the guy next to you a mother of four, isn't paying anything or is paying a small amount. that feeling is conflicting american ideal sort of do it yourself and also help people and bring them up. for this, this is sort of not in my backyard. think people should get housing and not next to me and it bringç they could live somewhere less nice and further out. then you just sort of perpetuate the same problem. that's not really solution in any way. it's sort of like everyone just lived in the south bronx as it was in the 1970s, then the south bronx stays like it was in

the 1970s. host: thanks so much for joining us. he'd an editor at harper. he's working on the history of the greenhousing project in chicago. thanks for joining us. guest: thanks so much. host: that's all for washington journal. we now go to the floor of the ouse of representatives. but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from vermont, mr. welch, for five minutes. mr. welch: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, right now families across this country are sitting around their kitchen tables trying to figure out how they can send their kids to college. they're talking about how to

finance a college education when the cost of that is rising faster than the cost of health care. parents are making some very difficult decisions. should we refinance our homes and dwindle our retirement? how much money can we borrow? how much can we ask our kids to borrow in order to put this financial package together? and for the first time many of these parents are considering the unthinkable. maybe they can't afford to send their kids to college. meanwhile, in 52 days if congress does not act, a very bad situation will get worse. on july 1, the interest rates on the stafford student loans will double from 3.4% to 6.8%. vermont students, american students and parents need action from congress and need it now. over the past few weeks, i've been asking vermonters to share their real-world stories and

i'd like to tell a few. katie graduated with $36,000 in student loan debt. in this tough economy she's had a hard time finding a job so she took an internship so she can keep advancing her career. she works five to six days a week making $25 a day. she's essentially providing well-educated cheap labor but she doesn't have a choice. she doesn't regret her decision to go to cool but she's getting extremely apprehensive to get this financial albatross off her back. sue from new port has $26,000 in debt. she also has some medical problems which limits the kind of work she can do but she can work and has a full-time job, but student loan payments are $600 a month, making it very difficult for her to pay her other bills, and she has no savings and no retirement. peter, a parent, he always believed he could send his son

to college. now he's not sure that he can. his son is -- has done his part -- graduating from high school with honors, and he's been accepted to a number of very good institutions. but with tuition cost at those schools ranging from $30,000 to $56,000 a year, peter is just not sure that their family is going to be able to make this work out. julie from huntington, vermont, she grew up in a single-parent home living below the poverty line, but she was told that if she worked hard in school, studied, she could achieve a great future. she did her part. she also was taught, by the way, that she should avoid debt at all costs, but she is pursuing college but working three jobs while she's going to school full time and she's still piling up debt. she was taught to believe that if she worked hard and applied

herself she could achieve great things. now working three jobs, piling up debt, is there a way out is the question she's asking. mr. speaker, this is more than about extending the low interest on the stafford loans. it's really about whether we're going to have a pathway for people trying to climb into the middle class to get there and for people in the middle class to stay there. how much more burden can we impose on folks who want a future for their families, for their kids? it is absolutely unconscionable in this world that we're in to double student interest rates from 3.4% to 6.8%. it is time for congress to stand up for the middle class, for those folks from vermont and for those around the country who are trying to do the best for themselves and for their country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly, for five minutes.

mr. connolly: mr. speaker, climate deniers have buried their heads so deep in the sand they can't hear the secretary of defense warning us about the risk of climate change. last week secretary panetta gave a speech about the impact of climate change on national security. he said, quote, the area of climate change has a dramatic impact on national security. rising sea levels, severe droughts, the melting of the polar caps and devastating natural disasters always demand for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and he might have added and threaten military bases, especially naval bases around the world. americans are experiencing record-breaking drought in the south and southwest and tornadic activity in the south and midwest. severe weather, manifestations

of climate change, have a direct impact on the armed services national security. secretary panetta focused on the geopolitical risks on drought, famine and hurricanes. these troubling events create new demands for humanitarian intervention but can also destabilize political regimes and enable the rise of extreme elements. congress may be fiddling while texas and wildfire-prone regions of the mountain west burn, but the armed services are responding aggressively to the threat of climate change. the navy is leading the effort to boost the production of biofuels and protect americans against rising oil prices. the department of defense consumes some 350,000 barrels of oil every day. each $10 increase in a barrel of oil costs our department of defense and the taxpayers $1.3 billion every year. by creating a supply of biofuels, the navy's protecting

taxpayer interests from volatile oil prices while reducing greenhouse gas pollution associated with fossil fuels. the navy's also reducing its own dependence on middle eastern oil since it makes no sense the d.o.d. be providing business to governments that support terrorism. the army and the air force have also made groundbreaking investments in renewable energy, reducing global warming pollution while strengthening our national security posture. and the army is deploying energy-efficient retrofits to achieve net zero energy consumption. meaning that the bases produce as much energy as they consume. these efforts reduce global warming pollution and protect political facilities from a cyberattack on the grid. the army's implemented new energy saving performance contracts at other bases, including in my district. to reduce energy consumption

and associated greenhouse gas pollution by reducing the 24.5 billion dollars every year the federal agencies spend on electricity consumption, these efforts protect taxpayers. in today's fiscal crimet, the secretary of defense is aware that the -- that investing in clean energy reduces the department of defense's oil dependence and lower its fuel cost to free up resources for other priorities and to reduce the burden on tax pers. i'm surprised by the resistance of a few members who wrap themselves in the mantle of fiscal responsibility even while opposing the defense department's efforts to save on energy costs. the d.o.d.'s success in this area is actually a model for other agencies to follow. there used to be bipartisan consen census here and we should address the -- consensus here and we should address the concerns.

one who served as the republican senator from my home state of virginia for 30 years introduced the first bill to address global warming which came to the senate floor. since his retirement in 2008, he's been a leading advocate for reductions in global warming pollution in order to improve our national security. sadly, the house republican leadership would take america in the opposite direction, by blocking clean air enforcement and by reversing energy efficiency standards for lights and appliances. as the impacts of climate change become more powerful with these passing seasons, we should heed secretary panetta's warning and i ask that the may 4 article in "the hill" by carlos munoz on the subject be entered in the record and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the chair recognizes the gentleman from american samoa,

mr. faleomavaega, for five minutes. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the full text of my statement be made part of the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i rise today with deep sympathy to offer my condolences to the family and friends of a beloved son, father, brother, uncle, leader and as a member of the extended family, an nfl great and the son of american samoa, junior seau, whose life ended tragically in oceanside, california. it is a very sad time for mott only the national sports world, but also for our poll nearbyian

community. we have -- polonesian community. we have lost a son who are in the national football league. a beautiful life has come to a tragic end. yet, we remember junior as the young man full of life, the leader able to light up any room, a devoted son and father and community leader. we remember the strength of this unique individual, a true samoan warrior. junior was born on january 19, 1969, in san diego, california. the american samoan parents. after junior was born, the family returned to american samoa where junior grow up for several years before returning to the san diego area.

junior attended oceanside high school where he lettered in football, basketball, as well as track and field for the oceanside pirates. in football he was a starter at linebacker and tight end. he received numerous awards for his achievements as a student athlete. in 1987, the year he graduated, "parade" magazine selected seau to the all-american team. he was named california interscholastic federation defensive player of the year, avocado league defensive player of the year as well as being named to california's all-academic team with a 3.6 grade point average. after graduating high school, seau played for the trojans for the 1987 to 1990 and in 2009 later was inducted in the u.s.c. hall of fame. in 1990 -- the 1990 nfl draft,

junior was drafted in the first round of the fifth overall pick to the san diego chargers. seau immediately became the heart and soul of the chargers defense, earning the nickname the tasmanian devil, for his passion and explosive athletic skills on the field. in the locker room and on the field, seau had the ability to motivate his teammates. he was named defensive player of the year in 1988 and 1989. junior played 12 consecutive pro bowls from 1991 to 2002, the most for any player in the history of the chargers and tied for the third longest streak ever in the nfl. he was also selected all-pro six times in his career and he led the chargers to their first-ever super bowl appearance in 1995. after 13 years in san diego, junior played three years for the miami dolphins where he received the miami dolphins don

shula leadership award for two consecutive years. after only one day of retirement in 2006, he answered the call by the new england patriots and became defensive co-captain during the patriots 18-0 season that took the team to the super bowl in 2008. junior finally retired in 2010 being played 20 seasons in the nfl and finishing with a career of 1,849 tackles, 56.5 sacks, 18 interceptions, three forced fumbles and 21 pass deflection. junior seau is widely acknowledge as one of the best linebackers in nfl history, but his passion and success in football was paralleled in his community involvement and work off the field. in 1992, junior established the junior seau foundation, giving san diego area youth ongoing support for programs that acquire them to face life's challenges with enthusiasm,

with hope and dignity. . since the foundation it has distributed nearly $4 million, including $800,000 in scholarships to the scholars for excellence program and over $330,000 to juneor's programs which provides for underprivileged youth to shop alongside a professional college athlete for christmas gifts for their families. in april, 2007, the "wall street journal" ranked junior seau's foundation as the 13th largest professional athlete foundation based on assets. junior, as much as he was an outstanding football player, junior will also be remembered as a humanitarian and supporter for those who needed help the most. a dear friend and motivational figure. he was a charismatic leader who could not walk into a room without having the effect of those around him.

he was loved by everyone who knew him and his magnetism both on and off thefield impacted fans nationwide and any individual he contacted. when you speak of samoans in the nfl, mr. speaker, junior seau is one of the first names that come to mind. he was an ambassador of asian and pacific americans and through his success he was able to broaden the public's understanding and appreciation of our polynesian people. he has been -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. miller, for five minutes. mr. miller: mr. speaker, last

year i introduced the keeping all students safe act to protect children from abusive seclusion and restraint practices in school. two years ago this legislation passed the house with bipartisan support. unfortunately it never became law. the incidents of students being abused or inappropriately restrained in school continue to occur. we cannot sit by. congress must step up to the plate and protect our nation's children. in recent months we have been hearing more disturbing stories of students being dangerously restrained by teachers and staff while in school. in several of these cases students have suffered serious injury or even died as a result of their injuries. in december, in kentucky, 9-year-old christopher baker, who has autism, was stuffed into a duffel bag in the school as punishment. in connecticut chirp are afraid to go to school because they have heard other students screaming in small windowless rooms. the students in these elementary schools refer to these rooms as scream rooms.

in texas, 10-year-old lucas hines, who suffers from seizures, dyslexia, and adhd was put in a chokehold while riding home on a texas school bus. for four minutes the school supervisor refused to release him in the care of his mother. instead kept him in the dangerous chokehold. on april 18, at the lincoln watts school in new york, 16-year-old corey foster was retrained by school staff who were trying to remove him from the basketball court. witnesses reported several students piled on top of him -- several staff mild on top of him. he went into cardiac arrest and died. his story is far too similar to a story i learned several years ago, the story of cedric a. 14-year-old in texas, who was restrained face down with his teacher sitting on top of him. he yelled out he couldn't breathe. minutes later he died on the floor of his classroom. tragedies like corey's and cedric's need to stop. in march, the department of education released nationwide

data showing that the -- the tens of thousands of children are subject to restraint and seclusion in school each year. this map shows that 31 states have had reports of abusive incidents since the last time that we tried to enact the keeping all students safe act. no corner of the country is immune from abuse. it is widespread and gone on far too long. this map shows we need a nationally driven reform because we are seeing children are still subject to the worst practices in these settings. according to a report released, only 30 states have any meaningful protection. only 18 states prohibit restraints that restricts breathing. only 16 states limit the use of restraint through emergencies involving immediate risk or harm. only 16 states ban the use of mechanical restraint. and only 24 states have any requirement that parents be notified that their child was

restrained or secluded in school. in fact, children can go to school day after day, be restrained, be secluded, be locked in dark rooms, kept in those rooms where they urinate on themselves and their parents are never notified. where is it that parents were -- are secluded from the information about their students? where is that a matter of good public policy? the child shouldn't depend upon, and their safety, on what state they live in. the federal government and this congress needs to set minimum standards and model standards. we have the federal laws in place to prevent seclusion abuses that happen in hospitals and other health facilities, but children do not have any federal protection against these potentially dangerous and torturous practice when is they are in school. schools are supposed to be a safe place, a place for children to learn, a place for children to socialize. parents should never have to worry about the safety of their children when they are at school. no child should be forced to suffer abuse, neglect, and

injury or even death while they are trying to learn. the keeping all students safe act would set minimum safety standards for the use and restraint of seclusion in school and provide training and support for school personnel to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint. it makes it illegal to strap children to chairs, to put children in duffel bags, or restrict their breathing. seclusion restraint practices should only be used in emergency situation by trained staff and should end as soon as the emergency has passed. this legislation makes it clear there is no room for torture and abuse in america's schools. news reports show children being tied up with duct tape, spat on by staff, locked in rooms for hours at a time is not acceptable. our children deserve better. this legislation won't bring back corey or cedric but it can prevent future abuses from occurring. i called on the chairman of the committee on education and work force to mark up this important legislation so we can move forward on passing the critical

