman rick larsen, democrat of washington state. and congressman boustany from louisiana. thank you both. co-chair of the u.s.-china working group. we are seeing the vice president of china visit the united states this week and it's said to be especially significant because he is intended to be expected to be the next leader of china.

congressman larsen, who benefits the most from this visit? the united states or china? guest: i think china probably benefits the most from this visit in that vice president xei is introducing himself to the -- of the obama administration, to u.s. government officials, and the united states. i think longer term both countries will benefit because i think we need to see this as an investment in the u.s.-china relationship as opposed to just a one visit. host: congressman by standy, what are you watching from this visit. we are seeing is meetings between the president and vice president xei? and it's fairly staged. there is not a lot of fireworks going on. this is more of a ceremonial greeting that they have shared together yesterday in the oval office. what are you watching for? guest: it's ceremonial, but it's also an opportunity for vice president xei to outline the he next staining of the u.s.-china

relationship, assuming he does become the leader of china. so what we -- we'll be watching for some of the things he says. how he addresses some of the ongoing problems that we have whether it's on the trade side of this, our trade relationship, or the military relationship. so we'll be parsing the words carefully and understanding where he stands at this point in time recognizing that he is is not yet the leader -- that he is not yet the leader. host: you both visited china in may. april, may. tell us about your visit and what kind of access you had there. guest: we tried to bill this trip we took last year was a trip of firsts. we were the first members of congress first u.s. civilians, i believe, to be allowed on a submarine. these are a higher class of chinese submarines that are now plying the pacific waters. we are concerned about that.

but they were willing to let us on to the submarine, take a tour of it. we visited with the head of the people's liberation army. we are trying to push the door opened on the military to military relationship. not that the u.s. and china are going to be allies, but that it's important if china will be out in the pacific, that the u.s. and china have a good military to military relationship. we had access to some high level folks, including the economic side as well. host: congressman boustany, congressman larsen mentioned the militaristic opportunities and also what role china will be playing. the president has talked about our strategy to look more towards asia, the pacific. china has had some concerns about that. guest: china has had concerns, this is why we need to continue to work on a common understanding. the u.s. wants open trade in the

region. we understand most of the gross domestic product, growth in the world, is going to be in asia. we have asian allies that want open trade with the united states. and china is pushing back somewhat, taking more of a parochial view of this, and what we need to make very clear is that we want open trade in this region and we want china to be a part of it, but they have to play by the rules. and the rules are basically international rules of trade set by w.t.o. and other types of organizations. given that the growth -- economic growth is going to be in that area going forward, if we are going to create u.s. jobs, we need to be looking at asia and china needs to understand that. guest: very quickly, it's important to note, too, that our existing long-time friends and allies in asia want the united states to be there as well. so it's not just a matter of the united states having a long-term

presence in asia and asia pacific because china is there. and there's concerns about china. it's because our friends and allies there want us there as well and it's important that we develop those relationships. host: let's look at some of the numbers from u.s. trade from china. total amount traded equaled over $500 billion. u.s. goods sent to china about $104 billion. chinese goods sent to the united states $400 billion. that's a trade deficit of nearly $300 billion. guest: it is a big trade deficit. this is one of our concerns because we have interdependent economies. we need to get to a point where we see more balanced trade between our two countries. keep in mind what you are referring to with the trade deficit that the united states has is a trade deficit with goods. commodities. this is not the case with services. we actually have a small trade surplus with services. but one of the problems we have

with china right now is their continued barriers to access to the chinese market. there are a whole host of chinese policies whether it's intellectual property theft indigenous innovation policies the chinese have where they set up preferences for their own companies unfair subsidy practices, and these kinds of things are still ongoing. these are points of dispute and contention between our two countries that we are trying to work through. >> i think as well why in the last few days you heard terms like following the rules of the road. there are international rules of trade that countries agree to when they join the w.t.o. china has joined the w.t.o. china will need to expect the international community will seek to enforce those rules of the road on all countries, including china. another reason why i think we are seeing an emphasis on trade enforcement unit out of this current administration and certainly something that probably should have been done before. we need to be able to enforce

these trade rules because there are rules of the rude that all countries should play by including china. host: let's go to phones and hear from a west virginia caller. danny on our democrats line, go ahead. caller: good morning. i have been dealing with china for years. i have imported products from china. i've got chinese friends. i have studied the art of war by sun xu. you guys need to do a little bit of home work because it astounds me how clueless you are about china. host: why don't you tell us some of the specifics you are concerned about. what are you seeing in china that worries you? caller: the art of war is how you position an opponent to defeat him without ever having to actually resort to combat. the chinese have got us in a position where we can't dictate anything to them. they entirely control the global economic situation.

they have the manufacturing capability to supply the entire world. they can undercut every major country's prices of labor. we are absolutely unable to compete with workers that earn $135 a month. they have no benefits. the government has no real liability to them. our people simply cannot compete. our government is pandering to the big corporations and wall street. we cannot manufacture in america. if you go to wall street to try to get funding for a new company, they insist we manufacture in china. host: let's get a response. congressman larsen. guest: i appreciate danny's comments. i also disagree with him. the united states can compete and what we need to be doing is investing in advanced manufacturing. investing in research and development. investing in basic education. and research and development. these are the kinds of things that a country likes the united states needs to do needs to invest in so we can compete.

the number one source of jobs in my district is manufacturing. it's not services. it's manufacturing. to say that manufacturing is leaving so china can undercut the united states on everything is factually not right and maybe the experience in some states, and i appreciate that. but china is also dealing with inflation. china is dealing with waste disparity. that's causing dislocation in their own employment base. and so to say that -- to make a broad case they can do anything they want without feeling the ramifications is not true because china's economy itself is slowing in terms of growth. i don't think it's a zero sum game that danny's laying out here, but it is true we need to do our own work in the united states and make sure that we are investing in our own manufacturing base. we haven't done enough of it. but we can compete with any country in the world. guest: i want to respond to danny as well. the united states can compete and win and will in the 21st

century. we are the most competitive economy on the planet today and we will continue to be so. louisiana has seen a 54% growth in exports to china. and we are continuing to see new developments. we have actually had companies, one of them is marine international, a small manufacturing company in my hometown, small company, that is actually bringing jobs back from china to wlafment. so we are competing and winning. these kinds of stories just don't get the same press. secondly the key issue in my mind in dealing with china is leverage. and before we were engaged in moving forward with these trade agreements, especially the south korean free trade agreement, we were lacking leverage in asia. with the consummation of that deal, we have seen a whole change in the chinese attitude, although we have a long way to go, so we will continue to press the case on a number of disputes through the w.t.o. where we are winning. and secondly, we are going to

move forward with the transpacific partnership at the request of our allies in the asia pacific region. others want to join this nine country agreement at this stage. we are gaining leverage. this puts us in a very strong position to capitalize in the asia pacific region to grow american jobs. host: congressman larsen, you represent a district in washington state china is the largest and most rapidly growing export market for washington and one of three jobs there is tied to trade. exports grew over the last decade by over 370%. guest: the one in three jobs tied to trade is with the entire world. and a lot of that has to do with major companies like the microsofts of the world, boeings of the world and others. so jobs in washington state are directly tied to trade. not just with china but with china. but i also think it's important to get back to danny's point is

part of what we have to do, not just investment strategy and the basics of manufacturing, but also making sure that we are enforcing trade rules. and we haven't done that as well in the past. we need to do a better job of it. and that has to be part of our toer - ---story as well. trade creates jobs. host: let's look at the president yesterday. he was meeting with vice president xei in the oval office. listen to what they had to say. > we have tried to emphasize because of china's extraordinarily -- extraordinary development over the last two decades that with expanding power and prosperity also comes increased responsibilities. and so we want to work with china to make sure that everybody is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system. and that includes ensuring that

there is a balanced trade flow between not only the united states and china but around the world. it also means that on critical issues like human rights we will continue to emphasize what we believe is the importance of recognizing the aspirations and rights of all people. host: president barack obama, meeting yesterday with the vice president of china, who is here visiting this week. expected to be the next leader of china. congressman by standy, the president mentioned human rights. two words that are significant to many who are concerned about the issue of tibet. workers' rights in china. also the plight of dissidents and artists who have been jailed. there have been protesters who have been outside the white house and they largely have been blocked from the vice president's view. here's an image right now in the "washington post." a crowd gathers near the white house during vice president xei's meeting with he president obama.

