had hoped it would be, this -- as i hoped it would be this congress, i am pleased that several discreet bills introduced by democrats and republicans have received bipartisan support on the house floor during the last month. i will be submitting for the record letters of support for h.r. 1447 from three prominent aviation stake holders. the u.s. travel association, airport counsel international north america and the cargo airline association. can with that, mr. speaker, i urge all my colleagues to vote aye on the aviation security stake holders' participation act and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york. mr. king: the private sector is a vital partner in aviation security and as -- and this act makes sure they have a seat at the table. i urge support of this

bipartisan bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1447 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 -- the gentleman from new york. mr. king: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? mr. king: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5843. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5843, a bill to amend the homeland security act of 2002 to permit use of certain grant funds for training conducted in conjunction with a national laboratory or research facility . the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. king, and the gentleman from mississippi, mr. thompson, will each control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. king: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, it is ordered. mr. king: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. king: mr. speaker, this bill, introduced by mr. lungren, is a simple statutory clarification that allows state and local governments and emergency management officials to use funds to work with the national labs where appropriate. h.r. 5843 amends the homeland security act of 2002 by inserting a clarification into the allowable use section of the homeland security grant program section. clarifying this allowable use under the grants program will allow these state and local first responders to leverage the expertise at national labs

for research and training purposes. this is a simple, solid, good government measure that will help maximize the use of limited federal grant dollars. this bill will allow state and local officials to cut through fema red tape which makes it harder for first responders to work with the federal national labs and makes the best decisions for their homeland security needs. this bill will eliminate hoops state and locals have to go through in order to gain access to this expertise and training. mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, for his work on this issue and his work in committee. i urge passage of the bill and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm perplexed that the house is considering h.r. 5843 today.

i cannot understand why this bill is on the schedule. it was introduced just over a month ago and has not been vetted by the committee. while are we giving expedited attention to a bill that has just two co-sponsors, both of which are republicans? whatever the problem it purports to solve has not been the subject of so much as a member level briefing let alone a hearing or a markup. section 208-a-13 of the homeland security act already allows the department to approve the spending of grant funds on training by national labs. without such -- so much as a hearing where the committee can take testimony on this matter, it is hard to justify taking up precious house floor time on this bill, especially in a week where we must take urgent

action on pell grants and highway funding. so instead, i choose to use this time to discuss the dwindling support for homeland security activities. far more timely concerned for state, local and tribal authorities than h.r. 5843. in the wake of the september 11 attacks, as a government we committed to safeguarding our homeland by building and preserving preparedness capabilities. yet, since the beginning of the 112th congress, that commitment seems to have dangerously waivered. in just two short years, vital homeland security grant programs have been significantly cut, and as a result the level of preparedness fostered by the program such as urban area security initiative, port security grant program, transit security deprant program, and metropolitan medical response

system have been undermined. given that the authorizations for many of these targeted programs are expiring, far better use of our time would be to re-authorize the transit security grant program or the metropolitan medical response program. mr. speaker, before i reserve my time, i would note for the record that there are two other much more plausible candidates for consideration by the full house that will introduce -- that was introduced by the gentleman from california. one addressed the cybersecurity threat and was ordered reported in april. the other authorizes d.h.s.'s chemical facility security program is pending on the union calendar. mr. speaker, speaking of the union calendar, i would also note that this bill is receiving expedited consideration while four measures reported by the

homeland security remain on the union calendar without action. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york. mr. king: mr. speaker, i am proud at this time to yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from california, mr. lungren, who is chairman of the subcommittee on cybersecurity, infrastructure protection and security technologies and during his time on the committee has contributed as much, if not more, of any other member. in fact, he returned to congress for doing all he could to enhance our homeland security. with that i yield the gentleman as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i might say that this should not be a surprise bill to anybody. this is actually a part of the authorization bill that we already worked on. it has come about as a result of the fact of complaint from local jurisdictions that they were unable to utilize funds in

a way they thought was most effective. this bill would permit recipients of certain fema grants to use this funding for training and exercises conducted in conjunction with the national lab or federal research facility. there's no additional costs. the c.b.o. reports shows there's no additional costs. in other words, the bill expands the allowable use of fema grants and ensures that emergency managers, first responders and local governments can use these grant dollars to leverage the expertise of our national labs and research facilities. we have had plenty of hearings on the viability of our national labs and research filts -- facilities and the fact we need to leverage more in these tough budget times their expertise to help us come up with solutions and prepare,

among others, first responders to the challenges that we face in these times. with fewer grant dollars available, it's important that state and local governments be able to use them for the greatest public benefit. as we all know, state and local governments everywhere also operating under severe budget limitations and increasing the allowable use of fema grants helps these cash-strapped governments to discuss their emergency needs. using our existing national assets for training and research is another way to efficiently leverage the scientific expertise available at these facilities. now, i just want to correct the record. this is not just co-sponsored by two other members, both of whom are republicans. it is co-sponsored by representative stark from california, representative lujan from new mexico. in addition on the republican side, mr. turner from new york, mr. long from missouri, mr.

bilirakis from florida and mr. king from new york. we have heard not only from entities in the state of california but i believe also in new york and new jersey about concerns that they were unable to use their grants in the most efficient way. and absent a clarification of statutory language, fema was not going to allow them to participate in this way. now, some would ask, what examples might we have of how these funds could be used? i just use my home state of california. the naval first graduate school, which is a federal entity in monterrey, provides help through their center of homeland defense and security. the livermore laboratory is a government owned contract operated facility managed between the laboratory board of governors and d.o.e.'s national nuclear security administration. these national labs can provide a myriad of research and

technical support to programs that support state and local emergency responders. things such as risk analysis and security systems evaluation. and just another example. the navy space and naval weapons command in san diego have substantial capability and interest in helping emergency responders with communications and nuclear detention. so we are responding in as quick a fashion as we can to complaints we've heard from local jurisdictions that they were unable to use their fema grants in the most effective way and leveraging, as i say, the expertise, the unique expertise of national labs and federal research facilities. that is the purpose of this legislation. it's very simple. one sentence clarification of the underlying statute. i would hope that we would have unanimous support for this bill . and with that i would yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i am prepared to close. i don't have any more speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. lungren: mr. speaker, mr. king had to leave. i ask unanimous consent that i take over the time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. lungren: and we have no further speakers so if the gentleman would like to yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, we owe it to our nation's first responders to ensure that they have the resources needed to perform their jobs and to get it right. when we alter the uses of those funds, getting it right in this body requires deliberation and debate in the committee of

jurisdiction. unfortunately, mr. speaker, the bill we are consideringed to failed to receive such deliberation or debate. therefore, it's hard to say whether it is responsive to the needs of first responders. what i can say for a fact is re-authorizing key homeland security grant programs would bolster prepadreness and be responsive to the needs of our first responders. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. lungren: mr. speaker, this is a simple bill. responding to a simple problem that actually this bill undos red tape that ought not to be there. it leverages the best assets to the federal government. working with our first responders in our local communities in a way they asked us to try and deal with the

problem. it's not a fancy bill. simple bill. straightforward. therefore, i'd ask a unanimous vote on this from my colleagues and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5843. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does -- the gentleman from mississippi. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. lungren: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3173 as

amended by the committee on homeland security. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 371, h.r. 3173, a bill to direct the secretary of homeland security to reform the process for the enrollment, activation, issuance and renewal of a transportation worker identification credential, twic, to require, in total, not more than one in-person visit to a designated enrollment center. . the chair: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california and the gentleman from mississippi will each control 20 minutes. mr. lungren: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. mr. speaker, h.r. 3173 requires the secretary of homeland security to reform the process for shoing the transportation

working -- issuing the transportation worker identification credential to require in total not more than that one in-person visit. it is not mandated by statute or regulation by d.h.s. policy. there is no doubt the federal government can develop secure procedures for delivering twic documents to workers. d.h.s. has the statutory authority to develop an alternative process for twic enrollment to ease the burden on transportation workers. the secretary should reform the twic process before the end of 2012 when allowing applicants to complete the process. i would like to thank congressman steve scalise for the commonsense bill and i urming my colleagues to support and i reserve.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: i rise in strong support of h.r. 3173 and yield such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: this measure directs the department of homeland security to reform the process for the enrollment, activeation, issueance and renewal of the transportation worker identification credential or twic, to require not more than one in-person visit to an enrollment center to obtain a credential. since the inception of the twic program in 2007, transportation workers have had to make at least two trips to a twic enrollment center to enroll and activate their cards. in contrast, other federally

documents, such as passports and merchant march inircredentials are mailed to the applicant. it is unreasonable to require workers to take off from work to make a second trip to the nearest twic center which in some cases is hundreds of miles away to obtain tear credentials. the bill would simply treat twics like those other federally-should identity documents. the obama administration recently announced new option for port and transportation security workers who, starting this fall, would need to renew their expiring twic cards. under this new opinion, twic holders may renew their cards for three years at a reduced rate of $60 and go to the