legislation into law. our children deserve nothing less. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. kelly, for five minutes. mr. kelly: thank you, mr. speaker. this week we are very busy in the house. last night we didn't get out until well beyond midnight. there is also something else happening this week that's very important to not only this body but the nation, and that's mother's day. the father of our nation, george washington, said of his mother, all i am i owe to my mother. i attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education i received from her. the role a mother plays in a child's life is unlike anything else. she's the life giver, the caregiver, and the source of strength and guidance throughout her children's life. she wipes away the tears, cleans the scrapes, and heals the hurts we all experience. not just through our childhood but beyond. we owe everything to our moms. and they deserve the recognition and respect they have rightly earned. my mother raised my brothers and

sisters and me with a level of tenderness shown by no other. she taught us the virtues of hard work, humility, and selflessness by living each of those virtues herself. my mom is no longer with me, but this weekend i will celebrate her and remember and honor the legacy she and every mother leaves behind. our nation must always value the work mother's do and their contribution to our society. if we ever fail to recognize the work both inside and outside the home, then we begin to lose sight and the strength of our nation. without our moms we would fail to realize the promise within each of us for they are our greatest supporters. they are central to our lives and vital to our success. happy mother's day to every mother in america. we thank you and we honor you for your valuable service and endless love and sacrifice. thank you. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from oregon, mrs. bonamici, for

five minutes. mrs. bonamici: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to congratulate oregon's lincoln high school on winning the 2012 national finals of the "we the people competition." she's students worked diligently to achieve this honor demonstrating outstanding teamwork and impressive understanding of our country's constitution. we the people, the citizen and the constitution, is a civic education curriculum in which students learn about our country and government while preparing for a mock congressional hearing. during the hearing students are challenged to demonstrate their critical thinking skills, knowledge of current events, ability to work as a team, and understanding of the constitution and its origins. after winning oregon's state competition, the lincoln high team traveled to washington, d.c., to compete in the national finals. after three days of competition

against classes representing 47 states, washington, d.c., and the northern mariana islands, lincoln high school was declared the winner. to the students of lincoln high school, our future leaders, your hard work and dedication is not only -- has not only brought you this award, it's made you outstanding citizens and models for your peers. congratulations to the entire winning class. avery, katherine, marty, hally, ryan, danny, john, julian, julia, michael, natina, ken doctor, robin, katie, sierra, john, emma, duncan, william, evan, sarah, vicky, sammy, just

continue, beckett, emma, sage, nita, airy, molly, carolyn, ataya, and cole. thank you to the classroom law project for organizing the program in oregon and for all you do to teach students about democracy. and last but certainly not least, i congratulate tim swinehart, the students' teacher, whose leadership was instrumental to lincoln high school's success as well as their coaches, steve, jason, jeff, christy, jennifer, ben, jonathan, and allison. great work, lincoln high school, congratulations. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from ohio, ms.

schmidt, for five minutes. ms. schmidt: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to address the audience for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. schmidt: mr. speaker, i rise today in honor and in memory of a very dear friend of mine and a very dear friend of brown county, county commissioner rick eagen. rick's passion for community service spanned his entire life. he was a member of the rippley fire department for almost 30 years. he served 14 years in local law enforcement. he was also a former councilmember and vice mayor of rippley, ohio. but rick didn't stop there. he wanted to do momplet -- more. he wanted to be county commissioner because he felt he could lead the county forward. and so he ran for commissioner and lost.

he ran again and lost. they say the third time's a charm, and rick decided to test that water and so in 2010 he threw his hat in the ring. unfortunately very early on he was involved in a very tragic automobile accident. one that nearly took his life. it took his leg. it took his ability to breathe. and he had a tracheotomy until a few weeks ago. he was in the hospital for nearly a year. he came out that august, campaigned, and miraculously won the election. his dream came true and he began to serve his community in another way. he loved his community. he loved his country. and he loved his family. he fought every day to make the world a better place. and a few weeks ago the doctors

believed they could change his correspond and -- course and take the trach out and allow him to breathe normally again and they did but complications ensued and we lost rick this week. i am so sad for our community to have lost such a dynamic and wonderful individual. . public servants like rick are hard to come by. his wonderful wife, margaret, and his children, douglas and tiffany, will no longer be able to live with that remarkable man, no longer be able to love him and hug him and so i ask this body to remember those like rick who put their lives before themselves, work hard to make our country a better place , to live, work and raise a family. and i ask that the lord allow

commissioner rick to be in his hands and may my dear friends and my community rest in peace. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, last week the a.t.f. announced the results of the first eight months of its multiple sales reporting program, or m.s.r., for semi automatic rifles. the numbers prove the m.s.r.'s is already an invaluable tool for fighting drug trafficking along the southwest border. there are more than 3,000 reports of rifle sales between texas, arizona and california. it had 120 criminal investigations and subsequently 25 cases involving 100 defendants had been recommended for prosecution. the a.t.f. also reported a decline in large volume rifle

purchases indicating the traffickers are altering their criminal activity due to the new reporting requirement. the m.s.r. program was created to counteract the dangerous trafficking of guns along our border with mexico. these guns fuel the cartels war in mexico, destabilizing our southern neighbor and third largest trading partner. according to the a.t.f. data, 70% of the firearms recovered and traced from drug cartel crimes in mexico originate in the united states. so in light of the positive impact the m.s.r. has had, what is the house voting to do this week? that's right, repeal the measure. a policy rider in the commerce, justice and science 2013 appropriations bill would cut all funding for reporting the sale of multiple semi automatic rifles. yes, this house will vote to block funding successfully removing semi automatic rifles from the underground gun trade. these are the guns that

endanger americans along the border and fuel an allout war in a neighboring country. ending the m.s.r. requirement is not about protecting anyone's rights. reporting the sale of multiple semi-automatic rifles does not infringe on second amendment rights. in fact, a similar multiple sales requirement has been in place for handguns for over 20 years. the necessary paperwork takes gun dealers 12 minutes to complete but can give law enforcement crucial intelligence on straw purchased rifles. a george bush-appointed federal judge upheld the m.s.r. requirement, finding it did not disturb the balance between regulation and a gun owner's right to privacy. so the gun lobby has now turned to cutting its funding because why allow a program successfully fighting gun trafficking to continue undisturbed? this has become an all-too familiar event for the a.t.f. which is -- has operated under

temporary leadership since 2006 due to blocked confirmation in the senate. according to "the washington post," in 2010, the a.t.f. had the same number of agents it had in 1970, while the f.b.i. has grown by 50% and the d.e.a. by 233%. gun ownership records are kept on paper because the n.r.a. has successfully lobbied against funding computerized records. with record keeping from the 1950's and funding from the 1970's, it's no wonder law enforcement struggles in 2011. so maybe it's not -- 2012. so maybe it's not surprising that the m.s.r. would encounter such heated opposition. an effective investigative tool for law enforcement with only a negligible effect on gun dealers? that would be evidence of regulatory solutions that can work for everyone. the dealers, the buyers and most importantly the public. and that's exactly what the gun lobby doesn't want.

if commonsense solutions like multiple sales reporting can stand, what's next? requiring background checks for sales at gun shows which 69% of n.r.a. members support, denying people on the terrorist watch list the right to buy a gun? to gun lobby, there's nothing scary than common sense winning out. so this week let's scare them, let's win one for common sense. let's keep reporting the sale of multiple semi-automatic rifles like we do with handguns. let's allow the a.t.f. continue making improvements on the southwest border. let's choose what's best for our law enforcement, security and common sense. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from california, ms. woolsey, for five minutes. ms. woolsey: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, tomorrow this body will vote on a republican budget bill that is nothing short of reprehensible.

once again, my friends on the other side of the aisle are insisting that the poor and the working class families continue to suffer and struggle because heaven forbid we should ask the department of defense to do its share to meet our fiscal challenges. you can't walk in this chamber, mr. speaker, without hearing a self-serving and self-righteous lecture from a member of the majority about fiscal responsibility. but when they say, let's cut spending, what they really mean is let's shred the safety net. so their bill puts a giant bull's-eye on the program that struggling families need to keep their heads above water, especially in this tough economy. under their bill, fewer women will get breast cancer screenings, fewer poor children will get meals at school or access to health care, and 1.7 million fewer seniors will get

meals on wheels and other home-based services. they are willing to cut medicaid child abuse prevention and consumer financial protection and they want to push 1.8 million people off the food stamp program, a program, by the way, that my family immediated to survive when i was a single working mom more than 40 years ago. i don't know what we'd done without food stamps. but i guess the part of the federal government that's the most bloated, the well-fed bureaucracy continues to support the majority lavishly. that's right. the pentagon, the military industrial complex. even though the sequester is supposed to apply across the board, the majority wants to exempt defense. they want to make domestic programs absorb all the cuts.

that's the way they do business. they pinch pennies on the very real human needs of the american people. they nickel and dime hardworking families who deserve a fair shot and need a hand up. for 10 1/2 years, mr. speaker, we've been at war. and between iraq and afghanistan, the american people are out $1.3 trillion. that's trillion with a t, mr. speaker. $1.3 trillion wasted on a policy that is killing our people, hurting our national security and undermining our standing in the world. for pennies on the dollar we could replace permanent warfare with a smart security platform that will keep our country safe by focusing on development, diplomacy and investment in humanitarian needs in the developing world.

and we have plenty left over, plenty to shore up the safety net, fund anti-poverty programs and restore the american dream. if we're serious about reducing the deficit, then progressives are willing to talk, but there has to be a shared sacrifice. there has to be a balanced approach. we won't take it out on most vulnerable people. not waging a failed war that is our biggest ticket item. not when we continue to throw billions of dollars at cold war aircraft and weapon systems that are serving absolutely no purpose. not when we continue to maintain a nuclear arsenal that's enough to destroy civilization several times over. targeting social services while giving defense and war spending a free pass is not fiscal responsibility. it's ideological warfare. let's get our priorities straight.

it's time to cut defense spending, mr. speaker. it's time to bring our troops home and it's time to reinvest in the american people and the time is now. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from alabama, ms. sewell, for five minutes. ms. sewell: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of america's postal workers, small businesses, senior citizens and rural communities across this nation. i stand before this chamber grateful concerned about the future of the united states' postal service and the impact of its fiscal crisis on communities across america. the post office is an iconic american institution, woven in the fabric of our everyday lives. for more than 200 years, the men and women of the united states postal service have fulfilled their mission to deliver universal, trusted, timely and effective service to the american people. americans depend on the postal

service, rain or shine, six days a week, from montana to alabama, from new york to california, from florida to alaska. whether it's overnight, flat rate, first class, the united states postal service delivers. today, the postal service is teetering on the brink of insolvency and its future remains uncertain. significant declines in first class mail volume, evolving consumer trends and the increase in expenditures in operating costs mean that the postal service must reduce its footprint. re-organize to remain viable in the 21st century. on may 15, the moratorium on postal closure will be lifted and thousands of post offices and mail processing facilities across this country will be targeted for closure. if congress does not act, the lifting of this moratorium

could mark the beginning of a slow and painful process of downsizing, layoffs and re-organization for the u.s. postal service. we must take swift and decisive action to create a more efficient business model for the united states postal service. i believe that an investment in the future of the postal service is an investment in our economy, in small businesses and in the american people. it requires our prompt attention and deserves our immediate action. so much's at stake in this postal reform. we know that reform is necessary given the current market reality, but we cannot reform the postal service on the backs of the rural and underserved communities throughout this country. for so many of these communities, the post office is the meeting place, the place where you send your packages and receive your medicine. the lifting of the moratorium on may 15 is an issue of utmost

concern to the constituents that i represent in alabama. in towns like oak hill, magnolia and sawyerville, alabama, the local post office is much more than a place for sending and receiving mail. post offices are the vital lifelines for these rural isolated communities. these lifelines must be preserved and protected. i am sure that we as americans must make sure that all americans have access to affordable, reliable and efficient postal service. consider the ripple effect and the economic impact of the closure of a post office. how it may affect an entire community. imagine small town america where the post office lies at the heart of its community, an integral part of its history and identity. this is the case in many of the communities throughout my district.

