the smithsonianion of " magazine." thank you for talking to our viewers this morning. we appreciate it. that does it for today's " washington journal." we will be back tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. enjoy the rest of your wednesday. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> half an hour here on c-span at 10:30 eastern south korean president park geun-hye will address congress. she met with president obama yesterday in oval office. the firstected in and

female president of south korea. lighter, the house takes up legislation to allow employers to offer comp time instead of overtime pay to hourly workers. we are expecting a vote this afternoon around 3:00. also today we are expecting the house to begin consideration of a debt ceiling bill that would have the government continue to make social security payments and interest payments to bondholders, even if the government has reached the debt ceiling. the white house yesterday issued a veto threat against the legislation. live coverage again of the house here on c-span. and the senate this week is considering legislation dealing with army corps of engineers' water projects. number of amendment votes expected today. follow the debate on c-span2. and over on c-span3, after that joint meeting of congress, hearing on the attack last year on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, lib why. tuesday, department officials previously posted there in libya as well as the department's acting head of counterterrorism

are set to testify. that's set for 11:30 eastern on c-span3. as we mentioned south korea's president addressing a joint meeting of congress coming up this morning. 10:30 eastern. yesterday she held a joint news conference with president obama. we'll show you as much of that as we can until the joint meeting gets under way. please have a seat. let me begin by saying it is a great pleasure to welcome president park and our friends from the rp of korea -- republic of korea. madam president, we are greatly honored you have chosen the united states as your first foreign visit. this of course reflects the deep friendship between our peoples and the great alliance between our nations, which is marking another milestone. i'm told in korea a 60th birthday is a special celebration of life, and longevity. well, this year we arer marking

the 60th anniversary of the defense treaty between our nations. yesterday president park visited arlington national cemetery and our memorial to our korean war veterans. tonight she's hosting a dinner to pay tribute to the generation of american veterans who have served in the defense of south korea. and tomorrow she'll address the joint session of congress, an honor reserved for our closest of friends. in this sense this visit also reflects south korea's extraordinary progress over these six decades. from the ashes of war to one of the world's largest economies, from a recipient of foreign aid to a donor that now helps other nations develop, and of course around the world people are being swept up by korean culture. the korean wave, and as i mentioned to president park, my daughters have taught me a pretty good gangnan style. president park, in your first

months in office south korea's faced threats and provocation that is would test any nation, yet you displayed calm and steady resolve that has defined your life. like people around the world, those of us in the united states have also been inspired by your example as the first female president of south korea. and today i have come to appreciate the leadership qualities for which you are known. your focus and discipline and straightforwardness and i very much thank you for the progress that we have already made together. today we agree to continue the implementation of our historic trade agreement which is already yielding benefits for both oiler countries. on our side we are selling more exports to coriea, more manufactured good, services, agricultural products. our automobile exports are up nearly 50%, and our big three, ford, chrysler, and g.m. are selling more cars in korea. and as president pak and i agree to make sure that we continue to fully implement this agreement, we believe that it's going to

make both our economies more competitive. it will boost u.s. exports by some $10 billion in support of tens of thousands of american jobs, and obviously will be creating jobs in korea as they are able to continue to do extraordinary work in expanding their economy and moving it further and further up the value chain. we agree to continue the clean energy partnerships that help us to enhance our energy security and address climate change. given the importance of a peaceful nuclear energy industry to south korea, we recently agreed to extend the existing nuclear agreement between our two countries, but we also emphasized in our discussions the need to continue to work diligently towards a new agreement. as i told the president, i believe that we can find a way to support south korea's energy and commercial needs even as we uphold our mutual commitments to prevent nuclear proliferation. we agreed to continuing modernizing our security alliance. guided by our joint vision we

are investing in the shared compapibilities and technologies in missiles that allow our forces to operate and succeed together. we are on track for south korea to assume operational control for the alliance in 2015, and we are determined to be fully prepared for any challenge or threat to our security and that includes the threat from north korea. if they on this vote the threats would drive a wedge between the united states and south korea, or somehow garner the north international respect, today is further evidence that north korea has failed again. president pak and south korea stood firm with confidence and resolve. the united states and the republic of korea are as united as ever and faced with new international sanctions, north korea is more isolated than ever. in short, the days when north korea could create concessions,

those days are over. our two nations are prepared to engage with north korea diplomatically and build trust. as always and as president pak has made clear, the burden is on jung to take meaningful steps to abide by commitments and obligations, particularly the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. we discussed that pyongyang should take notice of the events in countries like burma, which has it reforms is seeing more trade in investment and diplomatic ties with the world, including the united states and south korea. for our part we'll continue to coordinate closely with south korea and japan. i want to make clear the united states is fully prepared and capable of defending ourselves and our allies with the full range of capabilities available. including the deterrence provided by our conventional and nuclear forces. as i have said in seoul last year, the commitment. united states to the security of the republic of korea will never waiver. more broadly we agree to

continue expanding our cooperation globally. in afghanistan where our troops serve together and where south korea's a major donor of development assistance, we are on track to complete the transition to afghan-led operations by the end of next year. we discussed syria where both our nations are working to strengthen the opposition and plan for a syria without bashir assad. i'm pleased our two nations and peace corps have agreed to expand our efforts to promote development around the world. finally we are expanding the already strong ties between our young people. as an engineer by training, president pak knows the importance of education. madam president, you have said, i am quoting you, we live in a age where a single individual can raise the value of an entire nation. coy not agree more. i'm pleased we are renewing exchange programs that bring our students together. as we pursue commonsense immigration reform here in the united states, we want to make it easier for foreign

entrepreneurs and graduate students from countries like korea to stay and contribute to our country just as so many korean americans already do. again thank you, president pak, for making the united states your first foreign trip. in your inaugural address you celebrated the can-do spirit of the korean people. that is a spirit we share and after our meeting today i'm confident if our two nations continue to stand together, there is nothing we cannot do together. madam president, welcome to the united states. >> speaking in foreign language] >> thank you, president obama, for the hospitality. during my meeting with the president today i was able to have a heart to heart talk with him on a wide range of common interests. i found that the two of us have a broad common view about the

vision and role that should guide the korea-u.s. alliance as it moves forward and i was delighted to see that. first of all, the president and i shared the view that the korea-u.s. alliance has been faithfully carrying out its role as a bulwark of peace and stability on the korean pin nins sewella and northeast asia and that the alliance should continue to serve as a linchpin for peace and stability on the korean peninsula and asia. in this regard i believe it is significant that the joint declaration on the 60th anniversary of our alliance we adopted spells out the direction that our comprehensive strategic alliance should take. next, the president and i reaffirmed that we will by no means tolerate north korea's threats and provocations which have recently been escalating further and that such actions would only deepen north korea's isolation. the president and i noted that it is important that we continue

to strengthen our deterrence against north korea's nuclear and conventional weapons threat, and share the view that in this respect the transition of wartime operational control should also proceed in a way that strengthens our combined defense capabilities and preparations be made towards that as well. we also shared the view that realizing president obama's vision of a world without nuclear weapons should start in the korean peninsula, we stated that we would continue to strongly urge north korea in close concert with the other members of the six-party talks and the international community to faithfully abide by its international obligations under the september 19 statements and the relevant security council resolutions. korea and the u.s. will work jointly to induce north korea to make the right choice through multifaceted efforts, including

the implementation of the korean peninsula trust building process that i spelled out. i take this opportunity to once again send a clear message, north korea will not be able to survive if it only clings to developing its nuclear weapons at the expense of its people's happiness. currently pursuing nuclear arsenals and economic development can by no means succeed. this is a shared view of the other members of the six-party talks and the international community. however, should north korea choose the path to becoming a responsible member of the community of nations, we are willing to provide assistance together with the international community. we also had meaningful discussions on the economy and ways to engage in substantive cooperation. the president and i welcome the fact that the korea-u.s. free trade agreement which went into effect one year ago is contributing to our shared prosperity. we also said we will make efforts to enable our people to he better feel the benefits of our free trade agreement for

them. i highlighted the importance of securing high-skilled u.s. work visas for u.s. citizens and asked for executive branch support to the extent possible to see to it that the relevant legislation is passed in the u.s. congress. moreover, we arrived at the view that the korea-u.s. civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement should be revised into an advanced and mutually beneficial successor agreement. we said we would do our best to conclude our negotiations as soon as possible. the president and i also had in-depth discussions on ways to enhance our global partnership. first, we noted together that northeast asia needs to move beyond conflict and divisions and open a new era of peace and cooperation. synergy there would be between president obama's policy of rebalancing to asia and my

initiative for peace and cooperation in northeast asia as we pursue peace and development in the region. we shared the view about playing the role of co-architects to flesh out this vision. furthermore, we decided that the korea-u.s. alliance should deal not just with challenges relating to the korean peninsula and northeast asia but confronting the national community. i'm delighted i was able to build professional trust with president obama through the summit and later framework for cooperation. thank you. >> we've got a couple of questions from each side. we'll start with steven of a.f.p. >> thank you, mr. president. does the united states have a core national security interest in stopping the slaughter in syria or merely a strong moral desire to see the violence end? at what point does the cost of not intervening in a more direct

way than you have done so far outweigh the cost of doing so? if i may ask, president pak, president obama's critics have warned that failing to act on perceived violations of u.s. red lines in syria could embolden u.s. enemies elsewhere, including north korea. are you convinced that kim jeong ung has taken the u.s. and south korean warning seriously? do you see the withdrawal of two missiles from a test site as a sign he's willing to de-escalate the situation? >> well, steven, i think that we have both a moral obligation and national security interest in a, ending the slaughter in syria, but b, also ensuring that

