gunman killed 12 people. after that, the gloves came off. the two men are battling in one of the nation's tightest and most closely watched senate battles. we will take you live to the floor of the house right now where the house and senate are in session today. the house is about to gavel in four general speeches. several land and water bills are on the calendar. speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 17, 2012, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one

hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and minority whip limited to five minutes each, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 1:50 p.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: imagine the headline, outbreak of serious illness strikes, 12 people killed, 58 hospitalized, just like similar outbreaks, but the federal government prohibits the center for disease control from investigating. or another headline, 70 trapped in a collapsed building, 20 dead or critically injured, and your government makes it illegal for government organizations to collect data to study what can be done to solve it, to minimize this

carnage in the future. people would be justifiably outraged. they expect government to protect them and help understand the nature of threats in the workplace, the marketplace, or in our homes. at some level we want to know about why cars malfunction or there are patterns of disease, illness, injury, or mechanical failure. that is what our government is supposed to do. if food safety, mine safety, or t.s.a. fails, there would be calls for accountability. sadly that's not what is happening as the nation recoils in anguish at another outbreak of gun violence. the 70 killed or wounded are the latest in a pattern that happens repeatedly, predictably, with overall loss of life being in the tens of thousands over the years. what is as appalling as the loss of life is the fact that we not only refuse to do

anything about it, but we allow political bullies to intimidate us from even researching the facts. now, there's never been a threat in this country that sportsmen will not be able to hunt or target shoot. that false specter raised by the gun lobby so successfully that dade there is virtually no gun protection. but that doesn't stop the number one gun advocacy group, the national rifle association, from making things up, creating phony threats to gun ownership. they are attacking the obama administration which has done essentially nothing in this field. since they know that congress would reject even the most reasonable proposal. it has been impossible, for example, to even -- to close the gun show loophole where people can get unlimited amounts of guns without a reasonable background check. the n.r.a. is at work to make

sure people on the no-fly list because they are threats to national security can purchase guns. that data cannot be shared between a.t.f. and homeland security dealing with potential terrorists. the n.r.a. argues that all we need is for existing gun laws to be enforced while they systematically set about to dismantle which laws we have and then defund even feeble government enforcement efforts. anyone looks at the background of the recent so-called fast and furious controversy finds that in part the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms is dysfunctional because it's constantly under assault by the n.r.a. for its most modest steps and most minimal budgets. we cannot even study gun violence, patterns, causes, and potential solutions. i didn't know anybody in

aurora, this most recent tragic, senseless rampage touches home for me. as i was growing up, a young man in a family i was close to was killed by an act of random gun violence. as i followed the issues over the years, i continue to feel there is no reason to permit armor piercing, cop-killer bullets to be sold like ticktacks -- particular tacks -- tic-tacs. that bullets should be sold over-the-counter like the one in colorado had facilitates such breeds. they serve no purpose. i find it appalling that we as citizens have enabled congress to act in a spineless fashion to be taken over in the area of gun safety by the n.r.a. that we refuse to deal with something that has serious law enforcement implications so that we are alone in the

developed world at most at risk for random gun violence. any time there's a mass killing spree, i hope against hope for a more enlightened reaction. perhaps the gun owners themselves, the majority of whom disagree with the n.r.a., extreme positions, will join with politicians, business, the health community to come together to deal with a epidemic of gun violence in a way we would treat any other threat to the safety of our families and our communities. we would study, we would work on solutions together, and we would act. sadly, we are still waiting. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until 2:00 p.m.

join us tomorrow went " washington journal" will speak with ron paul, live on c-span. ♪ >> the weekend of august 4, c-

span2's local content vehicle investigates louisville, k entucky. >> a lot of the stores i have seen fail are stores that were opened by people who were interested in having a business, not that they were having an attachment to books or the love of books. they were business people. you have to have a gut attachment to books to care enough about them, because your customers are like that. they come because they really care about books. >> august 4 and august 5 on c- span2 and c-span3. >> a discussion on congressional efforts toward deficit reduction. host: the president of the

committee for a responsible federal budget. guest: we know that the debt is a huge problem. what we're seeing it is hard. it will be difficult to put together a plan of the least $4 trillion of savings to bring the debt backed them soak it is not a danger to the economy like it. one of the most important things to do is focus the energy from people who want to make a difference, a torrent heard -- encourage members of congress to work out a plan. one of the problems is partisanship means republicans might want to fix it one way, democrats another way, time is running out, and we need to encourage them to put in place

a plan that will reduce the debt. there are some many people who want to make that happen. if we can hear from them, but people saying put in place this plan and help us stabilize this economy, that would help. a great group of people working on this. the leaders of the commission that came up with their recommendations, they are bolstered by a lot of members on the steering committee, and ceo's engaging in the effort. they need to have the stability of a big comprehensive debt bill. >> the committee for responsible federal budget between a mountain of debt and a fiscal clef, finding a smart path

forward. you can see the federal deficit coming into play. simpson and bowls cannot put the plan. is that the centerpiece of what you are looking at here? >> the commission they worked with, which had bipartisan support, showed there is a way to fix this problem. we were coming off of years where all the congress had done was make the problem worse, and people were becoming cynical about making the tough choices. this commission showed what you are going to have to do to fix the fiscal problems we face is deal with the biggest part of the budget that is causing the problems. the biggest problem is health care reform. we are going to have to do more than the commission came up with. you are going to have to look at

the problems from the aging of society. revenues are too low, and we know we are going to raise revenues, but you can do so through a fundamental tax reform where you broaden the base, bring down the rates, and raises revenue is. what simpson bowles said is we phases this in a way that fac in gradually, which is good for growth. that is the key, helping the economy to flourish and protect people who are most vulnerable. we have to do something important to fix entitlements. he can do that in a way to protect people who depend on debt. they came up with a compromise that reflected the core values of that democrats and republicans, so what simpson bowles does is it symbolizes how

we can make this work. there have been other efforts that have shown us the same thing, the commission by domenici and rivlin. what we are trying to do is emphasize that all the plants that have looked at show how big the problem is, you need more than $4 trillion to fix the problem, you have to look at all parts of the budget, and looke at all aspects of the economy. host: 6 in bowls called for $4 trillion deficit reduction over 10 years, $1 trillion and higher taxes, $2.50 trillion in spending cuts, and $500 billion in saving. you talked about time being of the aessence.

what is the fiscal cliff? guest: are facing a number of items, a veryg significant sequester, across- the-board spending cuts, all coming in at once come out not softly. these are automatic changes where congress is not looking at what will be good and what we do not need to do, but instead it is a blunt tool. compass says we're going to have these automatic changes. not a good way to make changes because it will be so sudden it will put us back into recession, will go after many of the parts of the budget better not causing problems, and will not fix the problem areas of the budget. but you want to do is not go over that fiscal cliff. two, not punt, which is what we

have seen way too many times out of congress. it adds chileans were to the debt, which would lead down to a fiscal downgrade, which would lead to another crisis. you'd need to replace this with a big comprehensive debt deal, and we need to be working as quickly as possible, not waiting until the last minute. congress seems to be hurtling toward a really dangerous to the point by not taking action to avert these possible bad scenario. host: what about the presidential candidate? are you hearing an adequate plan as to what they would do? guest: is will be one of the biggest issues the president behalf to deal with. we have not heard enough in

detail from them about how to fix the problem. one of the debates is proposed as dealing with this. we should know from both of the folks who want to be president for the next four years how they would fix the problem, and not just their idea, but how they will work with compass, because it will take getting people together. it is a more -- is more important that we get the details out there and important to talk about these in a political environment. we are going to have to deal with social security, medicare, medicaid, revenue, everything that people make attack ads against. we need to handle this in an adult way, and have a discussion about the trade-offs, because there are many ways to fix the problem, but we need to be up front. we need to create a place where

the candidates are talking about it, but it will take tough choices and that will be a big piece of leadership for the next four years. host: if you would like to join the conversation -- we have sued joining us now. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to say everybody is missing a point on how we got where we are. 1861, abraham lincoln establish the first income-tax to pay for the war. and every president up until george bush and president obama has not raised taxes to pay for

the poor. you want to fix the deficit, that my taxes go back to where they were, leave my social security alone, we've seen years -- seniors' medicare alone. there is nothing wrong with social security. i have my statements. do not touch my money. i want to hear your thoughts on that. people should not raise taxes when they are spending money. guest: the point you are making is if government is going to do something, we have to be willing to pay for it, and it has been damaging that we have spent so much money, including the wars, that we have not been willing to pay for. there is this sense that we are going to spend more, not ask ourselves to pay for it, put it

on the credit card and hand it to the next generation. that is not what we are supposed to be doing. it is completely unfair and damaging to the next generation. whinney to change the way we are doing business. there is no getting to rent the facts when it comes to entitlements, and social security is facing challenges: 4. the program's trustees tell us every year in the annual report that the program does not have enough money to cover the promises it has made. we need to look at the changes we can put in place to bring security back to the position of strength to the promises can be met. we will have to do that by phasing in changes. we're all living a lot longer and we need to take about how we are going to work longer, save more for when we do retire, or reduce the level of benefits,

and i think you can do this in a way that is very thoughtful and phased in gradually to protect people who depend on the program and does not affect current retirees, but we need to make these changes as quickly as possible. burying our heads in the sand will harm the people who depend on the program calling for. host: republican caller. hi. caller: i was surprised here the previous caller seeing their statements, saying there's no problem. a couple years ago i heard of an organization -- i do not know if you are the same organization that talked-about getting a hold of people's 401k to try to help bring down the deficit or promising -- it was so

convoluted, but it was something to do with taking control over it giving it to them in increments over a period of time. it was a scary prospect, and some of the things you are staring -- saying, you're not very clear, you are evasive about suggestions you want us to do. what exactly -- is it the same as getting a hold of 41 kate's? host: we're not the same group. -- guest: we are not the same group. your 41 k is your private property. i can imagine that that is alarming. in terms of being evasive, the point we are trying to make is we have seen a lot of effort to show how we can fix the debt, and the ones that are serious have been productive bike

talking tough choices, look at all parts of the budget, we are going to have to get rid of the programs that did not work, redo the ones that do, and we will need to spend more. we have been under investing in many areas for quite some time. we also have to look at scaling back because we haven't over promising and overborrowing. we are blind to need more revenues, but done so in -- we are going to need more revenues, but done so that does not harm the economy. i would redirect you to the most important part of fixing the budget, is we have to bring down health-care costs. this is harming families and putting a drag on the federal budget and squeezing out other parts of the budget. the most important thing we can

do is put in place measures that are on to control health care better. the campaign to fix the that, the focus is not to say that there is a right plan, but bring together people who understand the need to think that that, because if we do not, we will face a very damaging economic situation. looking over what is happening in europe, which years ago would seem a far cry of what we would see here, is a frightening moment because it shows what is happening when countries are not willing to face up to that fiscal problems. here we are lucky. we have people who trust our economy and markets and our ability to lead on getting these problems under control, and we have more time, which means we can phase in a plant more gradually -- phase in a plan more gradually. the most important thing here is

for policy makers to show when they have a huge problem we are facing, which we know, they are able to come together and fix it, and that is what it is important for people to come together, go to the website cannot take a look at what this is doing. this is trying to bring people together of all parties and saying this is the number 1 american issue we have to grapple with in order to put our country back on a sound fiscal pact. we want policy makers to work on that. there's no right answer on how to fix it, but we have to look at all parts of the budget and responsibly tackle the challenges. host: our guest mentioned the website, fixthe debt.org.

social meeting is a new way of galvanizing the people. guest: they become active on the issue, and one of our goals is to use social media who take it seriously, have at as a way to inform them. i realize these are not the most interesting issues, but the more you learn about it and see how it affects you, the more people want to see a change. they can learn more about it and become active in their communities, and that is our intention. we want as many people to pay attention and take action in order to get involved in their communities, states come out on this issue, says social media will be a big part of this campaign, education across the country. we have road shows going on. we bring together business leaders to educate at the grass-

roots level, at the employee's level, all the way up to members of congress trying to figure out how we will fix this. host: ivan is an independent caller. caller: good morning. i would like to know, make a, come up we do not need any more new taxes. i've worked six months out of your now to pay for these legislatures, their hair cuts, food, everything. they are not my children. why do i have to raise them? where is my security money that was supposedly put into a savings account? things need to be changed now. thanks for listening. guest: we are hearing is something we have heard a lot is people are not testing the way government is managing the money, and set it is hard when people park about changes we be today. you're right that we need to go

through the budget line by line by line and make sure that all our tax dollars are being spent well. when you work hard and pay taxes, it is absolutely necessary that those dollars be treated with respect and spent well and not waste it. the truth is that the problems of the budget did not come from the slaters -- legislators getting their hair cut. the problem are big programs that we spend money on because we like that. don't touch this, but don't touch this. that is where the money is going, and we need to decide if we're trying to raise our taxes or if we want to pare back somehow. where i want to have to go to the budget and scoured it for wasteful spending, but at the end of the date that will not us get as near to where we want to go and we will have to rethink

our major entitlement programs, rethink how we can cut costs, rethink how we can raise revenues in this country so we do it in a way that is better for the economy and go through each part of that budget. the point you are making is important, that people are going to be unwilling to unless they know their dollars are spent wisely, but we have to look at the biggest parts of the budget that we are going to be able to fix this problem. if we do not come out every single thing that we are worried about, high taxes, the benefits we have been promised, are going to be so much harder to fix. this is a problem we can get on top of now, but we can wait until we are forced to buy markets and it will be multiples -- it will be so much harder to get these fixes in place. there's no excuse in delaying on a problem that we are going to face and we are on to have to come together in order to put ourselves back on the right path. host: the committee as this

port, saying at the end of the year congress and the budget will face a daunting choice, and around the country to go off a fiscal cliff -- host: you have worked in washington at the brookings institution, also on wall street. how the ec, this coming together? guest: members of congress want to stop this problem. they might have different

opinions, but it what to solve the problem. there are a lot of members in both houses who think this is the most important issue and spent a great time figuring out how to reform the tax code, how do we fix entitlements, how do we put together in a big debt deal that is big enough to fix the problem. what we need is more members who understand these issues, working on the together, and doing it quickly because we did not have a lot of time to get this in place. we will need leadership from both parties and the white house, and this will be one of those moments when the country comes together at the second part, because some of our biggest challenges in the past have inspired our greatest moments. this is one of those moments. host: good morning. caller: my question would be how do we get our house to agree with each other and come to some kind of budget?

social security is going to go in whole eventually. people are living longer. more people are applying to social security due to their own health, whether it be from obesity or drugs or whatever the reasons. children are being born with optimism, at a very high rate. this will cost more social security disability at some point in time, and care for those children. how do we stop that run? the building we just had on the washington mall that was built with the 200 buildings in it -- we did not need that, and each person that gets paid in each of those offices i am sure is making a high salary. we need to cut a lot of the things, but let's not cut from the poor and let's not cut from the people who truly need it or we will look like a third-world country.

i am very concerned about deficit reduction. it is our future. it is everything. they are not doing their job. someone has to do something. host: let's get a response about your concerns about poor and the federal government and her opinion growing too much. guest: the point that we cannot be a great country when we are financially dependent for others led the us money is right, so people need to be worried about this. i would go back to the point which you may also is we can do this in a way that is going to protect the poor, that will not have revenues be high, add that will mean the government will still invest in things it needs to do. we can do this on our terms and grow the economy, strengthen the economy, and hand a booming

country and economy to the next generation instead of one that is in debt it and stagnant, which we will end up with if we do not make changes. there are considerations you have to make. the budget is about choices. to make the choices of what programs we are proud to reform, which we're on to end, how we are right to raise the money, but we what to do it on our own terms. we do not want to go over the fiscal clip at the end of the. it is the wrong way to make that choice is. we want to do this in advance of when credit markets start to lose faith in this country, because if that happens we will not be able to get ahead of it. we will see interest rates going up, the economy going down, and it will be harder to make that fix. all the core principles you want to the about when you are taxing the budget, we still have the time to make those part of a bitter budget deal. we have to be honest with

ourselves and be honest with each others and say we have been borrowing too much, spending too much, and not paint it for way too long, and now we have to come to terms with that and make the changes in a thoughtful way to get the budget back on track. that is the most part think we can do to help stabilize the economy, the bill at -- to build a strengthened environment where businesses can hire. we are one debt deal away from being a great nation again, and that is true. we know what the solution is and we need to be able to put that in place. host: to questions -- -- two questions -- guest: what is great is how many " know about simpson bowls. lot of this is because that principles who led this

commission have traversed the country talking to people about this issue. if there are people out there who tell it like it is, it is erskine bowles and alan simpson. they say what the plan is going to be, they talk about what he to do it, the benefits of doing it and the consequences of failing to come and they end up standing ovations. i think what they did is it inspired us to show us we can fix this problem. it laid out a framework of $3 in spending cuts for every $1 of revenue increases that shows us the deal that will make sense. it lays out economic benefits which is you can help the economy grow again and get stronger and larger than it would be banned if you've got to put it the place. it shows you can do it in a way where democrats and republicans can sign on to.

many people in between and the support for that is growing. it was a phenomenal game changer. what we will need to see to get over the finish line is more focus on controlling, a recognition for the fact that the economy is still weak and we need to make sure we days in a plan that works in with that, but this is not a policy challenge. the policies have been laid out there by simpson bowls and the plants that happened put together. we need the political will to put together this. caller: [unintelligible] fice comestability of thi up with these people going to

las vegas, spending all that money. [unintelligible] you go through all this stuff, garbage. this is money that could be used to cover for social security or four the medicare, medicaid. we do not need all these things spent on things that are unnecessary, and the same thing is education. if you want to go to college, every time the government subsidizes something, the cost goes up. everything goes up. education went up. now that he has grant and the tragedy now that he has grants for education, the cost of college goes up. quit spending money on all this garbage stuff, and they wanted it to las vegas, let them use their money. guest: absolutely inexcusable,

when you read those things that are infuriating and it leaves us also frustrated about why it is that we cannot get rid of those kinds of kindsacts and should never be wasting our money. it is not core of the problem when it comes to the dollars and cents that will fix it. there needs to be oversight, scrutiny, and consequences when money is wasted, but we need to face on where the bigger challenges are. you brought up an important point is subsidizing the banks. one of the things we do is we spend a lot of money for the tax code. we have tax breaks that are credits and deductions and exemptions and exclusions and it is a staggering amount, totaling over $1 trillion per year. that is starting to approach as much money as we raise from the income tax. we want to look at how to cut spending to the tax code,

because when you do that, you will have more oversight, because once these programs are built into the code, we never looked back. when you get rid of them, you can bring rates down to numbers that us a much lower than the current tax rates we have, which will help everybody have better incentive to work and save and do all the things they will do. when we talk about cutting spending, it is important to think about cutting the spending in the tax code which will be the key to import tax reform that can help move this issue forward. host: our guest is the fiscal policy director for the committee for responsible federal budget. the campaign to fix that debt. let's look at the key elements of this. they are calling for lawmakers to acknowledge that that is the security threat. they want to stabilize the debt as a share of the economy.