what is your concern about human rights? and what's the best way to work on that issue? guest: it's a big issue and something that china has a long way to go. clearly what we have seen when we were in china, we spoke to a number of journalists who are representing various western news media and they said in the aftermath of the arab spring, china was cracking down significantly on a -- in a number of areas with regard to freedoms. this is a big problem. and china has a long way to go. i think the united states must continue to press china on those kinds of reforms. and we are not going to back down on this. while we have seen significant opening of the chinese economy, we know there is a long way to go there. in the human rights side of it it's still lagging. this is something we'll continue to push very hard. host: congressman larsen, mary writes on twitter and asks do you think gorble work conditions

at apple factories will cause more pressure to bring manufacturing here? guest: i don't know that that will pressure companies to bring more manufacturing here, mary, but i think that it is probably one factor. i think the fact that the transportation system in china despite the heavy investment they have been making in it is not very helpful to their economy. so you are starting to see companies bring jobs back to the united states because of the logistics. you see the level of the dollar helping to bring manufacturing back into the united states as well. but also i think that this issue of inflation and waste disparate that years of great economic growth in china has brought, it's pulled people out of poverty but it also has brought other economic dislocation like waste disparate issues, like labor conditions, and like inflation that frankly the leaders sh china, including the vice president, are going to

have to get object top of if they want china to grow and develop into a more -- a nation that's more involved in world affairs. host: gus joins us from detroit on the republican line. caller: i want to comment. i write software. i'm in the trenches competing with the likes of china and all i'd like to tell you is that albert einstein couldn't compete with a guy making 10 cents. so on top of that the manufacturing -- because i was involved in directly in manufacturing, the manufacturing sector, engineering, by the way, a high-tech sector not factory line, they got decimated. but because frankly the wanges in the united states are -- wages in the united states are very high compared to china. there is no way that disparity will be rectified by your policies. the second thing is why don't we

target their currency and inflate their currency? if we deflate our currency by putting more money we loose out here because we can't buy other people's products. but basically the only problem is china because frankly a person in china can live with $5 now. but a person in the -- $5,000. but a person in the united states wouldn't be in poverty for $5,000. host: you mentioned you work in the software industry. what do you think some of the concerns in congress raised about intellectual property anti-chinese stealing the knowledge of american companies and other international companies? caller: ok. i actually have something to say on that score because what's happening is all i see when i reid about what's going on in china, any u.s. venture has to have an associated chinese company to do business in china. how can you guys allow that to occur because, first, they can take your intellectual property. then they can could he opt you and tell you we don't need you

anymore and we can sell it right back to you for cheap. and you guys are allowing it because, frankly, i don't see how the likes of i.b.m., let's say other the rest of the companies that go in there, how they cannot own a piece of space and say we are volkswagen, we are selling to the chinese people. they have to have a chinese company associated with them. that is frankly to tell you the truth, that's highway robbery. you guys want to talk about intellectual property, you should be worrying about that. host: we'll take the issues you brought up one at a time. the first one being this idea of currency. it's reported in "the washington post" that the china currency issue is one that remains a hot topic on capitol hill, particularly if the u.s. continues its includingish economic recovery. he reminds us that the senate passed with overwhelming bipartisan support last year that wouldn't have given the treasury department latitude in

pressuring china. to allow the currency to rise. but the measure stalled in the house. republican leaders have declined to bring it to the floor. why? guest: part of the problem, big part of the problem with the senate bill was that it would have put us in violation of w.t.o. obligations and invited significant retaliation. and it would not have helped us atcheeve the end -- achieve the end we are trying to achieve that is to let china let its currency appreciate. it's in china's interest to let its currency appreciate to solve its internal problems. but at the same time it's important in terms of balancing the disparities between our two economies. i believe as do others that the best way to achieve this, this end, is to build multilateral support. the brazilians, for instance, are very upset about the chinese currency issue. there are several other trading partners with china that have the same concerns. if we can bring multilateral pressure to bear through the g-20, this will be much more effective in the long run rather

than simply trying to act on this alone and basically inviting a challenge of the w.t.o. where we very likely would lose. so i think clearly the currency issue is important. we need to continue to press very hard. this is something that we in congress are doing when we interact with chinese leaders. we know the president's doing this. i do believe that's going to be the most effective way to deal with this problem in the long run. guest: the currency issue always comes up in congress as a silver bullet. this is going to solve our trade problem. and our -- it's the trade issues we have with china. when it is not. it is not a silver bullet. there are ways to deal with currency issues that we ought to do. as charles said, whenever we meet as members of congress with chinese leaders, we press on the currency issue. but there are these other issues. like gus mentioned, intellectual property rights. indigenous innovation. the other set of issues has to do with the national champions

issue, that is a deal that china has barriers to entry for certain industries into the chinese market. these are big issues as well that get short shrift when all we do is focus on curncy. these are issues as well if they are solved to our advantage, will create jobs in the united states. it's not just a matter of currency issue in my view. there is a broad table of issues that we need to be addressing with the chinese when it comes to trade and the economy. host: yesterday defense secretary leon panetta and chairman of the joint steefs of staff, general dempsey testified before a senate committee. and senator lindsey graham asked dempsey about cyberwarfare. let's listen to that. >> let's say if we could find that the people's liberation army was involved in hacking into our defense infrastructure, would you consider that a hostile act by the chinese? >> i would consider it to be a crime. i think there are other measures

that could be taken in cyberthat would rise to the level of a hostile act. >> what would they be? >> attacking our critical infrastructure. >> that could be a hostile act? >> i think so. >> allowing us to respond in kind? >> in my view, that's right. >> i'm going to have lunch with the vice president of china in about 20 minutes. what do you want me to tell him? >> happy valentine's day. host: congressman larsen? guest: i'm sure senator graham said happy valentine's day to vice president xi, but i'm also sure he and others like myself in congress would in fact say in cyberwarfare an act of one kind would be met with an act with the same kind in cyberwarfare. this is a different type of warfare. it's using electrons and getting at our critical infrastructure. shut things down. make things very difficult for us. for our economy.