enrollment center just once. i'm pleased that the administration heard us on this issue, because these changes should help lessen the burden of our nation's 2.1 million port and transportation security workers as d.h.s. moves towards issueance of a final rule for readers for the twics. despite these improvements, h.r. 3173 is still very necessary as a recently announced option only applies to renewal, not first-time applicants and there are no guarantees it will remain in effect for the duration of the program. passage of h.r. 3173 will be an important step forward in reforming a cumbersome bureaucratic process and providing relief for the more than two mill -- million

transportation workers. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from is recognized. mr. lungren: i yield to the distinguished the gentleman from louisiana, the author of the bill, mr. scalise. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scalise: i want to thank the gentleman from california for yielding and also want to thank chairman king of new york as well as ranking member thompson of mississippi for co-sponsoring this commonsense legislation. what we are trying to do is reform a process that was started back in 2006 that really has created a lot of complications for our transportation workers. we are talking about two million americans not only across the country but around the globe that are required by federal law to have these transportation worker identification credentials not only to perform their jobs but even to get promoted. as these cards come up, whether you are applying for the first time or trying to get them

renewed, you have to make not only one, but two in-person visits. many cases, people have to take off a day from work for the first visit and then for the second visit because this is a card they are required to have if they are going to work in the transportation industry. in the rule that was put in place is really unworkable and doesn't make sense and especially as we are talking about safety. it has nothing to do with safety but a rule they came up that we recognize that is not in law and as we talked to our constituents who work in the transportation industry throughout the country, that this is creating tremendous burdens on our employees who have to miss work and miss pay that goes along with it. we are talking about something that affects people's jobs and careers and have limited their ability to get promotions. i want to read parts of a letter i received from an assistant

cargoo mate and he is in the merchant marine and he wrote in to our offices and heard he is addressing this issue. he is a graduate of the citadel and tasked with supplying the u.s. navy to our armed forces. he works throughout europe and africa and he writes to say, due to my long tours of duty overseas, this twic card has since expired and quote, i'm not allowed to advance in rank or position without the current twic credential. anybody who currently works overseas has to take time off from work and fly back to the states twice. this is very expensive, time consuming, stressful and because i live on a ship that constantly moves around, impossible. i'm writing you in hope that there is something you can do for me in this precarious situation. as we see that two million of

our workers across the globe are facing this problem this is a commonsense reform that puts new rules in place that says you still make that first trip, but just like a passport, you shouldn't be required to take time off from work to go back a second time. i appreciate over 40 co-sponsors that have signed on to this and i urge our approval for this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time, mr. speaker. mr. lungren: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers and if the gentleman from mississippi has no further speakers, i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: i have no more speakers and may i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: with more than 40 bipartisan co-sponsors, passage of this measure would make a strong statement of support for reform of the twic issueance process and americans workers.

i compliment the gentleman from louisiana for introducing this legislation. i encourage passage of h.r. 3173 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. lungren: i yield myself such time as i may consume. nearly two million transportation workers have applied for and received the twic. the goal of this bill is to limit the red tape involved in the twic process so we can focus on the work of this nation while being as secure as possible. the secretary needs to reform the twic enrollment and renewal process so our workers are not burdened with increased and unnecessary bureaucracy. as with the previously considered bill. this is an attempt by those of us in the congress to try to get rid of unnecessary red tape that in no way undercuts the security of our nation. as a matter of fact, it improves it because it gets rid of a

burden on people that is totally without merit. i ask my colleagues to support its passage and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3173 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from -- the gentlewoman from from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: i call up house resolution 697 and ask for its immediate consideration. the clerk: house calendar number 139, house resolution 697, resolved that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may pursuant to 2-b rule 28 declare the house resolved in the committee of the whole house of the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 5973, making appropriations for the agriculture, rural development,

food and drug administration and related agencies programs for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013 and other purposes. all points of order against consideration are waived. general debate shall be con find to the bill and shall not exceed one hour controlled by the chairman and ranking member. the bill shall be considered under the five-minute rule. provisions in the bail for failure to comply with rule 21 are waived. during consideration of the bill, the chair of the committee of the whole may accord priority and recognition on the basis of whether the member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the congressional record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule 18. amendment so printed shall be considered as read. when the committee rises and reports the bill back to the house with such recommendations that the bill do pass, the

previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion without motion to recommit with or without instructions. section two, at any time after the adoption of this resolution, the speaker may, punt to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bi h.r. 5972, making appropriations for the dements of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013 and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally and divided by the chair and ranking member by the committee on appropriations. after germ debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. points of order against provisions in the bill for

failure to comply with rule 21 are waived except for section 169-c. the amendments specified in section 3 of this resolution shall be considered as adopted in the house and in the committee of the whole. during consideration of the bill for further amendments, the chair of the committee of the whole may accord priority and recognition on the basis of whether the member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the congressional record designated for that purpose in clause 8 of rule 18. amendments so printed shall be considered as read. when the committee rises and reports the bill as amended back to the house with a recommendation that the bill do pass, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 3, the amendment referred to in section 2 of this resolution is as follows. insert before section 418, the can shon, spending reduction

account. section 4, it shall be in order without intervention of any point of cord to provide for adjournment during the month of july. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from north carolina is recognized for one hour. . ms. foxx: i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, pending i yield myself such time as i may consume and all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks . the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. foxx: house resolution -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. foxx: house resolution 697 provides for an open rule providing for consideration of two bills, h.r. 5973, which is a bill making appropriations for fiscal year 2013 for agriculture, rural development,

food and drug administration, and related agencies. and h.r. 5972, the fiscal year 2013 transportation, housing and urban development and related agencies appropriations act. mr. speaker, house republicans are offering yet another rule, something that our liberal democrat colleagues gleefully denied this house when they held the gavel. once again, house republicans continue our commitment to an open appropriations process in which all members from both parties have an opportunity to influence the final legislative product. in fact, this rule represents the 11th open rule the rules committee has reported to the house thus far in the 112th congress which is in stark contrast to the 111th in which the house considered a grand total of zero open rules. i want to thank my colleagues from the appropriations committee for their leadership and hard work in producing the two bills referenced in this

rule. h.r. 5973 includes 19.4 billion in discretionary funding which represents a cut of 365 million below last year's level. h.r. 5972 provides a total of $59.2 billion in discretionary, the level of $3.9 billion below last year's level. while my liberal colleagues would prefer to borrow and spend more and continue to ignore the dire fiscal realities of our country, house republicans remain committed to reining in wasteful spending even if it involves making difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions in order to save our country from fiscal ruin. the simple truth is we cannot afford to fund every program at the bloated levels that for many years kept political promises but in the end hurt the fiscal stability of our country. it will be unconscionable to

continue indebting future generations to creditors like china without working to reduce federal spending which is the real driver of our deficit. these are important bills, mr. speaker, and i'm proud that house republicans, led by our esteemed rules committee chairman, richard dreier, have embraced an open process to consider this legislation. we welcome the support of our democrat colleagues on final passage of the underlying legislation, and at this time, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to thank dr. foxx for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, before i begin, i'd just like to point out to my colleagues that i don't want them to get -- be under the misimpression that somehow this republican

leadership is somehow conducting an open and transparent process. last count they have given us 41 completely closed rules and that's not even getting into the number of structured rules we've had. i would be a little bit more humble before i would brag about the open process in this house. i rise in opposition to this rule which combines two unrelated appropriations bills, transportation, housing and urban development and the agriculture appropriations bills. and this rule also concedes that the house republicans will not finish all of their appropriations bills on time. under the house rules, the house cannot adjourn for more than three days in a row in july unless all the appropriation bills are finished. section 4 in this rule is an omission that the republican leadership hasn't met this threshold. mr. speaker, i oppose this rule because budget caps have made it impossible to bring appropriations bills to the floor that met the needs of our

country. rather than a balanced approach to control our federal deficit, republicans have launched an all-out assault against middle-income families and those struggling in poverty. rather than asking donald trump to pay one penny more in taxes, the republicans are pursuing an agenda that would disamate food stamps, that turns medicare into a voucher program, that goes after student loans, and i can go on and on and on. everything that they bring to this floor lowers the quality of life and the standard of living for the people in this country. this congress should be about lifting people up, not putting people down, and yet the bills that get brought to this floor time and time again are all about putting the american people down. not only is the underlying transportation appropriation bills underfunded but we're considering it while the ninth, the ninth extension of the surface transportation bill, the bill that funds our roads and bridges, is on the verge of expiring and as summer

construction season comes to a close. we need a transportation bill, and we would have one, mr. speaker, if the republican leadership would simply accept the bipartisan senate bill. instead, the republican leadership have decided to have unrelated provisions like the keystone pipeline in the bill, meant to repair roads and bridges. and a bill that would put thousands and thousands and thousands of americans to work on these critical projects. i had the honor of hosting ray lahood in my congressional district yesterday. secretary lahood made it clear that congress needs to get its act together and pass a transportation bill. rather than more recesses, i'd say to my friends, we ought to stay here and not leave until we get this bill passed. instead of -- instead, this