we've got a stable syria that is representative of all the syrian people. and is not creating chaos for its neighbors. and that's why for the last two years we have been active in bashir ensure that that xits the stage and we can begin a political transition process. that's the reason why we have invested so much in humanitarian aid. that's why the reason why we are so invested in helping the opposition and why we have mobilized the international community to isolate syria. that's why we are now providing nonlethal assistance to the opposition, and that's why we are going to continue to do the work that we need to do. and in terms of the costs and the benefits, i think there

would be severe costs in doing nothing. that's why we are not doing nothing. that's why we are actively vested in the process. if what you're asking is are re-evaluations about what we do, what actions we take in conjunction with other international partners to optimize the day when -- or hasten the day when we can see a better situation in syria, we have been doing that all along and will continue to do that. i think that understandably there is a desire for easy answers. that's not the situation there. and my job is to constantly measure our very real and legitimate humanitarian and national security interests in syria, but measuring those

is,nst my bottom line which what's in the best interest of american security, and making sure that i'm making decisions not based on a hope and a prayer but on hard analysis in terms of what will actually make us safer and stabilize the region. i would note not to answer the question that you lobbed over to president pak that you suggested even in your question a perceived crossing of a red line. the operative word there is perceived. what i said is we have evidence that there has been the use of chemical weapons inside of syria, but i don't make decisions based on perceived and i can't organize international coalitions around perceived. we have tried that in the past, by the way, it didn't work out

well. we want to make sure that we have the best analysis possible. we want to make sure that we are acting deliberately. but i would just point out that there have been several instances during the course of my presidency where i said i was going to do something and it ended up getting done. and there were times when there were folks on the sidelines wondering why hasn't it happened yet and what's going on and why didn't it go on tomorrow, but in the end whether it's bin laden or gaddafi, if we say we are taking a position, i would think at this point the international community has a pretty good sense that we typically follow hrough on our commitments.

>> with regard to actions towards syria, what kind of message would that communicate to north korea, that was the question. and recently north korea seems to be de-escalating its threats and provocations. what seems to be behind that? you asked these two questions. in fact, north korea is isolated at the moment. so it's hard to find anyone that could really accurately fathom the situation in north korea. its actions are also very unpredictable, hence whether the syrian situation would have an impact is hard to say, for sure. why is north korea appear to de-escalate its threats and provocations? there is no way to know for sure. but what is clear and what i believe for sure is that the international community with regard to north korea's bad

behavior, its provocations, speak with one voice a. firm message and consistently send a firm message that they will not stand. and that north korea's actions in breach of international norms will be met with so and so sanctions and measured by the international community. at the same time as it goes along the right way there would be so and so rewards. if we consistently send that message to north korea, i feel that north korea will be left with no choice but to change. instead of just hoping to see north korea change, the international community must also consistently send that message with one voice to tell them and communicate to them that they have no choice but to change and to shape and environment where they are left with no choice but to make the strategic decision to change. i think that's the effect of an important way.

>> my question goes to president park. you just mentioned that north korea in order -- for north korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, the most important is consequence serted effort of the international community. with regard to this, during your meeting with president obama today, would like to ask what was said and the views that you shared. nd with regard to this, what russia and china, the role that ey are playing in terms of north korea, how do you feel about that? my next question is to president obama. regarding the young leader, kim jung young i would appreciate your views about the leader of north korea. if you were to send a message to tim today. what kind of message would you send to him? with regard to the north korea issue, korea and the united

states as well as the ternational community, the ultimate objective that all of us should be adopting is for north korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and to induce it to become a responsible member of the international community. this serves the interest of peace on the korean peninsula and the world and the development as well, that's my view. so in order to encourage north korea to change its perceptions, we have to work in concert. in this regard china's role, china's influence -- >> follow this in our video library as c-span.org. we take you live now to the house floor for a joint meeting ever congress to mountaineer from south korean president park goon yea. vice president biden just arrived. live coverage here on c-span.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]

the speaker: the committee will be in order. the chair apoints as members of the committee on the part of the use to escort president park geun-hye, the gentleman from

virginia, mr. cantor, the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy. the gentleman from oregon, mr. walden, the gentleman from oklahoma mr. lankford. the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions. the gentleman from california, mr. royce. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon. the gentlelady from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen. the gentleman from texas, mr. brady. the gentleman from ohio, mr. chabot, the gentlelady from texas ms. granger. the gentleman from washington state, mr. reichert. the gentleman from alabama, mr. rogers. the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. the gentlelady from california, ms. pelosi. the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer. the gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn. the gentleman from california, mr. becerra. the gentleman from new york, mr. crowley. the gentleman from new york, mr. israel. the gentleman from new york, mr. engel. the gentleman from virginia, mr. moran. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell. the gentleman from california,

mr. honda. the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen. the gentlewoman from california, ms. matsui. the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu. the gentlewoman from alabama, ms. sewell. the gentleman from new york, ms. meng. >> the president of the senate at the direction of that body appoints the following senators as members of the committee on the part of the senate to escort her exlancey, park geun-hye, president of the republic of korea, into the house chamber. the senator from nevada, there reid. the senator from alaska, mr. begich, the senator from new jersey, mr. menendez. the senator from maryland mr. cardin, the senator from account kentucky, mr. mcconnell, the senator, mr. corn yirn. the senator from alaska, miss murkowski, and the senator from tennessee, mr. corker. the speaker: the members of the escort committee will escort the chamber through the lobby doors.

>> mr. speaker, the acting dean of the diplomatic corps.

>> mr. speaker, the president's cabinet.

>> mr. speaker, the president of the republic of korea.

the speaker: members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you her excellency, park geun-hye,

president of the republic of korea. >> speaker boehner, vice president biden, distinguished members of the house and the senate, ladies and gentlemen, i'm privileged to stand in this

chamber, the hallowed grounds of freedom and democracy, to speak about our friendship and our future together. after i arrived in washington, the day before yesterday, i went to the korean war memorial near the banks of the potomac. i read the words etched in granite. our nation honors the sons and daughters who answered the call to defend our country. they never knew and a people they never met. time and again, i'm moved when i read those familiar words.

let me express on behalf of the people of the republic of korea ur profound gratitude to america's veterans. they helped safeguard the freedom and democracy. i also offer my heart felt appreciation to four men in particular. they served in that war and now serve in this chamber. their names are congressman ohn conyers.

charlie rangel. sam johnson. and howard coble.

gentlemen, my country thanks you. when it fell silent in the summer of 1953, koreans were surviving on $67 a year. six decades later, korea is one of the top five car producers and the eighth largest trading nation. some call this the miracle on he haun river. but for those of us in korea, it was anything but a miracle. and it wasn't just built from within. koreans worked tirelessly in the mines of germany, in the

jungeles of vietnam, in the desert of the middle east. these are the people, the proud korean people. i'm so honored to serve as president. they are the ones that made korea what it is today. write a we will sequel to that story. a second miracle on the huang river. is time it will be written with a revised economy, with a people that are happy, with a flourishing culture and on a pathway to reunify the peninsula.

hese are what guide my government. we also know that we didn't come this far on our own. along our journey, we have been aided by great friends, and among them the united states is the second to none. . america, i thank you for your friendship. if the past is anything to go by, our new journey will also be filled with excitement.

this year we honor the 60th , andersary of our alliance i would like to acknowledge one iconic family that chantered those 60 years. -- chaptered those 60 years. is the family of lieutenant connor morgan. connor morgan's grandfather, the late warren morgan, fought in

the korean war. the senior morgan was a commander in the u.s. naval reserve. his father also served in the korean war. he was a battery commander of artillery. ield cornor morgan himself had served two tours in korea in 1992 and 2005. the morgan family is a living testimony to our 60 years together. three generations of americans elping to safeguard korea.

the family is here with us today. as president of a grateful nation, i salute the morgan family and the commitment and friendship of the american eople. looking forward our precious alliance is looking for a better world, a brighter future bound by trust, guided by values we are cooperating across and beyond our own boundaries, korea has stood by the united states in iraq, afghanistan.

together we supported peace building and construction in those nations. llowing the washington conference in 2010, seoul hosted the second nuclear security summit last year. there we reaffirmed our commitment to the world without nuclear weapons. world without nuclear weapons must start on the korean peninsula. for the peninsula is the home to

the only divided nation state and directly safe the threat of nuclear weapons. for a world free of nuclear arms f we can pull it off on the korean peninsula, we can pull it off anywhere else. korea has been pursuing the peaceful use of nuclear energy. it is also firmly committed to the principle of nonproliferation. korea and the united states are intnering to pilled reactors third countries -- build reactors in third countries n this regard we need a modernize,

mutually beneficial successor to allowing civil nuclear agreement. such an agreement will bring huge benefits to related industries in both our countries. our country also extends to development and -- development assistance. the united states and korea send the largest numbers of aid volunteers abroad. we work side by side to help lower income countries. agencies ur eight signed a document that facilitates these efforts.

and korea's aid agency will soon be signing another with the u.s. peace corps. in march of last year, the korea-u.s. free trade agreement went into effect. the agreement, an economic pillar to our alliance, it has moved us closer to a comprehensive and strategic alliance. the bill even more if on visa quotas for korean professionals is passed in this congress. both our economies will benefit. for it would help create many more jobs.

it should show our people what the f.t.a. can do for them. i ask congress for its understanding, for its support. our f.t.a. also connects east asia and north america and provides a key platform for building a common arab -- asia pacific market. the agreement also helps underpin washington's rebalancing towards the region. this development paint a forward leaning alliance.