closures will hurt myrtlewood, alabama, and so many across this nation. the american people cannot afford to reduce services, lower costs on the backs of these underserved communities. yes, we must all buckle up. we must all decide to show fiscal responsibility. and in these market conditions we know that reductions are necessary, but surely we can do something to make sure that these reductions are not on the backs of the rural, underserved and underprivileged communities. many of the postal services that are being offered are irreplacible in these communities. for seniors who can't leave their homes, mail carriers deliver life-saving medication, and for small businesses, bulk and flat rate mail enable them to grow and create jobs. the united states postal service provides americans with universal and invaluable service and i urge my colleagues to come together and pass a bipartisan,

comprehensive plan for the future of the united states postal service that will not affect underserved communities. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. moran, for five minutes. . mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise to voice my strong objection to an unweiss -- an unweiss and dangerous policy provision included in the commerce, justice, science appropriations bill on the floor today. it would undermine the ability of federal law enforcement to investigate and curb gun trafficking along the southwest border. in august of last year the a.t.f. began a program to acquire licensed gun dealers in the four most dangerous border states to report when an individual buys multiple assault rifles within five business

days. just as all dealers have reported multiple handgun sales for over 20 years. the current rule is narrowly tailored to generate useful intelligence on illegal gun trafficking by mexican drug cartels. according to a.t.f. data, 70% of firearms recovered and traced in drug cartel crimes in mexico originated from the united states. we know that semiautomatic and assault rifles sold on the board fuel mexican cartel violence, violence that has killed more than 47,000 people in mexico, including thousands of police and military personnel. this lule is workering -- this rule is working, just the past nine months a.t.f. opened more than 120 criminal investigations based on multiple assault rifle sales reports. and this action is constitutional. the rule is constitutional. the authority to operate such a

program has been upheld by federal courts. so there's no question about the legal authority. but this bill we will vote on today at the behest of the n.r.a. and other gun groups would block funding for this vital law enforcement program. unfortunately this is only the latest in a long list of irresponsible action this is congress has taken on gun policy. such as loaded firearms are now permitted in national parks. the d.c. voting rights bill that enjoyed bipartisan support was scuttled, scuttled by requiring restrictions of the d.c. city council regarding the type of gun safety laws that they could enact if they wanted their right for a vote. restrictions blocking state and local law enforcement access to important crime trace data were made permanent. just last year the house passed legislation to override the

conceal carry requirements of individual states, establishing a lowest common denominator federal standard. in spite of all these actions to weaken gun laws, judging by the outlandish statements from the n.r.a. you would think that the second amendment was under constant bombardment. the vice president of the n.r.a. said last year that the claim that the obama administration has done virtually nothing to restrict the rights of gun owners, and i quote, he said, is a big fat stinking lie. that's his quote. he went further to claim that the president's lack of action is all part of as in aive obama conspiracy to deceive voters that hide his true intentions to destroy the second amendment in our country, again another quote. actions are supposed to speak louder than words, but apparently for some people cracey conspiracy fantasy -- crazy conspiracy fantasies speak loudest of all.

instead of weakening gun laws further, we should be passing commonsense measures that are supported by the vast majority of americans. in fact, according to a poll conducted by a republican pollster, 82% of n.r.a. members and 86 of nonn.r.a. gun owners support prohibiting suspected terrorists from purchasing guns. 69% of n.r.a. members and 85% of non-n.r.a. gun owners support background checks for all guns held at gun shows, yet the n.r.a. opposes it. there are bills introduced in congress right now to address these two issues that denying firearms and explosives to dangerous terrorists and the fixed gun check act. neither one has received so much as a subcommittee hearing in this congress. instead we are debating a bill that includes a provision that would remove a modest yet valuable tool for federal law enforcement to stop the illegal smuggling of firearms. where are our priorities? i do want to thank chairman wolf

and ranking member fattah for including $12 million in the c.j.s. bill for mixed amendments, it's a $7 million increase over last year, that's progress. but the fact that the program that assists states in the establishment and upgrade of information such as mental health records and data bases used to determine eligibility for firearms purchase, if we had that perhaps our colleague would not have been shot. it's the long-time since we should have done this, but increased funding is a step in the right direction -- direction, but the inclusion of the a.t.f. provision is not. it will only serve to undermine federal law enforcement's ability to stop illegal gun trafficking. congress needs to stop weakonning gun policy to serve the narrow interest of the gun lobby and start enacting laws that protect the safety of the american public. thank you, mr. speaker.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house

have that protection and we are in the process of working through that here in the congress. let me ask you another question. last week the f.b.i. arrested five men in cleveland, ohio, who are involved in a terrorist plot to bomb a bridge. some of these men were members of the occupy cleveland movement. has the f.b.i. seen an increase in this type of left-wing extremist terrorist activity and is the occupy movement a breeding ground for this type of extremism? and if those within the occupy movement perceive their demands are not being met, what is the likelihood we will see them resorting to more of this type

of violence? >> as for the last aspect of your question, i can't speculate that. i will tell you because it's in -- individuals were arrested last week, i'm limited to and i'd direct you if i could to the complaint that was followed and the facts that were laid out in the complaint which focus on their conduct, not necessarily the conduct of others. >> and how about my first question which is, have you seen an increase in this type of left-wing extremist terrorist activity? >> well, i wouldn't -- i would say -- i wouldn't necessarily go with a predicate left-wing terrorist attack. i would say persons who violated the law in this particular way we have not seen necessarily an increase. it's episodic. >> and if it's ideologically driven without characterizing particular -- >> these individuals violated the law. that's why they were arrested. >> thank you. in recent years we've seen many reports of confidential and

secret government information leaking out and being posted on the internet. the wikileaks cases are perhaps the most prominent example. and there was a growing attention of foreign students and professors engaging in espionage and intellectual property theft. does the f.b.i. have the tools it needs to protect confidential information and the records that contain much private information about individual citizens and corporate secrets and confidential government secured information? do you have the tools that you need in the internet era to protect against that? >> well, let me speak -- i'll speak to the protection of information within the databases in the f.b.i. yes, i will say. yes, i'm quite obviously

concerned not only with insiders and hackers outside. we have state-of-the-art capabilities to protect our databases. that does not mean it cannot be done. it's a continuous worry for anybody who heads up any department. but we have taken, and i do believe it's -- best you have out there to assure the protection of our data. when it goes -- as you point out, often data's contained in universities or colleges or elsewhere, and to the extent that we have -- we as an entity have -- working with those institutions, we, of course, seek to assure that those institutes are up-to-date security to protect whatever they might have. >> thank you. my time has exfired. with regard to my first question, i'd call to your attention legislation that was just signed into law by governor mcdonell of my state.

it was house bill 1160 which basically in addressing this concern about unlawful seizures of citizens in their homes directs that no state agency in virginia can cooperate with any federal agency for the enforcement of that provision in the ndaa. so if you could look at that further and respond to the committee with your thoughts about how we can correct this problem and protect our citizens here at the federal level we'll very much welcome it. >> thank you, mr. good lath. the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. muller, there is not a lot we agree on around here. but your reconfirmation was one of them. and i appreciate your service. a few years ago, according to published accounts, the united states participated in waterboarding, a practice for which there's an international consensus that it institutes torture.

what was the f.b.i. participation in that practice? >> none. >> and justice was the f.b.i. not participating? is that because -- >> our guidelines -- the guidelines we adopted some years ago preclude our participation. >> and did you issue an order for them not to participate and what is generally perceived to be torture? >> the guidance was, make certain that we follow our guidelines when it comes to interrogation persons in our custody or in the custody of others. >> and so your conscience prevented the f.b.i. from participating in torture, is that right? >> i don't want to characterize our actions. i can tell you our guidelines precluded and our guidelines is you follow our guidelines. >> that's why you have universal support because that practice -- had the f.b.i. not

participate because it didn't follow the guidelines was a breath of fresh air. one of the problems that we noticed in the early -- right after 9/11, was that the personnel in the f.b.i. and c.i.a. may not have reflected the ethnic representation that we needed to appropriately fight terrorism. could you make a brief comment on where you are now, but for the record submit an ethnic breakdown of the staff at the f.b.i.? >> i can -- i can give you some -- larger figures. 43% of our work force now are women, and a full 25% are representatives of various minority groups. for a greater breakdown, i would have to get you additional figures. >> for the record. >> we still have work to do, but we continuously strive to have our work force reflect

communities in which we serve and operate. >> thank you. the colleague from new york talked about the budget and talked about numbers of agents. can you translate that into how it would affect your ability to get the job done? >> as i pointed out, we would have to prioritize and it would be a question of which of the priorities that are listed either in my opening oral comments or in a more lengthy submission to the committee. we will have to cut back. and cutting back in an age where crime is global in ways it was not 10 years ago, and by that i mean whether it be organized crime, whether it be cybercrime, white-collar crime, gangs, ms-13 and the like, they are globalized and consequently that entity that has the best chance for addressing

globalized criminal activity is the f.b.i. and consequently, if you cut us from doing it at a point in time when much of the crime is globalized, it's a double hit in some sense. >> you mentioned organized crime. one organized strategy is what's called organized retail theft where groups go in and pretty much clean shelves of hotly desirable -- very desirable items and have them sold on ebay or other internet. can you say what you're doing about organized retail theft and whether or not more agents would be helpful? . . >> we would work with state entities in a particularly egregious situation. organized retail thefts are a priority. even with additional agents i can think of other higher priorities. i will tell you that the guidance is there is an

egregious series of crimes, persons are hurt, injured, amounts are substantial then we would make an exception to our usual prioritization to try to help out state and local -- >> the same problem with consumer i.d. theft where you can solve those crimes but it's labor intensive. i think we had more agents on it -- not cutting agents but increasing agents, we could be more effective in dealing with organized retail theft and identity theft. >> if i may say, what we have tried to do over the last several years with the scarce resources is develop task forces where we will have an agent or two agents, but the task force will be augmented by state and local law enforcement. so you have access not just to state laws but also federal laws and much more effective in utilizing our personnel. this is an area in which certain cities around the country where

it's rampant crime in these areas where a task force would be our approach. >> thank you, mr. scott. the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, is recognized for questions. >> i'd like to welcome back. last week's vote we weren't expecting to see each other in this setting again and as the chairman pointed out you got additional two years. there was no objection to your having two years because they presented it at a time when nobody knew they were going to be bringing you back, your extension in two years, so there was nobody else on the floor. it went rather smoothly since nobody knew they were bringing it up. there are some officers still concerned about the thousands and thousands of years of ex speerns we lost due to your former i five-year up or out policy. i want to get to the concerns about the purging of material,

of training material. we have a document here that points out in the 9/11 commission report there were 322 references to islam, and the current f.b.i. lexicon there is zero references to islam or to jihad. we talked before when you were here about the outreach programs that the f.b.i. had to the muslim community. we have done some looking and apparently in june of 2002 you had given a speech, the american muslim council, your spokesman said was, quote, the most mainstream muslim group in the united states, that's the american muslim council, and the head of a.m.c. was a guy named

al moody. that same year the a.m.c. board advisor, former acting president, jameel, was arrested for ordering a georgia police officer. he was arrested himself. in 2003 an olympian assassination plot targeting the saudi crown prince. later identified by the u.s. treasury as one much al qaeda's -- of al qaeda's top fundraisers in the u.s. then there is -- in 2003, october, 2003, just days before a ceremony honoring the leader ahman, bestowing on him your own director's award for exceptional public service. the f.b.i. contacted ahmad to tell him he wasn't going to receive the award. later when your spokesman said there was unflattering information about ahmad that had been made public during the deportation proceedings of one of his close associates, and the

i.n.s. had brought -- fought for two decades to deport this guy that was about to get the award. he was suspected in supporting the popular front of the liberation of palestine and that's a designate terrorist organization. the reason i'm bringing these things up is because we've got people -- we know there are three subject matter experts that your office has reduced to identify who have gone through and purged these materials. we were not even told whether they were u.s. citizens. whether one of these people that would have gotten the award that didn't get the award that had all these other suspected problems. we know that the palestinian islamic jihad leader had meetings and conversations with high-ranking officials at d.o.j. and the department of homeland security, and that was despite him being the subject of a fisa wiretap warrant since the early