and enact a plan now, and implement it gradually. it calls for all areas of the budget to be included in the process and ensure long-term economic growth. it also includes credible enforcement mechanisms. guest: when you have a debt deal in place its bans a number of years. after too short a time, people fail to stick it in the top parts of the budget when things start looking good again. the fiscal situation will improve. you want to make sure that the result does not weaken because we had a couple of good years. you want to make it harder for them to overrule these tough choices. you want to put in a tight spending caps. what to put caps on the amount

we spend in a mandatory part of the budget as well, which does not go through the annual process of being appropriated. these programs are on automatic pilot. down those bring bee trajectories, and you want to bring that cost of health care block it in there. if you're not meeting its targets, you will have to make more changes. whenever that deal we put in place, it will lapse in a number of years. it will take more than a decade. everything we can ensure that congress keeps on track will reassure markets and will help the economy prospered. boston, jim,o to in the and the caller. caller: it is pretty funny, all we have been hearing about is

shared sacrifice. it is obvious the 99%, and myself included, has been doing all the sharing of those sacrifices. it is funny how -- the gop crew -- i am a democrat -- as far as i'm concerned, the class war, i look at the gop as it meant that the democrats -- they're not hit man, they're just like breakers. since when did something that i paid into out of every check, my social security, medicare, things like that, since when are those entitlements? how long is a quantity before my paycheck is considered an entitlement? i am a union machinist, which means i middle-class and i will have a pension. what i would like to know is we have all this deregulation of

the financial institutions of big business, which effectively allow these trade agreements, which basically repeal the 13th amendment, making slavery legal in china, india, indonesia -- and i am just sick and tired of we have to make the cuts. how about the top 1%? whenever there is any proposal to raise taxes on the top 1%, there is no offset, but the middle-class and the working poor, if they are offered in the cut a break, the republicans, which will have to offset its summer else, cut food stamps, we will have to lower your social security. host: take a look at the tax proposals of the candidates, since you're talking about how tax proposals plans would affect

the working poor, middle-class, and wealthy, and you can see the proposed federal income tax rate under president obama is in blue, under romney, it is in red. we're getting this from a tax of "thecenter, courtesy cente washington post." guest: resistance that most people are paying too much, but there are a couple things we have to keep in mind. the difference between how much we're spending and taking in in revenue is tremendous right out. hundreds of hundreds of billions of dollars that we borrow every year and we will so going forward. we need to find a way to close that gap. growing income inequality is a growing problem, and thinking about that when we're putting

together a plan makes a sense -- makes a lot of sense. what i hear, when i talk to people, is actually stunningly generous, where people say i am willing to have my social security or my medicare or my taxes go up, take those benefits, and all to them or raise my taxes, if i know is going to be part of the real fix. i am still encourage when people do not just a do not touch this, it is mine, i paid for, because the first point is we are all getting more out of social security and medicare than be put in on an overall basis. that is what the problems exist, because we promised bore out of them than we put in. we need to adjust them that way. when people look at the overall problem and say this is not this country's problem, and instead of having the different groups back off, if we figure we are willing to make some changes

because we know the plan will fix the problem and benefit the entire economy, that is when people come to the table and it is incredibly encouraging and it will be part of the american psyche that is necessary to get out of the fiscal hole. if we dig in and say we cannot touch our stomach even those things -- if we dig in and say you cannot touch mine, even when people are saying did not raise taxes unless it is part of a big deal and will put the problem, and you start to see how we can get out of that hole, we need people to understand that we're in this together. i say that taking the point seriously that income inequality has changed dramatically, and upper income people will have to be a part of the solution. most of the people i've talked to agree. host: jacksonville, florida,

willie joining us now. caller: thinking about what the last caller share, this has been going on for a long time. in come inequity is a problem, ok? unless you fix that, until you fix that, president obama has a solution, romney does not. [unintelligible] he is just exaggerating the problem with his tax plan, how does that solve the problem? it does not. ok, that is all i have to say. guest: i could not agree more that this is a big problem but we will have to deal with. it will take a lot of different policy approaches. not just the tax policy piece of

this, but it starts at the beginning. we need to invest before in human capital in this country, and we need to make sure that there are good jobs, high-paying jobs, and there are protections and there are all sorts of different mechanisms along the way to help us expand middle- class instead of shrinking it. this is an issue that goes beyond help me fix the budget. we have to keep this in mind every step away, but we will have to look at our institutions from the very beginning to the very end. one of the things is where we spend our money in this country, we focus most of our dollars, the bulk of our federal dollars, on consumption programs. if we were to switch back and change how we invest our money and put a lot more money into an investment instead of consumption and get away from this notion that we should be spending to prop up the economy, but installed -- but instead how

we invest in workers in the next generation, that would be a big piece in terms of making sure the growth in the economy needs to be shared broadly, which is something that has been shrinking and is incredibly troubling. don. let's go now to caller: good morning. on the social security, they have over 1 million illegal aliens -- [no audio] going on social security off of us, and this needs to be put a stop to. now obama is down there negotiating with mexico to give all the farm workers and the illegal aliens food stamps to come into this country. host: what is your second

comment? caller: and obama gave amnesty to all these kids. are they going to draw all social security benefits? host: the dream act, they have gotten it reprieve from being deported, and concern about illegal immigrants getting on the social security rolls illegally. guest: are hearing about callers talking about the wasted government spending, the illegal pieces of this, of government dollars are being spent in the wrong way, and this is not what is driving the problem. all those are much of it issues, absolutely. if you think there cuts are driving the problem, or illegal immigrants, you can worry about those and the cases that they happen, but that is a tiny piece of what is going on. what is really going on is our economy has changed and we are living longer and our political system has allowed for us to spend a lot of money without paying for it, which has led to

our debt levels reaching levels that about becoming dangerous. we're going to be to kick about how to fix this but look at where the biggest problems are. in the end, we have a health care system where the cost growth is growing faster than the whole economy, so we need to control those costs. we're living longer, and their connecting -- collecting benefits for longer, and we did it out how to pay more to cover for that so we are not trained the system. we will have to come to terms and grapple with the bigger itches, because nobody wants to read about parties in las vegas. that is not where this is coming from. that is what is going to strengthen the economy and deal with a lot of the problems we're hearing about today. host: you talked about the looming up at the school cliff and the tax policy as well as policies that will kick in over the next few months.

the committee out lines the impact policies that expire or activate in or after 2012, and they include the busch-eric tax cuts. what can be accomplished this year some of it is getting pushed off to the lame-duck session? how do you see this getting alt with? guest: you here we cannot deal with this, this is an election year, and that is frustrating because here is a problem we have, it will take a lot of time to work on it, and they are taking a year of because it is an election year? nobody else would get sticky year off. we need to be working on this immediately. people are thinking about how the policies of place that will operate this fiscal cliff, but we need to make sure we're ready to go. if we are not able to talk about it until after the election, that is a shame, but there is a lot to be done building up to

that. which can start thinking about what is enough to fix that problem and how to get it done. will there be a whole debt deal could i do not think so. there's not enough time. we cannot get rid of the cliff and we cannot hunt without taking the first that. if that means putting a down payment on savings and placed in a lame duck and putting in place the whole process to come up with a deal over the six months starting in january, that would be credible. cannot allow is let comdisco off of that cliff or let all those policies -- you cannot allow congress can off of that cliffs or let all those policies -- host: the fiscal profligacy -- policy program director. thank you so much. >> the house is currently in a

recess. they may recess at that time and come back about 3 ellicott 30 eastern, at which point they will begin debate on a number of bills. there are boats tonight which will take place after 6:30 p.m. the senate dabbles in action to o'clock p.m. we would like you to join us when we welcome ron paul. people take your calls starting at 8:30 a.m. eastern, live right here on c-span. now a portion of this morning's "washington journal." we talk about wildfires. host: we look at a program of the budget, how much it costs, what kind of money is spent on

it. this morning we're looking at the federal government possible role in fighting wildfires. here to talk about it is the u.s. forest service chief. take us through an overview of what that forest service does in terms of fighting forest fires. guest: the forest service is one of five different agencies that is involved in dealing with wild land fire suppression to route the year. the agencies with the department of interior, commerce, fema, and also at times the department of defense also play a significant role. this is in conjunction with our partners and from the states, counties, and local fire. what it takes all of us working together to be as effective as we are to deal with a number of wildland fires we get each year. host: how has the fire season been this year?

guest: we are continuing to have an above-average fire season in the west, colorado, utah, southern idaho, and we expect that to continue throughout the summer, and then as it progresses we can expect an increase in california and up into oregon this year. host: when a fire breaks out, who makes the decision about when that federal government gets involved? what has to be at stake? guest: it is the initial attack resources, whether from the local city, county, or forest service, they respond immediately to that fire. they do a size up to indicate if they have enough resources to handle it, and if not they will start to order in what we call our national resources, and they call their dispatch center and order whenever crews they need, additional engines, aircraft, and then to our national system, those resources are dispatched

to that fire. host: director of the u.s. forest service spent 33 years in the four service and was named chief in 2009 and has served in a variety of positions in the agency. we sought images of ever since gone on and planes dropping fire suppressant. give us an idea of the men and women working for you do? guest: it is the firefighters on the ground that put out fires. to be able to do that we need the aircraft that can drop retardants, helicopters that can drop water, and the engines that can deliver water. the folks on the ground are the ones that construct the fire lines, the ones that ensure that that fire gets put out. it's a combination of those resources. a lot of it comes down to just hard, very difficult, grueling work where these folks are

constructing lines so the fire burns up to the line and is able to be stopped. host: if you would like to talk about firefighting efforts, here are the numbers to call -- host: let's look at some of the numbers of equipment and manpower as our guest was talking about. usda gets us these numbers. 8400 personnel work on fire fighting, nine air tankers, 578 fire and years, and 79 helicopters. you mentioned there are many agencies that work on this. guest: those numbers are on any given day. we can bring in just from the forest service 10,000 firefighters, plus other people when we get into an active season. this season we have been using up to large -- up to 25 large

air tankers, and we can use helicopters that we can bring in on any given day. when you add in what the states, counties, other agencies can bring in, it is a tremendous amount of resources. that is what it takes to be able to deal with what, on average, which will have up to 50 or -- 50,000 or 60,000 wildland fires across the united states. you do not care about most of this, because the majority -- 97% or 98% are put out in the initial attack, and the newspaper covers those, so the public never hears about those. it is a small percentage, because to get the right conditions, they escape an initial attack. you will see those on the news. host: let's get to the phones. republican line, good morning. caller: i have been on the internet, and i see where

evergreen corporation as a 747 that can carry 26,000 does it still exist? are you familiar with it? guest: we used a few years ago in california. we have a dc-10, a very large air tanker. , whether it is the 747 or this one, there are limited areas. you have to have more general terrain, areas where they have a much larger flight path of than the other retardant plans. in the right conditions, they can be effective which is why we use a dc-10. host: talk to us about the fire fighting efforts that go on, not just a matter of men and women using water, but the other things that are done, whether it is creating lines, doing controlled burns.

how else do you work on fighting a fire? guest: we did -- the first thing we do is that the level of expertise it takes to size up what needs to be done. that gets done rather quickly because of the people we have with decades of experience. ased on that, there's than strategy about where to construct the line somewhere to do burn out operations to contain the fire. the first thing, they look at what it will take to keep the fire out of the community, keep the public safe, and keep our firefighters safe. then they will either start constructing lines or do burn out operation so that they can move to control the fire. host: democratic line in new castle, indiana, good morning.

caller: i was just wondering with these increasing forest fires, not just in california, but other places, has anybody checked in to what it is doing to atmosphere and global warming? are they expected to increase? guest: there's no question when we get these large fires that there's a lot of carbon ltd. into the atmosphere. it is also part of just the natural cycle of events with our natural forest. in most forests, we can expect to have periodic fires. when you get these large catastrophic fires, it puts an additional amount of carbon into the atmosphere. that in itself is not seeing an increase, but ideally we would like to have more fires burn out a much less severe rates of the we get the fires burning on the ground reducing the small

diameter material, the draft and the brush, and leaving more of our large trees standing. those would be the ideal conditions we continue to manage the forests for. host: matt -- guest: large fires have increased over the last decade, no question. -- that is several things. there's an increased warming of the climate. we have seen extended drought we're having to deal with. the fire seasons are not anywhere between 30-60 days longer than what they used to be. the snowmelt occurs much earlier in the year which allows these fields to dry out a little bit sooner. that is where we're seeing these

large buyers especially early in the season, like in colorado this year. we are having record dry fuel moisture. with the right wind come you get an ignition which makes it so difficult for our firefighters to suppress during an initial attack and we get large fires. host: independent, from new hampshire, welcome. caller: we talk about the wild fire, but what about the wild life? how much money goes into that from what the wild fires themselves cost to stop? i'm concerned with the wild life after the wild fires. guest: we also share your concerns. the walleye is usually able to move out of danger and get out of there. what happens is they lose the habitat from these very large catastrophic fires. it's one reason we are increasing our investment in doing forest restoration to thin out the forest so when we do get a fire started, it burns at

more of the moderate severity so that there are still a lot of green trees alive after the fire. the forester covers the that much sooner that way. in addition, following the large wild fires, we do a lot of burned area emergency we have worked. we will do seeding right after a fire to bring back the watershed and the wildlife as quickly as we can. host: the u.s. forest service chief tom tidwell is our guest. what happens when you do treatment efforts? this is the dual treatment success story from the fire in 2011.

what are we looking at and why is it significant? guest: the first picture there, there were not any treatments done. every tree has been killed, lost. there is no vegetation on the ground. if you're out there, you would see a lot of impacts to the soil. this picture you're looking at here come the same fire, same situation, location, except we did some treatments prior to the fire. you see green trees still there. use the pockets that are not burned in there's still a lot of litter in the ground. the watershed is in better shape and it will produce a grass, brush, and everything come back. the forest recovers. when a fire hits these treated

areas, it drops out of the treetops and it gets down on the ground down then firefighters can be much more effective with their suppression. the difference we saw there is that when we did the treatments, the firefighters were able to stop the fire before it came in to the subdivisions and thousands of homes were saved because of the treatment that was done prior to the fire. host: here is another example of a treated and untreated area. what does the treatment mean? guest: it is thinning out the forest. getting in there and removing some of the smaller diameter material. it is to reduce the density said that we have at your trees per acre so that when a fire get started and it gets up into the top of the trees, it cannot spread from tree to tree. there is space between the

crown. that is what naturally would occur throughout the west. and it's the difference we're seeing today. many of these stands have a lot more trees per acre than what would naturally occur. by going in and fannie and out, it reduces the rate of spread -- by going in and thinning it out, it reduces the rate. host: let's look at what happened after these had a fire rage through. guest: you can see the difference when the fire hit the treated area. it was done specifically to be able to treat the fourth round these homes so that when the fire that the treated areas that we had thinned, the fire got on the ground and the firefighters were then successful in stopping that fire before it burned into the homes. host: democratic column in

connecticut, good morning. caller: you answer my question regarding prevention while i was on hold. i do want to bring up the point that the defense budget is roughly $700 billion per year. the closest of our enemies is china at $117 billion. you mention you get some of your funds from the defense department. i'm curious as to whether you're trying to employ veterans in your forest service management areas. what effect has blogging had? has it been good? can it be done creatively to help prevent forest fires? i will hang up to listen to your answer. guest: that's a series of good questions will try to go through all of them.

we receive are on appropriations in the bill, but we do get assistance from the departments of defense. they provide aircraft when we get into hefty fire season to help to deliver fire retardant. at times, we have trained battalion help us do firefighting and construct lines. they have often provided helicopters for medevac operations, etc. we rely on our own budget appropriated every year, but at times we do get additional assistance from the department of defense. host: let's look at some of the numbers from the forest service budget. the total was $5.10 billion in 2012. wild life and fire management was $1.70 billion. the suppression reserve fund is $315 million. guest: we have seen a higher portion of our budget meeting to be dedicated to the wild fires.

when you factor in the assistance we provide to the states to help them with their efforts, we are now over $2 billion per year. half of that is for the preparedness of resources, to pay the firefighters, contract for the aircraft, have engines in place ready to go at the start of the season. the other big portion of it is to pay for the annual cost of fire suppression itself. every year is a little different. we submit a 10-year rolling average, our best estimate of what we feel we will need to pay for the suppression costs each year and that is what congress has been appropriating each year when we request the 10-year average.

host: our caller also asked about logging and the role it plays. guest: that goes with doing the restoration work. around the residential areas, you were then able to use that biomass, the trees come to be able to offset the cost of doing that work. whether they are large enough to be used for timber or smaller material that can be used with biomass for bioenergy, anything weird looking at trying to expand the market. we look to use the material to help us offset the cost of the work. the thinning a dark forest, the logging damage is essential and we continue to rely of the industry to do this work. it used to be in the forest service. industry relied on us to put out a certain number of timber sells each year.