the point to a 21st century partnership that is both comprehensive and strategic. ladies and gentlemen, that is our present. the foundation on which we stand. i now wish to share my vision of our future together. a future that we will build ogether and partner. following our meeting yesterday, president obama and i adopted a joint declaration. building on the extraordinary accomplishments of the last 60 years, we determined to embark on another shared journey

towards peace on the korean peninsula, towards cooperation finally, st asia, and toward prosperity around the world. it is my hope that as we make this journey, our partnership will be guided by a three-part vision. the first is to lay groundwork for enduring peace on the korean peninsula, and over time for reunification. that future i know feels distant today. north korea continues to issue threats and provocations, firing

long-range missiles, staging nuclear tests that undermine ace on the peninsula and far beyond it. the korean government is reacting resolutely, but calmly. we are maintaining the highest level of readiness. we are strengthening our cooperation with u.s. and other international partners. korea's economy and financial stable.emains companies both domestic and foreign, see this and are expanding their investments. korea's economic fundamentals are strong. its government is equal to the

test. and it is backed by the might of our alliance. so long as this continues, you may rest assured no north korean provocation can succeed. i will remain steadfast in pushing forward a process of trust building on the korean peninsula. i'm confident that trust is the

path to peace. the path to a korea that is whole again. the republic of korea will never accept a nuclear armed north korea. pyongyang provocations will be et decisively. at the same time, i will not link humanitarian aid to the north korean people such as infant and young children to the political situation. and with the thought that gradually builds up -- with the

trust that gradually builds up through exchange through cooperation, we will cement the ground for durable peace and eventually peaceful reunification. but as we say in korea, it takes two hands to clap. trust is not something that can be imposed on another. the pattern is all too familiar and badly misguided. north korea provokes a crisis, the international community imposes a certain period of sanctions, later it tries to patch things up by offering concessions and rewards.

meanwhile, they use that time to advance its nuclear capabilities and uncertainty prevails. it is time to put an end to this icious circle. pyongyang is pursuing two goals at once, a nuclear arsenal and economic development. we know these are incompatible. you cannot have your cake and at it too.

the leadership in pyongyang must make no mistake, security does not come from nuclear weapons. security comes when the lives of its people are improved. it comes when people are free to pursue their happiness. north korea must make the right choice. it must walk the path to becoming a responsible member in the community of nations. in order to induce north korea to make the choice, the

international community must speak with one voice. its message must be clear and consistent. only then will we see real progress in interkorean relations. only then will lasting peace be brought to the korean peninsula nd northeast asia. 60 years ago, a stretch of earth bisecting the korean peninsula was cleared of arms. oday, the demilitarized zone is the most militarized place on the planet. and the sendoff around -- and the standoff around the d.m.z.

has the potential to endanger global peace. we must defuse that danger, not just to south and north korea. the world must also get involved. the demilitarized zone must live up toits name. a zone that strengthens the eace, not undermines it. it is with this vision in mind that i hope to work toward an international park inside the d.m.z. it will be a park that sends a message of peace to all of humanity. this could be pursued in parallel with my trust building process. there, i believe, we can start trust. h peace, to grow

it will be a zone of peace, bringing together not just the koreans separated by a military line, but also the citizens of the world. i call on america and the global community, join us in seeking the promise of a new day. honorable members of congress, the second leg of our journey extends beyond the korean peninsula to all of northeast peace re we must build and cooperation. sadly, today, the nations of

this region fail to fulfill all that we can achieve collectively. the potential is tremendous. the region's economies are gaining ever greater clout and coming more and more interlinked. yes, differences stemming from history are widening. it has been said that those who are blind to the past cannot see the future. this is obviously problem for here and now but the larger issue is about tomorrow. for where there is failure to acknowledge honestly what happened yesterday, there can e no tomorrow.

sia suffers from what i call asia paradox, the disconnect between growing economic interdependence on the one hand, and backward political security cooperation on the other. how we manage this will determine the shape of a new order in asia. together, we must meet these challenges and so i propose an initiative for peace and cooperation in northeast asia. , cannot afford to put it off the dialogue process in northeast asia. together the united states and

other northeast asian partners could start with softer issues. these includes environmental issues and disaster relief, they include nuclear safety and counterterrorism. thus will be -- trust will be built through these processes. and that trust will propel taos expand the horizon of our cooperation. the initiative will serve the cause of peace and development in the region but it will be firmly rooted in the korea-u.s. alliance. reen-- ense, it could

reenforce -- reinforce president obama's strategy of rebalancing toward the asia pacific. of course north korea could also be invited to join if we tart where our initiatives overlap. then later on, it will be easier to find common ground on the larger challenges, easier to find solutions to our mutual benefit. i firmly believe that korea and the united states will work hand in hand as we shape an emerging process for cooperation in the region. the third and final leg of our

journey extends even further beyond the peninsula. beyond northeast asia to the rest of the world. it is contributes to happiness, the happiness of koreans on both halves of the peninsula, the happiness of all humanity. it is a vision i also advance at my inauguration, the pursuit of happiness is enshrined in the american declaration of independence. it also occupies a special place in the korean constitution. i have long believed that our alliance should aim far, that t should ultimately seek a happier world. uided by this spirit, we stood

side-by-side in the frontier of peace and freedom. infused by this spirit, we are extending cooperation on global ssues, issues like counterterrorism, nuclear nonproliferation and the global financial crisis. our efforts will not stop there. together, we will help spearhead the universal values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law. we will march together to take on global challenges from fighting poverty, to tackling climate change and other

nvironmental issues. members of the house and the senate, our journey since the korean war has been led by a specific mission to respond to their threats and provocations from the north. and to defend the freedom and peace on the korean peninsula. today, our alliance is called upon to go beyond that, beyond just the defense of freedom and peace. we are called upon to step orward on a new journey, a you nee toward a korea that is at peace, that is happy and that is made whole.

our economic partnership must also aim higher and reach further into the future. president obama has outlined the america initiative, together with my strategy far creative economy, we can advance toward a common goal to help channel the innovative ideas, the passion, and the drive of our youth toward brighter future. koreans and americans are partnering in new ways. whether world tours of korean pop stars for hollywood films

or as reconstruction -- or at reconstruction sites in the mideast. together, we can envision a future that is richer that is safer, and that is happier. our chorus of freedom and peace of a future and hope has not ceased to resonate over the last 60 years and will not cease to go on. thank you very much.

the speaker: the purpose of the joint meeting now completed, the chair declares the joint meeting of the hue houses now dissolved. the house will continue in recess subject to the call of the chair.

the south carolina -- the south carolina race, mark sanford winning, up next the concession and victory speech, starting with elizabeth colbert ush from last night. >> hi, everyone. thank you for being here tonight. thank you. thanks so much. hi, out there nice to see you.

thank you so much. hi. good to see you. my family is still coming. they came in from all over the country, here locally, to be so supportive and you're just wonderful, and so are all of you, you're just wonderful. thank you for all your support. can't think you enough. come on up. keep coming. hey're still coming. one more. there you are. we have everyone. i would introduce them all to you but it would take a while. first of all, wow, we gave it a eck of a fight, didn't we?

we're all in it together, so i'm just so proud to be with you tonight. jamie thank you so much for everything, it's been a long time. mayor reilly, your endorsement, walking down king street, how great, what a wonderful adventure. mayor billy kiesing, mayor sam mur -- murray. reverend kenneth hodges, representative john lewis, civil rights icon. representative clyburn, i hoped to be his partner in congress. all the staff. and the volunteers that have brought us here today, that have brought me here. your time, your hard work, your dedication, and your confidence in me will take me to wherever my next journey is. thank you so much.

and to my family. to my family, this is about a you of them, oh, my gosh, all. you know, when we started this race, we knew that it would be an uphill climb and we were determined to do it. we were just so determined to do it. i remember my only pledge was to the people of south carolina's first congressional district, the people have spoken, and i respect their decision. no, i respect their decision. this is the beauty of our country. i respect their decision. i can assure you i will continue to figget for all of you in south carolina. -- to fight for all of yo -- for all of you in south carolina. it's been a tremendous honor to represent you. you are the most beautiful people in the most beautiful district in the most beautiful nation, and i cannot thank you enough for taking this joufer

nee with me. god bless all of you. thank you. thank you all. thank you. thank you. >> elizabeth! elizabeth! elizabeth! >> all right, here, going to and that back. >> ok, ok.

>> ok, all right, you all ready? hello, can you hear me? all right. can i have your attention for ne second? we're trying to get a p.a. system going here. is it on? one, two, three, four. h, we have it. i have a question for y'all. how many of you want to change washington, d.c.? i had a suspicion that that might be the case. and given that is indeed the case, that's why we're here. before i get into any of the

conversation on changing washington, d.c., and the importance thereof, let me just say this. i want to say thank you to -- you want me to put -- you all want me to -- tell me what you all -- i need the -- i handed a pan that way. can i have the pan back? i need the pan back. i'm serious. i feed the pan back for these guys. where's the pan back here. thank you. need it back. ok. all right. ok. it's a little crowded, it's a little hot. i'll try to be brief and to the point. all right, i won't be brief. but i want to say thank you to

elizabeth. they ran a great campaign. aened in the process of any contest, i think it's important to acknowledge the other team that was on the playing field and again give them compliments to a well-run race, to their entire team and to a vigorous contest we've had here over the last month plus and wish them well on the road ahead. i would say, though, that this campaign at the end of the day was based on two very different ideas on what ought to come next in washington, d.c. at the end of the day, the prevailing viewpoint was driven by every one of you all who worked so hard to bring ultimately the success of this campaign but ultimately something much, much more important. and that is a message to washington, d.c., and a messenger to washington, d.c. on the importance of changing

things in that fair city. i said from the beginning in this campaign that we are indeed a tipping point as a civilization and that if we didn't get things right, there would be real consequencers in american dollar, for our savings, for the american way of life. and so at the end of the day what this is all about is indeed the american way of life and the dreams that it has historically afforded. i see marco of boeing back there in the corner. whether dreams come in the form of a dreamliner, produced here in charleston, south carolina, or whether dreams come from the form of two kids starting out with a dream and a parent -- in a parent's basement, what this campaign is about is reconstructing those market-based principles, those constitutional ideals and those themes of limited government to important to the construct of either one of those ideas. i would also say the obvious, which is some guy came up to me

the other tcharke said, you look a lot like lazarus. and i say that, if it was just about market based ideas and limited government this campaign would have been easily won a long time ago. but i had deficiencies that are well chronicled as a candidate and at the end of the day i was carried across the threshold if you will, by an incredible team of volunteers that are represented in this room and well beyond this room. and so i want to give thanks and praise to the many, many people, whether you were standing on the side of a corner holding up a banner and doing a sign, whether you were putting in a wooden stake in the ground with another sign, whether you were calling friends, emailing friends, all the things that go into politics, i want to say thank ou for what you did.