make things difficult for our defense. it's not something we ought to tolerate. but it would be -- that's why we need to raise these kinds of issues with vice president xi and other chinese leaders, including the head of the p.l.a., folks we met with last year. host: congressman boustany bloomberg reported recently a story about china attacking 760 companies show a cybercold war. it says, it quotes congressman rogers, republican from michigan he says, they are stealing everything that isn't bolted down and getting exponentially worse. richard clarke, former special advisor on cybersecurity to president george w. bush said what's been happening over the course of the last five years is that china, call it for what it is, has been hacking its way into every corporation it can find. guest: this cybersecurity issue is huge. it's very important. it's one of the most difficult foreign policy, or policy issues that we have right now. and while our department of

defense and other governmental entities have done some pretty good things to protect us, we still have a significant amount of our private sector infrastructure that is vulnerable. and there are a number of bills that are being vetted through the house right now to address this. we have to look at both defensive measures and offensive measures in this area. and this is going to be one of the big policy areas up for debate and it's complicated. host: rick a democrat from florida, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing? i got three things in mind. first off i think you look better with the glasses on. second -- host: what's your comment about china? caller: china? we are really dependent upon china. we have a lot of debt with them,

don't we? so i mean we have to be really careful how we tread with them. i was really impressed with the way the vice president is acting. he's really congenial. he's an honorable man. he's come to the united states. he said his peace. but we have obligations and it's debt. it's heavy. host: congressman stew standy -- boustany, t.j. tweets in congress perrots money from china and gives them aid. insane. guest: what we need to be doing is looking incertainally at what we have to do to make the u.s. economy competitive and prosperous. there are two facets to that. one is we need a credible pathway, a glide path, to deal with our unsustainable debt. and at the same time we have to grow the economy. which means a real energy policy for this country, trade and

expanding exports. we need to look at our tax code and reform the tax code to have a 21st century tax code that promotes competitiveness for our u.s. companies, whether they are large corporations or small businesses. and we need to take a hard look at regulatory environment which we haven't reviewed this area in a long time. and i hear from a lot of different sectors that we have a huge burden of regulation that is are holding back the u.s. economy. so we need to look at all of these areas, education infrastructure, all of these are important to building a vibrant competitive, prosperous u.s. economy. those are things we can do here in washington. in the congress. working with the president. in the political environment it's stuff but we have to do it. host: let's hear from mark in pennsylvania. independent line. welcome. caller: good morning, c-span. thanks for taking my call. china is our biggest issue. we have lost so many jobs to china because their wages are so cheap and the corporations just

jump right over there because they can make more profits that way. nobody's protecting us. china does what they want. they are in the world trade. they don't have any sanctions put against them. and we play by the rules. we need to get our jobs back over here and the only way you are going to do it is not buy chinese products anymore. people in america, don't wait for the government to do it. just stop buying their stuff and you'll see the jobs come back over. stop buying ipads and nike sneakers. you'll see jobs coming back. thank you for taking my call. that's all i have to say. host: congressman, do you subscribe to a buy american philosophy? if so, how do you function? because a lot of people have talked about how it's very hard to not buy things from china if you so desire to. congressman larsen? guest: i prefer people buy things in the united states. i'm not going to tell americans they have to buy things made in the united states. i prefer it. what we need to do and to get at mark's point, i think what we need to do is to enforce our trade rules. i disagree with mark on one fact

that we actually are winning these cases being brought to the w.t.o. we are not losing these cases. we are winning these cases being brought to the w.t.o. against china. that is a positive. the other thing is this is not going to happen overnight. we have to make these investments in our budget while we are addressing this issue of long-term debt and deficits, we also need to make sure we are doing -- making the right investments in our federal budget in education, in research and development, and rebuilding that infrastructure that's necessary so we do have a competitive economy relative to the world. not just to china but any country. guest: the enforcement issue is really important. over the last several years we have seen a number of cases brought to the w.t.o. for dispute resolution and we have won those cases. i think we need -- that's something i think we have bipartisan agreement on we need to accelerate that process. force china into this rules-based system. and at the same time we must continue to build leverage and

because we lacked it earlier where we weren't as engaged as we needed to be in the asia pacific region, moving forward with the transpacific partnership is a critical piece on top of the south korean trade agreement which will promote american exports and help u.s. companies grow and create u.s.-based jobs. so enforcement and engagement through trade are critically important aspects. host: do you have hear from constituents the level of frustration we heard from our caller? guest: it's very true across the country. one of the things we have now. we have a global supply chain. we have caller mentioned the ipad if you look at the actual components, number anumber piece vs. been written on this, actually most of the value is still back here in america in terms of the research and development and the sophisticated electronic parts. the assembly is done in china and they don't get much value

out of that. if you break it down and look at the actual numbers. the way our trade statistics work all of the so-called value is attributed to china in the form of an export back -- from china back to the u.s. which is not really the case. most of that value has really accumulated here in the u.s. host: on twitter says this, apple is determined to improve conditions at plants in china and links to an article looking at the apple company talking about how they do intend to work on that. let's go to the republican in palm bay florida. hi keith. caller: hi, guys. i see two mangor problems that -- major problems that we have. this problem started years ago in the 1980's for noble reasons we stopped getting our own raw materials and we started thinking that every child needs to go to college. and we got to correct that work

force because -- what proves that is cbs -- cnbc has been reported for over a year there' been gd-paying jobs in manufacturing and skill jobs that they cannot fill because our kids do not know vocational and hands-on skill to get these jobs. and until that's changed manufacturing is never going to come back here. nobody's going to open up a plant and have to order the raw materials from halfway across the world. china is buying up all the raw materials. i believe the education system needs to change. i don't think the kids that make below g.p.a. average of 3.5 should go to college. a loft these kids in college and don't want to be there. they should be trained in vocational skills. we should be at least manufacturing our weapons in this country. thank you. host: congressman larsen. goip thanks for the comments. i think what we do need to see is the opportunity for our kids

to go to college if they want to go to college. support that. some of those kids want to go to four year. some want to go to a two-year college or technical college. what you see all over country and certainly in my area, a skills gap between the jobs that are -- manufacturing jobs that are wanting, that are there, and the employment base maybe doesn't have the skills necessary for those manufacturing jobs. what keith is talking about is bridging that gap and making those investments in our community college and technical college systems is a way to bridge that gap. that's in part what i'm talking about. we need to go on offense with regards to china and with regards to trade and with regards to our place in the global economy. not play a lot of this defense you hear a lot from a lot of folks. going on offense means doing the right things in our budget. part of that is trying to close the skills gap between the jobs that are available, there are manufacturing jobs available, keith is right. make sure there is -- are you filling that gap and the skills

necessary to meet the jobs that we have that problem in washington state we are trying to fix. host: we'll talk more with community colleges next on "washington journal." in the meantime, congressman boustany, our caller brought up concerns about raw materials. and where the basics are going. guest: this is also a big issue. i come from an energy producing state and we in louisiana know that good energy policy, economic policy, and environmental policy really can go hand in hand. we are a maritime energy producing state. i viltsed some maritime companies recently, and the issue about the skills gap came up directly. i talked with one manager of a shipbuilding company, he was telling me that he had 75 applicants for some -- for jobs, and tend of the day only one of them met the skills requirements, and they had to work with that. and they took him on and

mentored him to get him through. this is a real problem. so i believe one of the things we need to do with educational reform is to ensure that early on our students actually learn a skill while they are also looking at a possible college preparatory program. and that way if they go on to college in either -- even a higher degree, they still have learned the skill. for those who don't go on they have a skill to start with when they finish, whether it's they drop out of high school or not. they have a skill to work with. we have to do this, because education is going to be critically important going forward to promote american competitiveness. >> congressman charles boustany represents louisiana's seventh district, a republican. he's in his third term. serves on the ways and means committee. we are also joined by democratic congressman rick larsen of washington state, second district. he's in his sixth term. he serves on armed services and transportation and infrastructure. they are here today because they co-chair the u.s.-china working

group. we are talking about the visit this week of chinese vice president xi ji nifmentping, he's been in washington and traveling to other parts of the country this week. making his mark here in the united states us -- u.s. before becoming the leader of china. democratic caller, good morning. caller: good morning. everybody in the united states shows what the problem with the unemployment and all is, it's the trade deal with china. anything going from the united states to china, 24% tariff, 25%. anything coming over here, a 2% tariff. and slave labor making those items. so i have a question, i don't know how to put it other than,

do you people so dumb that you don't realize what's going on? or have you sold your vote to big companies that want to go over there? i would like your answers, please. guest: the answer is no, bobby. the longer answer is small and medium sized businesses in washington state who benefit from trade as well. small companies from five people to 50 people who benefit from trade. they produce things, are making things, and saying there's things overseas instead of sending their jobs overseas. the point you make about the tariffs and the barriers are very real. that's why as a democrat i supported president bush's efforts and this president's efforts to try to ensure that all the discussions that those administrations had with china always included how do we bring

those barriers down to invest not just in china but also to ensure that products manufactured in the united states can get into the chinese market a growing market, a growing consumer market. and a growing consumer market that chinese companies themselves will not be able to meet. so it's going to be in china's interest to open up their markets to goods and services. we need to keep beating on that door. as long as we are co-chairs, we'll be doing that. guest: we have been very forceful in trying to break down those barriers to entry for u.s. businesses. bobby, my district, the companies that do business in china are small and mid-sized firms. small energy companies. they are maritime companies. they manufacture certain types of parts and things that are used in the energy industry.