1990's, and his home was raided in 1995. we know that in 2008 you had handed one of your director's community leadership award to iman behindy who testified during the trial as a defense witness and behindy then served as a hod rator -- hindi then served as a moderator, which was shut down in 2002 because they were a designated terrorist organization supporting al qaeda, of all groups. it just goes on and on and i'm very concerned that since there are people potentially terrorist organizations, terrorist ties as we have seen that the f.b.i. as made these type of mistakes before in trying to judge character, we would like to know who these subject matter experts are that are going through the f.b.i. material and purging that

of reference to jihad and islam and these type of things. would you identify those people for us? >> well, quite a bit in that question. >> some of it's background that i hope you are aware of. >> i cannot address all of you -- what you said there. i will say at the outset we make every effort in our outreach, outreach in that statement to the muslim community are americans, and the vast, vast majority of muslim american community has been exceptionally supportive. >> you're not answering my question, director. >> if i may -- >> it's very pointed. are you going to identify the subject matter experts? that's the question. but are you going to answer that question? >> let the director respond to the question. >> i will when he answers the question. >> as i was saying outreach is

very important to us. we make certain it's with the appropriate person. with regard to the individuals who abused the material there were five individuals not three. we are happy to give you the background and consider giving you the names if you find it important. we hope there would be some confidentiality in doing that, but we have nothing to hide. >> you will identify those -- >> we will discuss circumstances under which we'll identify those individuals, yes. >> could we also get the documents you produced to the terrorists that were convicted in the holy land foundation trial? >> a number of congresspersons have come -- >> i wasn't aware of that. i'll be there to look. thank you. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from north carolina, mr. watt. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, director mueller, for being here. you may have noticed that i was here for your testimony and then left because we have a hearing

going on in financial services on which i also serve. i want to spend some time talking about what's going on in the mortgage fraud area. during the time that we were working in financial services on what turned out to be the dodd frank -- dodd-frank legislation, i had a lot of constituents who were saying to me, when are some of these people going to be put in jail? and my response always was, look, my primary focus at this point is to try to make sure that we don't have the same kind of things that led to this financial and economic meltdown occur again. so my authority is really not

trying to deal with people who got us here but trying to figure out how not to be there a second, third, and fourth time. but since we have done dodd-frank and i continue to get a number of inquiries from people who are saying, when is somebody going to go to jail for all of these things? now, you indicated there were -- you had nearly 2,600 mortgage fraud investigations. i guess the question i'm asking and my constituents are asking me has to do with what have those investigations led to? and there seems to still to be a lack of prosecutions and accountability resulting from

those investigations. now, i understand that you are not on the prosecution side, you are on the investigating side, and building of the case side, but can you give us any information about what those 2,600 investigations have led to in terms of prosecutions, convictions, or how many of them are still in the prosecution process, what we might expect going forward on that front? >> let me -- i actually thought hi the figures but i don't have the figures here today. i'll have to get you figures in terms of prosecutions. there are have been literally thousands of prosecutions. many multimillion dollar scams that have been successfully prosecuted with individuals going to jail for tens of years. the -- i recently in florida and going to talk to a group down

there and pointed out that several prosecutions where there were groups of individuals, particularly the housing complexes, and rolled over houses fraudulently for a number of years and if i'm not mistaken one of the principals was going to jail for 30 years. i'll have to get you the facts. >> that would be very helpful to somebody who serves on financial services committee in particular. we get a lot of inquiries. i guess we see periodically in local communities that somebody's been prosecuted, going to jail, but if we could get an overall picture of what has happened. a number of prosecutions, on a nationwide basis, it would allow us to respond more effectively to people who are saying, i haven't seen any -- anybody prosecuted or going to jail as a result of this. the second part of that is the

higher ups in the hierarchy, the more visible national prosecutions, how many of those have there been? and what -- how successful have they been to get to some of the people at the higher corporate levels who may have been involved in bringing down substantial financial institutions ultimately and resulted in massive housing loss, foreclosure loss of various kinds? >> let me -- there have been a number of prosecutions, particularly in new york, that have dominated the newspapers over the last year, particularly when it comes to insider trading, and the first use of title three wire intercepts and that type of white collar crime. we also had a number of securities fraud, prosecutions,

and corporate institutional fraud. in fact, our investigations i believe in the securities arena are up some 55%, 50%, 55% over 2008 and also up until 40% in the corporate fraud arena. again, will i have to give awe breakdown of the cases and the -- give you some sense of what we are -- >> my time has expired, but i think it would be very helpful if we could get a broader picture of this statistical picture, not only your part of it, the investigateor part, but the prosecution and conviction side of it for those of us who are facing constituents who still are going through substantial foreclosures and have lost their homes, they want to see some results. i think they are results so i

appreciate you agreeing to follow up after the hearing on that. >> thank you, mr. watt. the gentleman from utah investigated. >> thank you for your service and being here. i'm going to try to touch on three subjects so i need to move fairly swiftly. on the anniversary of the killing of osama bin laden, was there a specific and/or credible threat of terrorism upon the united states of america? >> we did not believe so. you are referring no doubt -- >> there was an arrest. >> i think it's fair to say that plot had been thwarted at the time. >> let me move quickly to fast and furious. have you ever spoken with attorney general holder or secretary napolitano about the fast and furious case? >> i have to think -- certainly not secretary napolitano. unless you are talking about the killing of brian terry. if that's part of the question,

then, yes, because we are conducting that investigation both the concern about how that investigation is going and to get periodic updates. with regard to the wider fast and furious examination, i don't believe i have. >> the attorney -- >> i have talked to the department of justice. i do not recall having particular discussion with the attorney general. >> the attorney general's office has called fast and furious itself, even though they ran it, operated it, quote and quote fundamentally flawed. there are literally close to 2,000 weapons that have been released. other than the two guns that were found at the scene, have you or the agency come across any guns that were purposely released by our government under fast and furious? >> -- have you come across any of these guns or anything here

in the united states? >> i have to check on that. >> if you could get back to me on that i apreesh -- would appreciate it. if you could clarify whether there were two guns or three guns found at the scene. even the letter we got most recently back to chairman issa i think was not as crystal clear as we would like it to be. just follow up. >> i can respond to it. two guns. >> ok. >> there were two guns. there were some misinterpretation of information on the evidence sheet that seemed to indicate the potential or possibility of a third gun. only two guns were recovered. >> thank you. i want to move now to the more recent jones case that came before the supreme court, had to do with g.p.s. devices put on cars so it could be tracked. there's some concern i would guess law enforcement that this ruling, 9-0, by the supreme

court would change the way how law enforcement is able to track. i just want to get your thoughts and perspective on that quickly. get a sense of how many g.p.s. devices were on the cars and how this would affect what you are doing at the f.b.i. >> director mueller, would you pull your mike closer? >> first of all, i would say several hundred. over 200 investigations were impacted by the jones decision. somewhere over 200. what impact it has is the need for additional surveillances. when you had -- use the g.p.s. devices you do not have to have teams of surveillance. as you know where the individual may be at any particular point in time. and certain investigations that's going to mean we are going to use very precious, valuable surveillance resources where before we had the electronic capability to monitor individuals.

i am aware of efforts, i believe your bill, to address the issue and i would say this. my looking at additional with you indicates that the definition of that kind of information that would be protected would require a warrant would expand the things such as telephone pole records which we have traditional gotten with subpoenas and the like, because a pole record may have a geographical indicator in it and the area code. as one thinks of legislation in this arena, probably keep in mind the impact it would have in our ability to do much of the work we do, particularly since the information we get from g.p.s. devices and the like contributes to the probable cause that is necessary to conduct the investigation to -- the further investigation using enhanced investigative techniques. >> the intent of the legislation is not to preclude those -- when you have probable cause, what

it's concerned about is the ever expanding use of g.p.s. to track and follow not just by law enforcement but individuals who surreptitiously want to follow somebody else. my time has expired, but appreciate being able to work with you. i hope do you find there is a need to clarify the law based on what justice athletea and mr. wine stein have also said about this. so that there's clarity in the f.b.i. and other law enforcement. >> thank you, mr. chaffetz. the gentlewoman from california, ms. lofgren, is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you, mr. director, for being here. you have served your country with tremendous distinction and we are honored by your presence here today. i want to talk about technology. i remember visiting with you and looking at your plans for your new computer system many years

ago, and i want to know where we are on that. it started in 2 thod for me with the virtual -- 2000 for me with the virtual case file. we spent a lot of money, that was abandoned in january of 2005. in 2006 the f.b.i. planned its new sentinal system, we spent a lot of money, over $425 million, that was i guess kind of rescoped in 2008 with an additional $26 million. but it wasn't finished by the target date. in 2009 it was extended again. in july of 2010 the second phase had more problems. and in september of 2010 the agency announce add plan to have the -- announced a plan to have the methodology with a new target completion date of

september, which was not met. and then in october there was a, i understand, a bureauwide test exercise which showed problems, insufficient hardware capacity. and the i.g. gave a report in december that the f.b.i. was still trying to determine the cost of the additional hardware and had delayed its planned deployment until may. it's may now. where are we on this much awaited and extremely expensive system? >> unfortunately i am very aware of that history. can i tell you that it has been one of the most difficult challenges. a couple of things that -- parts along the way that are important. first of all when we first received -- first -- received the first phase, received from the contract the second phase, second phase did not work. we rescoped as you said the contract, much of it in house,

and saved a heck of a lot of money and the development applications that we were using. in september of last year we had the test and we had anticipated as a result of the test that we would put it in place, but what we found is we had to replace the architecture, the infrastructure in order to support it. we have done that now. we are in the final testing phases. and my expectation is this summer we will transfer our data bases over -- some of our investigations over to the new system. >> this summer we are going to hit on it this summer? >> i always knock on wood. >> maybe what i'll do is come over and visit with you again. it's been a number of years to look at the system. >> we would be happy -- >> i want to talk about another technology issue. in your testimony you under going dark i think you talked

about a concern that communication providers are not required to maintain intercept capabilities in their networks. and especially given the wonderful experience with your own technology development i think that raises a few concerns. first, the psychological capability, direct private sector technology. secondary, whether it is your view that the federal government ought to be dictating private sector communication firms including internet providers, what their technology ought to be. and finally a question as you can -- you can guess by my question, i have a deep concern. i think the american public would have a concern about the government building in back

doors to the internet because although we want to get the bad guys, we also value the privacy rights of americans online. if you have considered or aware of the apparent plan of russia and china to take over the governance of the internet from ican which has been engineer driven, multinational, but apolitical since we entered a contract with them in the mid 1990's, there's a meeting in october for the u.n. to take it over with perhaps a more politicized agenda and certainly likely less collaboration with western law enforcement. have you considered that and have had you a role in form lating administration policy on that? >> let me focus on the issue of

-- where there has to be an accommodation. we make a showing to a court that these individuals are engaged in crime. it can be a terrorist. it can be espionage. it can be distribution of child pornography and we need the communications whether it be for an i.s.p. or large corporation, and the court finds a probable cause and directs that corporation to be responsive to that court order requirement. these companies are very wealthy. have not considered at the outset how you they need to be responsive to a court order. what we are seeking is responsiveness to a court order, many of these companies they can afford to do it, and many of these companies that can afford to do it, particularly via the outfit they have an obligation to be responsive to court orders when there is a court order to direct them. so the accommodation we are looking for is the corporations in their own way put themselves

in a place n. a position to be responsive to a -- place, in a position to be samoansive to a court order they can anticipate is coming down the road. how they do that is probably at the issue at the heart of it. i think it's a valid objective, particularly in this day where communications are not done by the telecommunications companies necessarily. they are done by a number of other companies, many of whom are in your district, and we have to have an accommodation so that we get that information we need. we will be behind the eight ball when it comes to terrorism, child pornography, espionage, and the like. >> i noted that mr. gohmert had an extended period. i wonder if we could let mr. -- >> your period -- >> let me make something clear because i'm a little bit put off by that. the chairman does initially and occasional-l give members a few extra seconds. i don't want that to necessarily set a precedent. in this case your time has far

exceeded that of mr. gohmert. i would like to stay within the sked if we could. >> mr. chairman f. we could ask mr. mueller, off schedule, i think it's an enormously important issue for the country that russia and china are seeking to take over governance of the internet and i think it is something that the f.b.i. might wish to comment on. >> that might be for another time. i also notice that you and the director have agreed to have a personal meeting on some of the issues you raised which were certainly legitimate issues and i'm hoping that you will take advantage of that opportunity, too. >> i'm happy to do that. >> the gentleman from arizona, mr. franks, is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. director, glad you're here, sir. with that unceremoniously i'll yield my time to my colleague from texas, mr. gohmert. >> thank you, appreciate my friend from arizona. i have a last, it was emailed out from the islamic society of north america director on

february 14, 2012, which they were basically spiking the football. they left the meeting again with you. and they said the director's also important participants that to date nearly all related f.b.i. training materials, including more than 1,600 -- 160,000 pages of documents were reviewed by subject matter experts multiple times. they also said material was pulled from the curriculum lum if even one component was deemed to, one, include factual errors. two, be in poor taste. three, be stiro typical, and -- stereotypical, and point for -- one of the lines that had been purged simply says in training other self described jihadist groups can differ with al qaeda and like-minded groups in

targeting tackical preference and their ultimate political goals, although many jihaddist groups overlap in terms of target tactics and goals. apparently that was found to be offensive to say that there were some jihadist groups that overlap in terms of target because apparently that fits the criteria of being stereotypical. and i want to go back to the subject matter experts. you mentioned as we have been told there were five subject matter experts that were doing this purge and that two of them were interagency, but three of them were outside the agency, and we know the president of the named co-conspirator in the holy land foundation trial for which there is plenty of evidence as the fifth circuit court of appeals said, to substaniate that they were supporting

terrorism, even though the attorney general decided he did not want to pursue them, or his office, he didn't take credit for that decision, but -- in fact he left that to an acting u.s. attorney to say that there wasn't evidence when actually he was on the record before the district court and the fifth circuit saying there was plenty of evidence there. but the concern still goes back to who are these subject matter experts? you were ready to give a couple of awards to people for their civic leadership and assistance that ended up not being worthy of being recognized. people that have access to you directly like most americans would not have who have ties that are certainly questionable. and so i think it is worth --