i also want to single out a couple of extraordinary volunteers. again, i hate doing this because there's so many people hat work so hard but marie dupri and paige harron and april duhr, they came to me early on at this campaign start and said, i still believe in you and i want to give you a day, a week, a month, the entire campaign, and devote it to the ideas that this campaign is based on. i single them out along with courtney who ran the most extraordinary job with volunteers and of course my sister sara who is volunteer extraordinary down in beauford county and barbara and karen and lee, is a get myself in a lot of trouble, i see marvin, i see frank, i won't go down the list but a lot of folks worked awfully hard to bring this about. i want to thank you. i see my buddy tom davis,

twhofsefivers person to start this ball rolling, he said, mark, you can do this. he said, you were talking about debt, deficit and government spending 15, 20 years ago when folks weren't much focused on it. they are now and here's a chance for you to take everything uh -- everything you learned in congress, the governorship, your way up, your way down, all of it and apply it to one of the great debates of our civilization, which is how do we get our house in order? i want to single out tom for his focus on that front. i want to also single out an extraordinary professional staff. i can at times be a little bit tense, i guess would be the word, you know, we all are in the game but john and jason and joe and michael and sonny and carrie and sherry, thank you for what you did in bringing this about. and i've got to single out one person in particular, i don't know if she's here or not. we drew straws and sort of the

worst job on the campaign trail is who gets stuck in the car with mark as we go to umpteen different places in a day and more often than not that ended up being martha who put up with me on a daily basis. she's probably the worst driver , she gave me a number of near death experience bus she is extraordinary and did a great job. i don't know where she is but i want to single her out as well. and then, there was a pivot point in this campaign. a number of the candidates in the primary stepped to the plate and made a remarkable difference whether that was ray nash or sean pinkston or go down the list, i want to thank each of them for what they did, would you give them a round of applause as well? it's getting hot in here, so i better call it quits. frank's giving me that look like, call it quits, i got it. but i do want to sickle out two other people who made extraordinary trips to be here.

i see our oldest son marshall who got in a car and drove 10 hours to be with us tonight and i want to say marshall, how much as the oldest son, i really appreciate that. thank you very, very much. i also want to single out my fiance, she also had a 10-hour trip but in an airplane, rather than a car. thank you for being here as well, love. appreciate it. and then i want to make one last acknowledgment. a lot is, i've talked about grace over the course of this campaign. and until you've experienced human grace as a reflection of god's grace i don't think you really get it. i didn't get it before. i get it in a way i never have before and i want to publicly acknowledge god's role in all of this. not that he said, you're it, but what he said was, not that you'll win but that you'll

learn. and he has sent me extraordinary number of angels through the course of this campaign that have provided remarkable lessons that will last me the rest of my life. i was over at the beach a couple of days ago, i ran into a woman named jenny fowler. e works that the ez-go convenience store there, and we got into a conversation on life. she said, i'm the luckiest woman on earth. she'd had a health scare and had a chance to go back to work at the convenience store and at that screens store, you rook out at the ocean. she said i'm the luckiest woman on earth, i get to look at the beach each day and bring a smile to customers in this convenience store each day. i'm incredibly blessed. i don't focus on what i don't have but on what i do have in life and trying to bring a blessing to each person i run into. i think she was an angel. i think the number of people

god brought to me, i think the number of people who have come up to me and said, mark, a good part of life is about getting back up, not how you stumble, not how you fall but how you get back up in the wake of situations and i just want to acknowledge a god not just of second chances but third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth chances because that is the reality of our shared humanity. i also want to say this. i am one imperfect man, saved by god's grace but one who has a conviction on the importance of doing something about spending in washington, d.c., and it's my pledge to every one of you here from this day going forward that i am going to be trying to be the best congressman i could have ever y'all. working for thanks so much, i appreciate y'all's time, thank you so much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> just about to get under way on capitol hill, a hearing looking at the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, lib ark last september. the house oversight committee getting under way shortly. you can follow that at c-span3

and online at c-span.org and c-span radio available on xm satellite channel 119 and also in an app for your iphone. coming up, we expect the house to gavel back in for their legislative work. until then, we'll bring you a conversation with congressman ted deutch from florida, just back from a trip to israel, and he'll be talking next about the situation in the mideast. the israeli-palestinian relationship and more. we'll show you as much as we can until the house gavels back in for work. host: we're back with ted deutch. let's start with syria. what should be the u.s. role? guest: the news out of russia yesterday was comforting.

there is an awful lot we do now, however that was encourage, the russians have to this point, i think, been unhelpful at the u.n. blocking efforts to move forward but there's a well financed play. we continue to be the largest provider of humanitarian ssistance. it's an important statement rom the united states. the chemical weapons attack, about, lso have to talk there are in excess of 70,000 to 80,000 who have been killed, so we need to look at the possibility of creating a humanitarian corridor something to help provide the type of assistance that's necessary for all of those who have been affected by this war. the problem that we have now, you look at the number of refugees, close to a million

and a half refugees in lebanon and in jordan and in turkey and then another million and a half or more refugees within the country, some estimate that number to be double, there's a real humanitarian crisis we have to play a role in. >> here's the front pages of the washington times. obama says military ininaction on syria is now a calculated choice. guest: the president is right to look at, after making a statement about the red line, the president is right and i think it's necessary for him to continue to gather all of the information and then to proceed to generate the support that's necessary from the world community to act. this is something that's necessary now in light of the evidence we have, he's making a decision not to act yet, but it's very clear that that could be an appropriate step, not to put boots on the ground, not to take the lead, but with our allies in the region, there's a lot that can be done. marshaling the resources of our

allies in the region, particularly in the gulf states, is also something that, it's a leadership role the united states must play. host: let's listen to what president obama had to say about syria, he had a news conference yesterday with the south korean president but he was asked about siria. [video clip] >> i think that understandably there's a desire for easy answers. hat's not the situation there. my job is to constantly measure our very real and legitimate umanitarian interests in syria but measuring those against my bottom line, which is what's in the best interests of america's security and making sure that i'm making decisions not based on a hope and a prayer, but on hardheaded analysis in terms of

what will actually make us safer. and stabilize the region. host: on that last part, hard evidence that this will make us safer, what are you looking for? what is the president looking for? guest: making us safer and stabilizing the region is something he talked about at the end, it's absolutely what we need to be looking at. if you look at the situation on the ground now, and you look at the role that the news corps fund is new playing within syria, within the opposition, it is certainly in our interest to ensure that when assaad falls and when assaad falls, that's not just a victory for the syrian people but a major loss for the iranians, something that's too often lost in this debate but when say sad falls there's a government that follows that's not an al qaeda-based government but a government that reflects the twhoifl people there, those are decisions the president is grappling with now and i think he needs to.

host: "the wall street journal" editorial yesterday called for a nonintervention war. they write this -- guest: there is a real fear about the transfer of chemical and biological weapons into terrorist group a transfer of those weapons to hezbollah in lebanon. that's a real concern. and there is significant planning to ensure, in coord -- and coordination with our allies, to ensure that that doesn't happen. but after -- at this point in our nation's history, the thought of sending ground troops into syria, i think, is something that not only is it too difficult to imagine, frankly, right now, but it's

also unnecessary, given the role that our allies can play in both securing the chemical weapons, and in acting to ensure that when assaad falls we have a regime that reflects the people's will. host: you just returned from the northeast and met with leaders including benjamin netanyahu, did you tell him what you just said? that we cannot put boots on the ground, that's not something you'd endorse and don't think the united states should go there? >> i did. -- guest: i did. and the prime minister and other israeli lead verse made clear, as you saw they carried out an air strike, their primary concern right now, their concern is ensuring that advanced weapons aren't delivered, advanced weapons from iran are not delivered to hezbollah. that as prime minister netanyahu told us would be a game changer in the region. that's their focus yet they're obviously focused about the growth of the fund and

terrorist linked organizations in syria as well. but it is clear that there is much that can be done short of sending u.s. troops into syria. host: how comfort are you that chemical weapons were jewsed by the assad regime? guest: the evidence appears that that's what happened. and we've now had reports both from the british, from the french, from the israelis and we've analyzed it as well, it appears that that's the case. that's why these cushions -- discussions, i think it's it's imperative that we have these discussions in a serious way right now so it's clear to the syrians that our statements about redlines are adhered to. >> did they -- host: did they cross a red line in your opinion? guest: if they used, i think part of what's been missing -- missing from some of this debate is, yes, we have to make schauer the chemical weapons are secured but at the same time there are 70,000 to 90,000, depending on which

sources you use, syrians who have been massacred by the regime. using conventional means. that is a disaster as well, that necessitates our serious consideration of instituting a munetarian quarter, putting something in place to help secure the citizens of syria and that will ultimately help to push us out. host: you talked ability the role of russia, the headline here. host: how will this help? guest: first of all, it's vitally important that the russians are committed to do this. there is much that has changed since that last conference. the growth of the front on the

ground in syria that you see now this evidence of use of chemical weapons by the syrians and you've seen the ongoing slaughter of his people by assad. all of this i think, really compels the parties to move forward into the sort of conference that secretary kerry and the foreign minister have been talking about, spoke about, i hope that it happens but begun, we need to really move forward and we need to do it in a concerted way with all our allies in the redoip. host: we get to our callers here, karen a democrat in boca raton, florida. caller: good morning. good morning, representative. i am concerned about how our foreign policy has been affected by syria's -- by serious errors in situations just like you're talking about.