transportation appropriations bill is essentially a shell for placeholder language waiting for the authorization bill to be finished. this is not a way to legislate. my friends on the other side of the aisle like to say, where are the jobs? well, i tell you where the jobs are. they are in this transportation bill that they are holding up, that they are holding hostage. you want to put americans back to work, pass this bill. i'm also deeply disappointed, mr. speaker, that this is the second year in a row that the appropriations bill fails to fund the sustainable communities initiative which brings together the department of transportation, h.u.d. and e.p.a. to have integrated planning and promote economic planning across america. we should be have improvement established by the communities initiative and this bill doesn't do that. and the section 8 funding level

included in the t. -- tea-hud. according to the national housing trust, short funding could increase costs because of the uncertainty it creates among lenders and investors. short funding is a direct result of the need to conform to the ryan budget. and i hope that the senate's funding level is adopted during this conference if this bill -- if they ever do a have conference. and the sad reality, mr. speaker, these two appropriations bills, the transportation and housing and urban development -- of the two transportation bills, the transportation, housing and urban development appropriations bill is the better one. and this agriculture appropriations bill is to put it nicely not where it needs to be. it is woefully inadequate in several places and it continues a pattern set by this republican leadership of trying to undermine the wall street reforms made under dodd-frank

and to dismantle the anti-hunger safety net. this bill disamates funding for the commodity futures trading corporation, one of the key regulators of the financial services industry. in fact, the bill cuts funding for the cftc by 41%, a cut that would drastically reduce cftc's ability to oversee an industry that continues to take risky gambles, as evidence by jpmorgan's recent loss of $2 billion. the republican leadership would rather allow wall street to run amuck instead of providing proper oversight so americans on main street don't get taken to the cleaners. also not surprising is this republican leadership's continued assault on the hungry in america. over the past 18 months, the republican leadership has pushed two plans to block snap, w.i.c. funding and brought a reconciliation bill to the

floor that would cut $36 million from snap, the most effective and efficient federal anti-hunger program in this country. of course, we are still anticipating a farm bill that would cut at least $14 billion from this program. while it funds w.i.c., it is still $119 million short of president obama's request. in essence, this bill is gambling that food prices and participation will stabilize and not continue to rise. but just as concerning as the lack of set-asides for breast-feeding counselors or electronic benefit cards and infrastructure, these were included in the president's request and also in the senate bill. they should not be excluded from the house version. the other problem with the w.i.c. language is the provision dealing with white potatoes. for the first time, congress is mandating that white potatoes be included in the w.i.c. food package. this unprecedented and deeply troubling. congress has never until now

interfered with the science of the w.i.c. food package. this food package was specifically decide signed by the institute of medicine to provide nutrients through specific foods that are often not consumed by low-income pregnant women and their newborns, infants and young children. like the effort to treat pizza as a vegetable, this is clearly done on behalf of an industry. it does not belong in this bill. this bill also cuts the commodities supplemental food program below the president's request. this program provides food to seniors across the country, but the funding level in this bill is so inadequate that it will actually result in 55,000 fewer seniors being served. that's 55,000 fewer low-income seniors on fixed incomes who will have food taken -- who will have food taken away from them simply because the committee decided tightening our nation's fiscal belt should mean less food for elled leer in america instead of less profits for the wealthy. the agriculture bill does not spare international food aid

from this bill either. it cuts 22% or $316 million under f.y. 2002 levels. and $ 50 million below the president's f.y. 2013 request. these dramatic cuts would result in decreases in emergency services to between six million and eight million vulnerable people, some of whom are already on the brink of starvation. they weaken funding for programs that fight long-term hunger and build the capacity of people to withstand new emergencies. for example, it was the food for peace development programs in ethiopia that help keep communities from falling into famine and would stand the shock of last year's drought. saving the american taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars. not only are these cuts unconscionable, they are unwise because they will ultimately lead to future costs should there be widespread hunger, famine or civil unrest that requires our assistance. mr. speaker, we need to do

better. we must do better. we need a surface transportation bill that actually puts americans back to work. i ask again my republican friends to stop holding the senate bill hostage. bring it to the floor. let us have an up or down vote on it. let us pass it, get people back to work. we need to ensure that wall street doesn't run -- doesn't run unchecked. and we need to guarantee that we don't let americans go hungry during these difficult economic times. the republican agenda, you know, is quite contrary to what i think the majority of americans are. and we are seeing that agenda, that radical right-wing agenda at work in these appropriations bills. i'll close with this. mr. speaker, my colleagues on the other side like to talk about numbers all the time. like to talk about people. i got elected -- i like to talk about people. i got elected to congress to help people. the agenda by this republican majority is all about push -- putting people down. we should be about lifting people up in this country. we can meet our budgetary

challenges without lowering the standard of living for the people of this country. and with that, mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to reject this rule and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker, i'd like to yield three minutes to the distinguished gentleman from iowa, mr. latham. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. latham: i thank the speaker and thank the gentlewoman from north carolina for yielding time. i'm very pleased to speak in favor of the rule on h.r. 5972, the fiscal year 2013 transportation, housing and urban development appropriations bill. i want to thank the chairman and ranking member of the rules committee for their assistance in moving this important bill forward. i also want to thank chairman rogers and ranking member dicks for their commitment to moving appropriation bills through the house so we can fund america's

priorities. while demonstrating the committee's proven record of cutting waste, fraud and abuse. i in particular want to thank the fellow ranking member, john oliver, for his assistance in crafting -- john olver, for his assistance in crafting this bill. this is his last bill before retiring at the end of the year. this is responsible for our most pressing needs. this allocation of $51.6 billion is almost $4 billion below fiscal year 2012 and almost $2 billion below the president's request. the bill also reflects the budget resolution passed by the house. . the bill is largely free of authorization and leaving that to the financial services committee. as amendments are rolling in, we

are seeing a very familiar theme , authorizing provisions. there are a multitude of issues, especially in the transportation title and housing title that are desperately needed to be considered and acted upon by the authorizing committees of jurisdiction. a number of members have good ideas for improving these programs and the authorizers need to have the opportunity to turn these ideas into law. the appropriations committee can only deal with existing law, so i would urge my colleagues with amendments that are out of order, please bring these issues to the relevant chairmen and improve the statutes. we can't make authorizing changes on this appropriations bill. i urge my colleagues to support the rule. i look forward to the general debate on the transportation and h.u.d. bill and a very speedy amendment process. and i thank the gentlelady again and i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from, mr. farr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. farr: thank you very much, mr. speaker and thank you very much for yielding. i rise in strong opposition to the allocation that our committee in agriculture and food and drug administration, but i rise in support of the rule for moving this process forward with great floor debate. the allocation to our committee was given to us as $1.7 billion or % below what the president requested and $365 million, 8% below what we enacted in the house last year in 2012. chairman kingston, my colleague on the republican side of the aisle who is chair of our committee has done a great job and talks about how we have

savings that have been found in tough budget times and everybody has to tighten our belts, and we all know that. but what are the costs of tightening those belts and depending on those programs for their survival. programs have been cut so deep that they will not be able to perform the duties. this slashes food for peace by 22%. let me be crystal clear what this cut means. it's the wrong thing to do. it means six to eight million people will face starvation. cutting food aid only increases the need to bump up more costly efforts later on. 44,000 americans who produce that food could be losing their jobs. those include farmers, shippers of food, processers, port workers who ship it across the

seas. i feel where this bill is going in another example is to cut 41% from the commodities futures trading commission. that is misguided. this will hurt american taxpayers. the cftc is charged with unregulated swaps. $300 trillion. 300 trillion of these swaps. and grossly unregulated. this regulatory oversight protects the american taxpayer and reckless wall street behavior that caused the 2008 financial crises. we all know that that led to the collapse of the housing market, which is still dragging down economic growth in all of our communities across america. we need to restore the people's confidence in our ability to govern and regulate wall street

and benefit main street. we in congress need to restore the cftc funding. and remember that the f.d.a., which is the food and drug administration overseas foods from more than 3,000 facilities in 200 countries around the world. and i appreciate the effort here to bump up food safety modernization implementation. however, the total food and drug administration is funded at $16 million and $31 million below what was requested for this year. as you know, the addition to overseing most of our food supplies responsible for the safety of drugs and medical devices, many of which are imported to the united states. in closing, i do think that chairman kingston made a good effort in crafting this bill given the allocation he had to deal with. i support this rule.