these companies have seen the last two years in a row over 50% growth in their exports to china, creating value for louisiana workers and creating jobs in louisiana. and not only that, hi a couple just recently, i was there for a grand anow. , maritime international, they are actually bringing some jobs back from china. we are making progress. is it fast enough? no. are the barriers still there? yes. and we are going to continue to beat the door down. that's why it's important. can i tell you china is the number one export destination for louisiana goods. we rank fourth. washington state i think is first or second in exports to china. but these are about washington state and louisiana jobs. and that's our prime focus. host: a recent gallup poll, americans are more likely to agree that china will pass the united states as the world's leading power. among u.s. adults 42% they strongly agree or agree. u.s. opinion leaders polled, 44%

agreed. strongly. disagreed, 33% of dults. 35% of u.s. opinion leaders. congressman larsen, what do you think? guest: 35% of u.s. strongly disagree with that statement. but i also say this, just because i disagree with that statement, or people think china will surpass the united states, none of that makes it true. what will make it true that the united states will maintain its economic leadership and its leadership in the world is what we do. here at home. it gets back to what i have been talking about investing in the basics of our education, the basics of research, the basics of advance manufacturing. making sure that we have a strong viable partnerships around the world and asia pacific in particular. and making sure that we are working with a growing and rising china. it's not a sign of weakness at all that we do that. but whether we believe that or not makes a little difference because we have to see the action that is make it true that

we'll maintain our leadership, economic leadership in the world. guest: i believe in the genius of the american people that's why this country is exceptional and great country. i do believe that we are going to make the right decisions over time. to maintain our position as a global leader. recently when the president was at a conference, the asian pacific economic community conference in hawaii, our country hosted it in hawaii all the countries that were there were glad to see the president there. glad to see the u.s. engaged because they are the firm belief in american leadership around the world. people are crying out for it. and i do believe that the basis for strong, vibrant american economy is there because it's all based on the genius of the american people. host: congressman by standy, one of our twitter followers has a criticism, she writes that tibet's priests are setting themselves on fire to call attention to china's oppression

and the g.o.p. says so what. let's make money. take that in two separate parts. main you can address her -- maybe can you address her concerns about the republican leadership. but at what point does the president not show up at events and talk to china? guest: we need to continue engagement because change won't occur over there unless we engage with leverage. and that's why i believe it's critically important to do what we are doing. i think there is bipartisan agreement at the end of the day that engagement with real leverage is the way to make changes and push changes in china for the better. i don't see this as an either-or proposition. the human rights issues are critically important, but as are the economic issues. and without the economic pressures i don't think we'll see any improvement in human rights. so the two have to be sort of worked together. i am deeply distressed by

tibetans who set themselves on fire and others who are persecuted in china and other areas for that matter. and at the same time we have to engage with leverage and that's been it. the secret of the u.s. and our success all the way back to the 1930's and 1940's. host: congressman larsen, at what point should the u.s. not engage or look into human right violations go too far that a different tactic is needed? guest: i don't think that the united states withdrawing from a relationship with china is going to do anything to help stop extra legal detentions, forced disappearances other human rights abuses in china. the united states has had a foreign policy plight of human rights for over 100 years, and china needs to expect that when it interacts with the u.s. leaders, with administrations, that it is going to hear -- get

an earful about what we see as human rights abuses in china. that is going to be one aspect of this relationship and an important aspect of this relationship. but if we aren't talking about it to china, then who is? host: let's go to rush, colorado, boys, republican. good morning. caller: yes. talking about cost of manufacturing. if we could get a hold on to energy costs over here and health care costs employers, it would help tremendously. and then education even in a dressed time all these colleges want to raise their tuitions and people will get less greedy, i think we could do better. host: what do you think about the chinese vice president's visit this week? caller: well, i think we got to keep in confrontation with them.

we got to keep listening to them. but they got to listen to us, too. but i also think that we can now produce -- outproduce them. we need to get our act back together. host: getting ahead for both our guests. guest: i think he makes a good point about making sure we continually engage with the leaders in china. we are the largest economy in the world. the united states is. china is the second largest economy in the world. our economies are interdependent. there are trade flows obviously with chinese investment in their military. their military modernization. and their desire to have a blue water navy. the u.s. and china are going to be met forically if you will running into each other more and more. it makes sense for continued engagement. the other point about investments that we need to make

here in the united states is a critical aspect as well. i want to say as well quickly, that our engagement with china does not at all diminish the engagement with our traditional allies in asia. we have a very important, critically important relationships with countries like japan and australia and many others. i don't want to try to name them all, but there are critically important long-term for our presence in asia. not just from a military perspective but a trade perspective. host: let's look -- >> "washington journal" available any time in our video library at c-span.org. the u.s. house is gaveling in next coming back to begin work on the first of three parts of the surface transportation bill. today dealing with offshore oil and gas drilling as well as the drilling in alaska and the keystone x.l. pipeline. live coverage of the house now here on c-span.

bop bop the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our guest chaplain today reverend rudy stevens, united states army, pinehurst, north carolina. the chaplain: lord, too often we americans back home forget to pray for our leaders here in d.c. forgive us, lord, for those assembled here in the people's house, i pray that you give them courage, strength an wisdom, give them courage from our conviction strength from your spirit and wisdom for decisions. decisions here are choices that shape circumstances of years, if not generations, for all americans. all the way from california to

north carolina the airborne corps sounds off loud and strong, this land is my land and this land is your land an it's here in this room that a chorus hits the ground and finds harmony, reminding us that for many, we are one. one nation under god that seeks liberty and justice for all, for all the fatherless and the oppressed. so lord, hear our prayer and keep these leaders wise, strong, and courageous, in jesus' name, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the@house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlelady from california, ms. hahn. ms. hahn: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the speaker: without objection the gentleman from north carolina, mr. coble, is recognized for one minute. mr. coble: i thank the speaker. mr. speaker, it's a great honor for me today to introduce army chaplain rudy stevens. chaplain stevens lives in north carolina's sixth congressional district and serves the 2504 infantry regiment, first brigade combat team of the 82nd airborne division at fort bragg, north carolina. during his tenure, mr. speaker, captain stevens has received many awars, most notably the bronze star, the air assault wings, and jump wings. he has been deployed, mr. speaker, on several separate occasions and will continue his

duty with a deployment to afghanistan in the coming months. on behalf of the constituents of the sixth district of north carolina, and my colleagues here in the people's house, chaplain stevens, we welcome you to the house of representatives, and extend our appreciation to you for having offered today's prayer. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches from both sides of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> i rise to offer my respects for retired counselor john r. head of the united states air force. he was born to swedish immigrants in 1920 and since he was young his passion was aviation he enlisted in the national guard and the army air