there are two, one is that currently, witnesses, doctors and patients, have all said that the chemical attacks have come from the rebels. not from the syrian government itself. are you aware of that? and would you at least consider the possibility that it matters who used chemical weapons, if anybody did? that. second leads into our whole mideast policy has been changed by our perception of 9/11. 9/11, the collapse of the world trade centers, was, according to nst, was caused by jet fuel, which is kerosene. kerosene is used around the world for cooking stove, it

never melts all the pots. yet there were supposedly pools of melted steel you should the towers. the report refused to look at that, because it would have proved the use of explosives. in what ways would your office be willing to help reconcile this, because this is an error that brought us into wars an even brought us to the doorstep of syria. host: ok. congressman. guest: sure. there has been much analysis of the use of chemical weapons and who used them. there is consensus, it appears, that the chemical weapons were used by the regime and rebels despite the one report we sausm but obviously this is one of the reasons that the president is analyzing this so carefully and making sure that whatever approach is taken, is done in a deliberate fashion, in a way that will be in our best interest. host: after -- the second part of her question, i'll have you get to but after meeting with the israeli officials, you also

met with president abbas, as well, during your mideast trip. will you be talking to the white house about your trip and what you learned? >> yes. -- guest: yes. and there is followup, certainly from that trip. we learned, first and foremost, what was driven home during that trip is that while we have to grapple with what's happening in syria, we can't lose sight of the fact that the iranians continue to move forward on the nuclear weapons program that that is the greatest threat in the region, it's the greatest threat to us as well, and it's something that we have to focus on here in washington as we ramp up enforcement of existing sanctions against iran and as we work to pass tougher sanctions. sanctions have been effective but there's a lot more we can do and that i think we immediate to do so though the iranians that their best option to give up their nuclear weapons program. host: the second part of her question about 9/11, how that

frames issues going forward. guest: it does. and there's no question that the attacks on 9/11 changed the way that america views the world. having been on the receiving end of a major terrorist attack, every decision that we make, however, has to be made in deciding what is in the best interest of our nation and our security and how to act in a way that benefits and secures our allies and our interest. that continues to be our approach and it needs to be. that's what we've seen for the president the past years he's been in office. >> when do you think he'll make a decision about what's happening in syria? is it in the next few days, weeks, what do you think? guest: i don't have operational information. i know that the administration cons to analyze the possible responses, secretary hagel has been clear about that as well.

and the president, yesterday, was very clear about that. i don't know when there will be action taken but clearly there is a recognition that something, something really needs to be done in order to ensure that our interest in the region and the security in the region is maintained. host: we have a tweet. guest: the one thing that there's no question about is that the will of the syrians is to see assaad, the dictator, the brutal dictator who has slaughtered tovense thousands of his own people, the will of the people is to see him go. as i said earlier that is something that isn't just in the best interest of the syrian people, it is in the best interest of our security in the region, our allies' security in the region and we need to ensure that when assaad falls, which will be a blow to the

regime in tehran, that when assad falls we're in a position to have a government that does reflect the twhoifl people rather than a terrorist government. that's what we're grappling with right now. host: mark in canton, ohio, republican caller. caller: i'll give you a view you won't appreciate, i think 8% or 99% of syria is of the muslim religion. there's been conservative estimates that 7% of all muslims are radicalized, they're jihaddist, they hate us, they want to kill us americans and our way of life. and if 100,000 syrians have died, based on those statistics, roughly 7,000 of our blood enemies have killed each other and one more point if 100,000 americans were dying in a civil war going on right here, i don't believe they'd come rushing to our aid. that's a fact.

host: congressman what about those statistics? you serve on the mideast subcommittee. guest: you're right. that is -- that last statement is absolutely correct. if there were something happening in this country, we would deal with it ourselves. here. there are -- this is an ongoing discussion about what our role is in the world and in the mideast. and throughout the world. in a situation like this especially where you've seen what has become a major humanitarian crisis, there's a role the united states has always played, not because it's in the best interest of the syrians an not because we are -- we feel bad about what's happening on the ground. our engagement in the world is something we do because it's in our own best interests. it's in our security interests. that's why it's important for us to remain engaged. host: another tweet.

guest: i don't think it reduced our options at all. i don't think it's forcing us to do anything. the israelis have been quite clear that -- throughout, that if they reach the point where they saw game-changing weapons from iran at risk of being delivered to hezbollah, that they would act. they've said that. they've been clear throughout. that's what they did. and since the strike, they've been clear to continue to repeat that that's what they were doing. they're not engaging in the midst of that civil war. so no, i don't think there's anything to diminish the range of options we continue to have. host: paul in virginia beach, independent caller. hi, paul. caller: good morning. thank you for take my call. i have a couple of comments since i've been on hold and i love the fact of how the gentleman uses the world community, the international community, the u.s. uses that and in essence there's only three or four of them and the

majority of the countries at the u.n. don't have any say-so or veto power. i don't buy this theory of the world community or international community. in syria, there have been reports that the u.n. humanitarian that has clearly stated that the gas was used by the rebels and not by the o-called vicious regime as the gentleman stated. i don't buy that either. guest: i don't think there's any reason so refer to the regime as a so-called vicious regime when they've slaughtered tens of thousands or maybe hundreds of thousands of people. this is a vicious regime willing to do anything to remain in power. the reason the united states has not yet taken any action is precisely because of the caller's concern.

because we want to make sure that if there is going to be any response, that we understand exactly what happened. if chemical weapons were used who used them system of we can act accordingly. i think the administration's approach has been in line with what the caller suggested. >> front page of the "wall street journal," pentagon plans for the worst in syria. host: can you tell us more about this? guest: sure. i think that as i said, there is real concern about the possible spillover effect. this is something that we've worried about now for some time. and you see that the huge number of refugees that have come into jordan, into lebanon, into turkey, more than a million and a half, the real

concern is that what's happening in syria may ultimately destabilize the government in amman. that's, i think, led to this discussion of a possible buffer zone. there are other ways to approach this, though, creating a humanitarian corridor is something that can help address this. but first and foremost i think is the point that there is no talk of sending in american troops into syria and putting american troops, boots on the ground in syria. this is something that our allies in the region must step up and take the lead on. >> and "the wall street journal" reports -- reports that this plan, buffering the jordanian border, plans to seek direct minimized u.s. involvement. guest: and i think that's porn for several reasons. it's porn pause in this country there is a war weariness, an absolutely understandable war weariness that come into play, and it should. but beyond that, within the region, our allies there have a responsibility to play their

part, to ensure that this reaches a resolution that is in their best interests as well. host: to georgia. jeff is watching us in ainsworth, georgia. caller: hi, you may have addressed this while i was speaking to the call screener. i know we have 200 troops at least from first armored division to jordan to stage -- to bring in another up to 40,000 to 60,000 troops as the story goes? and wanted to get your comments on that and also i believe that assaad would never use chemical weapons on his own people. that was a setup thing and the only reason chemical weapons have been used is to draw more people in and bring in nato and the united states. thank you. guest: well, that's, again, that's why it's so important for us to figure out what happened with the chemical weapons. but the evidence certainly points to the regime, given the way the regime has acted toward

people. this would be a natural extension. host: you've radar the evidence from the french and the british government as well. what about our own intelligence? have you read the reports? guest: it's clear chemical weapons were used. we're trying to determine how they were used who used them. that's an important part of the analysis being done right now. but at the same time we're doing that, as the president said yesterday, what's most important is that we look at this and take a measured approach to what's happening and how we can ensure our national security interests on that. host: the first part of his question, are there troops in jordap, u.s. troops? >> guest: there is, the report, and i heard this report that we're sending 40,000 troop the suggestion was made by some that we're sending in tens of thousands of troops to go into syria. there's no -- that is not my understanding of what's

happening. we continue to work with the jordanians, jordan is very important ally to the united states. they play a key role. and they've been affected outside of sir ark they've opinion affected as much as anyone because of the huge number of refugees who have come in. and we have to continue to work with them to ensure that here's not that. host: another tweet. guest: that's a great question. egypt we haven't spoken about, but there was action just this week where the muslim brotherhood took an even greater position within the government in egypt. we have real concerns in egypt on the one hand, balancing the fact that the egyptians got rid of their dictator that ruled the country but we have a regime now, we have government

in cairo that raises -- continues to raise serious human rights concerns that need to be addressed. we have to be sure they continue to abide by the camp david accords and take action to stop arms from falling into gaza. last lot we expect of this regime and we have to continue to work to make sure that this is a government that acts in a way that reflects, if we're going to continue to engage with them, that reflects our approach as well. guest: that's always a concern. in this case, in this case, we know that the benefits of assad falling are very significant throughout the entire region. particularly given assaad's relationship with the iranians. as iran's best ally in the

region. if assaad falls, i think ultimately it's in our best interest. we have to work to make sure the terrorist licked groups don't play a prominent role in that government. that's really what's the focus of american policy right now. >> what role is saudi arabia playing in all this? guest: they're playing an important role but they need to play an even more important role by making sure that their support of the rebels in syria, because it is clearly in their best interest for assad to goal, to make sure their support of the rebels is support of rebel groups that we can support. they can play a very important role. when i refer to the others in the region, those two countries in particular can play and must play an a very significant role in ensuring that as they participate, as they continue to fund the rebels, that they're funding the rebel groups that again would

ultimately form a government that would be in the best interest of the syrian people. host: angela in california, independent, thanks for hanging on the line. go ahead. caller: yes. i do see that we are definitely revisiting iraq again. and we are very war weary. we are american citizens an we are not stupid. while government tells us all sorts of lies like they did when we went to iraq and we had all our soldiers dying there, and i see the same scenario here. first of all, thank god for the internet, the american people are not as stupid as our government thinks. we get our information from the internet, that the people in syria like their government. why don't we have an election in syria and let the syrian people decide who they want as their president.