and let's have a good hearty debate and adopt some amendments to correct it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from north carolina. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. one of the bills that will receive consideration is h.r. 5973, which primarily funds agriculture and nutrition programs. the legislation contains discretionary funding as well as required mandatory funding for food and nutrition programs within the department of agriculture. this includes funding for the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children. the supplemental nutrition program, snap and the child nutrition programs. it provides $6. billion in funding for w.i.c. which is above last year's level. it provides supplemental

nutritional foods, babies and young children. language is included for oversight and monitoring requirements to ensure the proper use of taxpayer dollars to ensure necessary resources continues serving those eligible for program benefits. the bill provides for $19.7 billion and mandatory funding outside the discretionary funding jurisdiction of the appropriations for child nutrition which is $5.1 billion. the bill provides for $80 billion in mandatory spending against outside of the discretionary funding jurisdiction of the appropriations committee for snap, the food stamp program. this is $408 million below last year's level. since food stamps or snap spending is driven by program participation, the spending is called mandatory. this legislation also includes new stringent reporting

requirements to help weed out and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse such as the requirement for states to include the fraud hotline number on all cards to direct the secretary of secretary of agriculture to ban fraudulent vendors and require states to share data with enforcement agencies. the legislation includes $996 million for food safety and inspection programs which is equal to the president's request and decrease of $9 million below last year's level. they play a significant role in maintaining the safety and productivity of the country's 832 billion meat and poultry industry, help maintain critical meat, poultry and egg product inspection and testing activities and support the implementation of a poultry inspection program to improve safety and inspection efficiency. this voluntary inspection program is expect todd reduce

government costs by $95 million over three years and reduce costs to businesses. the f.d.a. receives a total of $2.5 billion in the bill representing a .7% or $16.3 million reduction below last year's level. total funding for the f.d.a. is $2.8 billion. i look forward to hearing from committee leaders who will provide further discussion of various elements of the legislation at the time the bill is debated. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: before i yield to the the gentlewoman from connecticut. i would like to yield myself such time as i may consume. i think it's important for us not to try to fool anybody by saying that we are adequately

living up to the challenge of combating hunger and food insecurity in this country because there are 49 million americans who would disagree and they are hungry in our country. the richest country on the planet. 17 million of them are children. among the many things that are cut in this agriculture appropriations bill is the commodities supplemental food program. that would throw seniors off of food assistance. we can talk about that we are trying to do the best we can, but let's not say we are doing something we are not. we are not meeting the challenge of ending hunger and food insecurity in america. and this is one of the things of this appropriations process, the very programs to help people get out of poverty and get on their feet again are being flashed. you are balancing the budget on the backs of hungry people while

you ask donald trump not to pay one penny more in taxes. that's unfair. i yield 2 1/2 minutes to the the gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from connecticut is recognized. ms. delauro: i rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying agricultural f.d.a. appropriations bill. it does not meet our responsibility to the american people. this bill's allocation is $1.7 billion below the president's request. it represents a breaking of the bipartisan agreement we made last august. it will have dramatic impact on the fundamental american priority, embedded in this bill especially in the critical areas of financial protection, nutrition, food safety and anti-hunger programs. i would like to submit this letter from the united states conference of catholic bishops for the record, a letter that speaks out against the

inadequate funding for nutrition and anticipate hunger programs in this appropriations bill. nearly half of the babies born in the united states every year participate in the women, infants and children program. it ace short-term intervention that can provide good nutrition and lifetime behavior. the bill underfunds w i.c. the cornerstone of our food and safety system, it is below previous funding. this places the agency's vital mission. it cuts the food for peace program. $-- 6.6 million fewer people will be fed. 300 children perish every hour because of hunger. ronald reagan correctly food for peace and i quote, an instrument of american compassion and we should support it. we know for a fact that risky

behavior in derivative markets precipitated the 2008 financial meltdown is still happening. we have seen it with j.p. morgan. americans want more accountability from wall street and less speculation that are driving up oil prices and this bill funds the commodity futures trading commission at $25 million less than 2012 and $428 million, 41%. this is setting the commission up for failure. we have a lot of work to do to fix this bill. we must ensure the fundamental priorities of the people we represent, like preserving fair markets, improving nutrition, ensuring food and consumer safety are upheld. i urge my colleagues to oppose this rule. i might add in the state of connecticut in the third congressional district, win out of seven individuals is food

insecure. they don't know where their next meal is coming from. we have 49 million people in this nation who are going to bed hungry every night in the richest country in the world. it is inconceivable that we would cut back on food and nutrition programs where the nation is suffering from the most serious economic recession it is having and that we would cut back on food stamps, we cut back on school breakfast programs, school lunch programs, the emergency food assistance program, the commodities food supplemental program and while the richest people are having three squares a day or better, let's get our priorities straight and focus on the people that we represent. oppose this rule and oppose this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentlelady from north carolina. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. the other bill that would benefit from consideration under

this open rule is h.r. 5972 which provides funding aimed at supporting a vibrant transportation system while making the difficult decisions to balance the budget. it includes, $17 billion for the department of transportation for fiscal year 2013. this is $69 million below last year's level. it designates $39.1 billion from the highway trust fund from the federal highway program which is the same level provided last year. however, the committee recognizes since the highway programs still requires authorization and the funding levels may change upon the enactment of the highway authorization bill for the next fiscal year, the appropriations committee is prepared to support a different highway trust fund spending level should a new authorization bill be enacted. included in the legislation at $12.6 billion for the federal

aviation which is $91 million above last year's level. it provides $1 billion for the next generation air transportation system allowing the f.a.a. to move forward with the next step in modernizing the nation's air system. it supports operations in staffing which will ease congestion and reduce delays for u.s. travelers, while rejecting the administration's proposals for new aviation fees. the legislation contains funding for the various transportation safety programs and agencies within the department of transportation. this includes $776 million of both mandatory and discretionary funding from the national highway safety administration and reducing below last year, $551 million for the federal motor safety carrier association , $2.6 million below last year,

$177 million for the pipeline and hazardous safety administration which is above last year's level. legislation includes $33.6 billion for the department of housing and urban development which is $3.8 billion below last year's level. the bill wastes no funding on any new unauthorized sustainable, livable or green community. $26.3 billion is included in the bill for public and indian housing representing an increase of $759 million above last year's level. within this total, the bill provides funding to renew benefits for every single individual and family currently receiving assistance and ensures no critical benefits are eliminated or canceled. the bill also fully funds the president's request for veterans' housing at $75 million and native american block grants at 960 million.

. $49 million below the request. within this total the bill provides sufficient funding for the most vulnerable populations, including $165 million for housing for the disabled and an increase of $15 million over last year, and $425 million for housing of the elderly, again an increase of $50 million above last year. these are just some of the priorities outlined in the underlying legislation. again, i look forward to hearing from committee leaders who will provide further discussion of the various elements of the legislation. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: this rule allows members to go home to their districts. even if we don't hammer out a deal to fund our transportation programs and create jobs notwithstanding the fact that our infrastructure is crumbling.

if we defeat the previous question will be aye anun-- offer an amendment to the rule to say that the house cannot adjourn at the end of this week until we finish our business and to discuss this amendment i would yield two minutes to the gentleman from washington, mr. larsen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. larson: mr. speaker, i rise today to -- mr. larsen: mr. speaker, i rise today to oppose the rule because we are set to adjourn this week without finishing critical work on transportation. we need a long-term surface transportation bill that puts americans back to work. mr. speaker, this house only builds roads in order to find ways -- in order to find cans to kick down those roads. we cannot have a big league economy with little league infrastructure in this country. we need a long-term investment to repair our roads, bridges and highways and to maintain our transit systemless. leaders of our country have

always recognized this fact. three years after lewis and clark left for the west president jefferson secured funding for the cumberland road. if jefferson recognized the importance of transportation in linking this country, uniting the states in a shared economy and trade, surely we can show that same recognition today by staying here to ensure that the work of job creation is done. the question before us is whether this body recognizes that transportation projects create jobs and set the stage for economic growth. a bipartisan bill passed out of the senate. it was forged out of compromise. it is a bipartisan solution. it means immediate job creation. it means jobs for private sector contractors, laborers and engineers. a conference committee is meeting right now to bring us a long-term authorization to

create real jobs. we should not adjourn without a long-term, robust and bipartisan investment in transportation and jobs. and i urge my colleagues to vote against this rule so we can finish this work. with that i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, my colleagues are talking about the fact that we are going to have a district work period next week. the district work period is because next week we are celebrating the signing of the declaration of independence. one of the most important holidays in this country. our colleagues across the aisle want to create more dependence in this country. they are as far away from the founders of this country as you can be in terms of what makes

this country unique and what makes it so great. we don't need more dependence in this country, mr. speaker. we need to celebrate what makes this country great, what makes us unique. it's the independence of this country and the independence of citizens and their ability to take care of themselves and personally to take care of each other and not continue to look to the nanny state that our friends would create and have tried to create over the years. these are very difficult times, mr. speaker. we all know that. but it's important that the american people understand that house republicans have repeatedly worked to find common ground with the president and senate democrats and have passed several bipartisan bills that would improve this economy which has been so damaged by the policies of the left and this