corps. upon his return to minnesota he helped start the air national forward base in duh luth now the 148th fighter wing he flew over 7,400 hours. he flew a prototype albatross airplane which is now in the smithsonian. he was a devoted husband, father grandfather and great grandfather and was married to the love of his life for 55 years. he was a true american who lived by the motto of god family, country. minnesota will miss him and america will miss the likes of him. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman seek unanimous consent? >> yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bishop: --

mr. johnson: today i'm introducing the help entrepreneurs create american jobs act to permanently double the deduction for startup expenses supporting small entrepreneurs who are the true job creators and creating jobs should be our number one priority. that is why president obama called for this tax cut and why i am proud to stand with businesses across my district and the nation to introduce this common sense proposal. we must put party aside and make it easier for americans to start small businesses. i ask my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. wilson: madam speaker, national review editor rich lowry stated that the president's budget quote, is built on gimmicks and spurious

assumptions that support a massive superstructure of new taxes and new debt. it's a blueprint for national decline, end of quote. the president's budget request called for the biggest tax increase and accumulates the largest debt in our nation's history. over the past three year, this administration has spent more money than ever before and increased our national debt by almost $5 trillion. our unemployment rate has consistently remained above 8% for 36 months. it is clear that borrowing and spend manager money will not create jobs. it is pastime for the president and the liberal controlled senate to come together and support house republican efforts to put american families back to work. dozens of job-promoting bills have passed the house, sadly held up in the senate graveyard. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise?

>> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker across the nation americans are calling on congress to take immediate action to create new jobs and i state, to create new jobs. instead of working on a bipartisan ageneral ta to create jobs, republicans are moving on a transportation bill that slashes the infrastructure funding and destroys jobs, i say, destroys jobs. mr. baca: ray lahood has called this bill the worst transportation bill he has ever seen. the republican transportation bill would eliminate, i say would eliminate, 550,000 american jobs, that's american jobs, cut highway investment in 45 states, and bankrupt the highway trust fund by $98 billion. congressional -- congress must get serious to work together to solve the problems our nation

is facing. it just can't be my way or the highway. let's do a jobs bill that will create jobs for the american people. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker, i proudly rise today to congratulate archbishop timothy don who will be elevated to cardinal in the roman catholic church. his holiness pope benedict could not have picked a better man of faith for this role. mr. grimm: just three years ago, new yorkers were blessed when the pope appointed him the 10th archbishop of new york. he has warmed our hearts with his quick personality and quick wit an strengthened our faith with his guidance. on a national level, his leadership has shed positive light on the catholic church

and continued to raise its profile. we are truly blessed to have archbishop dolan in new york. once again, i offer my warm congratulations to cardinal-designate dolan and wish him god speed in his new role. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one min. >> on monday president obama released his 2013 budget proposal. for western new york we are pleased it includes measures to benefit the niagara falls air reserve station, the buffalo coast guard, jamestown airport and our great lakes. mr. higgins: we need only look at japan in the 1990's and europe other the last couple of years to understand the dire consequences of government pulling back at a time of

economic uncertainty. for this reason, i wish the budget had gone a little further. the new america foundation report makes the case that investing $1.2 trillion over the next five years rebuilding the infrastructure of this nation will create 27 million jobs in five years. this job growth would cut the debt and deficit and create jobs for americans. for these jobs cannot be outsourced. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> ask unanimous consent to are revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker, despite the obama administration's recent actions to disguise forcing contraceptive coverage on religious institution the american people will not be fooled. the obama administration has gone out of its way to impose its radical agenda on

americans. mr. stearns: while some exemses exist, many would not be exempted. new york bishop timothy dolan summed it up when he said, never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product product that violates their tone conscience. this shouldn't happen in a land where free exercise of religion rank first in the bill of rights. this administration has shown no restraint in expanding the size, scope, and power of the federal government. we must repeal this law and restore religious freedom to religiously affiliated institutions in this country. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise to speak about our college tuition crisis. it's a topic of conversation that comes up around kitchen tables across america. parents are seeing college

tuition creep up year after year while their income has declined or stag snated and their savings have been squeezed. parents are worried their children won't get a shot at the american dream because they simply cannot afford the cost of higher education. the president's budget proposal makes it clear that even in these tough budgetary time well cannot shirk our responsibilities to strengthen investments in education. mrs. davis: i share his commitment to increasing college affordability and quality, freezing interest rates on subsidized student loans is something we can do something about right now to help millions of students across the country. failure to act means that seven million students could see their interest rates double to 6.8%. i urge my colleagues to work with the president to make sure that this issue gets the time and attention that it deserves. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and

revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker i rise today to commend the catch act. mr. olson: this program was implemented in houston and across texas to combat rising rates of childhood obesity. it's no secret that childhood obesity is a growing problem in our country. 18% of elementary schoolchildren are overweight and the number is growing every year. the university of texas school of public health created catch to help elementary schools children, and families adopt healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. catch is a huge success. it's been adopted by more than

2,500 elementary schools in texas. impacting 800,000 schoolchildren, that's 50% of texas elementary schools. catch has received national recognition for being one of the most comprehensive and cost effective approaches in fighting childhood obesity. madam speaker, i commend all schools in texas that have adopted this program. they recognize that every child needs to be taught and every child needs to be taught to grow up healthy. i thank the speaker and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? . -to-is recognized. >> tide family and friends will father to celebrate the 100th birthday of ms. dunnston, a wonderful human being who has lived in wade county, north carolina her entire life. mr. butterfield: grand laudy, is the second eldest of 13

siblings, seven of whom are still living and advanced in age. after working her way through historic federal state college, she went on to become an elementary teacher where she shaped young minds for 41 long years. today grand laudy is a lover of shakespeare and politics and most of all cherishes her independence. so often she can be seen driving her white pickup truck as she shops for her needs with her 5-year-old chocolate lab. madam speaker, she loves her supportive family that includes granddaughter jacqueline rollins wynn who is husband serves on the u.s. circuit court of appeals for the fourth circuit. we pray that she continues to enjoy health and happiness for many more years. happy birthday to you and most of all thank you for making north carolina a better place to live and work. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> madam speaker, request unanimous consent to address the

house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker, when the president's passed the unconstitution government takeover of health care, they cleverly front-loaded some of the provisions but left the most troubling mandates and requirements to be implemented at later date. mr. flores: recently the obama administration released its controversial contraception mandate and americans got a glimpse of the looming disaster that the health care law will produce once it actually goes fully into effect. this mandate is one of the first prescribed by the democrats' government health care takeover but it will not be the last. unfortunately the h.h.s. ruling that ignores religious freedom is just one example of the many disastrous provisions of a top-down government controlled health care system. if americans did not like this provision, they certainly won't like the ipad, the independent payment vidsery board, a group of 15 un-elected, unaccountable bureaucrats who will control

virtually every health care decision. i urge my colleagues to support commonsense legislation that will protect the rights of all human life including the unborn and continue working to fully repeal the democrats' government health care takeover as a whole as well as the harmful individual provisions that violate our constitutional rights. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. >> thank you, madam speaker. ms. hahn: i come to this floor practically every week for the past few months asking my friends on both side of the aisle to work together to extend the payroll tax cut and the unemployment benefit for a full year. as we convene this today, it looks like we may have a deal. and to be sure that we follow through, let's remind ourself what this would mean for americans. working families would see more than $80 a month in their pockets. almost $1,000 for the year.