today, that relationship has changed. now, we rely on the wood products industry to be able to do the restoration work that has to be done in our forests. it's essential that we find markets and continue to explore new markets so that those industries can stay viable and stay around to be able to do the restoration work that needs to be done, especially around our communities, were all these examples we have been looking at today make it so clear that by doing this restoration work, we can make a significant difference, reduce the impact of the wild fires, but also increase our effectiveness we can keep these fires from burning down an entire community. host: off of twitter -- is that a simple way to explain the relationship? guest: it is. we contract it out. the contractor comes in and does the work.

they remove the material. ideally, they are then able to make money off of the materials they remove the stanley business. it's becoming more and more difficult with struggling for the loss of market for wood in the united states. that is why we have been spending time to expand opportunities for biomass, bioenergy, to be able to use this material, this would that needs to be removed in different markets. host: the u.s. forest service chief tom tidwell is our guest and we are talking about wild fires. our next caller is from colorado springs. caller: good morning. i have some knowledge of aerial firefighting and i was one of

the families evacuated from my home for seven days because of the waldo canyon fire. you talked earlier about incrementally attack of the fire and the use of the very larger tankers, like the dc-10, the importance that they bring to firefighting capabilities. those larger craft bring more retardant sooner to the fire and you get more gallons per dollar on the target with your aircraft. my question is how do you expect those air tanker companies, especially the large air tanker with proven capabilities like the dc-10 be available to the u.s. forest service to put them on contract at all? you only put them on a call when needed a contract which diminishes their effectiveness and threatens their continual

viability as a low-cost commercial asset? host: you back in your house now? things are okay? caller: we're very fortunate. there was literally fire up to the patio's and backyards in our neighborhood, but we were scared, unlike the tragedy in the mountain shadows area. host: do you feel like anything could have been done by you and your neighbors to prevent this in a better way? do you think that firefighting efforts were effected? -- effective? caller: firefighters and emergency responders did an excellent job. you can see that they saved our homes. you see where the waldo canyon

fire started and it was a difficult area to get into. looking at the typography on here, it seems to me that dropping some retardant lines along the ridge lines, and doing it early, putting in more gallons earlier maybe could have really scared some neighborhoods. that is just my question. these companies are in business to support, but if you do not put them on a contract than they will all go out of business. that is my question. how does the forest service expect them to be available? host: thank you for sharing. guest: i'm sorry you were out of your home for a while, but it's great to hear that your home survived. first of all, thanks to you and your neighbors for leaving when the sheriff and the city gave the orders for people to evacuate. it is essential for people to do that. we know how hard it is to leave

your home, especially when you do not see the fire threat until a few days later. first of all, thank you for that. when it comes to fire retardants, people need to understand that it will slow down a fire for a little while, maybe only 20-30 minutes to an hour at the most which gives us enough time for the firefighters to get in there and construct the line. when we get a fire like we did there at wall the canyon and it came down the region to colorado springs -- waldo canyon, in addition we use the large helicopters carrying 1500- 1,800 gallons of water. when you get a fire of that size, the retardant is ineffective or the fire spots

over it. it was sometimes spotting a quarter of a mile in front of the main fire. in those equations, the retardant is ineffective. it does not make a difference if we were using three, four, or five tankers dropping or having one plane coming in and dropping between 12,000-20,000 gallons. it needs to be put in place that it will work. has to be done accurately. the tankers we were using in that terrain were the right plans for that fire. if we would have brought in the dc-10, we had aircraft there. we had the right set of conditions and then the wind blew it into colorado springs. i know how difficult is for people to understand these fires. if there was one more aircraft, one more helicopter it would take to stop these fires, we

would have a. it's a combination of all the resources. when we get the record dry fuel moistures we have had in colorado, temperatures, strong wind, that fire is going to move on a zone and it does not matter how many retardant plans we have. we will not be able to stop until it burns into a lighter fuel area. i can tell you from being out there, i appreciate what you had to go through. i also appreciate what are firefighters did. the men and women out there did a tremendous job. as i drove around the subdivisions to see, yes, there is a tragic loss of homes and lives. there were thousands of homes saved. people do not hear about them as often. those are ones where the

firefighters were able to pull the burning material away from homes. they really made a difference. i really appreciate your question. once again, thank you for drawing the right thing and evacuating when you did. host: 4 service chief tom tidwell -- forest service chief. here's a story from "the new york times." in 1954 vintage planes wobbles for a moment and the engine toiled to pull skyward. he watched the potbelly plane, designed to hunt submarines, climbing toward its latest mission, fighting wildfires in of the american west. talked with about the aging fleet.

why is that happening? the rating in line to replace it? what can you do? -- is there anything you can do? guest: they have done a great job for the last few decades, but they do need to be replaced. we have put out the air tanker strategy and we sent congress earlier this year. we to move forward and bring in our next generation of air tankers. we put out a contract this year to start bringing on the new planes.

we are having contractors, in some cases, retrofitting existing aircraft. we will have three more of the next generation aircraft coming on this fire season and another four for the next season. the contracts are range in a way that we can continue to add additional aircraft so that if we move forward, we have to retire the older aircraft and we will be bringing on the next generation to replace them. they will be much more modern aircraft. they will be faster, carr ofy heavier loads. that is-- carry heavier loads. they need a higher flight speeds to get from one fire to another sooner. they carry at a minimum 3,000 gallons of retardant. that is what it takes for the retardant to penetrate through the canopy and actually get down to where the fire is on the ground. if the retardant just gets caught up on the top of the brush, it will just burn underneath it and it is ineffective. those are the things we continue to move forward with to make sure that we will continue to have enough air tankers to be

able to deal with wild fires. republic host: and a caller from dallas, welcome. -- host: republican caller from dallas. caller: mike call has to do with the fire retardant gels you can spray on homes. what is the relationship with the forest service? i know most of this focuses on the domans of the local fire departments. these fires go towards the neighborhood than they know how far it is and when it will get with a certain neighborhood. if teh gel is not available to spray on these homes to save them, what about the responsibility of the fire service working with the local fire department bringing some of this in if it's not available

to spray this homes? -- these homes? guest: the gel can be effective, but it has to be applied right before the fire comes in and it only lasts for a small amoutn of time, a few hours. the problem and give that is that you have to have the equipment on site to be their right as the fire is coming in to a subdivision in be able to put this on the structures so that it will be effective. the problem with that, and we will use the fire in colorado springs, but people were evacuated two days before the fire came in. it burned in three different directions before finally, on the fourth day, it took a run

toward the community. you have a short time before it came into the community. that's the problem with this gel that can be used. it has to be applied right before the fire is coming in to the community and it only lasts for a relatively short period of time. it is not like you can coat your home with it two days ahead of a fire. it is one thing that we continue to look at every tool that there is to continue to work with the city fire department to look at everything that we can do to really make a difference. one of the things that we do ask homeowners, and we work with the states and counties, is to make sure they have the right information they need to have a good decisions about how they build their homes, keep the brush cleared away, not using combustible materials.

it can make a difference when these fires burning in these communities. today, we're seeing much larger fires. for those who live farther away from the forest, they have to be more concerned than they used to be so we feel this is the best option and we continue to work with the community so that they can do a better job, especially with new construction and even existing construction, to build without flammable material. i can tell it will make a big difference. it does not save every home, but it helps our firefighters and gives them a chance to quickly extinguish a small fire on my home and be able to save it versus losing it. host: u.s. forest service chief tom tidwell. independent scholar, brandon. caller: hi, tom. i have a question about policy.

i know the forest service used to have more of a "let it burn" policy towards these wild fires. i was just curious as to how that has changed over the years. i know you mentioned climate change factors also. what are the mitigating factors as to whether or not you will let a fire burned as to when you decide to extinguish it? guest: we have never had a "let it burn" policy. we manage buyer when we can safely do it. -- we manage buyers when they can safely do it. we feel need to increase this by another 20% over the next two years.

it we did the majority of this through the use of the fire. we the mechanical treatment around the homes when we are in there logging. when we have the right set of conditions where we can manage that fire to stay in a certain watershed, then we do it. we're still constructing and taking suppression efforts, but because we're having a very low spread or low severity on the fire, we can manage it for resource benefits, to continue to thin out the forests. we will have to continue to do more of this. we can do it when we can control and manage it to a point to keep it in the areas that we want to. that always be the challenge. this fire season has increased and we have stopped all of our prescribed burning and the

managing fires because of the severity of the conditions. it is still a told that we continue to work on. we have to find more ways to be able to manage the fires to be able to deal with the amount of fuel we have in the back country. that will continue to be our no. 1 fuel, the use of prescribed fire and managed fire. host: one of our earlier callers asked about job opportunities for veterans. usajobs.gov is a resource for veterans to look for jobs. virginia, bill, republican line. caller: i would like to commend the forest service on that treatment program. i spent 30 years hiking through arizona. if these people would get out of their houses and go out and are actually experience a treated area in one of these brambleized things that are so packed, they noticed the difference.

it is night and day. if you do not have this stuff on the ground, the fire cannot burn has talked and the trees can just burst from the heat from everything piled up on the ground. i think they should make a works project thing, like they did in the depression, when they got the kids out to clear these forests. it would solve some on employment and give the four service a shot in the arm. they get people who do not even want to get out of the car. if they understand that these things have to be cold just like crops -- culled like crops. you can then use the resources and money you get from

harvesting these resources, because they are natural resource, to for the benefit of the parks system. host: it takes staffing and it also takes money. guest: we put it in the budget requests each year. that is why we put out the accelerated restoration strategy. in a knowledge is that there are 65-83 million acres of our national forests that needs some restoration work, either timber harvest or prescribed fires to reduce the threat of catastrophic fire. that is one of the reasons why we put in the strategy that we need to increase the rate of areas we're treating each year by 20% over the next few years to be able to recognize the amount of work out there. we also want to expand the idea of using you. we have had some great -- using youth.

we want to get more use out in the woods so they understand what is really going out out there and provides them a job, that chance to beat a part of doing this restoration work to see a difference. it used to be that there was a lot of controversy and debate about why the forest service was out doing restoration work and timber harvests. today, that has shifted and more and more people understand that we need to do this restoration work so that the big shift is from why to a dialogue today about why the work needs to be done. we're getting more and more support to be able to do this restoration. we're seeing communities that are willing to financially participate in doing this work because they can the benefits from these watersheds. they produce municipal water. they can see that by working with the forest service to do

restoration work before we get a fire will help them to be able to keep healthy watersheds, continue to produce a clean, abundant flow of water that we depend on. host: u.s. forest service chief tom tidwell, thank you for coming in and talking with us today. guest: i appreciate your time. >> join us tomorrow, "washington journal" welcomes ron paul. you will have a chance to make phone calls and talk to the former candidates starting at 830 eastern.

they will debate several land and water bills as well as some post office in a means. the votes will take place after 630 eastern. in the meantime, let's bring you some of the e-mails we have this morning. they have a piece today by the professor. wall street is too vague to regulate. does anyone believe we should regulate the big banks? most liberals keep hoping the banks can be more tightly controlled.

it founded the modern conservative tradition when it comes to the really big fish it could become a truly exclusive. that is a question a lot and newspapers and politician asked back in 2009 when the economic crisis hit. bal bay are revisiting based on the libor scandal.

here is the piece from "forbes." mayb when we look at the questif nationalization and what it means, what about to the archives and see what the questions were from 2008. in this article looks at what it means. and it means giving the government the power to control banks. this could mean taking control of the public shares to the power to pick and install new leadership at the bank.

let's go back to the "new york times" op ed piece that says basically of the barclays interest-rate scandal, the hsbc money laundering and the epic blunders at j.p. morgan case, at this point, four years after wall street, our banks too big? let's hear what you have to say. duracell is an independent calller. caller: good morning. i believe the banks should be nationalized.

the acronym could be more like london in the criminal thinking or organization. i am really concerned about that i have a family overseas, and i know when it comes to putting money together and deposits, and we have large amounts tracing back to make sure the money is clean money, my concern now with jamie dimon and diamond and diamon have a

lot in common. i really think we need to look at the money. it is not fair for poor, working-class people to be subject to bank fees when we have international criminals dealing with money issues. unless we get this straight, i do not think anyone will be very concerned about other rates and other regulations. a 1 percent signed agenda to take over the masses with a 99 percent signed the worked diligently, go to school buying mcdonald's or fast-food jobs to make their lives and work.

something has to really be done. host: let's hear what jay has to say. caller: please, please do not make that mistake. you know the government never does anything right. you apply for a green card and give you a two-year green card. then it has to be renewed. it takes six months to a year before you receive your new one in the mail. can you imagine that? give the opportunity to the government to take over the banks would be the worst thing would ever make. host: jay says don't nationalize the banks. what do they? give us a call.

here is what is coming into us on facebook. william says no, the banks should not be nationalized but need to be regulated more than they are now. david says of any organization should be regulated, it should be the banking institutions. also is absolutely not. he says i am not sure why people think nationalizing everything is such a great idea. why people put their trust in large entities is beyond me. we have a poll on facebook where you can weigh in. so far the trend is to say no, the bank should not be nationalized. we have about 50 people waiting in so far. columbia, south carolina, jim is the next calller. caller: good morning. it was the government itself that aided the collapse of the

financial institutions. it was the government that forced them to make loans that were not smart. and the whole democratic mantra that everyone should own a house, be able to buy it whether or not the loans were smart or fair or whether they could pay it back. the government made or enforced the banks propensity to loan to pick up the economy. this is something the bank should not run. they should just reenact class people in separate. just separate banking from investing, and then you will not have to bail them out again, because you will not be doing these raids. -- these charades. j.p. morgan proved government cannot do this.

they need to go back to the simple borrowing and depository lending kind of operation. so government cannot run this. government should not run it. they should go back to fair, simple policies of 20% down on a house and good, solid loans and not allow banks to get in these sure raids. -- these charades. they got what they wanted and the government helped to enforce this mess to begin with. host: u.s. banks should not be nationalized, but they should be broken up into a manageable size. nationalization has its own standard. of our next calller joins us from baltimore. james on the independent line. caller: good morning. i just cannot get over the last calller, i think his name was

james also. i could not agree more with anybody. i am glad someone is making a little bit of sense. i am 67-years-old. i have social security, a small income. that is ok with me. what is very hard and almost impossible for me to comprehend or understand, why these rich people, rich folks, it seems like they want to drive me to the ground and take my last penny out of my arthritic hands and put it in their children's mouths. it is absolutely criminal insane what the american people are letting the politicians and the people with the big money due to them. i wish they would wake up. they do not know their history.

host: cathy tweets, no, the bank should not be nationalize, but very tightly regulated. sheridan, wyoming. caller: hello, i agree with the gentleman -- i agree with the last gentleman in the sense that he agreed with the gentleman before him, if that makes sense. i think last people should be reinstated like the one gentleman said, because once they took that out, it seemed like everything started to go down hill. that should be reinstated, and i do not think the banks should be nationalized. that is more a form of socialism. and they should be let go to bankruptcy and dealt with with the market's, and that is a lot of the problem. the government getting involved

in car companies and all kinds of things they should not have their hands in. this got us into a big mess. host: we have the second anniversary of dodd-frank over the weekend. do you think that has had an effect? caller: it may have been a slight help, but i think it has put in a lot of regulations that could be a lot more trouble than they're worth in the end. like they say, the unintended consequences tend to crop up when people do not want them to, but they did not bring about the unintended consequences of things. i guess i will wait and see on that. we know glass the coleworts. -- we know that glass-stegall

worked. all the sudden they pull it and things started looking dicey. so rising just reinstate that and do not nationalize banks. basically get government out of the private sector. host: we will look at the background of that in just a little bit, but first this week. no, that will create more big government. they cannot create their own big government. we were inspired to ask whether you think bang should be nationalized because -- banks should be nationalized because of this op ed piece. what do you think about this? was played, nebraska.

rabin, good morning. -- west plains, neb. caller: they back up oil and coal.

tree-lined and stuff. they have made it bigger bite into it-trust laws. host: coast of mesa, california. john. caller: i am not sure what nationalization would involve, but i know we would not have been in this mess if they have not gambled with their own money. that is what should be regulated. gambling should be outlawed. they should not be able to come up with the products where they seek to gain from their profits from us. that is the simple way to put it, they have been gambling with it. every time there is a regulation there is a putsch back -- push

back and they seem to come back on top. i am not sure what nationalization would look like, but if there were actually able to enforce regulations, perhaps we could have more positive outcome from this. thank you for listening. and host: charleses why nationalize, divide them up. let's look at glass-stegall. this is from "the new york times." it was originally part of the new deal program and became a permanent measure in 1945. we will learn more about the history of that. the question is whether u.s. banks should be nationalized. capitol heights, md.. independent calller. caller: i think it is time we talk about the federal reserve,

because it is the federal reserve for all of the problems stem from here that the fed reserve act was signed in 1913. the federal reserve did not renew the charter to print money. when they are in control of putting money back in the hands of the american people, in congress. right now the federal reserve, the u.s. government borrowed money from the federal reserve and a charge them interest on the money.

when you print your own money, you do not have an interest rate. you start to print money without an interest rate. that is why the lincoln and the greenback -- that is what that was about. when you pay income tax, it goes to pay interest. host: 10 i asked you a question? are you a supporter of congressman ron paul's ideas about the federal reserve? he will be on the program tomorrow morning. you might be interested on seeing him on "washington journal" at 8:30. bill says bank failures reached 38 so far this year. we're talking about glass- steagull.

that is what people have been bringing up this morning. taking a look at a couple of other news stories in just a moment. first, diana from texas. caller: i did not believe the bank should be nationalized, but i believe it is time for the banks to quit using our money.

they have been doing so for years. this is doing as no good, because look of auto companies we own. they turned right around and once they made some money, they gave their employees huge amounts of money just for working there. when i worked a job, i got paid my hourly salary, not an extra amount just because the government owned the company. host: think you for sharing your comments. let's look at "the denver post." midnight massacre, a day of mourning. talks about what has been happening in colorado in the wake of the shooting early friday morning.

here is the president -- let's look of the comments president obama made yesterday after visiting with families who lost loved ones. [video clip] >> scripture says he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be morning, nor crying, nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away. when you have an opportunity to visit with families to a lost loved ones, as i described to them, i come to them not so much as president as i do a father and husband. i think that the reason stories like this have such an impact on us is because we can all understand what it would be to have someone that we loved take it from us and this passion.