president. several proposals supported even by the president have passed the house and been signed into law, including trade pacs, bipartisan veterans hiring bill, a repeal of the i.r.s. withholding taxes on job creators. but the president's own job council has embraced many of the job proposals advocated by republicans but ignored by the president himself. the simple truth is that president obama's attempt, supported by our colleagues on the other side of the aisle and by them only, to stimulate the economy by growing government has failed. but you don't have to take my word for it, mr. speaker. just look at the facts. the recent jobs report showed that the u.s. gained only 69,000 jobs in the month of may. may marked the 40th consecutive

month that the unemployment rate has remained above 8%. reputeyading -- repudiating -- repudiating the administration's pledge that unemployment will remain below 8% from the democrat 2009 stimulus plan became law. lest we forget it was the obama administration which claimed unemployment would be below 6% today if the $1.178 trillion democrat stimulus was signed into law. at the current rate of job growth, if the united states continues to struggle under the failed policies that have produced the obama economy and adds only 69,000 jobs each month in the future, it would take a total of 10 years and five months until june, 2018, to regain all the jobs lost during the latest recession which is longer than the eight years it took to regain the jobs lost during the great depression. but even these figures, mr. speaker, hide the fact that the rate of underemployment or real

unemployment which counts those who want to work but have stopped searching in this economy and those who are forced to work part time because they cannot find full employment is 14.5% or higher. also troubling is the realization that since 2008, which is the year president obama was elected, median family income has declined by $1,154. falling to its lowest level since 1996. as of march, 2012, the number of americans receiving food stamps was 46.4 million. which is the third most in any month in history and up 80,000 from february. today 15% of americans receive food stamps, representing an increase of 45% since president obama took office. mr. speaker, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to continue the failed policies

they began in 2007 and instituted for four years and worked with president obama for two years on. fortunately, mr. speaker, house republicans are working to improve the dismal conditions imposed by the liberal regime that dominated washington, d.c., for far too long and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. let me just say, i hope that the gentlelady wasn't implying that somehow the federal government doesn't have a role in investing in our national highway, -- highway infrastructure. dwight eisenhower, a republican, i should remind the gentlelady, you know, understood the important of having a national highway program. and as has been pointed out by a number of our speakers on the democratic side, our infrastructure is aging and is falling apart. and we're not going to be able to compete in this global economy unless we make the proper investments. and by making the proper

investments we are not only helping our economy, we are putting people back to work. we are putting people back to work. and yet the republican leadership of this house is holding hostage a transportation bill that passed the senate that would put countless people back to work, that passed overwhelmingly in the senate, 74 votes, overwhelmingly in the senate. we can't get that brought up on the house floor for a vote. the republicans -- i would say, mr. speaker, i think are intentionally running out the clock. i think it's a cynical attempt to hold everything up, to not invest in our economy, to slow down economic growth, hopefully i think in their minds, i think they hope that will win them the election. i think it's a cynical way to do politics. we ought to be on this floor helping the american people. and, yes, the fourth of july is a great time for us to celebrate, you know, our country. but a lot of americans are not going to celebrate because

they're out of work. and we have the ability to put them back to work and yet my friends on the other side of the aisle are holding hostage the very bill that could put countless americans back to work. at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from connecticut, mr. courtney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from connecticut is recognized. mr. courtney: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, unless congress acts in the next four days, the subsidized stafford student loan interest rate is going to double from 3.4% to 6.8%. despite the fact that that looming deadline is staring us in the face, what we are debating here is a rule which allows the house to go into recess for the 10th week since january which is part of this rule. the good news is that a couple of hours ago it was reported that the senate and republican leadership have actually agreed upon a settlement of this issue which would allow the 3.4% rate to be extended for one year. but i would note that mitch

mcconnell, who is the minority leader for the republican party, said that, quote, final approval of the student loan legislation really depends on house republicans. i mean, the fact of the matter is we have no idea whether or not the house republican leadership is going to agree to this compromise which the senate leadership reached a few hours ago, because all we're debating here today is another adjournment or recess motion before the house. the fact of the matter is it is time for us to focus on this issue which the president on january 25 challenged congress to act on. i started this countdown chart at day 110. we are now down to the final hours before the interest rates which will cost thousands of dollars of more interest costs to college students across america unless we act. the fact of the matter is the house republican bill that they rushed to the floor without a subcommittee hearing, without a markup, was completely rejected by republicans in the senate. we now have the glimmer of a deal, a compromise. we should not be debating

another adjournment resolution for the 10th week of recess this year unless we get this work done. there are millions of college students all across america who are waiting for us to get this issue resolved so that they can plan their budget for the next fall semester and the fact that we're here again with another adjournment resolution, with the most unproductive congress in recent memory, is ridiculous and we should reject this rule. let's focus on getting the work done that the american people are counting on. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady is recognized. ms. foxx: we are not debating an adjournment resolution today and i need to remind my colleague across the aisle, it was the democrats that set the student loan promise up and they made promises they couldn't keep so

they set up a time bomb so that the interest rates on the student loans would go back up because they made promises they couldn't keep about lowering the rate of interest. and it affects a very small number of students and only affects them when they graduate from college, mr. speaker. and if the obama economy weren't so lousy and only 50% of the students graduating were getting jobs, it wouldn't be that big an issue because it is a small amount of money to the students. and if they had jobs they wouldn't be quite so concerned about it. they only have to pay the loans back when they graduate because we are subsidizing interest while they are in school. i don't think our colleagues don't want to go in that direction and blame republicans for this mess for student loans since they created it and if the students were getting jobs, most of them wouldn't be as concerned about it as they are now.

also on the transportation bill that our colleagues tout so well, it fits into their philosophy of borrow, borrow, borrow, spend, spend, spend. it is not a responsible bill because the republican bill would stay within the limits of the revenue that we get from the highway trust fund. but they just want to borrow from the general fund and make our situation worse. mr. speaker, it seems clear to everyone except the liberals, job creators are being bogged by overburden some regulation that hinder economic growth. this is damaging to the real job creators, small business owners. the federal government may create jobs, but they are not sustainable jobs and they are a drag on the economy. however, house republicans

recognize the need to remove redundant federal regulations that are so harmful to small businesses and impede private sector investment and job creation. in order to ease the regulatory burden on the economy and promote job creation, house republicans have worked to advance legislation to rein in and continue to pursue initiatives such as my bill h.r. 373 unfunded mandate and transparency act which would help improve transparency and accountability by disclosing costs that would otherwise remain hidden from public scrutiny. house republicans appreciate that america's tax code has grown overly complicated and has fundamentally unfair. the house republican plan for america's job creators recognizes the need to eliminate the special interest tax breaks that liter the tax code and

reduce the overall tax rate to no more than 25% for business and individuals, including small business owners. this would make the tax code flatter, fairer and simpler. commonsense changes would ensure that everyone pays his or her fair share, lessens the burdens on families, generates economic expansion and creates jobs by making americans more competitive. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. mr. mcgovern: i yield 1 1/2 minutes to the the gentlewoman from california, mrs. davis. mrs. davis: i urge a no vote on the previous question so an amendment to the rule can be offered. we just heard about what makes this country great. i think what makes this country great is the education of our people. we know that having a education is key to achieving the american

dream and key to keeping our country competitive. and we all know that, because the folks in this chamber know the importance of a college education. most people here have gone to college, but there are millions of young adults who are slowly seeing that opportunity evaporate as television is -- as tuition is sky rocketing. some of the students are providing for their families while taking a full academic course load and others are just scraping by each semester. an additional burden of $1,000 in interest payments is no trifling matter for these students. and yet we see the partisan games have led to gridlock. college students know that if they miss deadlines, there are

consequences. and for congress, there should be consequences, too. well, mr. speaker, the clock is running out. and i urge my colleagues, please support a solution that gives students and families the relief that they desperately need. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady from north carolina. ms. foxx: i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and stepped my remarks. i thank my friend for yielding. most americans would agree that would it would be a good idea to put americans back to work. i think most americans would agree doubling interest rates on student loans would be

disastrous for people struggling to get a college education. i think most americans would agree that if the other body passed a transportation bill by three-quarters of the members voting for it, republican and democrat, it would be a good idea to take that bill up here. i think most americans would agree that if the democratic and republican leadership in the other body reached an agreement on a way to keep the student loan rates low and not add to the deficit by paying for it, it would be a good idea to bring the bill up here. the unfornt thing for the house and -- the unfortunate thing for the house and the country that the only people not part of that consensus are the republican members of the house of representatives. no matter if the senate republicans say it's ok and senate democrats say it's ok and the president says it's ok, more importantly, if the american people say it's ok, it isn't

usually ok with them. what mr. mcgovern is saying is this, until we keep the student loan rates low and until we pass a jobs bill to put people back to work in transportation, let's not take our tenth week of paid vacation this year. i think that is a pretty reasonable thing to do. so voting no says let's get our work done before we go home. vote no. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from north carolina. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. i don't know about my colleagues across the aisle. it's not a paid vacation for me. i go home and spend time with my constituents and hear from them what is of concern. maybe they are on vacation but i know people on our side of the aisle are not on vacation and they are working hard.