always good for people to be able to keep more of their money this their own pockets. and 2.8 million americans and nearly 500,000 californians where i come from would be able to keep their unemployment benefits for their lifeline during these tough times. and the doc fix would allow seniors on medicare to continue to see their own doctors. i know the ink isn't dry, but i believe this is the type of compromise and governing our constituents and all of america wants to see us do here in congress. i want to encourage the leadership on both sides of the aisle to get this deal done, move forward, and create jobs in this great country. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise. >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. connolly: madam speaker there's nothing more important in a democracy than sunshine. this march among the most historic momentous occasions

ever to come before the supreme court will be health care. many americans supported health care reform. many opposed it. it was the product of hundreds of hours of debate on this very floor and in committees over many months. and while there's a limited number of seats for the public here in the house, thanks to c-span, millions of americans have the opportunity to view those proceedings. unfortunately, when the case comes before the supreme court just 50 americans will be able to witness it. shouldn't transparency require that the average citizen have an opportunity to view those proceedings? there is an easy and nonintrusive way, allowing cameras in the supreme court. along with my colleague, republican colleague, judge poe, i introduced h.r. 3572, the cameras in the courtroom act, to require televising open supreme court proceedings. sunshine remains the best disinfectant against those who might feel that the black robe

of life tenure grants an entire branch of government permanent immunity from accountability. i urge my colleagues to support this thoughtful act. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? >> madam speaker, to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman seek unanimous consent? mr. walz: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. walz: thank you, madam speaker. last week this house did something that shut be common -- should be common but getting rarer and rarer, we passed a bipartisan piece of legislation with a vote of 417-2. that was the stock act, stop trading on congressional knowledge bill making sure we have the awe castity members of congress should play by the same rules as everyone else, restore falte in our market. the senate did the same thing 96-3. i remind you of those famous words from saturday morning cartoons in schoolhouse rock i'm just a bill sitting on capitol hill. it's not the law. there's no conference been decided yet.

and the president while in the state of the union from that very perch said he would sign that bill the very next day there is nothing on the horizon bringing it up. madam speaker, i encourage my colleagues and i encourage all americans to make sure they hold us accountable. casting that vote for a bill still keeps it a bill. we need to follow through and make it the law of the land. with that i yield back. some for what purpose does the gentlelady from tennessee rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlelady seek unanimous consent? mrs. blackburn: yes, i do. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. blackburn: in the wake of the obama budget that has been filed this week and has been called everything from a nervous breakdown on paper to a disaster to not a serious budget, we get more news this morning. according to a gallup poll that has come out this morning, 85% of small business owners in this country indicated that they are

currently not looking for workers and asked why 48% said it was due to concerns about possible rising health care costs. 46% said that they were worried about new government regulations because last year this administration gave them about 4,000 new mandates and gave them about 80,000 pages of new federal regulation. we need to return to the time tested formula that always works in this country. less regulation plus less taxation plus less litigation always equals more innovation and more job creation right here in this country. we know that the total cost of federal regulation has risen to $1.75 trillion annually twice. that is collected in federal income taxes. let's get on the right track. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman

from american samoa rise? mr. faleomavaega: to address the house for one minute, madam speaker. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, this week president obama revealed his f.y. 2013 proposed budget. which introduces important tax reforms to revitalize commonly by boosting job creation and encourage businesses to bring overseas jobs back to america. president obama's proposed budget especially underscores his commitment to provide needed tax relief for america's small businesses. for example, the proposed budget office a temporary tax credit for small businesses that add new jobs and raise workers' salaries. madam speaker, the proposed budget also offers tax incentives for locating jobs in the united states while eliminating tax deductions for shipping jobs overseas and closing tax loopholes that results in outsourcing u.s. jobs to foreign countries. madam speaker, in line with the folks in american manufacturing,

president obama also introduced temporary tax credits to direct some $20 billion in domestic clean energy manufacturing. mr. speaker, i commend president obama for introducing a significant reforms that will put america back to work, return profits to america's private sector, and promote stronger american economy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman seek unanimous consent? mr. cohen: i so do. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you madam speaker. this is black history month. i introduced recently a proposal to have a congressional gold medal issued to a cumulative group, the individuals that marched for freedom sat in, brought about civil rights in our nation. all the civil rights leaders and workers. in this nation to make it the country that thomas jefferson and our founding fathers wrote about, it took civil rights workers to protest and demonstrate and sometimes go to

jail to change this country's path and see to it that all people were created equal and all people had equal opportunities and -- in this nation. and i think those people deserve recognition because they made america's promise its reality. to date we sent out a letter asking for co-sponsors three times to every member of congress. and yet we don't have a single republican with us. this should be a bipartisan effort and i would ask all my republican colleagues to ask their representatives to sign on to the gold medal for civil rights workers. it's america and -- american as apple pie. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise? mr. yarmuth: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. yarmuth: madam speaker, there's no question that our economy is recovering. the private sector has added jobs for 23 straight months, putting 3.7 million american workers back on the job.

last week in my district, g.e. opened its first new manufacturing facility and the first new product line at louisville's appliance park in more than 50 years. because of our recovery act investments, 1,300 workers will be back on the job at appliance park and hundreds of those jobs are coming back from china. when the private sector can rely on the federal government as a partner, jobs and economic growth follow. and that's exactly what we are seeing today in my district and across the country. we decided we are not going to surrender the lead in innovation to the chinese and the rest of the world. and as a result we are revitalizing american manufacturing. we are making it in america. but we can't stop now. madam speaker, as we begin to debate the federal budget, we must continue to invest in american innovation and ingenuity the way we have in louisville and so many other cities across the country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? mr. moran: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman seek unanimous

consent? mr. moran: i do. the speaker pro tempore: is recognized. mr. moran: thank you madam speaker. madam speaker, the house leadership is still scrambling to find the votes to pass what everyone is coming to recognize is the worst transportation authorization bill in this nation's history. with gasoline prices approaching $4 a gallon, house republicans are falling back on their wrong-headed 2008 campaign slogan of drill, baby drill. it's a cynical ploy and assumes americans think the pain of high gasoline prices is justifiable grounds to open restricted areas for drilling and weaken protection that is would ensure offshore drilling is done in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. the cold reality however, is that this bill will not bring relief to americans suffering at the gasoline pump, and prosperous fishing and tourism industries, real job creators based in bristol bay, southern california the west coast of florida, and virginia, will needlessly be placed at risk.

and for what? approximately $1.8 billion in new federal revenue over 10 years. not nearly enough to fund public transit or any other meaningful part of a transportation infrastructure bill. and the revenue generated by drilling off virginia's coast, $40 million over 10 years. our governor says that's what's going to pay for transportation, it pays for nothing. billions in economic activity. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. moran: thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> madam speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 547 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 112, house resolution 547 resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution, the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the

committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill, h.r. 3408, to set clear rules for the development of united states oil shale resources. to promote shale technology and research and development, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour with 40 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on natural resources. . and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on commerce. -- of energy and commerce. the bill shall be considered under the five-minute rule in lieu of the amendment, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the

text of titles 14 and 17 of rules committee print 112-14 shall be considered as adopted in the house and the committee of the whole. the bill as amended shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the five-minute rule and shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. no further amendment to the bill as amended shall be in order except those printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by a proponent and opponent, shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to demand for division of the question in the house or the committee of the whole.

all points of order against such further amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment, the committee shall rise and report the bill as amended to the house with such further amendments as may have been adopted. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended and any further amendment thereto to final passage, without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, at any time after the adoption of this resolution, the speaker may pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 218 declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 3813, to amend title 5 united states code, to secure the annuities of federal civilian employees and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived.