host: congressman? guest: sure, i agree completely. why don't we let the syrian people have an election? because they have a dictator who would never permit one. i absolutely agree that the goal here is for the syrians to express their will but i don't think that there is anything that one can read on the internet that would belie the fact that tens of thousands of people have been slaughtered by assaad. of the u.s. house of

representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the nate on may 8, 2013, at 9:27 a.m., that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 1071. with best wishes i am, signed incerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests

for up to 15 one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlelady from tennessee seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from tennessee is recognized for one minute. rs. black: as a mother who has worked outside the house i know about trying to balance work and family life. that's why i support the workers -- the american family flexibility act. for some people this may mean taking a sick child to the doctor or attending their daughter's ballet recital or caring for an aging parent. but currently an outtated law prohibits private sector employers from even offering their employees the option to choose paid time off as a

compensation for overtime hours worked. now the working families flexibility act will put an end to this arbitrary restriction. by leveling the playing field and give manager employees the freedom to control their overtime compensation, this commonsense proposal will help strengthen families and our work force. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. sitz leaney: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cicilline: this week is the travel and tourism week. according to the u.s. travel association, travel and tourism generates $2 trillion in economic output in 20 12. this industry is also one of america's largest

employersering support 14g.6 million jobs. this is especially important for my home state of rhode island where the travel and tourism sector supports more than 40,000 jobs and zwren rates $3.5 billion in spending. we need to do more to support the travel industry as well as the small business communities that depend on a thriving tourist economy. i'm a co-sporn of the bipartisan jolt act to revise visa laws to support travel and tour usm while maintaining national security protocols. i look forward to working with my colleagues to highlight travel and the economy in a-- in a way that will put men and women back to work in rhode island and across the economy. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous cob sent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my rashes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as share of the committee on rail, pipelines and hazardous terrells, tomorrow the full

transportation committee will be taking up legislation which represents a significant opportunity to create american jobs and spur economic growth in our country. quite simply the northern route approval act of -- will end years of bureaucratic delays an allow construction to the key stobe x.l. pipeline project. the delay alone over the last four years has blocked 120,000 american jobs. the delays have to stop, this has bipartisan support. mr. denham: it is time to stop the delays in my home state of california, we have not only seen huge, skyrocketing gas prices but we continue to see high unemployment and rolling blackouts. i'm part of the house energy action team and it is time to make sure that we have energy independence, lower gas prices and energy prices and create american jobs. it's time to stop the delays of the keystone x.l. pipeline. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

frup does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and rhett re-my rashes. -- and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one inute. >> today we are exsming the republican's latest attack on working families. they call thit american family flexibility act. but this bill would make life worse for workers, it would essentially end the 40-hour work week by permitting employers to not pay overtime to workers who peed 40 hers per week and instead allow employers to hold earned comp time in their control. mr. kildee: it would allow employers to refuse the right of workers to take time off to help a family member in need or attend a parent-teacher conference. that's wrong, mr. speaker.

productivity of our nation's workers is at an all-time high, yet again we see attacks, efforts to whittle down the rights of hardworking americans instead of focusing on attacking workers, maybe weeshed focus on creating good-paying jobs. that's what our constituents want, that's what americans want. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> america's workers and families are in a jobs depression. since 2009, 9.5 million people have drpped out of the work force. america's work force participation rate is the lowest since jimmy carter was president. mr. goodlatte: millions looking for pull-time work can only find part-time jobs. the obama administration's onslaught of new major

regulation is unprecedented. every day, federal agencies erect more roadblocks to economic growth and jobs recovery. the house judiciary committee is working hard to provide relief. it passes the rains act last month and is at work on other ground breaking legislation to reduce unneeded regulation. this is crit tall to the growth america needs and the judiciary committee will do all it can to achieve it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for one minute.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it's now been 857 days since i arrived in congress. mrs. wilson: and the republican leadership has still not allowed a single vote on serious legislation to address our unemployment crisis. the nightmare of joblessness is destroying the american dream. when i was graduating from college, my american dream was owning a home and starting a family. the class of 2013, the american dream means just having a job, any job, to make ends meet. by eliminating public sector jobs during a time of high unemployment, the sequester is killing the american dream.

it's up to us to cancel the sequester and ensure that america is again a land of opportunity. mr. speaker, let's bring h.r. 900, the cancel the sequester act, to the floor for a vote to end this shame. our mantra should be, jobs, jobs, jobs. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise to peek about the strong relationship between the united states an south korea, one of the most important relationships for south korea, one of america's closest allies in asia and the entire world. since the korean war in the 1950's, the u.s. and south korea have stood side-by-side in the name of democracy and liberty. mr. garrett: all you need to do is to compare north and south korea to understand how

successful south korea has been and how much of a failure the kim reyeem in the north has been. south korea is the world's 15th largest economy and asia's fourth largest. companies like samsung, kia and lg are major, globally known brands while seoul ranks as one of the great sthoifs world. it's a vibrant, open society. now take north korea. it's a vicious dictator thip has -- dictatorship that no freedom of religion new york freedom of dissent. there's only poverty, despotism and no hope. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> to address the house for one

minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, last week a team from miralama high school in sacramento won the national sibes bowl for the third time since 2009. hosted by the u.s. department of energy, the science bowl was created to encourage state of the unions to enter science and math careers. mr. berah: i want to congratulate these talented, hardworking students from my home district. they are our country's next neration -- mr. bera: i want to congratulate these hardworking students. we need to encourage students in science and math. to the members of the team, you guys make us proud. coach james hill, keep inspiring the next generation to go into science and math. it's cool. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back his time. for what purpose does the

gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my rashes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. tomorrow the president of the united states will be traveling to the great state of texas to talk jobs. i'm proud that the president recognizes texas as a leading job producing state who understands what it is to create jobs and retain the robust economy. mr. speaker, on monday, the "wall street journal" had an interesting article, it's on my chart up here, about the energy boom in texas. they stated texas produces as much oil as the next four oil producing states combined. the lone star state now pumps nearly two million barrels a day. now the president's tour only has one stop south of austin there in texas which is unfortunate. i would like to invite the president to come to my energy-rich district along the texas gulf coast and see what job creation really looks like

nesm president wants to create jobs there is a project, the keystone pipeline, to be exact, that's been waiting to do just that. i encourage and welcome president obama to come to my district so we can talk with local businesses who want the keystone pipeline. i'm randy we behr. -- weber. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady seek recognition? the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. last week, ventura county endured one of the largest wild fires in our county's history. e camarilo springs wild fire burned over 28,000 acres, damaging homes and buildings and threatening many neighborhoods in ventura county. i rise today to thank more than 1,800 firefighters and first

responders who worked around the clock to control the blaze and in so doing saved every single life and prevented potentially massive destruction of personal property. despite high heat, dry temperatures and very windy conditions, firefighters in ventura county joined others from throughout the state to successfully contain the fire quickly and without any loss of life. ms. brownley: i am so proud of our first responders and our brave firefighters. all of ventura county is so very grateful for their heroic dedication to our continued safety. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. johnson: mr. speaker, we'll

be voting on the house floor for the working families flexibility act. this legislation will allow the private sector employees to empower their work force to choose compensation in the form of paid time off or cash wages. let me tell you a story about karen and her family. karen works hour after hour to meet the family needs to make ends meet and provide for her two children. sometimes there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. when school starts, she can't have enough to support her children in their extra curricular activities. instead of using overtime for her time instead of wages, she has to take time off without pay. federal law mandates that karen take money when what she really values is time with the family. folks, the key word when discussing this bill is choice. this is not a mandate on our job creators. let me repeat. this is not a mandate. this is the step toward letting hard-working americans to

decide what is best for them and getting government out of their lives. i yield back my time. i thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. payne: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong opposition to the so-called working families flexibility act. mr. speaker, this is a bill, a sheep in wolf's clothing, a guide to press employees to work more and get paid less. h.r. 1406, which i like to call paying working families less act, cuts overtime pay and eliminates all flexibility. rather than pay overtime when the work is performed, this bill provides the employers have up to a year to pay an employee their overtime. essentially providing employers

unauthorized interest-free loans. this bill will hurt working-class families and wage workers that depend on their overtime to pay their rent, their grocery bill, their heating and water bills. they can't afford to wait a year for pay that they have rightfully earned. mr. speaker, this is not worker or family-friendly bill. as some of my colleagues are leading this body to believe. rather, it is a blatant attempt to dismantle the fair labor act and roll back workers' rights 100 years. i urge my colleagues to vote no on this bill. we should be strengthening the fair labor law and standards and working men and women and not destroy it. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. mcclintock: yesterday, the

president vowed to veto the full faith and credit act, charging that it would, quote, result in congress refusing to pay obligations that it has already agreed to. i challenge the president to name one member of congress who has ever suggested that this is an acceptable substitute for not paying our other bills. his reliance on this falsehood is a measure of the bankruptcy of his argument. delaying payments on our other obligations would do enormous damage. but one thing that can do even more damage and that is the threat of defaulting on our sovereign debt. h.r. 807 takes that threat off the table and assures credit markets that their investments in the united states are absolutely guaranteed no matter what political storms are raging in washington. one would think that a president who has run up more debt than almost all of his predecessors combined would understand the importance of

guaranteeing the credit that supports that debt. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. mcnerney: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise on behalf of the safe climate caucus to highlight the fact that investing in sustainable energy technologies won't only move the nation toward a clean energy future but it will also grow our economy. in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we must transition to lower carbon energy systems, making the necessary investments in the nation's smart grid is one way to facilitate this transition. smart grid investments are already producing real economic benefits. the department of energy recently released a report on the economic impacts of recovery act investments in the smart grid.