i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: may i inquire of the gentlelady how many more speakers she has. ms. foxx: we are prepared to close. mr. mcgovern: can i ask how much time i have left. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 2 1/2 minutes. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, our job should be to help improve the quality of life for the citizens that we represent. we ought to be investing in our economy at this very difficult time. that's why we are urging the house republicans to join with the senate republicans and the senate democrats and the house democrats in bringing a highway bill to the floor so we can provide some certainty to our states so there can be more investments in infrastructure and be more jobs created. that would give the american people a little something to celebrate. we are urging my colleagues on

the republican side here in the house to join with us in making sure that interest rates on student loans don't double for a great number of young people in this country, who are trying to get an education. you know, my colleague from north carolina would have us believe that it's no big deal. well, it is a big deal. it's a big deal to those students and their families and to those of us on this side of the aisle and maybe that's one of the differences between the two parties. we believe college education ought to be affordable and no one should not go to college because they cannot afford the education. i would ask unanimous consent to insert the text of an amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question, which would -- the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcgovern: which says we aren't going home and not leaving this place until we do

our work because part of our job is not just going home and meeting with our constituents and marching in parades. part of our job is to pass legislation that is important to the people we represent. this highway bill is important to putting people back to work. my friends on the other side have dragged their feet and dragged their feet and dragged their feet is unconscionable. we are running out of time. and if it means we have to stay through the weekend and stay through next week, we should stay through next week but we ought to do something meaningful. our job shouldn't be about lowering the quality of life. that is the appropriations process. ith is all about putting the -- donald trump is not asked to pay

one penny more. i urge a no vote on the rule and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the lance of his time. the gentlelady from north carolina. ms. foxx: mr. speaker, again, next week is 4th of july and we will be celebrating independence day and i would like to say i don't believe the job of the federal government is to provide things to citizens, but to preserve our liberty. and that's what next week should be reminding us of. house republicans are aware of the clear mandate the american people gave us. our charge is to reduce the crushing debt that our country is currently carrying. according to the senate budget committee, debt grew times four times fa faster than clinton or bush and amassed more debt than president bush did. today the national debt is over $15 trillion which amounts to nearly $48,000 for every man, woman and child in america.

it's clear that without a change in leadership in the white house and senate, the legacy we are apt to leave our children and grandchildren would be a crushing debt burden and weaker, less secure and less prosperous nation. this is simply unacceptable. the federal government's current budget deficits are simply unsustainable during these tough economic times. american families are getting by on less. when the democratic elites were in the majority they pushed a job-killing agenda following by a tax hike in the form of cap and tried and job-killing obamacare all the while leaving our country with record debts and deficits. recognize the government has gotten too expensive, republicans are here to stop the senseless obama spending. i yield back the balance of my

time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute on ordering the previous question on house resolution 697 will be followed on adoption of the resolution if requested, motion to instruct on h.r. 4348 offered by the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer and motion to instruct on h.r. 4348 offered by the

gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. black. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 226, the nays are 168. the previous question is ordered. the question is on the adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. . those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. >> mr. speaker.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 229, the nays are 166. the resolution is adopted. without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of instruct on h.r. 4348 offered by the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will redesignate the motion. the clerk: motion to instruct conferees on h.r. 4348 offered by mr. hoyer of maryland. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to instruct. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives.

any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 172. the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 172, the nays are 225 with one present. the motion is not adopted.

without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion to instruct on h.r. 4348 offered by the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. black, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will redesignate the motion. the clerk: motion to instruct conferees on h.r. 4348 offered by mrs. black of tennessee. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to instruct. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 201, the nays are 194. the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. >> by direction of the democratic caucus, i offer a privileged resolution and ask

for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 707, resolved that the following named members be and are hereby elected to the following standing committee -- the speaker pro tempore: -- >> i ask that the resolution be considered as read and printed in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the reading is dispensed. without objection, the motion is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> mr. speaker, under rule 22, clause 7-c i hereby announce my intention to offer a motion to instruct on h.r. 4348, the transportation conference report. ms. hahn: i move that the managers on the part of the house at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two houses on the senate amendment to the bill h r. 4348 be

instructed to agree to the freight policy provision in section 1115, section 33002, section 33003, and section 33005 of the senate amendment. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's notice will appear in the record. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> mr. speaker, i under rule 22, clause 7-c, i hereby announce my intention to offer a motion to instruct on h.r. 4348, the transportation conference report. move that the managers on the part of the house at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two hows on the senate amendment to bill h.r. 4348 be instructed to resolve all issues and follow conference report not later than june 28, 2012. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's notice will appear in the record.

frump does the gentlelady rise? ms. jackson lee: during the consideration of the domestic energy and jobs act of 2012, i was unavoidably detained in me district. i would like to place in the record the following statement regarding the amendments and ask unanimous consent, on the hastings amendment opposed, no, waxman, yes, connolly, yes, gene green, yes, rush, yes, holt, yes, lewis, yes. markey, yes. landry, no. regal, no, holt, yes, whitman no. bass, yes, capps, yes, starr, yes, delauro, yes, democratic

motion to recommit, yes, passage, no. i ask unanimous consent that this be placed in the proper place in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady's statement will appear in the record. for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h r. 5972 and that i may include tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection,, pursuant to house resolution 697 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 5972. the chair appoints the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, to preside over the committee of the whole.

the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 5972, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. the gentleman from iowa, mr. latham, and the gentleman from massachusetts, are recognized for 30 minutes. the gentleman will suspend. the committee will be in order. the gentleman from iowa is recognized. mr. latham: i yield myself such

time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. latham: i am pleased to present the 2013 transportation, housing and urban development bill to the house. i would like to take a moment to congratulate my colleague john olver for his many years of service. he is retiring at the end of this congress an i have to say he'll be sorely missed by all of us. this is a better bill because of his relentless quest for knowledge about its programs and i think you, john olver, for your service, not just to this institution but to the nation. but thank you very much, you're a great, great partner. you'll be missed. the bill before the committee today is a balanced proposal of how to allocate $51.6 billion among federal housing and transportation programs across the nation. continuing our commitment to reduce government spending, our

allocation is almost $4 billion below fiscal year 2012 and almost $2 billion below the president's request. the bill also reflects the budget resolution as passed by the house. mr. chairman, we had to make some hard choices on funding levels for the agencies in this bill. we dedicate ourselves to this task while recognizing the serious fiscal constraints that the nation faces. we also kept this bill largely free of authorizations, leaving that important work to the transportation and infrastructure and financial services committees. we also reject many new unauthorized programs that were proposed by the president. for transportation program, this bill focuses on programs most critical to public safety and economic growth. we fully fund f.a.a. safety programs and provide $1 billion to vns the next generation of

air traffic control. we also fund programs to support growth and commercial space in unmanned aerial systems, which will play a key role in keeping these u.s. industries in the global cutting edge. this bill rejects new fees on air passengers proposed by the president that would harm our economy at this time. this bill funds highway and transit programs consistent with last year's levels but contingent upon re-authorization. fortunately, mr. chairman, it appears that there's a positive movement on the transportation bill. this bill funds highways and transits consistent with last year's level but again contingent for re-authorization. the bill cuts the amtrak operating subsidy by $116 million below last year and does not fund the president's request for high speed rail. however, the bill does provide $500 million in authorized

funds to fix existing infrastructure on public passenger lines. this will immediately create jobs and as the c.b.o. has scored it, with an almost 80% outlay rate in the first year. we believe this is a better alternative to the administration's high speed rail proposal. for housing programs, this bill fully funds renews of the section 8 vouchers serving about 2.2 million families. we also provide 75 -- provide $75 million for 10,000 new vouchers for the homeless vets. we fully fund the budget request in that item. the bill matches the president's request for $8.7 billion for project based rental assistance, the cdbg is funded at a $3.4 billion level and home is funded at $1.2 billion. i'd like to close by saying we

tried to be balanced in our approach with this bill but we did reject broad new unauthorized programs requested by the president, we also do not include other authorizing provisions requested by other members out of deference to the ongoing work of both the t&i and financial services committees. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. olver: thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. olver: mr. chairman, it is a pleasure to see the transportation, housing and urban development and related agencies appropriations bill

for fiscal year 2013. considered on the house floor. -- considered on the house floor this year. i thank chairman latham first for his kind words but also for maintaining an inclusive committee process as this bill was prepared. he has been a good partner for the last four years and i value our relationship. i also want to recognize the hard work of the committee staff, especially on the majority side, sara peters, mike freeberg, brian barnard and doug. on the minority side, kate, joe carlisle and blare anderson. chairman latham and i are lucky to have such dedicated staff who work amiably and respectfully together. they have spent many late nights putting this bill together and we would not be here today without their hard work.