general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divide and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on oversight and government reform. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on oversight and government reform now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of title 16 of rules committee print 112-14, shall be considered as adopted in the house and in the committee of the whole. the bill is amend -- the bill as amended shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the five-minute rule and shall be considered as read. all points ofed offer against provisions in the bill -- of order against provisions in the bill are waived. no further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the

committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points ofed offer against such further -- points of order against such further amendments are waived. at the conclusion of such bill for amended, the committee shall rise and report the bill as amended to the house with such amendments as have been adopted. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended and any amendment thereto with final doctorfish final passage without further amendment except one motion to recommit

with or without instructions. section three, at any time after this resolution, the speaker may, pursuant to clause b of rule 218, declare the committee resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 7, to authorize funds for federal highway and highway and motor carrier safety programs and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on transportation and infrastructure now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of titles one through 13 and title 15 of rules committee print 112-14 shall be considered as adopted in the house and in the committee of the whole. general debate shall be confined to the bill as amended and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the

committee on transportation and infra -- infrastructure. after general debate, the committee on the whole shall rise without motion, no further consideration of the bill shall be in order except pursuant to a subsequent order of the house. section four, in preparing an amendment in the nature of a substitute to be adopted pursuant to this resolution, the clerk shall retain the title and section designations as they appear in rules committee print 112-114. section five in the engrossment of a measure addressed by the first or second section of this resolution, the clerk is authorized to make technical and conforming changes to mandatory instructions. section 6-a. in the engross. of h.r. 7, the clerk shall, one, await the disposition of h.r. 3408 and h.r. 3813, two, add the respective texts of h.r. 3408 and h.r. 3813 as

passed by the house to h.r. 7, retaining the title and section designations as they appear in rules committee print 112-14 to the extent possible. three, conform the tiflet h.r. 7 to reflect the addition of h. reform 3408 or h.r. 3813 as passed by the house to the engrossment. four, assign appropriate designations to provisions within the engrossment and five, conform provisions for short titles within the engreasment. b, upon the addition of the text of h.r. 3408, or h. reform 3813 as passed by the house, to the engrossment of h.r. 7, h.r. 34 o-- 3408 or h.r. 3813, as the case may be, shall be laid on the table. section 7. the chair of each of the following committees is authorized on behalf of the

respective committee to file a supplemental report to accompany any of the following measures a, natural resources with respect to h.r. 3407, 3403 and 3410. b, ways and means, with respect to h.r. 3864, an c, oversight and government reform with respect to h.r. 3813. the speaker: the gentleman from florida is recognized for one ho hour. >> for the purpose of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, pending which, i reserve the rest of my time for -- i reserve -- reserve such time as i may consume. during consideration of the resolution, all time yielded is for purposes of debate only. madam speaker, i ask for unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mr. webster: i rise today in support of this rule and the efforts made to address our aging national infrastructure and chronic unemployment. house resolution 547 provides for a structured rule for consideration of h.r. 3408 for protecting investment in shale oil, the next generations of environmental energy and resource security or pioneers act. a structured rule for h.r. 3813, the securing annuities for federal employees safe, act, and general debate for h.r. 7, the american nrnl and infrastructure act this rule makes 20 amendments in order for the pioneers act, of these, 13 are democrat amendments and three are republican and then there are three bipartisan amendments. this rule also makes three amendments in order for the safe act. however, over 80% of the amendments submitted to the rules committee are dealing with h.r. 7 so the bulk of the amendment debate will take

place later this week. finally this rule sets the stage for a robust debate on h.r. 7, the american energy and infrastructure act, the long-term surface transportation re-authorization. in order to gather innovative ideas and input into the re-authorization proposal, in addition to the regular subcommittee and full committee hearings held here in washington transportation infrastructure chairman micah and the committee conducted -- mie ka and the committee sucted several bipartisan and bicameral hearings at forums arn the country. in total, 14 hearings were held from locations like los angeles and chicago and also to tennessee and florida. the previous transportation authorization safetea-lu was enacted in 2005 and expired september 30 in 2009. since that time, surface

transportation programs have operated under a series of short-term extension the most recent of these extensions expired march 31, 2012. the transportation and infrastructure committee put together a long-term re-authorization of highway transit and highway safety programs that will provide much needed certainty and stability to those charged with rebuilding our nation's infrastructure and all who depend on it for their safe travel. h.r. 7 authorizes approximately $260 billion over five years for highway transit rail safety and other programs which is consistent with current funding levels. it provides five years of stability for states to undertake major insfra -- infrastructure prompts and provide lasting employment. it also allows states to spend highway money on actually highway projects by removing federal requirements that currently force states to spend

highway money on nonhighway activities, the american energy and infrastructure act ensures that our nation's highways ap bridges are repaired and properly maintained and that federal dollars are spent on the most crucial infrastructure needs. as opposed to past transportation efforts this bill stops the annual raid on general fund to bail out the highway trust fund and is paid for by c.b.o. scoring savings and revenues. significant savings are generated by the safe act which increases federal employee pension contributions to 2.3% and increases pension cricks by members of congress to 2.8%. revenues also are generated by the pioneers act which not only renews federal barriers -- removes federal barriers that block production of our own energy but u.s. energy resources but also creates over one million new energy jobs. finally, unlike last

transportation bills, including those overseen by both republicans and democrats, h.r. 7 contains no earmarks. to put that in perspective, the previous transportation law contained over 6,300 earmarks. it also significantly reforms transportation policy in this country. as families across the nation tighten their own belts in difficult economic times, they are re-examining their budgets to make sure no penny is wasted or spent on duplicative expenses. because your pennies are placed into the highway trust fund every time you fill up your car due to the federal gas tax it is that same necessary spirit that the american energy and securities act re-examines the dozens of programs paid for by the highway trust fund to root out duplication, waste, or inefficiency. currently over 100 federal service transportation programs, many added over the

last 50 years since the interstate highway system was created in 1956 to expand the scope of the original programmatic goals of our transportation system. the american energies and infrastructure jobs act reforms surface transportation programs by consolidating or eliminating approximately 70 programs that are duplicative or do not serve a federal purpose. by eliminating or consolidating these cookie cutter programs that the federal government is certainly known for, stamping out a program that supposedly fits florida and montana and maine and every other state equally and including the cities and counties within those communities, which is almost impossible to have one plan fits all, this eliminates many of those programs, gives them the flexibility to create programs on their own, similar to what the president just did by exempting many states from the no child left behind.

why? because the states did a better job than the cookie cutter approach done by that particular program by eliminating or consolidating cookie cutter programs, the american energy and infrastructure jobs act helps ensure that taxpayer dollars go to high-priority projects that have a direct connection to our economy. by eliminating requirements for states to spend highway funds on nonhighway activities, h.r. 7 permits states to fund those activities in which they choose but allows states also to fund the most crucial infrastructure needs first. . the bill also strength yen safety programs and give states the ability to develop innovative safety initiatives that save lives. it returns the focus of our highway funds to interstate commerce and safe travel and allowing states to choose their own course of action. for those projects that are crucial for the safe and

efficient movement of goods and people around our nation, this legislation streamlines their delivery process or construction time by cutting the average highway construction completion time in half, from 14 years to seven years. the american infrastructure and energy act cuts bureaucratic red tape by allowing federal agencies to lee view transportation projects con-- review transportation projects concurrently delegates project approval authority to the states and establishes hard deadlines for federal agencies to make decisions on permits and project approvals. the bureaucracy inherent in the approval and delivery process has proven to be a real hurdle delaying long overdue projects to highway improvements. h.r. 7 also expands the list of activities that qualify for categorical exclusions, an approval process that a faster and simpler than the standard process. while cutting the project review

process time in half, we are also using environmental protections such as those under the environmental protection act. they remain in place while making infrastructure improvements in a much more effective manner. the american energy and infrastructure act also reforms financing programs to increase private sector involvement in building infrastructure, for example, it funds the transportation infrastructure finance and innovation act program for low cost interest loans at $1 is billion per year. it also incentivizes states to build upon the existing state infrastructure bank program by allowing states to seek out revenue generating infrastructure projects that lack the capital to move from planning to pavement. as these pressing state and local infrastructure needs are met, taxpayer exposure for future projects will lessen as revenues generated by the state infrastructure bank funded