the report found that for every million dollars of direct spending on smart grid, the nation's g.d.p. increased by $2.5 million. in addition, a wide variety of industrial sectors have benefited from these smart grid investments. mr. speaker, climate change is a real threat to our way of life and there's no time to waste. fortunately, if we take action now, we can cut pollution while growing our economy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this past week i was back in my district, like other members were, talking with folks about how washington's affecting their families. one of the biggest concerns i heard was how obamacare could impact their lives. it turns out the health care law seems to be anything but affordable and more of a

problem than a solution. for example, since it was signed into law in 2010, the administration hasn't been completely transparent about the new health care exchanges. mr. rogers: the exchanges are just over six months from implementation and we still have -- know very little how they will operate. and c.b.o. estimates obamacare will become a $1 trillion tax hike. these tax hikes could hurt small businesses across alabama and across the country as employers cut hours to avoid covering employee's health care. in fact, according to a study by the hudson institute, over 54,000 jobs in alabama related to hospitality, restaurant and leisure industries are at risk because of the health care law. i voted against this bill because of these concerns and more, and i also also voted to repeal it time and time again. it's looking like a train wreck of a law and we need to stop it. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. sires: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. speaker, i rise today in recognition of our teachers during national teacher appreciation week. across the country we trust teachers with our most valuable resource, our children. our teachers serve as role models and mentors to our kids, helping them to reach their potential. and in new jersey we have among the most talented teachers in the country. it was because of the mentorship of my teachers in high school that i applied for college and eventually became a teacher myself and because of my experience in the classroom that i understand the challenges of our educators today. we ask our teachers to prepare our children to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we must also give them the tools to rise to these challenges. competitive salaries, financial resources must be prosided so they can recute the very best teachers in science, technology, engineering, math

and the arts. while we honor our teachers this week, let's not forget the service they do to our children every day. let's recognize teachers across the country. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i rise to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, as a father and grandfather, i am fully aware the responsibilities, the challenge of balancing a vocation, job responsibilities with taking the care the needs of my family. mr. speaker, that challenge is greater today for american hardworking families who need to address the needs of their children and perhaps aging parents who live nearby. for almost 30 years we've allowed this flexibility, option for those who work for the government to have the choice between taking comp pay or taking additional pay for

additional work that they have performed. mr. pit ger -- mr. pittenger: today, mr. speaker, i'm supporting the working families flexibility act. we need to pass this today in the united states congress to give the same privileges, rights and options to those in the private sector as we allow in the public sector. thank you, mr. speaker. i give back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> today is just a few days before mother's day and the house republican leadership has this house considering the so-called working families flexibility act on the floor. this bill is no mother's debut kay. instead, it amounts to a bunch of dead flowers. it denies working mothers, like my mother, who works as a secretary and part of the

middle class and other hardworking families the flexibility they need. and it only gives flexibility to employers. under this misguided legislation, employers would have the flexibility to substitute compensation time for flexibility pay. this legislation makes it less expensive for employees to work overtime, encouraging employers to demand more overtime leading to more work and less pay. mr. swalwell: instead, we should be voting on priorities like equal pay for all, raising the minimum wage and give hardworking americans true flexibility. unfortunately, the majority just does not understand the needs of working americans. today i will be voting no or h.r. 1406 because i will defend hardworking moms like my mother, who rely on overtime pay to make ends meet. vote no on 1406 and give working moms what they deserve this mother's day which is equal pay for equal work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition?

>> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: mr. speaker, the center for immigration studies has studied the immigration bill and found it threatens public safety. for example, the bill allows the legalization of illegal immigrants who have been convicted of three misdemeanors, including multiple offenses for drunk driving, vehicular homicide, domestic violence, certain sex offenses and identity theft. it requires immigration agencies to ignore convictions under state laws for immigrants smuggling and human trafficking. it waives criminal offenses for anyone under 18 even if the offender was tried as an adult. and anyone simply claiming eligibility for any legalization program may not be detained and need not show proof of eligibility. so the senate bill threatens american safety, which is another reason it should be

opposed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. mr. higgins: new york state is committing to take action on removing the robert moses parkway in niagara falls, is welcomed news for western new york. it is a national treasure, drawing millions of visitors each year. in the parkway has created a bar yor between the parkway and the waterfront. we must take a look at alternative money sources. the current owner of its infrastructure has the responsibility and the capacity to fund its removal. mr. speaker, we cannot let the new york power authority off the hook on this historic wrong. by holding them to this

obligation we free up certain federal, state resources for additional products in niagara falls, maximizing the impact of our national investment. it's time that this they get what they deserve and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, in our recovering economy today we have many families that have two working parents, coordinating children to school and extra curricular meeting, parent-teacher meetings. balancing this proves to be difficult and oftentimes exhausting. mr. yoder: i rise in support of giving private sector employees the same flexibility and choice to balance their careers and home lives that private sector employees have enjoyed for the past 30 years. the working families flexibility act gives employees the choice. passing this commonsense

legislation would help give all employees more options to take care of family obligations. mr. speaker, during our continued economic recovery at a time when it's difficult for americans to see washington come together and pass bipartisan positive solutions, let's show them that times are difficult for many and pass the working families flexibility act of 2013. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the alance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise to honor the 150th anniversary of the brotherhood of locomotive and train men. the blet has always played a critical role in the transportation of people and goods throughout our nation. as america expanded westward, locomotive engineers and train men led the way. our men and women on the railroads connected two oceans

and led the way to the frontier. today, u.s. railroads transportation 2.5 metric tons a year. as we expand into new technology and high speed rail, locomotive engineers will continue to propel them forward. the engineers and train men count 55,000 active and retired among its ranks. these are people who work around the clock to literally make the trains run on time. in recognition of the 150th anniversary of the brotherhood, i ask my colleagues to join me in passing a resolution to honor them for their contributions in growing this great neigh. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from missouri seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for ne minute. >> i rise today on behalf of

every parent who wishes they had more time to spend with their children or more time to care for a parent or loved up with. i rise today level the playing field for all private sector employees so that they receive the same flexibility public sector employees have enjoyed for nearly 30 years. ms. wagner: that is why i co-sponsored the working families flexibility act of 2013 which allows employees the choice, voluntary choice, of paid time off or comp time in lieu of cash wages for overtime. the working families flexibility act is commonsense legislation that will help balance the needs of family life and the workplace and i urge my colleagues to support this -- to support this measure and make life work a little easier for all americans. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address he house for one

minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. hanabusa: mr. speaker, we have heard the word sequestration, sequester, they have now become household terms. but when the budget control act of 2011 became law, no one intended sequestration would take place. in fact, everyone thought it would be so devastating that neither political party would let it stand. well, mr. speaker, it stands. at every opportunity to repeal sequestration, it has not appened. yet we know congress can work to adress the impact if it hits the front page of the paper. our republican colleagues did so for the f.a.a. but it is now time for taos act. what about the children's head start program? what about fema for the victims of hurricane sandy? what about nutrition for women and children, also called wic? we need to compromise and these -- in these and other major programs, just like the f.a.a. we need the republicans to come

to the table for the ben tit p of the people. wouldn't it be great if we could finally repeal sequestration? i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek reck fission? the -- recognition? the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, is recognized. mr. sessions: mr. speaker a few hours ago, we had an opportunity to welcome the president of south korea to this great body to listen to her words about how america, through not only our foreign policy but also with our united states military, helped south korea to overcome the forces of communism from the north and from china. we heard the president speak about economic growth and vitality of her people. of the korean people who want more and better friendship with america. but the underlying theme was,

economic freedom. freedom for her people. freedom for people to make their own decisions. this is consistent with the message we heard from the last speaker that we had, head of a foreign government, from mexico, who spoke about how mexico is going to aim of g.d.p. growth of 6%. mr. speaker, it is time that we here in america catch on to what our allies are doing all across the globe. that is seeking economic freedom, economic growth and jobs for all of their people. we should be doing the same thing in this country. mr. speaker, that's why the republican party is trying to grow jobs and make sure life is better for americans now. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. for the last few months i have been proud to work on building out the infrastructure of our nation. i had the opportunity to file legislation to reinforce one of the major cornerstones of that infrastructure, access to colleges and yuferes. act ed the student aid that will afford students greater access to student aid. the cost of tuition continues to rise. in texas, tuition and fees at public institutions have increased over 90% at since 2003. meanwhile, students and families are left looking for ways to keep their higher education affordable. we have seen students rely more heavily on loans to keep their education affordable. 50% of direct student aid comes in student loans this would remove barriers that are

preventing our institutions of higher education from promoting affordable, state-based alternatives. mr. castro spock -- mr. castro: these loans can be forgiven and will not cost federal, state, or local governments a single dime. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio seek registration in addition? the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for one minute. ms. kaptur: mr. speaker, it is two months since mindless across the board sequestration cuts were enacting, crippling services americans relie on, such as social security processes at offices around the country. there's another earned benefit being cut. unemployment benefits. republicans keep rewarding the super rich while cutting unemployment benefits. when you cut benefits you not