what would be like and how would impact us. i had a chance to visit with each family, and most of the conversation was filled with memory. it was an opportunity for families to describe how wonderful their brother or their son or daughter was and the lives that they had touched and the dreams that they held for the future. i confess to them that words are always inadequate in these kinds of situations, but that my main task was to serve as representative of the entire country and let them know we are thinking about them at this moment, and will continue to think about them each and every day, and that the awareness that not only all of america but much of the world is thinking about them might serve as some

comfort. host: president obama speaking in colorado yesterday. here is the headline. president obama visits the victims, taking on the mantle of healer-in-chief. he flew to colorado on sunday for the second time in less than a month. president obama did not talk politics on either visit. the stories in the newspapers are asking questions about why this happened. here is a headline in the "usa today." couple of other stories in the news today. "the wall street journal" as this piece --

here is a graphic looking at which of these are headaches according to company said it interviewed. we're going to break away. the house is about to javelin. they will recess shortly thereafter. they will debate about 3:30 p.m. this afternoon. if there are boats, we expect they will take place after 6:30 p.m. eastern. just looking at the scroll of bills to be debated. and looks like there are 20. we will take you live to the

floor while we anticipate to a rather short session when they come back and 90 minutes to get to work. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, reverend andrew walton, capitol hill presbyterian church in washington. the speaker pro tempore: let us pray.

create -- the chaplain: let us pray. creating god we come together in a simple prayer. may we be who we are created to be, reflections of your image. may we live as we know we should live. as caretakers of creation. may we participate in the purpose of life as companions to god and to one another. may we truly embrace the equality of humanity as self-evident and know that just beneath the surface of disagreement, conflict, discord, and even violence and death there is a deep river of grace, love, and forgiveness that truly binds us. may this stream of eternal presence be solace for any in pain but more importantly inspiration and hope of

reconciliation and peace in personal relationships, in our nation, and throughout the world. may the deliberations and decisions of this day and all days take place in the spirit of common good, the spirit in which we are created. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from maryland, mr. sarbanes. mr. sarbanes: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches.

for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. burgess: i ask unanimous consent to rise, address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, almost a month after the supreme court has issued its decision on the so-called affordable care act, we have all had time to think and dissect their opinion and start to predict how this landmark ruling will affect each and every one of us. i respect the role of the court, the decision of the justices, but i can't help but tell you i was disappointed the entire law was upheld. i do believe it is detrimental to our nation. it's been a wet blanket on our economy and real threat to the future of medicine in america. since passing of the law over two years ago, we have seen the strain it has placed on our economy, the price tag continues to increase, sometimes staggeringly so. there are provisions which will discourage small business from

hiring, not to mention the commensurate government regulations. today the congressional health caucus held what was one of its many panel discussions on the current state of health care. the president and chief executive officer of american insurance plans has said that the health care law won't work unless it's changed or delayed. i couldn't agree more. dan from the national federation of businesses was also present and he said there's got to be a way to get price signals to people so that they can participate in the cost of their care. the structure of this law through the combination of new fees -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. burgess: for those who choose not to purchase will force the young and healthy to shoulder everything. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland rise? mr. sarbanes: move to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. sarbanes: mr. speaker, i rise today to mark the 38th

year of turkey's invasion and occupation of the republic of cyprus. i do so only days after cyprus assumed the six-month presidency of the european union, yet turkey and e.u. candidate country, refuses to recognize the cypriot presidency and has acted to freeze its communications with the european union. since 1974, turkey has engaged in the systematic destruction of the identifyland' -- island's helenic, sip pruss, and turkish heritage. this year the commission on international religious freedom placed turkey on its watch list as a country of particular concern. the presidentence of 45,000 turkish troops on the island, along with over 200,000 turkish colonialists is an offense to human dignity. mr. speaker, it is time for turkey to meet the expectations of the international community by ending its decades-long occupation of cyprus. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise? >> permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. polis: mr. speaker, my home state of colorado had a tragedy over the weekend. a mass murder that will forever remain on the minds of all coloradoans and all americans. the tragedy extends beyond those who were killed and those who were injured to our friends, our neighbors, everybody impacted by this senseless act of terror. in my home state. i'd like to thank president obama for joining the families impacted in mourning. i'd like to thank all of those in colorado and across the country who have sent their thoughts, their care, their

resources to all of us in colorado in a time of need. this also should serve as an occasion for all of us to acknowledge what special and important in our lives, to celebrate every day we have on this planet, the health of our family, our own health, and our own safety. and hope and pray to god that the tragedy that impacted colorado will not happen again in colorado or anywhere else. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives i have the honor to transmit a sealed envelope received from the white house on july 20, 2012, at 4:07 p.m. and said to contain a message from the president whereby he notifies

the congress concerning the national emergency with respect to somalia. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will read the message. the clerk: to the congress of the united states. pursuant to the international emergency economic powers act, i hereby report that i have issued an executive order, to order taking additional steps with respect to the national emergencies declared in executive order 13536 of april 12, 2010, e.o. 13536. in the e.o. 13536, i found that the deterioration of the security situation and in persistence of violence in somalia, an act of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of somalia, which have repeatedly been the subject of united nations security council resolutions and rye violations of the arms embargo imposed by the united states security

council in resolution 733 of january 23, 1992, and elaborated upon and amended by subsequent resolution constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the united states. to address that threat, e.o. 13536 blocks the property and interest in property of persons listed in the annex to e.o. 13536 or determined by the secretary of the treasury in consultation with the secretary of state to meet criteria specified in e.o. 13536. as united nations security council resolution 2036 of february 22, 2012, and resolution twule of july 29, 2011, i amish shoeing the order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in e.o. 13536 and to address exports from somalia which generate significant revenue for al

shabab. the misappropriations of somalia public access, and certain acts of violence committed against civil civilians in somalia all of which contribute to the deterioration of the security situation and in persistence of violence in somalia. the order prohibits the importation into the united states directly or indirectly of charcoal from somalia. it also amends the designation criteria specified in e.o. 13536. as amended by the order e.o. 13536 provides for the designation of persons determined by the secretary of the treasury in consultation with the secretary of state to have engaged in acts directly or indirectly threaten the peace, security, or stability of somalia, including but not limited to acts that threaten the transitional federal institutions or future somali governing institutions. the african-american union mission in somalia. or future international

peacekeeping operations related to somalia. or asked to misappropriate somalia in public access have been instructed to delivery of humanitarian assistance to somalia or access to or distribution of humanitarian assistance in somalia. have directly or indirectly supplied, sold, or transferred to somalia or to have been recipient in the territory of smolial of arms or any related material or any technical advice, training, or assistance, including financing and financial assets related to military activities. be opened or controlled by or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of directly or indirectly any person whose property or interest in property are blocked prsuent to e.o. 13536. the designation criteria will be applied in accordance with applicable federal law, including where appropriate, the first amendment to the

united states constitution and the united nations security council resolution 2002 of july 29, 2011, persons who engage in nonlocal, commercial, via al shabab control court that constitute support for a person whose property and interest in property are blocked pursuant to e.o. 13536, may be subject to designation pursuant to e.o. 13536 as amended by the order. the order was effective at 2:00 p.m. eastern daylight time on july 20, 2012. i have delegated to the secretary of the treasury in consultation with the secretary of state the authority to take such action, including promulgation of rules and regulations and to employ all powers granted to the president by ieepa as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the order. all agencies of the united states government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order. i am enclosing a copy of the

executive order i have issued, signed, barack obama, the white house, july 20, 2012. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on foreign affairs and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, charity declares the house in recess until approximately 3:30 p.m. today. >> ron paul will be here starting at 8:03 tomorrow warning live on c-span.

>> the weekend of august 4 and 5, our local content vehicles will explore louisville, kentucky, home of churchill downsm and an independent bookstore, carmichael's, these are stores that were opened by people who were interested in having a business, not that they had a love of books, but they were business people. you have to have a gut attachment to books to care enough about them, because your customers are like them. they come because they really care about book. >> louisville, kentucky, august 4 and 5.

hillary clinton speaking at the 2012 aids conference. she announced tens of millions of dollars in new funding for battling hiv-eigaids. this is about 40 minutes. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> please welcome the executive director of u.n. aids. >> friends, i challenge you all

to dream big dreams, to think of opportunity we have to end this epidemic. to be able to say 10 or 20 years from now our generation took us over the finish line. our generation made the decision to finally end aaaids. this morning i am humbled to be given the honor to introduce a great leader who already is turning our activities into reality. she is part of the american dream team for hiv.

president obama, secretary clinton, secretary sebelius, and -- secretary clinton is a person of vision, courage, and excellence, and her leadership has touched so many people, from people in island communities to heads of state. she uses foreign policy to promote health. for example, appointing america pause first ambassador for global women's issues. she was the first global leader to speak out about the tragic impact ofmic

violence against women. [applause] and she was the first global leader to fall for -- to call for an aids-free generations. she challenges us all to imagine a world where all babies are born free from hiv, where everyone in need has access to treatment, where the rights of women and girls are protected and promoted. where shared responsibility is met a global solidarity --

no fear of stigma or discrimination. if we turn the tide against hiv now, it will produce benefits across health and development, the war. history will remember her not only as one of the world's most exciting leaders, but also as one of its most effective and committed visionaries for change. at the moment when she has so many urgent demands, from syria to afghanistan to the -- is a powerful tesmony of her sensitivity. and despite a global

commitment, she has always found time to be a caring mother of her impressive daughter. it is my tremendous pleasure and honor to introduce a true champion of the aids movement, the secretary of state of the united states of america, hillary rodham clinton.

[cheers] >> good morning. good morning and -- now, what would an aids conference be without a little protesting? we understand that. part of the reason we have come as far as we have is because so many people all over the world have not been satisfied that we have done enough. and i am here to set a goal for a generation that is free of

aids. but first, let me say five words that we have not been able to say for too long -- welcome to the united states. we are so pleased to have you all finally back here, and i'd want to thank the leaders of the many countries who have joined us. i want to acknowledge my colleagues from the administration and congress who have contributed so much to the fight against aids. but mostly, i want to salute all of the people who are here today who do the hard work that

has given us the chance to stand here in 2012 and actually imagine a time when we will no longer be afflicted by this terrible epidemic and a great cost and suffering it has imposed for far too long. on behalf of all americans, we thank you. but i'd want to take a step back and think how far we have come since the last time this conference was held in the united states. it was in 1990, in san francisco. a doctor who is now our global aids ambassador ran a triage center there for all the h.i.v.-

positive people who became sick during the conference. they set up i.v. drug drips to rehydrate patients, they take antibiotics patients with aids- related pneumonia. many had to be hospitalized, and a few died. even at a time when the world's response to the epidemic was sorely lacking, there were places and people of caring, where people with aids found support. but tragically, there was so little that could be done medically, and sank fully, that has changed. -- and thankfully, that has changed. caring has brought action, and

action has had an impact. the ability to prevent and treat the disease has advanced beyond what many might have reasonably hoped 22 years ago. yes, aids is still in trouble. but it no longer has to be a death sentence. that is a tribute to the work of countless people are around the world, many of whom are here at this conference. others who are no longer with us, but whose contributions live on. but for decades, the united states has played a key role, starting in the 1990's, under the clinton administration, which began slowly to make h i v-treatment drugs more affordable and face the epidemic in our country. in 2003, president bush launched

a program with strong bipartisan support, and this country began trading millions of people. today under president obama, we are building on this legacy. pepfar is starting to build sustainable health systems that will help us finally win this fight. and deliver an aids-free generation. it is hard to overstate how sweeping or how crusher this change is. when president obama took office, we knew if we were going to win the fight against aids, we could not keep treating it as an emergency. we had to fundamentally change the way we and our running global partners did business. so we have engaged

diplomatically but ministers of finance and health, but also president and prime ministers to listen and learn about their priorities and needs in order to attract the best way for to get. -- together. that has required difficult conversations about issues that some leaders do not want to face, like government corruption in the procurement and delivery of drugs or dealing with injecting drug users. but it has been an essential part of helping more countries manage more of their own response to the epidemic. we have also focused on supporting high-impact intervention, making tough decisions driven by science about what we will and will not fund, we are delivering more

results for the american taxpayers' dollars by taking several struck -- steps, by changing to generic drugs which saved over $320 million in 2010 alone. and crucially, we have vastly improved our coordination with the global fund, where we used to work independently of each other. we now sit down together to decide, for example, which a bus will fund aids treatment somewhere and which one of us will fund the delivery of that treatment. that is a new way of working together, but i think it holds great results for all of us. now, all of these strategic sifts have required a lot of heavy lifting.

but it only matters in the end if it means we are saving more lives, and we are. since 2009, we have more than doubled the number of people who get treatment that keeps them alive. we're also reaching far more people with prevention, testing, and counseling. and i want publicly to thank first and foremost dr. eric goosbee, who has been on the front line of all this work since the 1980's in san francisco. he is somewhere in this vast hall, cringing with embarrassment, but more than anyone else, he had a vision for what pepfar needed to become and the tenacity to keep working to make it happen.

and i want to thank his extraordinary partners here in this administration, dr. tom freeden. now, with the progress we're making together, we can look ahead to a historic goal -- treating an aids-free generation. this is part of president obama cost call to make fighting global hiv-aids party for this administration. in july 2010, he launched the first comprehensive national hiv-aids strategy, which has reinvigorated the domestic response to the epidemic, especially important here in washington, d.c., which needs more attention, resources, and as a martyr strategies to deal

with the epidemic in our nation's capital. and last november at the national institutes of health, with my friend dr. toni fouchi, i spoke about the goal of an aids-free generation and laid out some of the ways we are advancing it through pepfar. and on world aids day, president obama launched an ambitious commitment to reach 6 million people globally with life-saving treatment. now, since that time, i have heard a few voices from people raising questions about america's commitment to an aids- free generation, wondering if we are really serious about achieving it. i here today to make it absolutely clear.

united states is committed and will remain committed to achieving an aids-free generation. we will not back off. we will not back down. we will fight for their resources. -- resources necessary to achieve this historic milestone. i know that many of you share my passion about achieving this goal. in fact, one could say i am preaching to the acquirer. -- to the choir. we need preaching to the choir, and we need the conversation to keep singing, spreading the message to everyone who is still standing outside. while i want to reaffirm my

government's commitment, i am here to boost yours. this is a fight we can win. have already come so far, too far to stop now. i want to describe our progress toward that goal and what work lies ahead. i defined by what we mean by an aids-free generation. it is a time when, first of all, virtually no child anywhere will be born with the virus. secondly, as children and teenagers become adults, they will be at significantly lower risk of ever becoming infected than they would be today, no matter where they are living.

and, third, if someone doesn't acquire hiv, they will have access to treatment that helps prevent them from developing aids and passing the virus on to others. so, yes, hiv may be with us into the future until we finally achieve a cure, a vaccine, but the disease that hiv causes need not be with us. as of last fall, every agency in the united states government involved in this effort is working together to get us on that path to an aids-free generation. we're focusing on what we call a nation prevention.

our strategy includes condoms, counseling and testing, and places special emphasis on three other interventions -- treatment as prevention, voluntary medical male circumcision, and stopping the transmission of hiv from mothers to children. since november, we have elevated combination prevention in all our hiv aids work, including here in washington, which has done a large -- the highest rate of any in our country, and we have partnered our countries, shifting their investments toward the specific mix of prevention tools that will have the greatest impact for their people. for example, haiti is scaling up its effort to prevent mother-to- ild transmission, which

will prevent new infections, and for the first time, vacation ministry of health is committing its own funding to provide anti- retro viral treatment. we're also making notable progress of the three pillars of our combination prevention strategy. united states has added funding for nearly 600,000 more people since september, which means we're reaching nearly 4.5 million people now and closing in on our national goal of 6 million by the end of next year. that is our contribution to the global effort to reach universal coverage. on male circumcision, we have

supported more than 400,000 procedures since last december alone, and i am pleased to announce that pepfar will provide an additional $40 million to support south africa's plan to provide a voluntary medical circumcision for almost 500,000 boys and men in the coming year. you know and we want the world to know that this procedure reduces the risk of female-to- male transmission by more than 60%. and for the rest of the man's life. the impact can be phenomenal. in kenya and tanzania, mothers ask for circumcision campaigns during school vacations so their teenage sons can participate. in zimbabwe, some male

lawmakers wanted to show their constituents how safe and virtually painless the procedure is come so they went to a clinic and got circumstances. that is the kind of leadership we welcome, and we are also seeing the development of new tools that would allow people to perform the procedure with less training and equipment than they need today without compromising safety, and when such a device is approved by the world health organization, pepfar is ready to support it right away. and on mother-to-child transmission, we are committed to eliminating it by 2015, getting the number to zero. over the years, we have invested more than $1 billion for this effort.