projects will be recycled back into the infrastructure bank for future projects. the american energy and infrastructure act provides certainty to communities that infrastructure will be rebuilt and provides stability to those whose jobs depend on our commitment to he rebuilding it. given -- to rebuilding it. given the current economy, it seeks to safeguard valuable taxpayer dollars by cutting washington red tape and leveraging private sector dollars. it frees up states and local governments to make decision that is are best -- in the best interest of their communities that they serve. it does all this without a single earmark or a single tax increase, and it's all paid for. once again madam speaker, i rise in support of this rule and the efforts made by the relevant committees to address the nation's infrastructure and chronic unemployment. i encourage my colleagues to vote yes on the rule and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from

massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i want to thank the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: oh, my goodness. i don't even know where to begin, but i first would like to publicly thank the reading clerk for his patience in slogging through the reading of this terribly complicated and confusing rule. i think the mere reading of this rule says it all demonstrating how messed up this process is. madam speaker, speaker boehner used to be fond of criticizing bills by saying, they wouldn't pass the straight face test. let me tell you, i'm having trouble keeping a straight face right now. not when i look at this incredibly partisan slap dash set of bills before us. not when i look at the awful convoluted process that got us here.

madam speaker, this process is an absolute travesty. the republican leadership took a 1,000-page bill, the most partisan transportation bill in congressional history, and made it worse. they took a bill that was written in secret and jammed through the transportation committee and inserted unrelated and controversial provisions like keystone pipeline, anwr, offshore drilling, and cuts in federal pensions. even worse they changed the rules in the middle of the game. because yesterday morning after everyone had submitted their amendments to the original single bill, speaker boehner decided to split it into three separate measures. and he said it was in the name of transparency. transparency? give me a break. it was more like the valentine's day massacre of transparency. you know a bill is bad when the competitive enterprise

institute, taxpayers for common sense, and the natural resources defense council are all opposed to how it's structured. talk about strange bedfellows. transportation second ray lahood, a former republican congressman, called h.r. 7, and i quote, the most partisan transportation bill i have ever seen. and i further quote him, he said it is the worst transportation bill i have ever seen during 35 years of public service. the chairman of the transportation committee called this a bipartisan product. madam speaker, making democratic amendments in order in and of itself and then defeating them doesn't make a bill bipartisan. transportation bills by their nature have always been truly bipartisan. worked together by the majority and minority republicans and democrats. in the past have not only worked

in good faith on this bill, they have put their differences aside and did their jobs. i should know, i served on the transportation committee during a republican controlled house in my first term, and i served as a conferee to the 1998 re-authorization bill. yet h.r. 7 abandons years of good faith efforts by members of both parties to thoughtfully and responsibly craft a bipartisan transportation bill that reflects the priorities and vital importance of infrastructure investments across this country. h.r. 7 slashes investments in federal highways by $15.8 billion from current levels over the bill's duration. it does so at a time when our roads and bridges are crumbling before our eyes. this bill ignores that harsh reality. it guts transit funding by delinking federal funding from the highway trust fund and lumping it in with a smorgasbord

of other transportation accounts that will be forced to compeelt for annual appropriation -- compete for annual appropriations. what's most egregious and irresponsible about this bill, worse than the hyper partisanship, worse than the atrocious process is that this bill will result in 550,000 job losses. we should be focused madam speaker, on creating good jobs and manufacturing and construction. two sectors hardest hit with job losses, not kicking them while they are already down. like so many other bills, republicans couldn't let an opportunity pass to help their friends at big oil. oil companies are making more money hand over fist to the tune of tens of billions of dollars in record profits every year. now we are seeing gas prices rise again. yet republicans continue to provide $40 billion worth of taxpayer funded subsidies to companies who don't need them and don't deserve them.

last night in the rules committee, i tried to end tax subsidies to big oil, instead of asking exxonmobil, b.p., chevron, shell, and other big oil companies to pay their fair share while prices at the bum pumps rise, the republicans doubledown for their corporate friends and block my amendments. i offered it three different ways last night. and all three ways were rejected. not even given the courtesy of consideration on this house floor. i'll offer it again today if the rules committee meets, but i have no doubt the other side will continue what they usually do, stand with big oil and will continue to block my amendment. allowing more oil and gas drilling off our coasts and opening up the treasured arctic national wildlife refuge to drilling will do nothing to lower gas prices in the short-term, let alon pay for this bill. at -- let alone pay for this bill at best it will be years before any money comes from the new drilling areas. let's not forget the keystone

provision that's jammed in here that would automatically deem, i use the word deem, the environmentally harmful pipeline be approved. oh, and then there's the provision to force federal employees who are currently under a two-year pay freeze to nearly triple their contributions to their federal retirement accounts. republican leadership has once again found a way to take a swipe at federal employees. even in the surface transportation bill. this part is really confusing. the republicans are using this attack on federal employees to pay for the highway bill but they are also apparently according to press reports using the same revenue to pay for the payroll tax extension. perhaps my friend from florida, i'm happy to yield to him, could explain to us how they expect to use the same pot of money to pay for two separate things. well, maybe we'll get an answer later on in the debate. madam speaker, democrats want a fully funded commonsense transportation bill that puts

people back to work. who want to bill to make their roads and bridges safer not more dangerous. we want a bill that's good for america. this is not that bill. this bill before us is nothing but red meat political propaganda at its worse. it simply makes no sense. it will not become law. we should scrap this bill and start over and do it the right way. that's the way we have always done it. we should do it in a bipartisan way, come together, and help get a really good transportation bill that will put people back to work. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. webster: thank you madam speaker. in hearing what i heard in rules committee last night and here on the floor this morning, it reminds me that people have been here a long time love cookie cutters. and so many of the people that are opposed to this bill are opposed to it because they like cookie cutters. they like to say that this

program works here and there and everywhere as opposed to giving flexibility to the states. cookie cutters are used in education funding, they are used in medicaid funding, they are used in this particular funding, transportation. and they are used to limit the flexibility of states who really know what their program is. it's far better for the district 5 in central florida to put together a program, build it from the ground up, determine what their needs are and what the modes of transportation they would like to have, build that program, send it up to the states, the legislature passes it and becomes law. no, right now there are so many different little programs that you have to put money into that you cannot devise your own program. you have to live within the constraints of a federal government who believes in cookie cutters. and it's sad. when you start talking about people who have been around 35 years and they never seen a program like this, no. because they love cookie

cutters. and they love it the way it is, because it promotes the federal government making decisions for the states and local communities as opposed to the local communities being able to develop their own programs. so in the end these long time ago funding bills, let me tell you what it did to florida. in florida at one point in time back in the times we are talking about, we had 69% of our money back while states in other areas of the country, including the northeast, got maybe two times that amount of money. so the money and funding and the flexibility were all nonexistent. if i were on the take i would have liked to kept it the way it was. when we began flattening it out and giving every state a chance and returning more moneys back to the state and with that return also allowing them to make their own choices on how they would fund their transportation projects and what kind of needs they have and

being able to with flexibility from the federal government provide for those needs for the local community, there are a lot of people that say i don't want to do it that way. why? i love cookie cutters. i yield back. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i don't know what the gentleman is talking about. all i do know is that this bill underfunds our highway and transportation system, it guts mass transit, it's not good for any state in this country. we deserve a better bill. and also what i have learned is all these new members that came to washington they want a more open process are giving one of the most convoluted process i have witnessed on the floor. at this time it's my privilege to yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from new york, the ranking member of the rules committee, ms. slaughter. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. slaughter: good afternoon,