one of my friends across the aisle pointed out, america knowing who are these people that are purging our documents? and why is it so offensive to say that many jihadist groups overlap in terms of targets and tactics and goals? do you have a comment on that? you had said you might talk about their backgrounds, but who in the world gets to know who these people were? most of us have very secure classifications even though we find out that people like wlrks b.r. on the homeland security advisory group got a secret classification from secretary napolitano and from the evidence it is very clear that man could never have been vetted, could never have gotten a security clearance unless the secretary bypassed all the laws and requirements to give him that. i just keep coming back to the

importance of knowing who it is that is actually cleaning out the f.b.i. training materials? >> well, let me say that i address the issue of -- the way forward on the individuals who try to accommodate -- and will try to accommodate the committee on that. with regard to the meeting with the american muslim, i have periodically as do our special agents in charge in each of our offices, have meetings with members and representatives of the muslim community. the meeting to which you refer was -- i gave exactly the same review the process we had undertaken to review these materials that i have given today and previous testimony. so i think we have done appropriately addressed the issues with regard to the training. again i finish as i did before and welcome you down to review the materials yourself and hear the explanations as to why we

thought that these particular pages were inappropriate. again would point out that we had 160,000-plus pages that were appropriate in terms -- it is not as if we had purged a substantial amount of our training material. >> thank you, mr. gohmert. the chairwoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized. >> mr. chairman, thank you very much. mr. mueller, good morning. how are you? thank you again for your service. looks like we have traveled this journey for a number of years and again i thank you for your work and the work that you have done even in my state of texas. i just want to make one statement. our special agent in charge are very important and i think you heard me say this continue gwen i continue to encourage them to interface with the community. obviously their work is worth it that relates to their duties, but that's just a public statement i want to make. i think you joined in with me in times past for them to engage even as they engage in local law

enforcement. i, too, have a series of questions but i would make one statement and not -- to join with my colleagues and thank you for your graciousness and like to have an opportunity to meet with you. today i will be discussing the national epidemic of bullying which we have seen. i'm not asking you to intertrude in local jurisdictions. but cyberbullying has become a epidemic as well and it's crossed state lines and it tracks, if you will, national security issues in terms of its depth and breadth. i would like to meet with you on this issue. i will not pose that question as we speak but i know we could find ways to address that because it deals with children. i do want to raise a series of questions as i indicated and i want to go right to the national defense authorization act and your testimony that mentioned that you had questions about the f.b.i. and military showing up.

there was provisions to legislation to weaken that, if you will, depth of coverage of mitt tearl. can you quickly say that worked through your issues with respect to that separation? i think that's enormously important, including the prosecution of terrorists in civilian courts. is that where we stand today, does that help the f.b.i.? >> it does. the statute directed the president to develop procedures that would assure continuity of investigation, continuity of interrogation and like in that circumstance. that directive issued by the president does resolve those issues. >> does it move you closer to both the idea of what your work is supposed to do but also respect for civil liberties as you look at it as lawyer and former judge? >> yes. >> thank you. let me thank you very much for lab that many utilize, d.n.a.

lab that many law enforcement submit their requests. can you tell me what your time frame is? as you well know there is a huge backlog of rape kits across america. it is almost tragic that women are waiting. what is the involvement of the f.b.i. lab? are you getting these -- are you getting these kits? particular cases? more heinous cases? can you answer that question and how we can be a greater help for that backlog? >> the first step for us was reduce our own backlog. we had the backlog in terms of ingestton of samples given changes in the statutes around -- federally in the contry. we reduced that backlog two years ago and last year we reduced almost nothing the backlog of nuclear d.n.a. examinations. so that was by additional personnel given to us by congress as well as developing a

new, more mechanical techniques that enabled us to expedite those examinations. that does not necessarily help jurisdictions around the country who have backlogs of samples that need -- we do not have the funding or capability federally to step in and assist state and local. i don't think there's one of us who wouldn't like to have the ability to make sure that all those tests, samples, are sitting on the shelves of the police department. went through the d.n.a. protocol. but again it's a matter of funding. particularly police departments or state agencies. >> let me ask, these two questions, and i appreciate the chairman's indulgence for you to answer. i'll add the rape kits to our discussion in office. but let me just in your answer indicate what an impact the sequestration would have in terms of staffing but i would like to go straight to two points.

the stand your ground laws have taken up their major stand across america and they have in essence created a quandary. one is mr. zimmerman's case which you have been involved in investigating. i raise the question as to what is the f.b.i. involved in in some of these cases that come in extreme results? and lastly i have heard my colleague talk a lot about muslims. what kind of teams does the f.b.i. have on domestic terrorism, particularly what i call wilderness groups, as well as this article from reuters, planning war, this happens today. do you have a separate sector? how do you relate to that kind of terrorism and how do we have the investigative component that matches or climents state authorities? >> with regard to domestic terrorism, ever since 1995 and the bombing of oklahoma city, we

have been aware that we cannot take our eye off domestic terrorist who is advocate the ability and will to undertake such terrorism. we have had a number of cases over the years, most recent was in spokane where an individual undertook the development of i.e.d.'s, to set it off on the birthday of martin luther king. if you'll recall the persons cleaning the area beforehand found the i.e.d. and we were able to identify the individual. he's sent away for a good long time. so we had a separate domestic terrorism that's every bit as effective and efficient as we hope we are in the international terrorism arena. as to the -- i didn't pick up the first part of the question. >> the impact on sequestration of employees through major cuts. >> we will, again as i said, have to prioritize. we would not take people away from counterterrorism, whether

it be domestic terrorism, international. we will not take itway from the espionage cases. we will not take them away from the important cybercases. we'll have prioritize in other areas, particularly in the criminal arena, will suffer. >> thank you, ms. jackson lee. >> can i put something in the record, please? >> thank you, mr. mueller, we'll speak afterwards. i would like to put the article from reuters, white supremists planning a race car. i ask unanimous consent to place this in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from california is recognized. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. in the interest of time i want to welcome you first of all director mueller, i miss our regular meetings in the eight years i served on the intelligence committee. it's good to see you back. what i'd like to do with the

committee's concurrence is i have four, five issues i'd like to ask you a brief question. perhaps can you give me a very short answer. and with unanimous consent you could provide us with a follow-up, maybe a couple paragraphs or something that could fill in some of the blanks. the first question i have has to do with al qaeda. and there are actually two questions i'll put in -- first of all, as it relates to our southwest border do you see any growing evidence of al qaeda, or any other terrorist organization looking to exploit our border with the intent of launching another terrorist attack on our own soil? that would be the first part of that question. the other is, have you and the continuing concern particularly

in yemen the focus on targeting u.s. airplanes, of course, is becoming more and more unsettling to american travelers, as you well know, and if you see any support you might be able to get from congress that could help you in doing that job, maybe you could briefly answer that. then i'll move on to a couple other issues. >> as to the southwest border and al qaeda, we have not seen an increase of effort by al qaeda to come across the southwest border. on the other hand, when you open the question up to other terrorist groups i would say that we have a continuing concern about iranian influence actors, and hezbollah. i would say the indication of this, most recent, the iranian individual who thought he was dealing with a cartel associate

and the expectation of killing the saudi arabian ambassador here in washington which is indicative of temperance of iran and others to operate south of the border and impact north of the border. the second question with regard to yemen, the -- having obtained most recent explosive device from yemen again reinforces the necessity to address those who are responsible for the production of those devices. in yemen and the intelligence communities, law enforcement communities need the full support of congress to make that happen. >> director mueller, regarding smuggling in human trafficking we have on our southern border, i know this continues to be an ongoing issue. one thing that i'd like to get your assessment on, particularly as it relates to the smuggling

of drugs, do you see the weakening of laws, for instance, in the california state legislature and weakening our drug laws, some to the point that many legislators believe that drug use is a victimless crime, do you see this as having any strengthening effect on the drug cartels? particularly from mexico? >> i really would not be in a position to comment on that. i'm not that familiar with it. >> i tried. ok. there is another issue that we have discussed in the past having to do with activities within our federal penitentiary. this isn't limited to federal penitentiaries, but since you are our federal representative probably you can speak more directly to the federal penitentiaries rather than the state prisons and even local jails. i have a growing concern for the

infiltration of certain people operating under the guise of being clerics to indoctrinate very vulnerable people that are already filled with hate. i know that we have a way of vetting who comes in to counsel and so on and so forth. can you give us a brief statement on the process of vetting and/or surveillance to make sure our vetting is correct? >> literal on after september 11 we worked closely with the federal department of prisons to assure that the appropriate teaching, again appropriate teaching was being conducted within the federal department of prisons. so that has been an ongoing process since probably 2002. at the same time we have over 100 joint terrorism task forces around the country. one of the mandates of that joint terrorism task force is to

see and develop intelligence as to what threats may be within the prison system? many of the state and local prison systems, and on many -- some, maybe many, of the task forces you will have personnel assigned on the state and local prison authorities, corrections authorities who work closely with the joint terrorism task force to address that concern. >> mr. chairman, the red light is on. if i could just ask that the director respond to us and follow up on a couple other issues. one being you mentioned the issue of health care fraud. we discussed this before in this hearing, in this meeting venue i think last time about medicare fraud and principally eastern european involvement. if you could bring us up-to-date on that also on the gang issues in some of the metropolitan areas, particularly where

illegal immigrants are the predominant population. with that, mr. chairman, with unanimous consent, i would ask that he -- the gentleman answer those for the sake of the committee be placed in the record in the hearing and i yield back. >> thank you. the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, is recognized. ms. waters: thank you very much. i want to thank you for being here. you have a tough job and sometimes we don't make it any easier for you but i'm pleased that you're here. i have two areas that i'm very interested in. i have been tracking your diversity with respect to agents. as you know this question has come up many times. it appears you still only have about 4% african-americans and special agents. i want to know why you haven't been able to do better in recruitment and hiring of african-americans in f.b.i.? addition to that i'm really

concerned about some information i just learned -- i attend add briefing yesterday that was organized by the washington bureau of the american civil liberties union and they shared with me some very troubling information that i want to talk about because it reminds me of the most controversial f.b.i. program i think under j. edgar hoover, that caused a lot of concern in this community. the f.b.i.'s current domestic investigation and operations guide permit f.b.i. agents to track racial and ethnic facilities and certain racial and ethnic behaviors. documents recently obtained from freedom of information act requested by the aclu demonstrates how the f.b.i. is identifying and mapping american communities by race, eth nation it, and national origin all over the country to a program you have called domain management. the documents show that f.b.i. analysts across the country are

asocial greating criminal behaviors -- associating criminal behaviors with certain racial and ethnicities. using u.s. census status to map where those communities are located to investigate them. for instance, in 2009 the atlanta f.b.i. field office published an intelligence note from your domain management that purports to exam the threat in part by documenting the growth of the black population in georgia. i want to know how does the size of the black population in georgia have any bearing on the number of black separatists in a given area? did the f.b.i. map black communities in georgia in its examination of the black separatist threat? the other thing i'm concerned about is the atlanta f.b.i. field office intelligence, those documents show the new black panther party, as former

congresswoman cynthia mckinney's ties during the election, and they appeared at events protesting. we also have information that indicates that congresswoman cynthia mckinney has been under surveillance and has been tracked for quite some time now. does the f.b.i. feel that participation in the political process or protesting police constitutes a threat of any kind? do you think it's appropriate for the f.b.i. to track americans' first amendment protected activity in this way? does the f.b.i. list of major terrorism cases past and present, are more comprehensive list that terrorist attacks going back to 1930, detailed in a f.b.i. report entitled terrorism, 2002 to 2005, include any terrorist act committed by anyone who could fairly be scrind as a member of a black separatist group? that's a lot that i have asked, but i'm really interested, do

you have a program called domain management simlar -- >> we have -- yes, we have domain managers. we have a program that requires our intelligence analysts who identify a threat in a particular area, and an aspect of that program may depend on the threat information we got from asourcing or inside the united states or outside the united states. let me start by saying we do not investigate individuals or groups solely on the basis of ethnicity or race. there may be occasions where we know a particular entity, it can be a gang a. terrorist group, it can be organized crime, preys on certain groups in communities, and in those situation where is there may be strings or what have you, the data in terms of those communities may bear on

that intelligence analysis. >> domain management is that directed towards? >> pardon. >> is domain management program is that directed towards certain communities? >> no. it's the threats. mortgage fraud in the community of los angeles, where is the mortgage fraud? domain management means look at your particular division or district and identify the threats and the existence of those threats and how you're going to address that threat. that's domain management. that's identifying the threats and how you go -- have to allocate the resources to address the threats. >> what is mapping? >> the gentlewoman's time has expired. >> unanimous consent for at least one more minute. >> let me say, without objection she'll be recognized for 30 seconds.