mr. chairman, the republican leadership's decision to ignore last summer's budget control act agreement has left this bill with an inadequate allocation. to properly fund our transportation and housing investment needs. the resulting artificially low allocation forced chairman latham to make unnecessary and destructive tradeoffs, specifically, i have concerned that the ryan budget forces taos accept the administration's proposal to fund project-based section 8 contracts for less than a full year. this does not shrink the program nor reduce the deficit, it simply pushes the costs down the road and increases uncertainty for private business owners. i'm also disappointed that the this bill does not fund the sustainable commities initiative. however, within the constraints forced upon him, i recognize that chairman latham has put forward a respectable bill that

contains a number of bright spots including increases for amtrak, cdbg and housing for the elderly, for which he should be commended. i hope that as the process moves forward and we receive a real allocation, these will be presembd and the holes can be addressed. unfortunately, i'm concerned that the house republican leadership's decision to underfund this bill is not an isolated incident but is symptomatic of an ideology that does not understand the value of infrastructure investment. this strategy is wrong for america. last year the leaders of the u.s. chamber of commerce and the afl-cio, not usually bedfellow, agreed we must have greater investment in our nation's infrastructure in order to create jobs and be come tetpive -- competitive in the global economy. a modern, well-maintained transportation network is absolutely necessary for our economy to grow and the country

to prosper. the influence of our transportation networks on the economy is staggering. our auto manufacturing industry, its enormous part supplier base, the network of gas stations and the oil industry all thrive because we have an efficient highway system that people need to use. the physical construction of roads and railroads requires aggregate materials, processed locally, steel trusses and rebar made by american companies and crews manned by american workers. our transit system supports the domestic manufacturing of buses, street cars and trains, while providing businesses with cost effective access to labor pools. furthermore, every good produce or consumed in the st must be

transported via our network of roads, rails and ports. result the efficiency with which our system operates determines whether american goods can compete in the global marketplace. yet report after report indicates that we're falling behind. the american society of civil engineers infrastructure report card gave us a d and estimated that more than a $2 trillion investment is needed. d.o.t.'s most recent conditions and performance report indicates that there's an annual investment gap of $27 billion just to maintain our current system of highways and bridges in a state of good repair. and a much larger gap to expand the system to meet the needs of the growing population. the united states has the largest economy in the world yet the world economic forum's most recent ranking drops america's infrastructure quality to 23rd

in the world. the reason for our infrastructure decline is simple. we're not raising enough revenue to fund our infrastructure needs. in 2000 the highway and mass transit accounts raised $35 billion. by 2011 they only raised $37 billion. when you factor in inflation, we are raising 20% fewer dollars for our transportation infrastructure than we did 10 years ago. this is unsustainable. during the same period the u.s. population grew 10% to 309 million people. 65% of them live in metropolitan areas, having populations greater than 500,000 people. our largest 50 metropolitan areas have more than one million in population.

13 of them, all cities in the sunbelt such as dallas, houston, orlando, phoenix and charlotte, grew more than 25% in one single decade. the last decade. such burgeoning communities need a massive, timely expansion of both highway and transit facilities in order to ensure that rapid population growth doesn't choke their economies with congestion. in contrast, 22 of those 50 largest metro areas, all older, mature metropolitan areas including boston, new york, philadelphia, cleveland, pittsburgh, chicago and los angeles, are going -- growing slower than the national average but their built-out highway transit and commuter rail systems are deteriorating and need a massive, timely program of rehabilitation to simply reach a state of good repair.

our rural areas face an even worse problem. the number of counties in rural america who are losing population is rising rapidly. with that comes disinvestment in education, health care and public infrastructure of all shades. yet virtually the entire rural road system must be maintained in a state of good repair for our rural areas will become even greater pockets of poverty. if we were to meet these changing population demographics and provide a transportation system that functions as a sound foundation and not a hindrance on our economy, congress must find the means and grow the political courage to raise revenue. the current debate on the surface authorization does not accomplish that. in fact, the present gridlock of debate is only effective at

slowing economic growth and keeping america's unemployment high. that cannot be america's goal. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from iowa. mr. latham: i thank the chairman and i would be proud to yield five minutes to the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from kentucky, mr. rogers. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for five minutes. mr. rogers: mr. chairman, thank you for yielding and thanks to the chair. i rise in support of this bill. this is the sixth bill that we've considered in the house floor which means the house is nearly halfway done with its appropriations bills for fiscal 2013. the appropriations committee has considered 11 of the 12 annual bills so far this year in record time. i'm proud of our quick and thorough progress and also that we've been able to work in regular order which has been the goal of this committee from the

get-go last january. the other commitment this committee made at the beginning of the congress was to reduce discretionary spending wherever we can. in the past two fiscal years we've cut spending by more than $95 billion and are on our way to continued reductions for a third year in a row. i've said it before, mr. chairman. but this is an historic accomplishment. a record for spending reductions that this nation has not seen since at least world war ii. the fiscal 2013 transportation housing and urban development appropriations bill continues this downward trajectory. cutting nearly $4 billion from last year's level, bringing us to the lowest level of spending for this bill since 2009. the $51.6 billion included in

this bill funds department of transportation agencies like the f.a.a., the federal railroad administration, the national highway traffic safety administration, as well as critical housing and urban development programs. within the department of transportation the bill targets funds toward programs that improve the reliability, the efficiency and safety of our nation's transportation system. this includes reducing con -- congestion and delays for air travelers by providing nearly $1 billion for the f.a.a.a.'s nextgen program. carefully funding amtrak to help build and maintain rail bridges and tunnels and supporting construction at airports across the nation. these smart investments in america's infrastructure will help create an environment that supports job creation and spurs economic growth.

overall, funding for the department of housing and development is cut by $3.8 billion compared with last year, but we took careful steps to ensure that this reduction didn't unfairly displace our most vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities and the elderly. the funding in this section of the bill prioritizes the most beneficial and cost effective programs. we're providing section 8 vouchers for 2.2 million families, fully funding the president's request, and keeping our veterans with roofs over their heads. we also increased funding for the community development block grant program. throughout the bill, the chairman of the subcommittee has made policy reforms and conditions that will ensure greater efficiency and less waste. the safe and responsible shepherding of taxpayer dollars

is important governmentwide, particularly when dealing with our nation's infrastructure and housing. we help guarantee that taxpayer dollars aren't slipping through the cracks by implementing strict oversight and eliminating wasteful, unnecessary programs. to this end we provided no funding for the president's high-speed rail program, the unauthorized and expensive choice neighborhoods program, or the extraneous tiger grants program. among other uneconomical and unnecessary initiatives. furthermore, the bill rejects the administration's attempted accounting tricks that would enact new fees on air travelers. there are still several moving parts in this section of the bill, as we await re-authorization for the highway trust fund and its mass transit account. the committee standed ready to adjust the bill as needed if a multiyear authorization should be enacted. in closing i want to take a

moment to extend my thanks to -- and congratulations to chairman latham, ranking member olver, and the entire subcommittee for their expert work on this bill. i also want to thank the staff for from both majority and minority. without them the bill would not be here. as many of you know, this is ranking member olver's final thud appropriations bill before he retires. his leadership and his expertise, his work on this committee, and his contribution to the house as a whole are incomparable and we will certainly miss the gentleman a great deal. congratulations, mr. olver, for a great career in this body. mr. chairman, i urge my colleagues to support this bill. it smartly focuses on our key infrastructure priorities, supports a more responsible and slimmed-down housing department and holds the line on discretionary spending to a more

sustainable level. i thank the chair, i thank the chair. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. olver: mr. chairman, first i want to thank the chairman of the appropriations committee for his kind words as well. and now i would -- now i will yield three minutes to the gentlelady from ohio, ms. kaptur, who is a member of the subcommittee -- of the subcommittee. the chair: the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for three minutes. ms. kaptur: i thank ranking member olver, the gentleman from massachusetts, for recognizing me today and first i would like to share my appreciation for all of the work that congressman olver has dedicated his life to throughout his two-decade-long career with intelligence, integrity and honor. more recently i would like to

take a moment to recognize the work he has done the past four years as both chair and ranking member of the very productive bipartisan transportation, housing and urban development subcommittee. his presence, his experience, his moderation, his knowledge, his collegiality, his genius will certainly be missed and we thank him for his phenomenal service to our country. with that i applaud the work that both he and chairman latham have done with the subcommittee, f.y. 2013 legislation. unfortunately their sense of necessary bipartisanship does not extend to the leadership of this house. i must reference the beginning of the appropriations process and the leadership's misguided decision to undermine the budget control act of 2011. the result of our negotiations last summer created a bipartisan agreement and with discretionary programs, having a spending cap of $1.047 trillion.