in the first half of this fiscal year, we've reached more than 370,000 women globally, and we are on track to hit pepfar's target of reaching an additional 1.5 million women by next year. there also setting out to overcome one of the biggest hurdles in getting to zero. when women are identified as hiv positive and eligible for treatment, they are often referred to another clinic, one that may be too far away for them to reach. as a result, too many women never start treatment. today, i am announcing that the united states will at best an additional $80 million to fill this gap. these funds -- [applause] these funds will support

innovative approaches to ensure that hiv-positive pregnant women get the treatment they need to protect themselves, their babies, and their partner. the united states is accelerating its work on all three of these fronts in the effort to create an aids-free generation. and look at how all these elements come together to make a historic impact. in the sandia, we are supported the government as they stepped up their efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission. between 2009 and 2011, the number of new infections went down by more than half, and we're just getting started. together we are going to keep up our momentum on mother-to-child transmission. we will help many more zambians

get on treatment and support a massive scale-up of male circumcision as well, steps which will drive down the number of new sexually-transmitted infections by more than 25% over the next five years. as the number of new infections in zambia goes down, it will be possible to treat more people than are becoming infected each year. so the bill for the first time get ahead of the pandemic there. -- so for the first time we will get ahead of the pandemic there, and an aids-free generation of zambians will be in sight. think of all the people who will never out of their lives report by this disease, and then multiplying it across the many

other countries we're working with. in fact, if you are not getting excited about this, please raise your hand and i will send somebody to check your pulse. [applause] but i know treating an aids-free generation takes more than the right tools, as important than they are. ultimately, it is about people, the people who have the most to contribute to this goal and the most to gain from it. that means embracing the central role that communities play, especially people living with hiv. and the critical work of the faith-based organizations. we need to make sure we are looking out for orphans and vulnerable children who are too

often overlooked in this epidemic. [applause] and it will be no surprise to you to hear me say i want to highlight the particular role that the women play. [cheers] and sub-saharan africa today, women account for 60% of those living with hiv. women want to protect themselves from hiv, and they want access to adequate health care, and we need to answer their call. pepfar is part of our comprehensive effort to meet the health needs of women and girls, working across the united states government, and with our partners on hiv, maternal and child health, and reproductive health, including voluntary family-planning and our newly launched child survival call to

action. every woman should be able to decide when and whether to have children. this is true whether she is hiv- positive or not. [applause] and i agree with the strong message that came out of alignment -- of the london summit earlier this month, there should be no controversy about this, none at all. and across all of our health and development work, the united states is emphasizing gender equality, because when in need and deserve a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. [applause]

and we are working to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, which puts women at higher risk for contracting the virus, and because women need more ways to protect themselves from hiv infection. last year we invested more than $90 million in research on microbicides. these efforts will close the health gap between women and men. if we're going to create an aids-free generation, we also must address the needs of the people who are at the highest risk of contracting hiv. one recent study of female sex workers and those traffic into prostitution in load- and

middle-income countries, found on average, 12% of them were hiv-positive, far above the rates for women at large. and people who use injecting drugs account for about 1/3 of all the people who acquire hiv outside of sub-sahara in africa. and in low- and middle-income countries, studies suggest that hiv prevalence among men who have sex with male partners could be up to 19 times higher than among the general population. now, over the years, i have seen and experienced how difficult it can be to talk about a disease that is transmitted the way that aids is. but if we are going to beat aids, we cannot afford to avoid sensitive conversations, and we

cannot fail to reach the people who are at the highest risk. [applause] unfortunately, today, very few countries monitor the quality of services delivered to these high-risk key populations. fewer still rigorously assess whether the services provided actually prevent transmission or do anything to ensure that hiv- positive people in these groups get the care and treatment they need. even worse, some take actions that rather than discouraging risky behaviors actually drives more people into the shadows where the epidemic is that much harder to fight. and the consequences are devastating. for the people themselves and for the fight against hiv.

because when key groups are marginalize, the virus spreads rapidly within those groups, and then also into the lower-risk general population. we are seeing this happen right now in eastern europe and southeast asia. humans might discriminate, but viruses do not, and there is an old saying that goes, why rob the bank? because that is where the money is. it would want to save more lives, we need to go where the virus is and get there as quickly as possible. [applause] and that means science should guide our efforts. today i am announcing three new efforts by the united states government to reach keep populations. we will invest $15 million in

implementation research to identify specific interventions that are most effective for each key population. we're also launching a $20 million challenge fund that will support country-led plans to expand services for key populations. and finally through a civil society that works fine, we will invest $2 million to bolster the efforts of civil society groups to reach keep populations. americans are rightly proud of the leading role that our country plays in the fight against hiv aids. and the world has learned a great deal through pepfar about what works and why, and we have learned about the needs that are not being met and how everyone can and must work

together to meet those needs. for our part, pepfar will remain at the center of americans' commitment to an aids-free generation. i have asked the ambassador to take the lead in sharing our blueprint for the goals and objectives for the next phase of our effort and to release this 's aid day.y world as what all of our partners here at home and around the home to have a clearer picture of everything we have learned and a road map that shows what we will contribute to achieving an aids- free generation. reaching this goal is a shared responsibility. it begins with what we can all do to help break the chain of mother-to-child transmission, and this take leadership at

every well, from investing to health-care workers to remove the registration fees that discourage women from taking for -- from seeking care. we need community and family leaders, from grand colors to religious leaders, to encourage women to get tested and demand treatment if they need it. we have a share this possibility to support a multilateral institutions like the global fund. in recent months, as the united states has stepped up our commitment, so have saudia arabia, japan, germany, the gates foundation, and others. and i encourage other donors, especially in emerging economies, to increase their contributions to this essential organization. and then finally, we all have a share in responsibility to get serious about promoting country

ownership. the end state where a nation's efforts are led, implemented, and eventually paid for by its government, its communities, it's a civil society, its private sector. i spoke about how the united states is supporting country ownership, but we also look to our partner countries and donors to do their part. they can follow the example of the last few years, in south africa, namibia, botswana, india, and other countries who are able to provide more and better care for their own people because they are committing war of their own resources to hiv aids. and partnered countries also need to take steps like fighting corruption and making sure their

system for approving drugs are as efficient as possible. i began to date by recalling the last time this conference was held here in the united states, and i want to close by recalling another symbol of our cause, aids memorial quilt. for a quarter century, this quilt has been a source of solace and comfort for people are around the world, a visible way to honor and remember, to mourn husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, partners and friends. some of you have seen the parts of the quilt that are on view in washington this week. i well remember the moment in 1996 when bill and i went to the national mall to see the " for ourselves.

i had sent word had that i wanted to know where the names of friends i had lost were placed so i could be sure to find them. when we saw how enormous the " was, covering acres of ground, stretching from the capitol building to the washington monument, it was devastating. in the months and years that followed, the quilt kept growing. back in 1996 was the last time it could be displayed all at once. it just got too big. too many people kept dying. we're all here today because we want to bring about that moment when we stop adding names, when we can come to a gathering like this one and not talk about the

fight against aids, but instead, commemorate the birth of a generation that is free of aids. now, that moment is still in the distance, but we know what road we need to take. we're closer to that destination than we have ever been. and as we continue on this journey together, we should be encouraged and inspired by the knowledge of how far we have already come. today and throughout this we cannot let us restore our own faith and renew our own purpose, so we made together reach that goal of an aids-free generation and truly honor all of those who have been lost. thank you all very much. [applause] >> we're waiting for members of the house to come back and get

started with their legislative work. about half hour from now at 3:30 eastern, we expect the hear debate on land and water bills as well as post office maimings. both today take place after 6:30 p.m. eastern. join us tomorrow when " washington journal" comes ron paul. he is one to start at 8:30 a.m. live on c-span. >> [unintelligible] once your car can see and avoid the accident, with cars, pedestrians, who can see the traffic signs for you. >> collision prevention, smart phones with a 21-hour battery

infe, the leatest technology devices, tonight at endicott p.m. eastern on c- span2. >> more reaction to the colorado shootings with joe biden in palm beach, florida, today. this is about 20 minutes. >> i look out and see so many familiar faces, and we have worked together for so long. i came first and foremost to say thank you. and, you know, a lot of you have heard me say before, i grew up with -- not literally, but figure led to the. -- but figuratively.

my neighborhood was filled with people like tommy, long before they ever decided to go into law enforcement, people who had roorback come on the playground, they had your back on the football field, they had your back on the fight, they had your back, period. you are a special breed, and it has been my honor over my career to be able to work with so many of you, none more loyal, none more -- none closer friends than napo. i had intended initially to come down and talk about policy, because this is an important convention. you are going to make some important decisions. we have always talked about policy, talked about those tools that you need, those tools that

help, not only in terms of making the streets safer, but in ways of protecting your rights, your physical safety, and you're right to collectively bargain. it does not seem appropriate to talk about that in the wake of what happened on friday night -- friday morning, thursday night, in aurora. there is no group who understands who has had to deal with every day in their life the national tragedy that we are coping with now more than all of you. it is my belief that the audience i am speaking to today understands better than anyone, anyone in this country, both the grief, the families are feeling, and the courage of those undaunted heroes in that movie

theater late thursday night. you have all been there before. we as a nation have been there before. columbine, virginia tech, fort hood, tucson, september 11, and so much more. just like before, we have refused to yield. . .

a 6-year-old girl like transportation beautiful young man who as a welcoming sign saving we love you will, joe biden. that's why i went to see him. >> a 6-year-old girl, like that beautiful young man who has a welcoming sign saying we love you, joe biden. you all know i love kids better than anybody. if i've got a choice, i would rather hang with the kids. only really good thing in the whole world. but a 6-year-old girl, just learned how to swim. was probably for a week or longer anticipating with such enthusiasm, but no more than they are parents were, that she was going to get to go to see a movie, "batman" at midnight. her 25-year-old mother, who is still in the hospital, fighting

for her life, she's pregnant, a bullet in her neck. doctors aren't able to remove it yet. what can we possibly say to her except our heart goes out. a 51-year-old father, who, you as fathers out there know, nothing ex sites you more than being able to give a thrill to your children. was taking his teenage sons to this event, this happening. they were probably excited about the premiere for weeks. and the parents, like my wife and like all of you, are thinking, this is something i remember doing with dad when they had kids.

what can you say? what can you say to those kids? we pray, we pray for the parents who, at this hour, still, like some of you have done in your careers, are at the bedside, in this case, of their children, not knowing for certain what the outcome will be. not knowing whether they'll fully recover. we pray, and like too many of the funerals i've attended for law enforcement officers, we weep, but we must sing as well. we must sing of the couragism and heroism that was on display late thursday night. a 19 year-old young man, on his

way out of the theater safely, who turned back, not unlike you, toward the gunfire when he heard the cream ising of -- screaming of a mother asking for help for her children. an ordinary young man. a young woman sitting in the third row of the theater, who rushed to apply pressure to an injured man's head instead of rushing to safety. rushing toward the gunman. the 27-year-old boyfriend who as scripture says, no greater gift, who literally threw himself on top of his girlfriend, when the bullets started to fly. trading his life for hers.

you've seen it. an air force reservist stationed at buckley air force base if aurora, who went to the show that night with some of his colleagues from the base, who died a hero that night, diving between the gunman and one of his airmen, saving her life. a 20-year-old his 17-year-old sister were crawling on the ground when they came upon a man who had been shot in the leg. they dragged him, they dragged him to the lobby until police could assist him. instead of just getting up and running the hell out of here. we sing because these are the people who define who we are as a nation.

they are the hymns of our hope. because they remind us of the goodness that sometimes we forget the goodness, the decency, the bravery. my mom used to say and tommy heard me say that bravery lives in every man's heart. and she expected to be summoned some day. it was summoned and like so many times before, people stepped up. they make us proud of our country and pain more importantly at -- and maybe more importantly at this moment, they make us confident that this country is made of that sterner stuff. and there's reason, reason to be

hopeful and confident. i know this is no solace at this moment for the families who are grieving in aurora. for any of you, like me, who have grieved the sudden loss of a loved one. you know at this moment, there's fog but the feeling of a brach hole in your chest. you feel like you're being sucked into it. but i also know that their heroism, their courage, is not lost on the single one of you, for if it were, you couldn't do your job every day the you couldn't get up in the morning, put on that uniform, strap on a side arm and proudly put that shield on, look in the mirror

and say good-bye to your wife or your husband. deep down inside knowing because you've experienced it, and maybe that could be your last good-bye. were it not for the fact that you know that there is a hell of a lot more good out there than the evil, that you're sworn to take on. yeah, you've all seen the price of violence. more than any other group of americans. you've attended too many funerals, many of your own colleagues, your partners but also those whose cold cases you've worked on. you've cradle too many innocents praying that that damn ambulance would get here before they died

in your arms. you've had to make that dreaded call, a call that no one wants to receive. sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes in the middle of the day, knowing your voice would be strange and alien to whoever picked up the phone, and having to say about your husband. about your child. you've also meant that 19-year-old young man who went back into the theater when he heard the mother screaming, you've met that 17-year-old woman who assisted a complete stranger, that air force reservist, the young lover who gave his life for his love, you know them, you've seen them, they're black, they're while, they're hispanic, they're asian,

they're store owners, shop keepers. they're ordinary people. so i doubt whether you're surprised that the aurora police were on the scene within 90 seconds. that one officer in all the confusion was able to notice, because of his training, something out of place, something out of place and a guy who was walking out quickly dressed in a s.w.a.t. uniform, something that didn't fit. arresting him, arresting the shooter. you're not surprised by the stories of officers not waiting for the ambulance knowing the difference between what is a life-threatening wound and a wound. literally picking up a theater-goer and putting him in his or her squad car and getting

them to the hospital rather than to wait for the ambulance. recall you know the seconds -- you know the seconds count. as one witness described the scene that night, the police came running in telling people to run out. how many times have you run in o get people, not having any idea? with any degree of certainty what you were going to run into, but knowing you had to. what is it, what is it that enables you to do that. what is it about you that

distinctively has you run in when every fiber in your being has you running out. it's because of you them that americans remain hopeful in the midst of this tragedy. that americans continue to believe that our better angels will ultimately prevail. you know, i've been with you guys figuratively speaking, since i've been a kid. and i've been with you from the day i got sworn in. you've heard me say it before. god only knows what makes you tick, but thank god you tick the way you do. thank god there are people like you. in this moment of our grief, the entire nation is reminded how

grateful we are for what you do and i truly believe, not withstanding all the political chatter we'll hear, i truly believe that the vast majority of the american people are as committed as i am to never letting you down. the tragedy in aurora has reawakened the grief and that sense of loss that anyone who has ever received that phone call feels at the moment. as i said, that stranger's voice saying i'm calling about your son, your wife, your husband. anybody's received that call knows that nothing good follows from that. you know what the families of aurora will only know in time, that solace is derived from the knowledge that your neighbors understand and appreciate your loss. and feel your pain in the

literal sense. you also know as i know, that with the grace of god, although the pain will never vanish, there will come a moment, i promise those who have been hurt, there will come a moment when the memory of your daughter, your son, your husband, will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes. it will come. my only prayer is that it all comes sooner than later, but it will come. let me close by telling you once again what i hope you already know. how much i personally respect you and how much i admire what you do. and how much i pray and i think

today all americans pray that god will bless you and protect you as you perform your sacred duties to your community and to your country. i love you guys. thank you very much. [applause] >> the vice-president today in florida. we're about 15 minutes away or so from the house gaveling back in, legislative work and debate getting underway on several land and water bills. about 3:30 p.m. this afternoon. you saw the vice-president talking about the shootings in colorado. reaction has continued here on capitol hill. here's some of what house members had to say today. >> imagine the headline.head outbreak of serious illness strikes.illn 12 people killed, 58 hospitalized, just like similar

outbreaks. but the federal government prohibits the center fromth disease control from investigating. or, another headline. 70 trapped in a collapsed building, 20 dead or critically injured. and your government makes it illegal for government organizations to collect data, o to study what can be done to solve it, to minimize this carnage in the future. people would be justifiably outraged. they expect government to protect them and to help understand the nature of threate in the workplace, the marketplace, or in our homes. at some level, we want to know about why cars malfunction, or there are patterns of disease, r will nets, injury, or mechanical failure. that is what our government is supposed to do. if food safety, mind safety or t.s.a. fails, there would be calls for accountability.

sadly, that's not what isy happeningth as the nation recois into anguish at another outbreak of gun violence. the 70 killed or wounded are the latest in a pattern that happens peteedly, pre -- repeatedly, with overall loss of life being in the tens of thousands over y the years. what is as appalling as the loss of life is the fact that we not only refuse to do anything about it, but we allow political bullies to intimidat us from even researching the facts. now, there's never been a threat in this country that sportsmen will not be able to hunt or target shoot. that false specter raised by its gun lobby so successfully that today there's virtually no gun protection, but that stop the numb one gun advocacy group, adv the national rifle association, from making things up, creating phony threats to gun ownership. they're attacking the obamae

administration, which has done essentially nothing in this field.fi since theyel know that congresss would reject even the most reasonable of proposals. the it has been impossible for example, to even -- to close the gun show loophole, where peopleh can get unlimited amounts ofd guns without a reasonable background check. the nra is at work to make sure people on the no-fly list,eopl because they are threats to lnai national security, can purchase guns. that data cannot be shared between a.t.f. and homeland security dealingan with potentil terrorists. the nra argues that all we needt is a for existing gun laws to be enforced while they systematically set about to dismantle which laws we have, and then defund even feeble government enforcement efforts. anyone looks at the background of the recent so-called fast and

furious controversy finds that in part, the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms is dysfunctional, because it's constantly under assault by the nra for its most modest steps and most minimal budgets. we cannot even study gun violence, patterns, causes, andc potential solutions. while i didn't know anybody in o aurora, this most recent tragic, senseless rampage touches home for me. as i was growing up, a young man in a family that i was close to was killed by an act of randomdy gun violence. and as i followed the issues over the years, i continue to feel that there's no reason to permit armored-piercing, c cop-killer bullets to be sold lickbe tick-tacs. that at mat i can weapons should be available over-the-counter with 100 bullet magazines, like the killer in colorado had, thas

facilitate such things.e these incorporate things have no -- these things have no us useful purpose in sports. i find it appalling that we as citizens have enabled congress to act in a spineless fashion, to be taken over in the area of gun safety by the nra. that we refuse to deal withsome something that has serious law enforcement implications, so that we alone in the developed world, are most at risk for random gun violence.n vi any time there's a mass killing spree, i hope against hope for a more enlightened reaction. perhaps the gun owners themselves, the majority of whom disagree with the nra's extreme positions, will join withl jo politicians, business, the health community, to come together to deal with an epidemic of gun violence in a way we would treat any other threat to the safety of ourthre families and our communities. we would study, we would work on

solutions together and we would act.wo sadly, we're still waiting. >> mr. speaker, my home state of colorado had a tragedy over the weekend. a mass murder that will forever remain on the minds of all coloradoans and all americans. the tragedy extends beyond those who were killed and those who were injured to our friends, our neighbors, everybody impacted by this senseless act of terror in my home state. i'd like to thank president obama t for joining the families impacted in mourning. i'd like to thank all of thosed in colorado and across the country who have sent their thoughts, their care, their resources to all of us in

colorado in a time of need. this also should serve as ano occasion for all of us to acknowledge what's special and important in our lives.ves, to celebrate every day we have on this planet, the health of our family, our only health and our own safety and hope and pray to god that the tragedy thatedy impacted colorado will not happen again in colorado or anywhere else. i yield back. >> reaction today on the floor of the u.s. house to the shootings in colorado. also, on capitol hill, on the other side of the capitol building, reaction in the united states senate. we'll show you the democratic and republican leaders and their remarks.mr. >> mr. president, this afternoon, the senate pauses to remember those killed in last's week's horrific shooting in colorado.

one of the dead was 26-year-old jonathan blunk, graduate of hud high school in reno, nevada, navy veteran, father of two. my heart goes out to his loved ones, to all the victims and the falies as they struggle to make sense of the senselessness. how can you make sense ofsome something that's so senseless, mr. president?we m we may never know the motivation behind this terrible crime or ay understand why anyone would i target so many innocent people.r this is a reminder that nothing in this world is certain and that life is precious and short. today, we pause to mourn the dead, but also honor how they lived.dg we pledge our support to the people in colorado, both as they grieve and as they continue torl heal in this terrible tragedy.