>> is cynthia mckinney under surveillance? >> i don't know where that comes from. i do not think it has any validity whatsoever. >> it's in your report. >> then i appreciate seeing it. aim not familiar with what you're looking at. >> thank you. >> thank you, ms. waters. the gentleman from iowa, mr. king, is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. director, appreciate your testimony here today. i'll start with low key material. i'm looking at our report here at d.o.j. victims' report, typical crime victim's report it has on it the categories of age, skearble attainment -- educational attainment, school, etc., race, ethnicity, all categories i think we should be tracking as far as crime is concerned for the victim report. that's fine. the next one i look at is the hate crime incident report and it has similar categories, maybe

not exactly identical, but it has categories for race and ethnicity as well in the hate crime incident report. then when you go to the uniform crime report, the older report, that's the model e-3 for the record it has categories there for race but no category for ethnicity. white, black, american indian, alaska native or asian or pacific islander. it doesn't have a category as the other two for mixed race. i ask if that perhaps is an oversight? something you consider bringing up to date so that our typical crime report would include the broader definitions of mixed race and ethnicity? >> i'm not certain why that is. i assume what we try to do is take that information, where that information is relevant, particular violation of law. but i would look at that. i'm not familiar with that distinction. we'll get back to you on that. >> appreciate that.

i just state that i'm interested in it because there are a lot of numbers thrown around about actual crime, perpetrators, and victims, and this congress is going towards far much more towards looking at the race and ethnicity of the vibblingtims of the crimes. george zimmerman case in florida is one that comes to mind. some i'll be interested in that response. also i would ask you with regard to voter fraud there's been more publicity about voter fraud in the last few months. something i have been interested in for at least a decade or a little more since the 2000 elections in florida, what are you finding in voter fraud? do you anticipate prosecutions coming forward? has anything happened under your tenure that should be pointed out to me that i might have missed as far as voter fraud investigations? >> i again would have to get back to you. obviously the allegations of voter fraud spike in or about elections. we have to go back and look at what -- yes, we have done cases.

>> did you get a call -- >> i'm not personally familiar and can't tell you right now those cases. >> did you get a call when the young man presented himself to pick up attorney general eric holder's ballot here a couple months snoog was that something brought to your attention? i know in the video that came before this committee about a month ago a young white male in his early 20's stepped into the voting location and i believe it was arlington, virginia, and presented himself as eric holder, 61-year-old african-american male, young caucasian male in the early 20's, they were ready to present him a bat local. would that kind of thing be of interested to the fib anybody? >> this is the first i heard of that incident. >> i'm quite surprised at that. i guess maybe the attorney general wasn't alarmed either his vote might have been disenfranchised so easily. i'll go on to something that i am perhaps more concerned about. and that is the publicity that's unfolded here in this -- just

this week and i would ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a news week article dated may 14, 2012, titled why can't obama bring wall street to justice. forbes magazine article dated may 7, 2012, titled obama's d.o.j. and wall street too big to jail. these are subjects -- >> those articles will be made part of the record. >> thank you. these articles point out that attorney general hold earn his lieutenants have at least published in the documents, history of bundling funds as much as half a million or more dollars for the campaign of the president coming from covington, a number of them, who have clients that might have been those clients that are under investigation because of the wall street meltdown in 2008, i point out that in 2009 the president established the financial fraud enforcement task force. that task force has brought some

prosecutions. small little petty crimes by comparison. and one example a case we have goldman sachs settling for a $550 million settlement to the s.e.c.. no criminal prosecution. so in the pattern of the financial history since 2008, can you point out any criminal investigations for the alleged perpetrators that brought about or might have accelerated this wall street meltdown we saw in 2008? >> absolutely. >> you can continue to watch this hearing online at c-span.org. it continues. we'll break away here as the u.s. house is gaveling in. they are coming in to continue work on the export-import charter through fiscal 2013. making changes to lending caps, default rates, and accountability. also, a bill extending a $9 billion loan guarantee for israel. and the house will then resume work on providing $51 billion for the commerce and justice

departments, nasa, and other agencies. it's a 3% cut for this year's allocation. the president suggested 1% cut. those being considered under an open rule, meaning any amendment can be considered as long as it's pertaining to the legislation. they began debate yesterday. in the senate meanwhile they continue trying to find a way forward on lowering the student loan rate which is expected to increase to 67.8% -- 6.8% july 1. can you follow the senate debate on c-span2. and the house armed services committee meeting all day today looking at the 2013 authorization bill live on c-span3. now to the house floor here on c-span.

the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving and gracious god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. bless the members of this assembly as they set upon the work of these hours, of these days. help them to make wise decisions

in a good manner and to carry their responsibilities steadily, with high hopes for a better future for our great nation. deepen their faith, widen their sympathies, heighten their aspirations and give them the strength to do what ought to be done for this country. may your blessing, o god, be with them. and with us all this day and every day to come and may all we do be done for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from new york, mr. higgins. mr. higgins: 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: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i'm directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i wear this pin today in honor of may as national foster care month. at the end of fiscal year 2010, over 100,000 foster youth were eligible and waiting adoption. 65% of former foster children experienced at least seven school changes while in care. in 2010 almost 30,000 youth aged out of the foster care system without a permanent family.

hull hull in some states -- mr. hultgren: in some states foster children become homeless. in some cities nearly 60% of victims of domestic minor sex trafficing are youth from the foster care system. all children deserve safe, loving and permanent homes. we must work together to create good policy for foster youth and i would encourage anyone thinking about becoming a parent to consider changing a life through adoption and folvetter care. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to remind this house of the far-reaching impact that the proposed postal facility closures would have. in my buffalo community, closing the williams street mail processing facility would affect 700 jobs. closures would also adversely impact our printing and mailing

industry, in addition to non-for profit agencies and local municipalities who rely on regular mail service. mr. higgins: last week the senate took the first step in postal reform by passing legislation that would prevent the large scale closure of postal facilities by requiring the postal service to maintain overnight delivery for at least three years. mr. speaker, those senate -- though the senate bill is not perfect we must bring it to the floor immediately in order to achieve real reform. this bill is the best path forward. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, yesterday the energy and commerce health subcommittee approved bipartisan legislation to re-authorize and reform the food and drug administration user fee program. this bill will smooth the process of reviewing medical devices and drugs, increasing transparency and predictability. it's a big step in the right direction for helping american companies continue to lead the

world in medical research. mr. pitts: unfortunately the medical device industry faces a huge setback starting next year. last week senator tumor and -- toomey and i visited deb -- denver, pennsylvania, and we heard from a dozen device companies about how the new obamacare-created medical device tax will destroy jobs and stall research. this new $2.3 -- 2.3% tax is on all revenue, not just profits, meaning that even if a company is struggling to break even or losing money, they have to pay this hefty tax bill. this new tax is over and above the new user fees that they've agreed to pay. already some companies have cut back. yesterday we took a big step forward, but if this new tax becomes reality next year, we could still lose the edge on medical device equipment. it should be repealed. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mr. carnahan: thank you, mr. speaker. yesterday was president harry truman's birthday. one of his quotes is particularly appropriate today. he said, the purpose of our society is to enable the individual to attain the highest achievement of which he is capable. the highest achievement that is sprung from our education system has included harnessing the atom, claiming the high ground in space, curing previously failed diseases. but now because of our failure to adequately fund education, tuition is skyrocketing, graduates are angelina anchored to earth by thousands of dollars in debt, for us to allow interest rates to double on these student loans is morally unacceptable and economically foolish. to paraphrase president truman, the extra bucks stop here. let's stop the student loan interest rates from doubling july 1. stop the political games, let's support american students to attain their highest

achievements. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas rise? >> ask to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to highlight a subject that is personal in arkansas' first congressional district, the proposed closure of thousands of rural post offices across the country. this week i sent a letter to post master general asking him to give the house of representatives time to pass meaningful postal reform legislation. as it stands now over 3,600 post offices are slated for closure on may 15 in my district alone, 100 post offices have been put on the closure list. mr. crawford: in november i filed the protecting our rural american post offices act of 2011. the bill would prohibit the postal service from closing stores that don't have an alternative office within eight miles, accessible by public roads. the bill is an effort to lower the field between closures. so many of the challenges we face here in washington are not democrat versus republican but rather urban versus rural interests. americans lisksing in rural communities rely on their post

offices for medicine zhriffery and social security benefits and veteran benefits among other things. access to posal service should not be limited to urban families. i urge the house to pass meaningful reform legislation. the postal service cannot hope to cure all of their woes on the backs of rural americans. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. yesterday i had the golden opportunity to travel with our president to the capital region of upstate new york, to visit our nanotechnology center. this campus is poised for tremendous growth. as we witnessed an investment in public and private partnership. the president utilized that visit to showcase a very glowing example of the appropriateness of investing in advanced manufacturing. it's a great path toward job creation, job retention.

the president underscored the value of investing in precision technology, in r&d, in efficiency and in work force development. work force development that comes in many dimensions, training, retraining, apprenticeship programs and, yes, the path to success via higher education. speaking to that, our higher education dreams need to be fostered with affordability and availability. the 3.4% cap on interest rates for student loans cannot grow to 6.8%. we will dumb down the dreams of our young adults, who are looking to go onward with their careers through higher education. we need to pass legislation so as to hold that cap at 3.4% and we cannot allow it to grow come july 1 because of inaction by this congress. i ask us to pass that measure in this house. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in order to recognize national teacher appreciation week. by sharing my heartfelt praise of pennsylvania's teachers and educators throughout this great country. i'd like to recognize trisha miller, pennsylvania's teacher of the year located in my home county in the pennsylvania fifth congressional district. and margaret mclove land of gar net value in eastern pennsylvania who was the recipient of the education support professional of the year award for pennsylvania. their accomplishments are imprems -- impressive and both are the time who go above and beyond in helping students achieve academic success. like so many other teachers, they remain tirelessly committed to high achievement and developing the next generation of leaders. while these two are pennsylvania's award winners, there are countless others who dedicate their lives day in and day out to ensure that students live up to their individual potential and strive to push young learners to surpass that potential. as a nation we must make sure that we celebrate outstanding

educators every day. during national teacher appreciation week, i want to thank all teachers for their hard work and dedication. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sires: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor our teachers through national appreciation week. teachers do not merely just teach in the classroom, they listen to their students and gently push them to reach their full potential. teachers serve as role models and mentors. because of the mentorship of my teachers in high school, i applied for college. i was fortunate to be given a scholarship and an opportunity that i will not have known about if it were not for my teachers. upon graduating i decided to give back to my community and became a teacher. new jersey has among some of the most talented teachers in the country and our students lucky to learn from them. while we are honoring them this week we should be thankful for

their service every day. we trust teachers with our most valuable resources, our children. while we ask teachers to prepare our children for the 21st century, we must give them the tool to rise to these challenges. competitive salaries and financial resources must be provided. let's join together in recognizing our teachers in new jersey and across the country. take the time to thank your teacher for their leadership and inspiration. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. baca: mr. speaker, as a former community college trustee member, i understand that good education is a key to a sound future. sadly, many working families in america now face -- find themselves unable to afford higher education for their children. even worse, if congress does not act soon, the interest rate for students will double from 3.4% to 6.8%.