however the republican leadership reneged on that deal, leaving us with $19 billion less for discretionary programs essential for the american public and the american economy during this crucial moment of economic recovery. despite the fact that they pulled the rug out from under the committee on transportation, amtrak is actually funded somewhat above the fiscal year 2012 level. you know, america has 300 million people today. a little bit over that. by 2050 she will have 500 million people. we simply need leadership in this country to know that we have to meet the needs of a new day. this bill moves us in that direction. the legislation also provides re newable -- renewal of housing contracts for every eligible individual and family currently receiving them, for 2/3 of them they will not get the full-year renewal. this is not the moment to undermine our nation's housing market further. local community programs like cdbg and home are funded at less

than adequate levels, but we did the best we could with the allocation, an important program, h.u.d. veterans afares support of housing program is fully funded which will provide housing vouchers for over 10,000 veterans, most of them homeless across our country. again i want to thank chairman latham and ranking member olver as well as the full committee chairman, rogers, and ranking member dicks for their work. this bill is constrained by budget realities that continue to reward wall street insiders at the expense of the middle class and the poor. i alone can't change that, but this bill demonstrates that the appropriations committee does its work of maintaining a stable federal government as fundamental to a stable society in this great nation and i thank the gentleman for yielding me three minutes and i will yield back in the time to him for further discussion by other members. the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired.

the gentleman from iowa. mr. latham: i reserve at this time. the chair: the gentleman from iowa reserves his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. olver: i yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, a member of the appropriations committee. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. lee: thank you, mr. chairman. let me thank our ranking member for yielding, but also i want to thank the subcommittee chair and the entire staff for their tireless effort to bring this appropriations bill to the floor. i also want to say to the ranking member, mr. olver, i will miss your thoughtfulness, i will misyour clarity of purpose on all the issues, i will miss your attention to detail and the bipartisan spirit that you bring to this appropriations committee and i just have to say, i wish you the best as you close this chapt for the your life and begin the next chapter but i'm

going to miss you deeply as we've heard tonight and we will hear until you begin this next chapter. thank you again so much for your service and most importantly, i want to thank you for your friendship. yes, as a member of the appropriations committee, i really understand the constraints which we have been working under, but i cannot support the inadequate allocation in this bill. mr. chairman this bill does not meet the basic responsibilities that we have to the american people. it shortchanges key housing and transportation initiative this is would rebuild america and put construction workers back on the job. and in a time of great need, this bill does not include a single dollar for the tiger grant program. like many communities across the nation, include manage any -- in my home district, especially my home city of oakland, california, we can't

to struggle with hoig unemployment and crumbling infrastructure. smart investments in infrastructure such as tiger grants create jobs and fix our infrastructure. tonight, congresswoman maxine waters will offer an amendment to add $500 million in tiger funding. i'm very proud to co-sponsor this amendment and i appreciate congresswoman waters bringing this forward because this is a very important amendment for us to support. so i hope all members will support that $500 million increase in tiger funding. in addition to shortchanging our transportation needs, this bill fails to invest in our nation's critical affordable housing stock and i know the chairman and mr. olver remember in committee, i tried to begin the debate on increasing the project based section 8 voucher program because landlords and developers and tenants are going to be shortchanged if we

don't fix this, hopefully that amount will be fixed -- increased in the senate. in the middle of a housing emergency, support for affordable housing for our nation's seniors, the disabled, families and children that's just plain wrong. republicans supported bailouts to wall street but even the smallest programs to help families on main street like choice neighborhoods and sustainable communities, those initiatives are pleatly zeroed out. this bill fails to fund the national affordable housing trust fund with senator sanders and myself -- which senator sanders and myself initiated when we both were on the banking committee many years ago. may i have an additional 30 seconds? mr. olver: i yield the gentlelady an additional minute. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for a minute. ms. lee: this bill fails to

fund the trust fund. we initially -- initial by -- senator sanders and myself put forth this idea when we were on the banking committee, it was an excellent idea, it was an excellent bill, it was an excellent program which would build the desperately needed house, create thousands of construction jobs, which would, of course, boost the entire economy this bill that we're debating tonight does not fund that. and that is really too bad. the american people need congress to invest in our nation's intra-- infrastructure. we cannot build a strong and prosperous nation if our roads and bridges are crumbling beneath our feet. we cannot have a strong economy if we leave millions at the risk of homelessness and struggling to find a good-paying job. i want to thank the chairman and ranking member for working on this subcommittee bill in the spirit of bipartisanship.

i think it just falls short for many of us to support. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the time of the gentlelady has expire. the gentleman from iowa. mr. latham: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. olver: i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the chair: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the ranking member and the chairman of the full committee of the subcommittee an both chair and ranking member. i, too, want to thank a moment to thank the -- to take a moment to rank the ranking member for -- to thank the ranking member for his service to this nation. we can count his work inside this house, but i think the american people must owe you a moment of fwrat feud for the work and commitment you have

shown in making sure that those who need help can get hope and i want to pay tribute to you this evening. i also want to indicate that we understand that we are living in difficult times. i raise concerns about funding, living in the fourth largest city in the nation, where we see enormous congestion and the importance of transit dollars, $900 million, fortunately, came to houston after a long, long wait to build a light rail system. those dollars need to continue. housing plays a very important role. in the city of galveston, for example, they have been the recipient of $700 million after hurricane ike to use for the restoration of private housing, infrastructure and of course public housing. to cut those lines of funding will, in essence, impact communities around the nation

who are impacted by caster -- by disaster. losing the full funding of the tiger grant, and i support the gentlelady from california's amendment to restore those dollars, they create jobs. it is important as we look at this bill that we look at it from the perspective of americans who have been impacted by disaster, of improving mobility, of ensuring we put americans back to work with funding for transportation and the infrastructure. i cite galveston in particular because there is a conflict going on with respect to the importance of public and private housing. funding that is come -- that has come about through the stafford -- mr. olver: i yield the gentlelady an additional minute. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for a minute. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman.

the situation in galveston resulted from the unique impact of hurricane ike. most think the surge would come from the larger body of water but the surge came if the bay, really impacted low-income individuals who didn't have any flood insurance or had already paid for their house, it had been in their families for years. and through the largess of the congress and h.u.d., a $700 million package was presented to restore that area and those houses and those families, many of whom i visited in tents. we have a situation where there's a misunderstanding of the value of the federal funds but we do have those federal funds and it is in tribute to this congress of which i want to see funds for public housing for affordable housing continue. and with that, i would hope that we have an opportunity in conference or have an opportunity to restore the funds that have had to be cut because they create jobs, they provide a lifeline for those impacted by disaster and they create the mobility and

infrastructure rebuild that america needs. i yield back. the chair: the time of the gentlelady has expired. the gentleman from iowa. mr. latham: i continue to reserve unless the gentleman from massachusetts has more speakers. if you'd like to go ahead and close. mr. olver: i'm prepared to yield back. do i do that first? the chair: the gentleman from iowa reserves, the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. olver: mr. chairman, i yield back the remainder of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from iowa. mr. lay sham k -- mr. latham: mr. chairman, again i want to congratulate my good friend mr. olver and second what he said, the staff on both sides does an outstanding job for the subcommittee and the country, it's a marvel to watch them work together and to come to this bill. so with that, mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from iowa yields back.

all time for general debate has expired. pursuant to the rule, the bill should be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. the amendment printed in section 3 of house resolution 697 is adopted. during consideration of the bill for further amendment, the chair may accord priority in recognition to a member offering an amendment who has caused it to be printed in a dez ig nay -- in the designated place in the congressional record. those moments -- amendments will be considered read. the clerk will rae -- will read. the clerk: enacted, the following sums for transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for fiscal year 2013, namely, department of transportation, office of the secretary, salaries and expenses, $1,278,000. the chair: for what purpose does the gentlelady rise? ms. jackson lee: i have an amendment at the desk, amendment number 413.

the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. jackson lee of texas. page three, line three, strike after secretary. the chair: the gentlelady is reck nighed for five minutes on her amendment. ms. jackson lee: as i rise to my feet, i do want to acknowledge both the staffs of the chairman and subcommittee -- the chairman of the subcommittee and raking member of the subcommittee for working with my office and i want to acknowledge the ranking member, mr. olver for his service to the nation but also for the times he has worked with members over the years and for his commitment, again to the most vulnerable. this is a bill that really addresses the needs of americans in their most deepening and expanded needs. as i said earlier, mobility, housing, so crucial, infrastructure, and the ability to create jobs and to do good this our municipalities and

rural areas. but it's also an opportunity to build capacity, grow job and build small businesses. and i know that firsthand working consistently throughout a number of appropriations bills and authorization bills and as a ranking member on the subcommittee on transportation security, in addition to our main task is to look to the needs and help build capacity in american small businesses. my amendment will assure the necessary funds that are appropriated specifically for the office of small and disadvantaged business utilization and the minority business resource center, which they cannot be used by the secretary for any other purpose. small businesses, women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, represent more than the american dream. they represent the american economy. small businesses account for 95% of all employers, create half of our gross domestic product, create three out of

four new jobs in this country and this allocation undermines women-owned and minority-owned businesses to the success of our economy. many of our utilization of federal fund going to local transit agencies, for example, in the instance of houston metro, the structure of receiving the funds is something called design build. many around the country are using that format. which means that the corporation or the retained contractor has overriding control over the distribution of those funds and the construction of that light rail. i celebrate light rail. i celebrate the importance of light rail and have done so for the time that i have had the privilege of serving houston and the 18th congressional district but in this instance it's important to note that in the course of the design bill