>> mr. president, we've all about sifting through the events of last friday. and i think it's an entirely appropriate for the senate to td take a moment today to acknowledge as we just did, the victims of this nightmarish rampage, their families, and the wider community of aurora. of in the life of a nation, some events are just so terrible that they compare all of -- compel all of us to set aside our normal routines and preoccupations, step back, reflect on our own motivations, and priorities and think about the kind of lives we all aspire to live the. this is certainly one of those

times, and as is almost alwaysly the case in moments like this, the horror has been temperedhat somewhat by the acts of heroism and self-sacrifice that took place in the midst of the violence. i've read one report that said three separate men sacrificed their own lives torep protect the lives of the woman they were with. we know that first responders,ed nurses and doctors save lives too, including the life of an unborn child.f i think all of us were moved over the weekend by the stories we've heardbo about the victimsv themselves. it's hard not to be struck by how young most of them were, of how many dreams weree extinguished so quickly and

mercylessly. we were also moved by the outpouring of compassion that followed and by thend refusal of the people of aurora to allow the monster who committed this crime to eclipse the memory of the people he killed. president obama and theloup religious leaders in and around aurora are to be commended for the time and effort they put in to consoling the families and ef friends of the victims and the broader community. i think the best thing the rest of us can do right now is to show our respect for those who have been affected. who by this terrible and senseless crime. and to continue to pray for the injured, that they recover fully from their injuries. there are a few things more common in america than going out to a movie with friends.ends which is why the first response

most of us hadst to the shootins in aurora was was to think, ite could have been any of us. it's the randomness of a crimeme like this that makes is impossible to understand and so hard to accept. but as the scripture says, the rain falls on the just and the unjust so we accept that some things we just can't explain. evil is one of them. and we take comfort in the fact that while tragedy and loss persist, so does the goodness and generosity of so many. and now i'd like to join governor hicksenlooper in v honoring theic victims by recitg their names. [list of names read]

>> we too will remember. >> and a live picture of our nation's capitol building here in washington, d.c., ra couple of minutes away from the house returning to get their legislative part of the day

started. sometimes on mondays, the house starts a bit later nor legislative work, giving members a chance to travel back from their districts around the country. they're scheduled to gavel in at 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, a couple minutes from nour and we expect some work to be done on some land and water bills as well as some post office namings. any requested votes will take praise after 6:30 p.m. tonight. as we wade, here's a story moving from the congressional quarterly this afternoon. agriculture secretary tom vilsack citing the toll on crops and livestock from an ongoing drought, continued today to press for floor action on the house, farm bill before the august recess or shortly after congress returns in september. it's time for the house leadership to step up and get this on the floor, vilsack said. the sad reality is congress needs to do its work to get disaster assistance to these producers. speaker john boehner has made no commitment to bringing the house agriculture committee's bill to the floor before or after the

august recess. that legislation would, amongst other things, renew disaster aid that expired last year. vilsack says he has limited options in responding to the worst u.s. drought since 1956. without the renewal of those programs. that's farm bill and senate-passed version would renew aid programs for livestock producers, as well as for tree, root, nursery plant growers and others in fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2017. president obama at this hour s in nevada, shortly a few minutes ago, he began some remarks to a vfw convention in reno. we expect the president later to head on down to -- or head up, i guess, to san francisco, for a campaign event in san francisco. this evening. and another story on our wires from congressional quarterly today. senate majority leader harry reid has set a procedural vote today on a federal lower court

nominee, raising concern among liberals that the parties's election year fight over judicial confirmations may be spreading from appeals court picks to lower court picks. senator reid took the move after senator paul said he would block the -- unless mr. reid allows a floor vote on a measure that would cut off u.s. aid to pakistan until an incarcerated informant, who helped american forces find osama bin laden is released. live now to the floor of the u.s. house. incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1237 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1237, a bill to provide for a land exchange for the trinity public utilities

district of trinity county, california, involving the transfer of land to the bureau of land management and the six rivers national forest in exchange for national forest system land in the shasta-trinity national forest and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, and the gentleman from the northern mariana islands, mr. sablan, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 1237 authored by our friend from california, mr. herger, authorizes a land exchange between the trinity county public utilities district, the forest service and the bureau of land management in northern california. the labbeds is cut off by the surrounding federal lands. the utility districts would like

to acquire 100 acres of the national forest to consolidate its holdings and guarantee access for future use of the property near the airport. in exchange for this part, the utilities district will convey about 150 acres. it currently owns to the six rivers national forest and approximately 50 acres to the bureau of land management. passage of this legislation will allow additional opportunity for economic development in remote trinity county, california, while allowing the forest service to consolidate its land base and the bureau of land management to acquire prime recreational sites. the suspension tech makes a minor amendment to the bill to conform to house rules by specifying that any cash equalization payments for the parcels that may be paid to the secretary must be deposited in a general fund of the treasury. it also requires that no cash equalization payment may be paid for the utility district. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: i yield myselfs much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, h.r. 1237 provides for the exchange of land between the trinity public utility district in california and the united states forest service and the bureau of land management. we do not object to this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield five minutes to the author of this legislation and somebody that this body will miss as he is retiring at the end of this session, five minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. herger. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for five minutes. mr. herger: i thank my good friend. mr. speaker, i rise to urge support for h.r. 1237, a noncontroversial land exchange bill i introduced to provide for greater economic opportunities in trinity county, located in

the northern california congressional district i represent. with a 19% unemployment rate this rural community faces significant economic challenges. the trinity county public utilities district owns property surrounded by land administered by the bureau of land management and the forest service. the tpud seeks to economically improve one parcel near the weaverville airport but it currently cannot do so because it is landlocked by the forest service. this legislation would transfer 47 acres of the district's property near the trinity river known as skyran, to the bureau of land management, and 150 acres within six rivers national forest known as van doozen to the forest service. the district would receive a parcel of equal value from the

shasta-trinity national forest that surrounds their site at the airport. this land exchange would benefit the federal government as well by consolidating b.l.m. and forest service holdings and increase the efficiency of managing the land. this would allow the tpud to develop the property and enhance economic opportunities for the community. trinity county faces significant challenges attracting businesses because the federal government currently owns 75% of the available land, over 1 1/2 million acres, limiting the availability of land for commercial use. the county also faces significant economic challenges because government mismanagement and lawsuits from fringe groups have shut down responsible

stewardship and management in the county's vast timber resources. this decline in management has been devastating to the timber industry and has had a multiplier effect on the county's economy, with severe impacts on schools, infrastructure and small retail businesses. in closing, i strongly believe that these resources belong to the people and local needs should drive their management. sensible land exchanges like the one this legislation would implement would have the twofold benefit of making federal land management more efficient while providing local communitys -- the local community with greater access to natural resources. i want to thank chairman hastings and ranking member grijalva for their efforts on behalf of this commonsense bill and i urge my colleagues to vote for it. i yield back the remainder of my

time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from the northern marianneas islands. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, may i inquire if chairman hastings has any additional speakers at this time? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i have no more requests for time. if the gentleman is prepared to close i'll close. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, again, like i said, we have no objection to this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, this is a good piece of legislation and i congratulate the gentleman for his introduction in getting this far and with that i urge adoption and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1237. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting 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 washington seek recognition? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4484 as amended.

the clerk: union calendar number 445, h.r. 4484, a bill to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of national forest system lands in the uniat that national forest in utah to brigham young university and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, and the gentleman from the northern marianas islands, mr. sablan, will control 20 minutes. mr. hastings: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five days -- legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this bill is authored by our colleague from utah, mr. chaffetz. h.r. 4484 authorizes the forest service to convey 80 acres known as y mountain to brigham young university. y mountain is a location of the renowned white block y overlooking the utah valley and the b.y.u. campus.

the y was cructed in 1906 and has -- constructed in 1906 and has been celebrated ever since. currently b.y.u. owns and maintains a trail head and much of the trail leading up to the 380-foot tall by 130-foot wide landmark. the remaining property is owned by the forest service but it is used by the university under a permit which is typically been renewed every 10 years. with this legislation, the university will guarantee its ability to maintain the y and surrounding grounds without the risk of losing the right through the permitting process. finally, the legislation requires that b.y.u. pay fair market value and continue to allow public access to the y as it has done for decades. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from the northern marianas islands. mr. sablan: thank you. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i yield

myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: h.r. 4484 provides for the conveyance of approximately 80 acres of forest service lands to brigham young university. we do not object to this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i am very pleased to yield three minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: thank you. mr. speaker, i'm proud to introduce this piece of legislation. it's common sense, i think it's something that should be widely accepted. i also appreciate the bipartisan nature in which we introduced this bill. mr. faleomavaega was important to this, mr. flake and mr. mckeon and i appreciate the bipartisan nature in which we introduced this bill. as you go into utah county, up on the eastern side of the valley there, there's this big y

representing brigham young university. it's a mainstay in our community and something that we're all proud of. it's also something that is easily accessible to the hikers. year-round people will hike up this trail as they pass up and go up to enjoy a day up on the side of the mountain. and really in an effort to make sure that this is properly maintained, continuity of maintenance, this really does make sense. it's interesting because that portion, this 80 aches that are we talk about today, was once owned by brigham young university and that was then transferred into a trust and over the course of time, many decades ago, it was actually transferred to the forest service. and so now it's actually selling back, have that money, deposit it back into the treasury to help reduce our deaf -- deficit. brigham university paying fair market value for that makes sense in terms of keeping the continuity in place, making sure it's something that in utah and from other people coming to our state, like tone joy on a regular by a sills -- like to

enjoy on a regular basis. this would provide long-term certainty by removing any questions about who owns the land and who is responsible for maintaining the trail. and i look forward to the passage of this. it's important to our community and i think a good win-win for the federal government as well as the residents there, particularly in utah county. with that i'll yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from the northern marianas islands. mr. sablan: at this time i yield to the gentleman from american -- i yield to the gentleman from american samoa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. faleomavaega mr. speaker, i ask unanimous con -- faleomavaeg mr. speaker, i ask -- delaware -- mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. i especially want to thank my good friend and colleague, the chief sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz. i rise today, mr. speaker, in support of h.r. 4484, the y

mountain access enhancement act which would direct the u.s. department of of agriculture to sell 80 acres of u.s. forest service land known as the y mountain to brigham young university. y mountain, which is located directly east of the b.y.u. campus, includes a trail that leads 1.2 miles from the mountain's base up to large white concrete on the mountain's hillside that was built over 100 years ago. the y, which is 380 feet high by 130 feet wide, is even larger than the los angeles famous hollywood sign and served as an insignia for brigham young university. mr. speaker, i am a proud alumnus of brigham young university. the y has always been a symbol of pride for us. the alumni, the faculty, the student body, and the provo community. it reminds us of what b.y.u. students and alumni strive for

and continue to advocate for future generations, to enter to learn and go forth to serve. the y is recognized five times a year, which celebrates brigham young's white watching -- white washing of yecd symbol of b.y.u. sports, especially its football tradition. . pacific islanders have been given scholarships to further their education here in the united states. mr. speaker, b.y.u. once owned the entire area surrounding the y and the y mountain trail of the university also currently manages the u.s. forest service portion of the trail. h.r. 4484, however, proposes that the federal government sell the y mountain at fair

market value to b.y.u. and mandates that proceeds of the sale be used to reduce the federal budget deficit. the bill also guarantees that public access to the y and the y mountain trail be maintained following the sale. it is my strong belief, mr. speaker, that for many b.y.u. to purchase this property would result in better maintenance of the trail and mountain, given the immense source of pride of the y mountain, b.y.u. ownership of the property would only result in improved maintenance, cleanliness, safety and access for the public. transfer of ownership would also allow the university to preserve a significant monument for future generations of students and members of the community. mr. speaker, again, i thank my colleagues and especially the gentleman from utah as the chief sponsor of this legislation, and i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i advise my friend from the northern marianas that i have

no more request for time and i am prepared to close if he is. mr. sablan: i yield back the balance of my time. mr. hastings: i urge its adoption and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4484, as amended. 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, bapped -- the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5958. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: how the calendar number 458, h.r. 5957, a bill to name the jamaica bay wildlife refuge visitor contact station of the jamaica bay wildlife refuge unit of gateway national recreation area in honor of james l. buckley. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr.

hastings, and the gentleman from the northern mariana islands, mr. sablan, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material to the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 5958 was introduced by our colleague from new york, mr. turner, to honor senator james l. buckley for his many contributions to america and to the state of new york. the bill recognizes in particular his role in establishing the jamaica bay wildlife refuge and the gateway national recreation area. senator buckley was the sponsor of the legislation that created the park and obviously participated in the floor debate in the senate. even before his historic election to the senate as a candidate of the new york conservative party, mr. buckley, senator buckley spoke out in favor of protecting this natural area in the shadow of new york city and from its use

as an airport extension. senator buckley is one of the few americans to have served in the top levels of all three branches of the u.s. government. in addition to his election to the senate seat, once held by robert kennedy, buckley served as undersecretary of state, president of radio free europe and radio liberty and judge of the u.s. court of appeals for the d.c. circuit. generally held to be the second highest court in our judicial system. namely, the visitor center in the wildlife ruge after senator buckley is a particular fitting tribute. this is good legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, could i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks? the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sablan: and, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, h.r. 5958 renames the jamaica bay wildlife refuge visitor center

to the james l. buckley center. we do not object to this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield four minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from new york, mr. turner. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for four minutes. mr. turner: thank you, mr. speaker. i ride in strong support of h.r. 5958, which recognizes senator james l. buckley for his service to our country and his efforts to create the gateway national recreation center in new york and new jersey. by renaming the visitor center in jamaica bay wildlife refuge of the gateway national recreational area in his honor, senator james l. buckley has been a true public servant who served at the highest level of all three branches of government as well as the united states navy during world war ii. along with his fellow new york senator, senator buckley had

the vision to create a national wildlife refuge center in an urban area accessible to millions of other residents in the metropolitan area. in 1970, during his first days in the senate, buckley joined the other senator to create gateway a more than 26,000 acre area spanning three boroughs and stretching all the way to sandy hook, new jersey. this year it celebrates its 40th anniversary and welcomes more than eight million visitors annually. from the historic lighthouse that was established in 1767 in sandy hook, new jersey, gateway offers the unique piece of history for its visitors. gateway national park is also -- has also provided

birdwatchers like senator buckley and myself, a glimpse of the more than 325 species of birds that's part of the atlantic flyway which stretches from north of canada to the caribbean. senator buckley's environmental interests were not limited to new york. he co-sponsored the 1972 clean air water act. he also co-sponsored the grand canyon national park enlargement act which protected the imagine steen of one -- majesty of one of our greatest habitats. he pointed out how technology and the environment can evolve together. he stressed that we can concentrate on developing environmental programs at achievable rates and saying we must coexist with technology. so i ask you join me in celebrating someone who

protected his state, country and environment and passing h.r. 5958 would be a fitting tribute to a man who spent most of his life sharing his threct -- intellect with others. mr. sablan: i have no further speakers and i yield back the balance of my time. mr. hastings: this is a good piece of legislation, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5958. 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 washington seek recognition? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3388 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 438, h.r. 3388, bail to amend the wild and scenic rivers act to designate a segment of the beaver,

chipuxet, queen, wood, and pawcatuck rivers in the states of connecticut and rhode island for study for potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers system and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, and the gentleman from the northern mariana islands, mr. sablan, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: this bill would authorize the study of 86 miles of rivers in the states of connecticut and rhode island for a potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers system. the natural resources committee amended the legislation to specifically require that the study consider any potential limitation on existing uses and any impacts to private property that could occur with the

eventually designation. these are important protections and are important for the study to move forward. with that, it's a good piece of legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sablan: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, this legislation authorizes the national park service to study roughly 86 miles of rivers in connecticut and rhode island for possible designation as wild and scenic rivers. the wild and scenic rivers program currently protects the free-flowing condition of more than 12,000 miles of rivers in 38 states. unfortunately, this has left .25% of the rivers in the united states. in contrast more than 75,000 large dams restrict the flow of roughly 600,000 miles of river. this is about 17% of the river miles in this country. mr. langevin is to be commended for his hard work on behalf of

his constituents and the natural resources within his state. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm very pleased to yield four minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from rhode island, mr. langevin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island is recognized for four minutes. mr. langevin: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. langevin: thank you. i want to thank the gentleman for yielding, and i'd like to thank ranking member grijalva and chairman bishop and their staffs for working to bring this bill to the committee and to the floor today. i'd also like to thank my good friend, congressman courtney of connecticut, who's been an outstanding partner in this effort and all those back in rhode island to bring this bill to fruition, including the wood had been pawcatuck watershed, the connecticut department of

environmental protection. mr. speaker, the wood-pawcatuck watershed protection act helps the beaver, chipuxet, in rhode island and connecticut for potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers system. rhode island and connecticut have long been outstanding stewards of these rivers, and i hope completion of this study will affirm we who live near these rivers already know, they possess outstanding recreational, natural and historic qualities that make them worthy of the designation of wild and scenic rivers. we are privileged to have access to a diverse system of wilderness areas, not only in the remote exspanses of our country, but also close to home, in our back yard wilderness, the wood-pawcatuck is easily accessible for family outstandings and school field trips.