7.4 million american students will face thousands of dollars in debt if we do not act before july. last week the house republicans showed they're unwilling to work on a real solution to this crisis. it's a shame vote. republicans put forward a bill to pay for the interest rate, to halt by slashing funds for women and children and health services. american young people deserve better. let's keep their dreams alive. let's get serious about a bipartisan solution to straighten the pell program and keep student loan interest rates low. let's help our students become the leaders of tomorrow. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? without objection. >> mr. speaker, rye rise today to recognize may of national foster care month. ms. bass: it is to raise awareness of the needs of

400,000 youth in the foster system. we asked young people around the country to tell us our experiences via our website. throughout the month you will hear both democrats and republicans sharing these stories. for example, renee, a young woman from los angeles, was in foster care for over eight years. she was placed in six different homes until she aged out of the system in june, 2008. she currently attends ucla and hopes to pursue a career in social work or community help. renee now says, i quote, being in foster care has played an integral role in shaping and developing my character and person i am today. my experience with the foster care system has exposed me to speaking up, communicating with adults, and being open with my peers about my situation. not ashamed of who i am. in honor of renee's courage and tenacity, i invite my colleagues to join the congressional caucus on foster youth and co-sponsor the bipartisan resolution in recognition of national foster

care youth month. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i take a moment to honor and congratulate a constituent and personal friend, bob oester house. bob is being recognized with an honorary doctor of science degree for his work with the iowa pharmacy program. he has spent his entire life serving other people. after he finished his education at the university of iowa, he served in the united states army and later served in the iowa house of representatives contributing his perspective as a health care professional in shaping legislative initiatives like the hawkeye insurance plan for children from low-income families. he has served his community in many ways. his pharmacy is a staple in the community and active with the

chamber of commerce, rotary club, sacred heart church, and knights of columbus. mr. braley: he was co-founder of the area community foundation and served as the chairman for seven years. tomorrow bob will received his honorary doctor of science degree. the university could not have made a better selection and i congratulate bob for his outstanding service to iowa, the pharmacy profession, and his country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i have had the great privilege of serving in congress with senator richard lugar. he was the aspen institute and i got to visit with him on those occasions and received and award from the american bar association the same day he did, as did john lewis, which made it more important than any other award i received. richard lugar's loss is a great loss to this country. he worked in a bipartisan fashion and worked with

president obama on nuclear proliferation treaties and approval of supreme court justices. he said last night we are experiencing days of political division in our society. these divisions have stalemated progress in critical areas. they have, indeed. and unless the republican side works with the democratic side in a bipartisan fashion, we won't be successful as richard lugar tried to do and defeated for doing it. there is something wrong in the constituencies that don't realize that progress is made by the parties working together not by one party conquering the other. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman texas rise? without objection. ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker very much. i join with my colleagues recognizing the crisis that is being faced by the postal offices across america, both urban and rural. we look forward to bringing a contingent of workers and postal

persons from around the country to this congress to urge to move forward quickly in utilizing the senate proposal. at the same time, i'm deeply saddened by reconciliation budget proposal by my friend on the other side of the aisle that's going to cut the social services block grant. it's going to cut medicaid. it's going to cut meals on wheels. as a former chairperson of the interfaith ministries in houston, texas, what a sad day to cut meals on wheels. today and this week is teacher appreciation week and i salute them. they are great and grand as they teach our children that they can reach for the sky. that is why today the congressional children's caucus will host leaders, the producer and director of the movie bully. 18 million children have been bullied. like a 13-year-old girl scout who said that she had been bullied since age 5. i ask my colleagues to join me

at 1:0 in 2237 for a press conference saying there should be a national call for ending bullying intervention and same time to come at 2:00 to see the movie, third floor, library of congress, madison building. there must be and i call for a national solution to bullying in our children's lives. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you. mr. nadler: i rise to urge my colleagues to become co-sponsors to my bill. while current law prohibits discrimination on pregnancy and directs employers to treat pregnancy as any other condition that might temporarily limit an employee's ability to perform job functions this has proven inadequate. courts are uncertain, even confused about the scope of the law. requiring congress to set the record straight.

while several states have clarified pregnant workers' rights, this is a national problem that warrants a national solution. my bill would require an employer to make reasonable accommodations for these workers unless this creates an undue hardship on the employer. an employee would be prevented from forcing a pregnant worker to take an accommodation she does not want or need and would be prevented from forcing a pregnant worker to take a lead where another reasonable accommodation could keep her on the job. this is a simple solution our women and families should not be facing. i urge my colleagues to become a co-sponsor of this bill to ensure that a pregnant woman need never decide between maintaining a healthy pregnancy and maintaining her paycheck. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i ask permission to address the house for one minute. and reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise in strong

support of the export-import bank of the united states and i urge passage of h.r. 2072 of which i am a co-sponsor. mr. hinojosa: in 2011 the eximbank supported -- ex-im bank supported 190,000 jobs in the united states. additionally over the past 10 years the ex-im bank actually returned $900 million to the united states treasury. when a program supports so many manufacturing jobs, and it doesn't cost the taxpayer a dime, you could expect this bill to be an easy win. and yet some members on the far right are prepared to put extreme ideology above jobs for americans. this bill is a real jobs bill and i urge its support. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. defazio: clock's ticking. six days from today and incompetent, ideological board of governors at the united states postal service intends to close thousands of post offices and processing centers, denying access for millions of individual americans, especially seniors, veterans, for small business owners, and others. and what's the reaction of the republican leadership in the house? nothing. silence. we are in session until 1:00 in the morning voting on imaginary amendments to a bill that's not going anywhere, but they can't bring forward a bill to save this critical institution. the senate has acted. their bill's not perfect, but it's better than inaction in face of the wrecking crew that is governing our postal service. i urge my colleagues to support my bill, co-sponsor my bill, h.r. 3591, put the postal service on a sustainable path toward a 21st century postal

service, modernized and self-sufficient. but inaction and indifference will destroy this critical institution. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? mr. moran: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. ronald reagan was the last president to raise the federal gasoline excise tax to support transportation programs when he signed the surface transportation act of 1982. he justified the gas tax increase as necessary to pay for needed investments in building and maintaining our nation's surface transportation infrastructure and to help jump-start an economy that was then also stuck in a recession. referred to the highway bill as a jobs bill, to promote economic growth. since that bill was signed into law back in january of 1983,

republican controlled congresses have allowed the program to go bankrupt necessitating multiple infusions from general funds to allow it to limp along with short-term extensions ever current law. today some within this chamber won't even support a federal transportation bill at current funding levels as if the crumbling interstates and growing list of structurally deficient bridges are no longer a federal responsibility. instead they insist on including unrelated measures like the keystone x.l. pipeline that is designed to stall completion of even a modest multiyear authorization. mr. speaker, the keystone pipeline has nothing to do with the transportation bill and would have no impact on gasoline prices despite what its advocates claim. today there is already an estimated 20-year excess capacity of oil from canada to the united states. this is about being able to export oil from the gulf coast

to other countries. mr. speaker, it's time to pass a thoughtful transportation bill for the 21st century. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on may 9, 2012, at 9:22 a.m. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 2668. that the senate passed senate 743. with best wishes i am signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a message. the clerk: to the congress of the united states. section 202-d of the national emergencies act, 50 u.s.c. 1522-d. provides for the automatic termination of a national

emergency unless within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration the president publishes in the federal register and transmits to the congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. in accordance with this provides, i have sent to the federal register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to the actions of the government of syria declared in executive order 133-38 of may 11, 2004, as modified in scope and relied upon for additional steps taken in executive order 133-99 of august 25, 2006. and executive order 136-08 of may 1, 2012. is to continue in effect beyond may 11, 2012. by the syrian regime has reduced the number of foreign fighters bound for iraq, the regime's own brutality and protection of its citizens who have been calling

for freedom and a representative government endangers not only the syrian people themselves but could yield greater instability throughout the region. the regime's actions and policies including obstructing the lebanese government to function effectively, pursuing chemical and biological weapons and supporting chris organizations continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security foreign policy and economy of the united states. for these reasons i have determined that it is necessary to continue in effect a national emergency declared with respect to this threat and to maintain sanctions to address this national emergency. in addition, the united states condemns the assad regime's use of brutal violence and human rights abuses and calls on the assad regime to step aside and immediately begin a transition in syria to a political process that will forge a credible path to a future of greater freedom,

democracy, opportunity, and justice. the united states will consider changes in the composition, policies, and actions of the government of syria in determining whether to continue or terminate this national emergency in the future. signed, barack obama, the white house, may 9, 2012. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on foreign affairs and ordered printed. . the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which a vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes will be postponed -- on postponed questions will be taken later today. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill hrment r. 2072 as amended.

the clerk: h.r. 2072, a bill to re-authorize the export-import of the united states and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. miller, and the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. mccarthy, each will control 20 minutes. mr. miller: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to add extraneous material to the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: today we are considering h.r. 270 -- 2072, the curing american jobs through export act, a bill which will re-authorize the export-import bank. this is a common threem, maintaining and creating jobs in the united states. the key to our economic recovery is jobs without a doubt. in order to expand and hire new workers, american companies must have the ability to compete in a global economy. to create jobs, american companies need to be competitive with foreign companies that have access to credit in their

countries. while the u.s. is a leading voice in the effort to eliminate marketing distortion through export subsidies, the bank has helped to ensure there's a level playing field for american company when is they compete with foreign competitors who are supported by aggressive credit agencies. it levels the playing field, the loans and guarantees are often counterfeiting measures to compete against other foreign credit agencies. some members have concerns about this program. this bill directs the treasury department to initiate and pursue negotiations with other countries to substantially reduce their subsidized export programs and other forms of export subsidies. the problem we face is the option of allowing china to dominate the export market. this bill ensures that u.s. companies large and small can compete and win against foreign competitors like china and the result, create u.s. jobs without putting u.s. taxpayers at risk. during the process, we have made taxpayer protection our top

priority. this bill includes strong language to ensure that surplus of the bank is returned to the treasury, are continued today and if the future, we want the bank to be a continually self-financing entity. the bill increases accountability in risk management requirements for the bank, it also provides for an audit of bank transactions to monitor the effectiveness and inadequacy of the lending policies. the bill ensures that the bank stays true to its purpose as a lender of last resort and does not compete against private sector commercial banks. the bill includes language to make sure default rates stay low . the loans and loan guarantees present very low risk because they are backed by collateral of the real goods for which a buyer has already been found and prices have been agreed upon. the current default rate at the bank is less than 2%. much lower than commercial banks. even with the bank's track record of extremely low default, the bill includes language to ensure that default rates remain

below 2%, includes action requirement if the rate ever goes above that level. it does not put taxpayers at risk now. our goal is to make sure it doesn't put taxpayers at risk in the future either. it will include the new transparency provision a that allows the public to comment on such actions. it is not supporting transactions used for products that could be used to compete with american companies. this provision was crafted in a way that does not impact u.s. companies' ability to sell their products and services to global customers. propriortary information, confidential information and trade secrets are absolutely protected in this provision. in addition, while many of the large projects are known to the market, i want to emphasize that the bank at its discretion has the authority to determine the information disclosed to ensure its competitiveness of american companies is not compromised by information provided by the federal register notice. legislation also provides

information included in the technology improvements, a review of the couldn't tent policy, improvements in the access of textile industries to bank operations, this is absolutely necessary in this country. these provisions will ensure that our american companies can utilize bank products to compete globally. this is not a subsidy and it is no cost to the taxpayers. that needs to be emphasized. the way this bank allows u.s. companies to compete globaly is how an example of how our job can facilitate job growth without contributing to the national debt. far from being handout to corporations, the bank is self-financing, in terms of profit for the american taxpayer, and it helps create jobs here at home. since 2005 the bank has forwarded more than $3.4 billion in profits to the treasury, above all costs, lost reserves, including $400 million, in 2011 alone. legislation before us today ensures that the bank will continue to turn a profit for american taxpayers. some will say that exim only benefits large corporations however small businesses account

for 87% of export-import transactions. these small business transactions figures do not include the tens of thousands of small and medium sized businesses that supply goods to these large corporations. the vice president of air tractor of a small business engaged in manufacturinging in the sale of agricultural planes said, the bank has contributed to the growth of air tractor and helped both create and maintain jobs. it has allowed to us sell aircraft to customers without the support, we would not have the ability to purchase our products. this is a direct contribution to our growth, end quote. air tractor has 270 employees in the town that has a population of 3,000. over 10% of the population who are adults work for this company in this town. it's a largest employer in the town. since 1994 when they did their first bank transaction, their export sales from increased from 10% to 56%. the 50% export sale in 2010,

over 100 employees owned their jobs and have their jobs due to the use of the bank. mr. ike earth said, quote, as i have described before, we have three red lights, a dairy queen and the significance of this is that we can create jobs on main street. all through small business exporting. it can be done in small businesses from california to new york. if we can do it in texas, we can do it all over this country. end quote. once again, i'd like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for coming together to put american jobs before politics. together we have crafted a strong bill to ensure the bank is able to continue to support u.s. companies as they compete globally and as a result create american jobs. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. mccarthy: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. mccarthy: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume.

i rise today in support of h.r. 2072, the export-import bank re-authorization act of 2012. i would also like to thank majority leader cantor and minority whip hoyer for their leadership on this bill. as well as full committee chairman mr. bachus and ranking member mr. frank and certainly my chairman on the subcommittee, mr. miller. but i also would like to thank all of the staff for their hard work on this important legislation. especially leslie gooch from chairman miller's staff and georgette stair from my staff who worked on this for over a year. i'm very proud to be supporting the bill before us today. our nation is at a crossroads. one job at a time we are gradually emerging from one of the worst recessions in living memory. at this moment, we can either stand in the way of america's ongoing recovery or speed it up. american businesses have

recently watched their counterparts in other countries like china become world leaders in exporting. i believe strongly that now, now it's america's turn. it's america's turn to put our workers, the best work, -- workers in the world, to work in selling their goods and services to an untapped global market. it's america's turn to see its innovative businesses reach their full potential, to grow and create local jobs in communities across this country. i'm confident with the help from the export-import bank, american businesses can help make our nation an unrivaled world economical leader once again. but the clock is ticking. and we must act now. the legislation before us brings certainty to many u.s. businesses anxiously awaiting for congress to re-authorize the bank before the may 31 deadline.