now, the people of rhode island and connecticut have long enjoyed the recreational and scenic route and we are eager to share this national treasure with the rest of new england and the nation. now, these rivers are not only an important part of our national heritage, they are a critical part of our economy which relies on the health of our waters. the wood-pawcatuck is part of vital industry to rhode island and connecticut, and these rivers offer exceptional trout fishing, canoing, fovery -- photography and hiking and camping. the study will not only review the special character of the river but will fully engage with local government, landowners and businesses to recognize that the existing commercial and recreational activities is adjacent to the watershed. this act will make sure it will be here for future generations

to enjoy. the rivers of the wood-pawcatuck has national heritage qualities that would be an excellent addition to the national wild and scenic river system. i urge passage of this bill. again, i want to thank members of the committee, especially the chair and the ranking member, for bringing the bill to the floor, and i thank mr. hastings and also mr. sablan for their assistance with this as well. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i advise my friend from the northern mariana islands i have no more requests for time and i am prepared to close if he is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: i have no additional speakers. mr. hastings: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman yield back? mr. sablan: i have no additional speakers. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman yield back his time? mr. sablan: i yield back the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. this is good legislation and i urge its adoption and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3388. 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 washington seek recognition? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i hove to -- move to suspend the ruse and pass h.r. 2362 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2362, a bill to facilitate economic development by indian tribes and encourage investment by enterprises. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, and the gentleman from the northern mariana islands, mr. sablan, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: i yield myself as much time as i may consume.

thank you, mr. speaker. h.r. 2362, authored by our colleague from -- let me start over again, mr. speaker. h.r. 2362 is authored by our colleague from oklahoma, mr. cole. we continue to be reminded it takes months and years for the bureau of indian affairs to approve simple lease agreements. for years many tribes have pleaded with congress to let them manage their lands with less federal supervision. the bureaucratic red tape is often cited as the main culprit for the lack of economic development ons remainslations -- reservations. last week -- on reservations. last week the senate passed h.r. -- the hearth act. the hearth act promotes greater tribe, allowing tribes to govern certain leasing of their lands. h.r. 2362 as amended would give tribes additional options in attracting economic development.

the indian tribal trade and investment demonstration project act would allow any federally recognized tribe to engage in business with companies of any world trade organization member country. it's a good start, it is something that we should be addressing probably more aggressively. and with that i urge adoption of this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, at this time i yield to mr. pallone for four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for four minutes. mr. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my ranking member as well. i rise to oppose h.r. 2362, the indian tribal trade and investment demonstration project act to. put it quite simply, there is no good reason for passage of this

legislation. in fact, there are a whole bunch of reasons why this legislation should fail today. first i would like to say that i strongly support efforts to bring economic prosperity to indian country. i've been a long-time advocate of indian country's right and power to exercise their sovereignty and pursue economic development in the ways they choose. that is why i was glad to vote for h.r. 205, the hearth act. the hearth act permits all tribes, not just the select few, to engage in leasing activities without federal oversight under certain circumstances. under the hearth act, trine tribes can engage in these activities with both domestic and foreign entities. furthermore the hearth act enjoyed strong bipartisan support and passed this body on may 515 -- may 15. the bill then passed the senate by unanimous consent and now only awaits the president's signature. in contrast, h.r. 2362 singles out the republic of turkey for preference treatment. anyone who questions this just needs to turn to the bill itself which states the purpose, to

facilitate economic development by indian tribes and encourage investment by turkish enterprises. if this bill didn't give turkey special preference, what would be the point? it would be entirely duplicative of what would be law in just a few days. the republic of turkey, mr. speaker, acts increasingly hostile to u.s. interests and has a long history of human rights violations. turkey is not a country that should be receiving preferential treatment in any sense and certainly not explicitly approved by this congress. turkey has yet to acknowledge the fact that the armenian genocide and reconcile itself with its own history. the armenian genocide is the first genocide of the 20th century. it's a dark chapter in history but it must be remembered and reaffirmed. and that's why we must not stand by as the republic of turkey continues their policy of denying the 20th century's first genocide. it is also very appropriate to remember that this passed friday -- past friday marked 309th anniversary of the illegal occupation of northern cyprus by turkey.

on july 20, turkey invaded cyprus in violation of international law and at great cost to the citizens of cyprus. turkish troops continue to occupy cyprus illegally and the invasion forced nearly 200,000 greek sipry ots to flee their homes. the e.u. government has made strong efforts to bring this ongoing occupation to a peaceful settlement. however, the turkish government from afar continues to push against such peace negotiations. in fact, turkey has used its bases in northern cyprus to harass israeli merchant vessels peacefully engaged with the cooperation of the cyprus government. it's even threatened u.s. companies. i just presented a couple of examples as to why turkey's policies fly in the face of solid moral standing and threaten u.s. interests abroad. legislating preferential treatment for turkey would be a mistake. and only signal that genocide denial, illegal occupation of u.s. ally and other anti-u.s. policies will be tolerated.

i'm proud to say in this congress has passed legislation that gives tribes more flexibility in entering into lease agreements that will promote economic development and future vitality. today's bill does not advance this cause, it would simply put turkey on a pedestal. i urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and vote no. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm very pleased to yield five minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. cole. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for five minutes. mr. cole: i thank the speaker and i thank the gentleman for yielding. h.r. 2362 is simply a bill to facilitate economic development in indian country and to expand the range of options open to some of the poorest and most disadvantaged of americans, the first americans. currently as my friend mr. hastings pointed out economic development is often hampered in indian country by restrictive leasing practices on indian reservations. h.r. 2362 directs the secretary

of interior to create a demonstration project for up to six tribes engaged in economic development with foreign companies and foreign countries. tribes will develop the guidelines for their own economic activity with these entities, the secretary will approve them and we will over time learn how to do business between indian tribes and foreign countries. something frankly we know comparatively little about. one of the things that comes out of this is the development by the secretary of the interior of recommendations and best practices, something which needs to be done in this area. we have tried in the course of this legislation to recognize the concerns raised by some people. there's no question that i was approached by the turkish american coalition, there's a deep interest in turkey and american indians. there has been for many hundreds of years. this goes back a long way. they're the only country that's actually sent a national delegation to an indian economic development conference, there are scholarships for native

american students that thes i tan -- at the istanbul technical institute, there's a constant movement of tribal citizens going back and forth. so this interest, apart from these other disputes, is real and genuine and deep. and so we've accepted some of the concerns that were voiced in subcommittee. there is no preferential status for turkey in this bill. all 155 world trade organization countries will have exactly the same opportunity. it's important to note, i think, that this bill is strongly supported in indian country. maybe we should listen to indians about what's best for their own economic development. the national congress of american indians supports this bill. the national american indian housing council supported this bill. the national center for american indian enterprise development supports this bill. numerous tribes support this bill. perhaps they are the real experts here that we should be listening to. passage of this bill would normally be a routine matter in this house.

but due to the strong turkish interest and support for the bill, we have a number of ethnic communities in the united states who have voiced objections. i think that's always legitimate and always appropriate. but sadly, as i pointed out, some of these objections don't have much merit. again, this is not special legislation for turkey. all 155 world trade organizations can participate. that includes the folks that are so concerned about this. second, the idea that passing the hearth bill, which by the way i strongly supported, co-sponsored, came down here and argued for, i think it was a wonderful piece of legislation, it's largely silent save for one phrase on foreign investment. we do not have a lot of experience here. it would be helpful to have demonstration projects. it would be good to have the secretary of interior involved more deeply. and third, and i hope this isn't the case, i've heard recently that there's even a sheet going around, perhaps not true, i hope not, that suggests this legislation will cost domestic

manufacturing jobs. you got to be kidding. putting jobs on indian reservations is going to take american jobs away? who were the first americans? again, the arguments i think largely do not address the legislation. i understand something about historical grievances and controversies. the only native american in this -- i'm the only native american in this house right now. my great-great-grandfather, when he was 13 years old, was forced to move from mississippi, where his people had lived for 500 years, to avoid being placed under state restriction. his lands were confiscated, they were guaranteed due land in -- new land in indian territory in the west. he arrived, nothing, started, ended up being actually the clerk of the chickasaw supreme court. his son, my great-grandfather, was treasurer at the time of the daws commission when, guess what? those treaties that were going to last forever were revoked again by the united states government. indian territory was opened up

over the objection of the tribes to white settlement and indian governments were ground down. my family has spent much of the time since that time working with other chickasaws and other native americans to see tribal sovereignty restored and those rights given back. that's why i co-chaired the native american caucus, that's why when the tribal law and order bill came to this floor, where there were concerns on our side about process, i got the republic votes that were necessary to pass it, that's why i was the republican lead sponsor of the cobel settlement, that's why i've worked with this administration which has a great record on native american affairs. so i understand grievances and understand the legitimacy of he is pressing them. but legislation -- of expressing them. but legislation must be relevant. i ask for an additional two minutes. mr. hastings: i yield the gentleman an additional two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two additional minutes. mr. cole: i thank the gentleman. legislation must be relevant to the historical experience that we're talking about.

and we ought to look for opportunities to make old enemies into new friends. i try to do that on this floor every day. this legislation has nothing to do with ancient or current disputes between turkey and armenia or greece. this bill is about helping american indians. we fought to put aside the disputes of the old world and focus on helping the original inhabitants of the new world. which is exactly what this legislation will do. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, may i inquire of the time remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 16 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, at this time i yield to a member of the committee, the gentleman from american samoa, four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from american samoa is recognized for four minutes. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to extend and revise and extend my

remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. faleomavaega: i also ask unanimous consent that the full text of my statement be made part of the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker, i want to associate myself with every word that has been spoken by the gentleman from oklahoma, not only as the chief author and sponsor of this legislation, but something that i think my colleagues in the house need to be reminded. this has nothing to do with the current -- whatever feudare going on between armenia and turkey. totally irrelevant to the bill we're discussing here this afternoon. if you talk about past criminalities, mr. speaker, i don't know if my colleagues realize, the united states government of america sang 395 treaties with the american indians and guess what? we broke every one of those treaties. so let's talk about fairness. i rise in strong support of h.r. 2362, the indian tribal trade and investment demonstration act of 2011. i want to thank scombra the

gentleman from washington, the chairman of -- i want to thank the gentleman from washington, charityman of the committee, and my good friend. the only american indian we have in this body, a proud member of the chickasaw nation in the state of oklahoma, my good friend and buddy, tom cole. not only is he the co-chair of our american indian caucus, he's a real gentleman who knows what he's talking about. despite the recent success of some tribes creating successful gaming enterprises, pursuant to the 1988 indian gaming regulatory act, to large extent indian tribes still face extreme economic conditions. this is due to part of the perception by private leaders and invests that are risky conditions prevail in indian country. because of the federal trust status, indian lands and resources are perceived as risky for collateral and even loans and burdensome regulations restrict and impede efforts to improve economic conditions on tribal lands.

mr. speaker, we have unemployment as high as 80% amongst some of these tribes. . mr. speaker, this this legislation solves this problem and we need to give them these tools so they can make better economic decisions. our federal government has an only fwation to our indian brothers an sisters. a couple of years ago, i was pleased to work with senator inouye to give the tribes access to tools such as developmental c57 tall, loans and other authorized activities to create an environment that's conducive to indian country economic development. i continue to remain steadfast in my support to make improvements in this area. i commend my friend for his

leadership. this legislation will recruit six tribes for this pilot program and they will be able to conduct businesses and economic development, residential purchases, etc. some of these tribes have had to wait for 10 years, to get to the regulatory process. these are the pobs we're faced with. mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues, pass this legislation and again i commend and thank my good friend the gentleman from oklahoma for his leadership in bringing this legislation before us for consideration and approval. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from north carolina, ms. foxx. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized.

ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker, and i thank the gentleman from washington for yielding time. i want to thank and associate myself with the words of my very capable and articulate colleague from oklahoma, mr. cole, the author of this legislation. as he said, this should be a routine bill and pass on suspension on the basis of his comments alone. however, some have chosen to try to divert, to take us away from the subject at hand of this bill. i support h.r. 2362 and -- an important bill designed to bolster global economic cooperation by making it easier for nate i american tribal communities to strengthen ties with tribal trading partners. even though tribal communities suffer the highest unemployment numbers in the united states, they are restricted by an archaic leasing system,

requiring applicants to succumb to a multilayered review process taking up to six years to complete. these are compromised important tribal development in the past. for example, the round valley housing authority continues to wait after nine years for the bureau of indian affairs to process the lease for a large housing project. in twikes, wal-mart agreed to build a wal-mart on the reservation, it was stalled for two years before wal-mart withdrew from the agreement. this authorizes select tribes to develop guidelines for leasing lands and services for foreign and demest excompanies for economic development prurps. it also provides for only one improvement, reducing the multilayered land leasing laws without imposing any new costs these will promote tribal job growth and economic

empowerment, encourage economic investments in indian country and inviting investment companies to support commercial investment opportunities with tribes. it is for these reasons i support this legislation and yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from the northern marianas islands. mr. sablan: i would like to inquire as to the time remaining. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 13 minutes remaining. mr. is a la plan: i yield to the gentlelady from new york, ms. -- mr. sablan: i yield to the gentlelady from new york, mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. maloney: i rise to express my on session to the indian tribal trade and development act, along with ranking members berman and markey. i ask permission to place their statements in opposition into the record this bill is

unnecessary and seeks to give special consideration to one country, turkey. as a country that has shown both eth -- both negative and aggressive actions toward a number of our allies, turkey should not be given investment preferences in indian tribal lands through this bill. and they should not be given preference over 154 allies, member os they have world trade organization, nor should they be given preference over americans' businesses who western to invest in indian tribal lands. this bill would reward a country with a record of human rights and religious freedom violations. it has been on the u.s. commission on international freedom watch list for three consecutive years. just this last friday, many of us marked the 38th anniversary of turkey's el legal occupation of the northern third of the islands republic of cyprus.

throughout this occupation, turkey seeks to alter the heritage and demographics of cyprus. it has systematically destroyed the islands' christian heritage and colonized the eyrea with 200,000 settlers and 400,000 troops. i request permission to place in the record a letter from many he will venic organizations. furthermore, turkey maintains a blockade against harr meana, sealing its boarders to all trade and continues to deny the armenian genocide during which over 1.5 million armenians perished and i have with me the armenian assembly and the armenian national committee of americas letters in opposition to this legislation. also turkey has challenged israel by arguing against the state's right to development -- to develop energy sources. turkey has also threatened

american businesses by saying it would use force to stop texas-based company noble energy from drilling for oil and gas off the shores of cyprus. it said it will black list any business that assists cyprus and israel in their efforts to jointly develop their countries' natural resources. the preferential treatment given to turkey in h.r. 2362 is unnecessary, given the previous passage of the hers act which passed this body 400-0 and passed the senate and is now awaiting the president's signature. that allows foreign companies to engage in leases for housing, clean energy and business development. unlike that act, the bill before us today does nothing to support these domestic businesses. last november, the director of the bureau of indian affairs,

michael black, testified before the indian and alaskan native affairs subcommittee, stating that the hers act fosters the same goals identified in this bill but on a broader, larger scale. through the hers act, domestic and foreign entities have been granted an expedited route to invest in native american lands an help their economic development. given the redundancies in the bill and the favored treatment it gives to one country that's shown threatening and discriminatory action toward a number of america's allies i urge my colleagues to join ranking members berman, ranking member markey and vote no on h.r. 2362. i reserve -- i yield back the balance of my time and request that these letters be placed in the record. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time is expired and without objection, the remarks referenced by the

gentlelady from new york will be included in the record. mrs. maloney: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i am pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. moran. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. moran: i rise in support of the indian tribal and investment demonstration project act. mr. speaker, the unemployment rate on american indian reservations averages between 40% and 50%. and it's intergenerational. income, employment, and educational attainment are all well below the american average. as a member of the appropriations committee, i'm very much aware, as mr. cole is, but the fact is every member of this body should be as intensely as aware as mr. cole and shows supporting this legislation of the immense needs in indian country and the serious shortfall the federal government confronts in meeting its obligations to native americans and native alaskans.

some jug -- some suggested that private enterprise on reservations may help substantially in alleviating that and many of the ills native americans confront in disproportionate numbers will decline that ought to be a national responsibility and only twation. the fact is that this act would test the theory by enabling foreign investors to partner with native americans on reservations to create new businesses that generate income where little to none exists today. the legislation complements other legislation that congress has already passed, allowing tribes to simplify leasing arrangements to address their housing needs. go to a reservation and see the housing needs this bill will bring new capital into reservations and simplify the arrangements under which long-term leases with private investors can be executed and will, therefore, be more likely to succeed while the proposal they initially focused their

foreign investment for one country, turkey, it's been amended to include all 1555 world trade organization -- all 155 orlando trade organization countries. i applaud the government of turkey for coming up with this proposal and what's an offer of assistance and friendship. i understand the objections which have been raised which have very little to do with this legislation but it should be borne in mind -- mr. hastings: i yield the gentleman an additional minute. mr. moran: i thank the gentleman very much. turkey and israel have long enjoyed amicable relations. turkey was the first muslim country to recognize the state of israel. they remain active trade partners. their trade volume is almost $3 billion. it's israel's sixth largest trading partner. israel exports chemicals and high tech manufacturing machinery to turkey and turkey experts textiles and other

items to israel. their trade increased 35% between 2010 and 2011 despite the diplomatic tensions that emerged in 2009. the reality is they're working together. they want to work together. transcend politics. that kind of bilateral trade is in the interest of both nations. this is the tissue this is in the interest of the native american nations. for dosh's -- for gosh sake's, they deserve our help after we turned our back on one treaty after another. this is consistent with our policy, this is a great opportunity, we ought to seize it. i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from the northern marianas islands. mr. sablan: i yield four minutes to mr. sarbanes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. sarbanes: i rise in opposition to h.r. 2362 because

i don't believe that the preferential consideration which it gives to the interests of one country, turkey, can be justified. there's no dispute over what many of our colleagues have said today which is that there are tremendous needs on the part of native american tribes and a desire, i think, shared widely here for economic development opportunities on tribal lands. we all know the statist exs. but that goal of achieving enhanced economic development on tribal lands has been achieved through the hearth act. as congresswoman maloney indicated, michael black, the bureau of tissue the director of the bureau of indian affairs, testified that that act, quote, fosters the same goals identified in h.r. 2362

on a broader scale. we don't need this legislation to accomplish all the important things that have been articulated here. i have tremendous respect for congressman cole. and he just gave a very powerful articulation of the legacy he carries in his d.n.a. and why he is so passionate about these issues. and we share his perspective on the important need to develop tribal lands. but this particular piece of legislation is redundant at best and it give this is unjustified preference to turkish interests. this presents a number of issues. first of all, there are some concerns on the trade front. i understand that the bill was amended buzz originally it would have given exclusive opportunity to turkish enterprises without regard to the rest of the w.t.o. nations. that's been changed. so other w.t.o. nations can participate but if you look at the bill, turkey's interests

are discussed all through it. it's infused with language about turkey. the findings section is about turkey. frankly a turkish enterprise could take this bill, once it passed, and use it as a passport to get preferential consideration with respect to these economic opportunities. i think it does present some continued concern with respect to trade concerns. but on the foreign policy front, even if you felt it was important to given preferential consideration for purposes of a nonstration project or pilot project for one nation's interest over others, why would you select the country of turkey? given its record. that's why ranking member berman has sent a dear colleague letter around urging opposition to this bill. he knows from a foreign policy standpoint the record of turkey and i have to mention a few of these things because they're compelling. .