h.r. 2072 provides a three-year re-authorization and incremental increase in the bank's exposure limit, allowing the bank to meet the increased demand from u.s. export companies. the bill includes provisions to enhance the bank's accountability, by allotting funds to much-needed technology, upgrades, requiring the bank to submit a business plan and to monitor and report to congress if their default rate goes above 2%. the export-import bank is the export credit agency of the united states and provides export financing for american companies when private financing isn't available. the bank is critical for helping u.s. companies create american jobs. and compete in global markets by selling our goods, their goods, services to foreign buyers. throughout the financial crisis, the bank played a crucial role in ensuring that american companies were able to continue

exporting when private trade financing options were not available. the bank has allowed the united states to remain competitive in the global economy by fulfilling its mission of creating an sustaining u.s. jobs across the 50 states through exports. in fiscal year 2011, the bank provided over $30 billion in financing to 3,600 companies in the u.s.a. which supported nearly 290,000 american jobs. over 80% of those transactions were for small businesses like arrowspace parts in my own district in new york. it's important to note that the work of the bank is done at no cost to the american taxpayer. as the bank is self-sustaining, funding its financial programs and administration costs from fees and the returns on its

investments. in fact, the bank returns money to the treasury and since 2008 they have returned almost $2 billion to the treasury. foreign governments are aggressively supporting their own exporters so they can dominate new markets and be the world leaders in exporting. through the export-import bank's assistance, we can assure the american companies have the tools to be globally competitive and will continue to create jobs in the united states and move our economy forward. prominent business organizations such as the national association of manufacturers, the u.s. chamber of commerce, the business round table and labor understand the important role of the bank and support its re-authorization. it shows how we all work together with mr. miller's help to bring this bill to the floor. in just a few weeks the bank's charter will expire.

without congress quickly enacting a long-term re-authorization and cap increase, thousands, thousands of american jobs will be lost. and the u.s. businesses that rely on bank and finance will be in jeopardy. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 2072 which provides the certainty businesses around our country, who rely on the bank need, in order to continue growing and creating jobs here at home, through exports. thank you, mr. speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i'd be happy to yield one minute to mr. manzullo, a staunch advocate for this. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. mr. manzullo: mr. speaker, president reagan taught us you don't negotiate from a position of weakness. there are over 80 foreign

government credit agencies that vigorously support their local companies and winning export sales. we cannot unilaterally the sum by ending ex-im. some of these businesses are critical to our defense industrial base and need commercial sales to support their national security work. reagan recognized this reality, that's why he supported exim bank. when i chaired the small business committee, i had the opportunity to establish the small business desk or division at the export-import bank. a constituent of mine was able to obtain $11,000 loan in order to start her exporting business from a very tiny company. so i would urge my colleagues to vote for the re-authorization, to be a part of helping our manufacturers sell their product as i broad.

-- products abroad. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york. mrs. mccarthy: i yield five minutes to the minority whip. mr. hoyer. and thank him again for his leadership on this issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for five minutes. mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: i want to thank the gentlelady for yielding. mr. speaker, i'm pleased to be here today. we are here as the result of some work of some extraordinary staff people and i want to start by mentioning them. first of all i want to congratulate and thank mr. miller and his staff. i want to thank the staff of the banging committee. mr. john hughs of my staff, formerly of the banking committee, financial services committee has worked tirelessly with an extraordinary policy director, neal bradley, who works for mr. cantor. we have worked on this matter in a bipartisan fashion.

this bill comes to the floor as a bipartisan bill and i am hopeful and believe it will pass with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. mr. speaker, today we arending the uncertainty for american manufacturers waiting for congress to act by coming together to re-authorize the u.s. export-import bank. i want to thank the republican leader, mr. cantor, and his staff. i mentioned neal bradley before. for working with democrats to find common ground and reach an agreement that is supported by both business and labor. democrats and republicans. also want to commend ranking member barney frank of the financial services committee and carolyn mccarthy who's done such an extraordinary effort on this effort as well. she chairs -- she's the ranking member, mr. miller chairs the international monetary policy

subcommittee, their hard work has been important to make sure this agreement will help american businesses save and create jobs. i also want to thank representative rick larsen for his tireless add vow calcy for -- advocacy for his long-term re-authorization of the bank. in addition i would be remiss if i did not mention my dear and good friend who chairs -- who is the ranking democrat on the appropriations committee, but who has been an extraordinary leader on making sure that america creates jobs and exports products around the world, mr. norman dicks, congressman dicks from washington state has been working with me every day that we have been at these negotiations. i want to thank him for his contributions to this outcome. for two years, mr. speaker, house democrats have been promoting a competitive jobs plan called make it in america. mr. don manzullo was on the

floor. he has focused on that. so many republicans have been focused on -- you may not use my phrase, buff been focused on trying to build jobs here in america. we have been promoting a make it in america agenda. this is part and has been in our published make it in america agenda, this has been part of it. the export-import bank financing. by financing american companies to export their products overseas, the export-import bank plays a direct role as the chair lady mccarthy has pointed out, a direct role in helping our businesses expand and hire more employees for well paying jobs. jobs that will not be shipped overseas. the export-import bank doesn't cost taxpayers a single penny. in fact, it has generated $1.9 billion, $2 billion rounded as the chair lady said, in excess revenues for u.s. taxpayers over the past five years. and it provides a critical service that our companies need

to access foreign markets on a level playing field. i'm encouraged that we were able to reach this agreement to increase the exposure limit to $120 billion for the end of this fiscal year and race it to -- raise it to $140 over the next two years. in 2011 finances help create nearly 300,000 jobs. 3,600 private companies across america. this is a jobs bill. a jobs bill for americans. yes, i said 3,600 companies. an unmentioned fact is over 85% of the bank's transactions are for small businesses. we talk a lot about the large business, boeing in particular. one of our best exports and job creators. but 3,600 businesses, most of which are small businesses. the products american workers make are the best in the world. american workers and american entrepreneurs can compete with anybody in the world if they

have a level playing field. this helps get there. when that happens, our workers succeed and that means more of our people can make it in america. that's where americans -- what americans want to do, they want to make it. they want to succeed. they want to have their kids have opportunities. and they want to make it. and one of the ways we are going to make it in america is to make it in america. manufacture it in america. grow it in america and sell it here and around the world. and create jobs here. good paying jobs for our people. they'll feel better about that. i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. i hope this vote is unanimous. it's a vote for america, america's workers, and america's ability to compete globally. i thank the speaker for his tolerance. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield the gentlelady from new york two minutes for the purpose of a colloquy.

>> mr. speaker, i wish to engage the chairman of the subcommittee in a colloquy regarding section 8 of the bill relating to a new notice and commitment period, the bank transactions over $100 million. mrs. mccarthy: i wish to inquire of the chairman the scope of the bank's ability to exclude from the notice required to be published in the federal register, information that is proprietary or confidential that would violate the trade secrets act or what would jeopardize jobs in the u.s. by supplying information which competitors could use to compete with companies in the u.s.a. mr. miller: i thank my colleague for inquiring. the bill requires federal register notice include an identity, principals, and guarantor. this notice should include a description of the item being financed. the description must be constructed in a way as to not disclose proprietary information or information that would vie light the disclosure of the trade secrets.

information that would jeopardize jobs in the u.s. by supplying information which competitors could use to compete with other companies in the u.s.a. when determining what description to use, a bank must take into account the totality of the notice. for example the description of the item should be done in a way when combined with the name of the principal applier, information is not disclosed which foreign competitors could use to compete against u.s. suppliers, jeopardizing jobs in the u.s. i yield. mrs. mccarthy: i would like to inquire further. what is the expectation with respect to the amount of time transactions might be delayed as a result of the new notice and comment period? mr. miller: reclaiming my time. i thank my colleague for inquiring. the bill requires the public be given not less than 25 days for comments. part of the board's consideration and proposed transaction. at the conclusion the bank should act expeditiously to prepare materials for public comments for the board.

it is viewed by the congress for 25 days of session which can be longer than 25 calendar days. it's our intend the board proceed as soon as legally possible. i yield back. mrs. mccarthy: i thank the chairman. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york. mrs. mccarthy: i yield one minute to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. neal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute. mr. neal: i thank the gentlelady. mr. speaker, i rise in support of this bill and it re-authorizes the export-import bank for three years. it ends uncertainty for business and provides the resources necessary to keep america manufacturers competitive in a global market. $32 billion in financing to thousands of companies which supports 290,000 jobs. in massachusetts the ex-im bank works with the manufacturer of coated paper that employs 100 people. it also has an important role with a manufacturer in the eurospace industry located in

north graphton massachusetts. this is critical support offered for american employers who seek to level the playing field against global competitors. it's supported broadly by labor and business and i urge all of us to support h.r. 2072. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. miller: mr. speaker, it's my honor to yield two minutes to the gentleman from missouri, my friend, mr. luetkemeyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is recognized for two minutes. mr. luetkemeyer: i thank the gentleman from california, mr. miller. i rise today in support of h.r. 2072, the securing american jobs through export act. there's been a lot of talks surrounding re-authorization of the export-import bank. i'd like to be clear. this is a jobs bill. ex-im financing helps provide for jobs for employees of u.s. manufacturers and small businesses all at no cost to taxpayers. in fact this program actually makes money in return -- and returns it to the treasury. critics say that ex-im lending only benefits the nation's

largest corporations but this is not the case as the minority whip just indicated a moment ago. i have five companies in my district that benefit from ex-im bank financing. not one is a multinational corporation, and none have received millions and millions and millions of dollars. it's because of the support of ex-im they have been able to grow their businesses, hire employees, and increase their exports. they have one of those small businesses has this to say about ex-im, i quote. the last five years ex-im has supported 17% of our export sales. that converts to 10 full-time jobs for five years. our employees and their families rely on ex-im financing to support our export sales, end quote. this isn't the testimony of a fortune 100 c.e.o., this is the voice of a family run multigenerational business that relies on ex-im that extends credit to buyers outside the u.s. this is a manufacturer during a housing crisis had to lay off 3/4 of its employees but thanks in large part to the financing was able to survive the down

turn and started to grow again. i want to remind my colleagues that this bill also makes meaningful reforms to the export -- ex-im import bank. despite the fact that the bank has incredibly low default rate, less than 2%, this bill makes additional steps to protect taxpayers and reduce export subsidies over time. i commend the majority leader cantor for creating a bill that simultaneously helps to create jobs and mandates reform. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york. miss mccarthy: i yield one minute to the gentleman from washington, mr. lettersen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized for one minute. mr. larsen: i rise today to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of-h 2072, the securing american jobs through exports act. the export-import bank creates jobs, reduces our trade deficit, and helps to lower our national debt. it's a tool that our manufacturers both large and small use to expand their sales to customers around the world so they can keep creating jobs here

at home. in washington state, the second congressional district, the ex-im bank helped finance the sale of more than $22 billion in exports from 13 companies, including importantly seven small businesses. last week i sat down with three businesses in my district that have used the bang. the c.e.o. of one of these companies told me the bank has been indispensable in allowing their business to grow and support 25 full-time employees. i was pleased to introduce a bipartisan bill earlier this year to re-authorize and expand the ex-im bank and very happy that leaders -- whip hoyer and leader cantor were able to work out a sensible, bipartisan agreement that's largely in line with the bill i introduced, h.r. 4302. i call on my colleagues to pass this bill so we can keep america open for business. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, vice chair of the subcommittee, mr. dold. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. dold: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i certainly think this is an important topic as we talk about

jobs and the economy. the number one issue we face in this country. today i'm pleased to come down and rise in support of the ex-im bank. it's something i think is vital. something that we work in a bipartisan fashion through the committee and something that i think all of our colleagues should be supporting. when we look at what the ex-im bank does, most of us think about large businesses wlrks it be boeing and others. the fact still remains that certainly across the country, i know in my district, the 10th district of illinois, 83% of all the loans go to small businessings. but it does help big businesses. back in my district we have one of the largest manufacturing districts in the country, over 93,000 employees are in manufacturing. well over 50,000 of those employees rely upon exports. the world today is flatter than it's ever been and we need to make sure our companies are competitive 2349 global marketplace. -- in the global marketplace. i want to emphasize 83% of those loans go to small businesses. but if we look at the big

business, look at boeing. when a boeing jetliner, the 777 lands anywhere in the world, it lands with the help of 22,000 small businesses. most of them right here at home. so when the minority whip talks about making it here in america, we do want to make it here in america. we want to make sure american workers have a level playing field and sell american all over the globe. we want to make sure we are giving them the opportunity. the ex-im bank is going to be done at no cost to the taxpayer. we are going to bring dollars into the federal treasury. we want to make sure we are giving our businesses an opportunity to compete because what this is about is it's about making sure we can sell american all over the globe. so i want to urge my colleagues to support this bill. in 2011 alone the bank supported over 288,000 american jobs and help finance over 3,600 american companies. this is an important piece of legislation. and one we should all be ab