increasingly turkey has become hostile to our ally israel. recely threatening to mobilize to escort ships to gaza and to stop israel from developing energy sources in its exclusive economic zone. second in june of 2010 nato member turkey voted against the united nations resolution imposing sanctions against iran to thwart its nuclear weapons program. thirdly, turkey is just now been put on the u.s. commission on international and religious freedom watch list for its widespread discrimination of minority religious communities. fourthly, turkey has threatened the use of force to stop texas-based noble energy, this is an american company, from drilling for oil and gas off the shores of cyprus and israel and to blacklist any businesses that work with cyprus or israel for natural resource extraction. we've heard the discussion of how turkey is continually de--

has continually denied the armenian genocide. can i have an additional minute? mr. sablan: i yield one more minute to the gentleman. sash sash i thank the gentleman -- mr. sarbanes: i thank the gentleman. a genocide in which 1 1/2 million armenians perished and some would say, well, these are irrelevant issues. they're very relevant. if you're going to choose a country to which you're going to extend some preferential consideration, these kinds of activities, this kind of legacy, ought to be part of your consideration. and finally, for more than 38 years turkey has illegally occupied the northern 1/3 of the island republic of cyprus which is a member of the european union. in fact, as of july 1, cyprus assumed the presidency of the european union but turkey refuses to recognize this. these are all relevant to the question of whether a trefrl

consideration ought to be extend -- preferential consideration ought to be extended to one country. it's not justified, it's not warranted. i join ranking member markey and ranking member berman in urging opposition to h.r. 2362 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: yes, mr. speaker. at this time i yield the remainder of my time to mr. boren of oklahoma. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for four minutes. mr. boren: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong, very strong support of h.r. 2362, the indian tribal trade and investment demonstration project active 2011. it's an effort to reduce unemployment and incentivize investment. h.r. 2362 allows, again, we said this, all along the debate, all 155 world trade organization

countries to participate in a trial trade program directly with sovereign native american tribes in the united states. specifically it would authorize the secretary of the interior to select up to six tribes to participate in a program that would allow them to use their land for economic development. in addition to creating jobs, h.r. 2362 would provide a path for economic empowerment of tribes, encourages foreign and domestic investment in indian country. with this bill we can give tribes the means and the authority to address specific issues plaguing indian country. i want to also, as mr. moran and many other members on our side of the aisle have commended my good friend, mr. cole, for his diligence on this issue, for his persistence and all that he's done for indian country. mr. cole mentioned in his debate earlier that there are a lot of different organizations that are supporting this legislation. he talked about ncai and a whole

list of others. and, you know, again, if you ask indian country do you support this bill, they're saying yes. the other people that are saying, well, we're opposed to it, the not coming from indian country. it's not coming from places like my home state of oklahoma. so i ask my colleagues that are watching this debate to give their deepest consideration and to support this legislation. again, i want to say thank you to mr. cole and to the chairman and to all the other members who are supporting this legislation and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i am pleased to yield two minutes again to the author of this legislation, mr. cole. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for two minutes. mr. cole: i thank the speaker and i thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to thank my friends on the other side of the aisle for participating in the debate. look, i understand passions here are high and i actually respect that a great deal, even when i

disagree with the policy conclusions that may have led some of my colleagues to. i do ask to you stop and think. there is a sort of contradiction in your argument. it's both redundant and yet gives special preferences. both those things can't be true. it suggests to me the real argument is fundamentally different than those two points. the reality is it gives no one special preferences. we tried to listen to that point. i wish other countries were beating down my door to want to go do work on indian reservations to. want to partner. they aren't. i know one country that has really cared enough to do this. now, there's a range of disputes in other areas. those are legitimate disputes. those are mats that are ought to be subject to serious discussion and debate on the floor. they have nothing to do with this bill. have nothing to do with this bill. they're abouting an shent differences that ought to be settle -- ancient differences that ought to be settled in other forms and certainly not at

the expense of the least advantaged, frankly the most disadvantaged part of our own population. i wish i could get more american companies that wanted to go on reservations and sit down and work with people about creating jobs. that's all this bill is about. and to those of that you have other concerns, i recognize the legitimacy of those concerns. but, i just ask you, focus on the nature of the legislation. the new world is supposed to be able to put some of the old world's controversies behind us. and certainly on the topic like this. so, for those of you again that have a different opinion, i respect it. but i also point out, turkey is an ally of the united states. it has been for decades and decades. it's important -- it's an important regional partner for the united states. this strengthens that relationship as well. and the interest and the commitment in this area is genuine. mr. hastings: i yield the gentleman one additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has one additional minute. mr. cole: the interest in this

area is genuine and real. shouldn't that be something we should take and build on? and try and add to and encourage? there needs to be a competition here. let's have a competition to go help indian country. other countries can step up, foreign companies can step up. let's get a blueprint on how to do it. it is more complex than we would like to admit or acknowledge. that's one of the reasons why there's not american investments in these places. i can take you to some of the indian reservations in north and south dakota where the unemployment rate is 80% and the state unemployment rate is under 5%. should that tell you how serious the problem is? if i get anybody interested in helping and doing it legitimately, and we now have a level playing field for everybody. there are no preferences in this bill. encourage other people to join the competition. have them come in and maybe they've got a better idea and a better way. but in the meantime we should pass this bill, we should get about the business of putting americans to work. the first americans. and certainly americans on indian reservations that have every obstacle in the world

against them. this bill will give them one more tool in the tool box. it's not a panacea, but it's a tool they ought to have. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, at this time i'd like to inquire of the other side -- if the other side has any additional speakers. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i would tell my friend, i have no more requestser to time and -- time and i am prepared to close if the gentleman is. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, at this time i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. once again i urge adoption of this legislation and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2362 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- the gentleman from maryland. >> mr. speaker, i ask for a record vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? >> yes. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a -- the yeas and nays

are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2467 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2467, a bill to take certain federal lands in mono county, california, into trust for benefit of the bridgeport indian colony. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, and the gentleman from the northern mariana islands, mr. sablan, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 2467, which is sponsored by our colleague from california, mr. mckeon, places two parcels of land in trust for

a tribe in his district known as the bridgeport indian colony. this is a small tribe located in a fairly remote area in eastern california. the two parcels are approximately 40 acres of public land currently administrated by the bureau of land management. one parcel is a 32-acre track located along highway 182, adjacent to the tribe's existing reservation. the tribe states that it intends to use the lands for housing and related community development because its existing reservation is running out of room for additional uses. the other parcel is a 7 1/2-acre track located 30 miles off the tribe's reservation. the tribe originally leased this property from the bureau of land management for a health clinic which closed several years ago. the tribe still owns the buildings and has expressed its intent to reopen the clinic but without ownership of the property and trust, it's unlikely this purpose can be achieved. hearings were held on a similar

bill in the last congress and the subcommittee on indian alaska native affairs held a hearing this year. the department of interior has not expressed reservations with holding these public lands in trust for the tribe, nor has it requested the tribe pay for the public land. though the committee has heard no opposition to the bill, the local public utility district serving the city of bridgeport requested language to clarify the existing he'sments serving the district's customers -- easements serving the district's customers remain the responsibility of the b.l.m. the bill's sponsor worked out language after consulting with all affected parties to ensure this request was appropriately handled for the benefit of the town and of the tribe. i want to point out that while the bill was reported by the natural resources committee without objection from its members, it lacked language addressing potential tribal gambling rights on the new trust land. because the expansion of gallonbling under the indian game -- gambling under the indian gaming act may cause

concern among many members in the house, it became the primary purpose of the lands as explained by the tribe is not for opening the casino. the text in the bill before us today includes no language prohibiting class 2 or class 3 gimming on the public lands -- gaming on the public lands. the bill is a good bill and i urge its passage with that i reserve the balance of my time -- passage. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, this would transfer two parcels of federal land into trusts for the exclusive benefit of the bridgeport indian colony, a federally recognized indian tribe located in rural mono county, california. the tribe seeks to expand its reservations in order to address its additional housing and community development needs as well as to address its need for a local community health services clinic that will

service indian and non-indians in the area. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 2467 and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm very pleased to yield five minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for five minutes. mr. mckeon: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of my legislation, h.r. 2467, the bridgeport indian colony land trust help and economic development act of 2011. i want to thank chairman hastings and ranking member markey as well as subcommittee chairman young and ranking member lujan for giving my legislation a fair hearing and moving the bill through the committee. mr. speaker, the bridgeport indian colony is a federally recognized indian tribe with a reservation located near the bridgeport -- near the town of bridgeport in california. the tribe's reservation is approximately 40 acres and was established by federal law in 1974.

however, the size of the current reservation is insufficient for the tribe's housing and community development needs. in order to create space for economic development and housing, my legislation proposes to transfer from the b.l.m. to the b.i.a. to hold in trust for the tribe one parcel of land contingent to the tribe's existing area. on this parcel the tribe plans to construct an r.v. park, gas station, convenience store and residential housing for tribal members as well as a recreational center to serve the greater community. mr. speaker, many tribal members have expressed interest in moving back to the reservation if housing and job opportunities can be made available and this bill will create jobs in a part of my district where unemployment is over 10%. . adecisionally my legislation would promote the health care

of the tribe and community by taking into trust a seven-acre b.l.m. where the -- where another project previously served the community, allowing the clinic to be reopened and returned to service. currently, members of the tribe have to drive to bishop to obtain health care services. in the 1980's, they applied for and received a community development block grant from the department of housing and urban development in order to build a health care facility in their county. the camp ant lobe health clinic was built on a 1.6 acre parcel of federal land one mile north of walker, california, approximately 30 miles from the tribe's reservation, 60 miles closer than the bishop health clinic. unfortunately, the toyabi indian health project closed the camp antelope health clinic in twic.

the tribe and the health project have agreed that the health clinic needs to be reopened and the investment of federal funds in the development of the health clinic from the cdbg grant adds to the importance of maintaining the parcel under federal ownership. mr. speaker, throughout the process of developing this legislation, i worked closely with the tribe and the bridge port public utility district to mitigate any concerns that the utility district had regarding the rights of way of an easement which crosses the first parcel proposed for transfer from the b.l.m. to the b.i.a. in trust for the tribe. the services provided by the utility district both to the community of bridgeport as well as the tribe depend on the infrastructure where this easement is located. currently the easement is managed by the b.l.m. and is subject to periodic renewal. i clarified in my legislation that this easement should continue to be managed by the

b.l.m. as this has proven successful. the county board of supervisors voted to support the land transfer in october to have 2009 and agreed unanimously in april of 010 to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the tribe, thus supporting the tribe's efforts to have these parcels of land transferred into trust. additionally, there's language contained in my bill that clarifies there will be no new gaming on lands acquired by the tribe. mr. speaker, thank you for giving my bill time on the floor. the additional land will be greatly beneficial for the bridge port indian tribe and i urge members to support this vital legislation. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from the northern mariana islands. mr. sablan: may i ask if there's additional speakers on the other side in mr. mckeon: i have no requests for time and i'm prepared to yield back if the gentleman is. mr. sablan: we also urge support and passage of this

legislation and yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: this is a good piece of legislation and i urge its passage, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2467 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 agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek

recognition? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5859 to repeal an obsolete provision in title 49 of the united states code requiring motor vehicle insurance cost reporting. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. does the gentlelady call up the bill as amended? >> yes, mr. speaker, i do. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h r. 5859, a bill to repeal an obsolete provision in title 49, united states code, requiring motor vehicle insurance cost reporting. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from california, mrs. bono mack, and the gentleman from north carolina, mr. butterfield, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from california. mrs. bono mack: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise

and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the record on h.r. 5 59. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. bono mack: and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. bono mack: today we have an opportunity to slam the car door on an obsolete provision in motor vehicle cost reporting which is no longer used. i commend my colleagues on their bipartisan work in developing this legislation and moving it forward. i want to thank my good friend and colleague, mr. butterfield, for his help with our efforts to repeal this costly and outdated provision of this the law. just this morning i received word that the five leading automotive trade associations in the u.s. are all supportive of h.r. 5 59 and here's why. in 1993, ntsa issued a rule

making new car dealers to make available to buyers a booklet containing this the latest information on insurance costs. it's up-- the information is updated annually based on data from the highway law institute. this information is rarely sought oly consumers and its value is highly questionable. insurance preemyalm yums are based primarily on factors other than the susceptibility of damage to the vehicle, including the driver's age, location and miles drin. additionally, members of the national automobile dealers association reported that 96% of the dealers had never been asked by a customer, not even once, to see the insurance cost booklet that's at issue here today. this is an example of where the federal cost outweighs the benefit. we cannot afford to keep doing business that way. and frankly the law has more

problems than an old leaking engine. this book is skewed because of inclusion of fender benders and rollovers. for the most part, it is simply a compilation of hising to be -- historical information and does not take into account new model year changes that can significantly alter how a car performs from a crash. even the administration suggest this is requirement should be eliminated. in technical comments earlier this year to congress, ntsa called them rarely used and not useful because the issues raised are evershadowed by

differences due to driver demographics and relative prices of the vehicles. the requirement is not working as intended and it's become a needless cost and burden to automobile dealers nationwide. today we have an opportunity to tow this clunker of a regulation to the junkyard where it belongs and provide america's nearly 20,000 automobile dealers with some important regulatory relief. mr. speakering i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves her time. the gentleman from the northern -- the gentleman from north carolina. mr. butterfield: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. butterfield: mr. speaker, h.r. 5859 repeals a provision of law related to the reporting of automobile insurance costs. this provision requires car dealers to make available to prospective buyers information that compares insurance costs for different vehicles based on damage susceptibility. while i'm always wary of any

attempts to limit consumer information, clearly the provision of law that h.r. 5859 would repeal is simply not working as intended. every year, the national highway and traffic siff safety administration, nhtsa, as we call it, produces and sends to automobile dealers a booklet containing insurance cost information. dealers told us very few consumers even ask for the booklet, yet under federal law, nhtsa is required to produce and distribute the booklets an dealers are required to making them available. i'm not opposed to ending the current reporting mandate, however, we should not repeal this mandate without acknowledging that the impetus behind the original provision is sound. the purpose of the provision was to give consumers a basis comparing damageability risk at the point of sale. damageability is about how much damage a car is likely to

sustain when a collision occurs even at very low speed. the law also intended to create an incentive for manufacturers to produce cars which are more resistant to damage and less expensive to repair and service. whether you think the current requirement is a nuisance for auto teal -- auto dealers or think that nhtsa has missed the narc in its implementation of the mandate, i think we should continue to accept that consumers have a legitimate interest in minimizing the cost associated with minor collisions. therefore, i would like to thank congressman harper for his interest in this, congressman owens on our side of the aisle, from new york, who was one of the original members of congress who presented this idea, chairman bono macand champlee upton and ranking member waxman for all working with me to include alongside the repeal a requirement that nhtsa thoroughly examine that would be the requirement, that nhtsa

would thoroughly re-examine the issue of how best to inform prospective buyers about damage susceptibility. i think we have struck the right balance. we fix a valid problem and keep in place a valuable principle. under the bill before us, nhtsa would have two years, two years to conduct a study, solicit public comment and issue a report to congress that will determine the most useful data, format, and method for providing simple and understandable damage susceptibility information to consumers. the agency would evaluate whether insurance costs are the best measure of damage susceptibility or whether there's a better way to make comparisons between vehicles and a better way to make such information available to consumers. mr. speaker, i've said time and time again that information is power and that is certainly true. for example, the nhtsa program

stars on cars which provides cash worthiness information to consumers gives prospective car buyers information they need about how well a vehicle will protect them and their family in the event of a crash. and car companies now routinely compete to make safer cars that better protect passengers. if we pass h.r. 5859, complete with a provision to get nhtsa to find a better way for consumers to get important damageability information, the same may be accomplished in this case. so therefore, i join my colleagues in asking all of our colleagues to vote for this amendment and i thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time is reserved this egentlelady from california. mrs. bono mack: thank you, mr. speaker. i am pleased to yield to a terrific member of the trade subcommittee, the gentleman from mississippi, i would like to yield five minutes.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. harper: i'm proud to be the lead sponsor of h.r. 5859. this bipartisan bill repeals an obsolete mandate that the national highway traffic safety administration has said is rarely used and not helpful. since 1991, the department of transportation ha annually distributed by mail a document entitled "relative collision insurance cost information." this information is sent by mail to new vehicle dealers. who are required to make the information available to prospective new vehicle customers upon request. nhtsa has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars distributing this booklet over the past 21 years. while this value tissue while this information is of value to insurance actuaries, it has been of little or no use