only hurt men and women who are looking for work, you actually hurt economic recovery. fact, unemployment checks pump money back into local communities, helping the economy to recover. where does the money go? groceries, gasoline, school clothing, rent payments, basics. the u.s. department of labor, during the bush administration, found that every dollar spent on unemployment benefits pumped $2 back into the local economy. it's a good deal. therefore, sequestration cuts in unemployment compensation inflict pain not only on jobless families but harm economic growth in a major way. i call on my republican colleagues to come to the table, compromise, reverse the mindless sequester that is cutting unemployment benefits. let's celebrate mother's day by paying workers their full earned benefits, not imposing more worry on the unemployed

among america's working families itch yield back my remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expyred. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to speak against house resolution 1406, misnamed the working families flexibility act. feeding a family, paying our bills, and making sure that our scrids what they need, for most of us, those are the core things we worry about each month and they all involve money. however, h r. 1406 which would be more appropriately nailed the working families get less act, does nothing for those working families who are struggling to make ends meet. mr. gayay go: the bill fail -- mr. gallego: the legislation

ends overtime pay by allowing an employer to give time off instead. supporters say it gives working mothers more flexibility because they have the option of spending their time at home. that's the flexible. but no matter how you slice it, you cannot feed a family with time off. every hour of work matters to family's bottom line. it's a factor in food and clothing and keeping a roof over your head. i urge a no vote on this bill that takes the money out of the pocks of working women and families in texas an across the country. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, seek recognition? mr. sessions: thank you very much i by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 202 an ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. caller: house calendar number 23, house resolution 202, resolved that upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in

order to consider in the house the bill h reform 807 to require that the government prioritize all obligations on the debt held by the public in the event that the debt limit is reached. all points of order against conversation of -- consideration of the bill are waved. the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on ways and means now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. the bill as amended shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means, two, the further amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution if offered by representative camp of michigan or his designee

which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, shall be separately the baitable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question, and three, one motion to recommit with or without instructions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, is recognized for one hour. mr. sessions: thank you very much. for the purposes of debate only, i yield the customary 350 minutes to the gentlewoman, the ranking member of the committee on rule the gentlewoman from new york, my friend, ms. slaughter, pending which, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for such time as he wishes to consume. mr. sessions: during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded to is for purposes of debate only. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. house resolution 202 provides for a structured rule for

consideration of h.r. 807. it provides the furnt members of the minority and the majority to participate in this debate. today, mr. speaker, we have an opportunity to guarantee the full faith and credit of the united states for generations to come by ensuring that our nation will never default on our debt obligations. functionally, h.r. 807, the full faith and credit act of 2013, ensures that the treasury department will continue to make payments on the principal and interest of our debt including debt held by the social security trust fund, in the event that the statutory debt limit is reached. requiring the treasury to make good on its obligations to the social security trust fund will ensure that those funds are available to honor our commitment to seniors and disabled americans. moreover, h.r. 807 provides certainly to investors, small

piss, retirees, pension ben -- small businesses, retirees, bention beneficiaries, that we will never harm our economy by allowing this nation to default on its debts. in a larger sense it is our opportunity to engage in a public forum, the treasury department and the administration, on what we believe is the right way to engage in discussions about how we will move forward in uncharted territories as it's dealing with the financial difficulties of our country. however, today's debate is symptomatic of the larger problem. for far too long our federal government has spent too much money and borrowed too much. we have spent money and not listened to the american people, nor looked ahead at the consequences of spending too

much, saving too little and not creating jobs that will help to sustain the american dream, the next generation and the systems which we hold so dear to the american system. house republicans come to the floor under the leadership of our great ways and means chairman, dave camp, and some ideas that have come from congressman tom mcclintock of california, and we are working on ideas with commonsense solutions to cut wasteful spending, reform and entitlement programs to balance the budget in a way that furthers our country, strengthens what we do and makes sure we are ready for tomorrow. yet, at almost every turn, including yesterday up in the rouching upstairs, our colleagues -- in the rules committee upstairs, our colleagues pushed for higher

taxes and more spending. happens almost every single day, every single bill we bring before the rules committee, a demand to increase spending and increase taxes. our nation does not have a taxing problem. it has a spending problem, and until we enact meaningful reforms, we will not improve our dire financial dilemma and the circumstances that come with trying to manage a problem instead of a growth opportunity to make our country stronger. today, the american economy is struggling and has been struggling now in our fifth year to regain momentum and is burdened by massive amounts of federal spending and federal debt. allowing our nation to default would severely hinder what little growth there is, potentially causing the u.s. to slip back into another

recession. and risk another downgrading of our credit rating. for these reasons default is unacceptable, and that is why house republicans, we think weeks, perhaps months, to finally address this issue, we think it's time our ideas are on the floor of the house of representatives talking openly, not just among ourselves and with the administration, but also the american people and that is the purpose of us being here today. house republicans are willing to work with our colleagues in the senate also and also at the white house and we'd like to find a compromise that would raise the debt limit while simultaneously enacting meaningful legislation that will fix our nation's broken tax system. we need to create jobs through job enrichment, through a tax code that is vibrant and does

not harm job creation, that does not do things that would cause people to want to not invest in this country because of taxes that are out of control and spending that harms their business. so we want to rein in our out-of-control spending and reform our ballooning entitlement programs to preserve them for generations to come. it should be our responsibility . we as members of congress were elected by people, and we should be able to come and face tough issues with good answers. we should not try and scare people back home. we should be able to tell the truth about the legislation, and we need to be honest about the circumstances of the pathway that we remain on because of our president's and the democrats' agenda. so unfortunately president obama has already stated that he's unwilling to negotiate with the house or the senate

over the debt limit. it is this president, when he was a senator, who voted repeatedly against the debt limit increase. called it irresponsible and a lack of leadership, and yet today he says just give him all the power, he'll take care of this himself. as such, the bill before us today is a necessary and prudent safety net designed to avoid economic calamity should we reach the debt limit and not have resolved that between the house, the senate and the president. i applaud congressman tom mcclintock, my dear friend from california, and our great young chairman from michigan, dave camp. chairman of the ways and means committee, each of them bring their work product to the floor today as well as many of our other colleagues, such as my rules committee member, the young man from orlando, florida, dan webster, who

brought forth ideas that would help shape, not only the legislation we have today but the desire of the republican conference to make sure we continue to talk about the issues and problems that we see before they become a crisis, before they become something that is unworkable and rather to share our great ideas now. so for the timeless work on this issue, i thank all three of them for working on this bill today. i encourage my colleagues to vote yes. i encourage them to vote yes on the rule. i encourage them to be thoughtful and truthful about the legislation, and i reserve he balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york, ms. slaughter, is recognized. ms. slaughter: i thank my friend from texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, before i really begin, i want

to make clear what the president said in his statement of disapproval and veto that he would not negotiate over this foolish bill. he was not going to negotiate what to do if we go into default because his intent as well as the intent of the democrat party is not to default. it's honest. instead of really talking about today lifting the debt limit, we're going to discuss the usual do-nothing legislative agenda. let's pass one house bill that the senate will not touch and the president won't see which once, we do here sometimes twice a week. instead of wasting time on a bill that could be characterized as redundant, like we do the 35, 36 times we voted against health care, the majority is now considering legislation that goes into the realm of the precarious.

regardless of whether this legislation before us is approved by this chamber, the fact that the majority is trying to manage economic default is by itself is threat to our economy. both the treasury and outside experts have made clear that picking and choosing which debts we pay is legally questionable and logistically impossible. the president has, as my he eagues said, warned that will unequivocally veto it. the majority is moving ahead with the proposal and debate that puts us on the road to default. they do so even as "the washington post" reports this morning that the economy is improving, revenues are up and spending is down which undermines the stream of doom that we hear. but today the irresponsible actions of the majority are once again needlessly endangering the economic recovery.

let me be clear, the legislation does not raise the debt ceiling, which is -- the bill guarantees when we hit the debt ceiling our foreign creditors and the social security trust fund will be paid in full. while vendors and people we owe legitimate debts to are left to chance. under this legislation, the majority is putting the interest of china before millions of americans, including active military service members, veterans and even the men and women who clean the floors of the capitol and fold napkins in the members' dining room. every single one of these citizens rely upon their paycheck and upon the united states to pay their debts in order to put food on their tables and make ends meet. the majority is proposing that the welfare of these americans are left to chance while they

protect china and foreign bondholders from the threat of default. in addition, the majority is endangering the regular payments owed to infrastructure projects, food safety inspectors, public health research, a reckless plan that would directly hurt the most vulnerable members of society who already struggle in this sequestration to get by. the fact who we choose to repay when we default on our debt is an act that will threaten to throw our economy back into recession. during a recent hearing of the committee on ways and means, the m.i.t. economist, simon johnson, warned that if we default on even a portion of our debt, the unemployment rate would more than double, countless companies would go out of business and investors would flee the united states. meanwhile, the "economist" magazine has written, quote, failure to raise the debt ceiling would force immediate spending cuts equal to 6% of

g.d.p. not only will that threaten to send the economy back into recession, it would also deprive doctors, pensioners, contractors, millions of others the money needed to meet their own obligations and set off a chain reaction of defaults. even a few days' default would royal global financial system which relice on treasuries in countless -- relies on treasuries in countless transactions. the mere possibility could dump holdings, driving up interest rates, end quote. tony, a former spokesperson for president george w. bush said, quote, prioritization is impossible. is the government really going to be in the position of withholding benefits, salaries, rent contractual payments and so forth in order to pay off treasury bondholders? that would be a political catastrophe, end quote. should be clear by now that

to bring in bills like this could scare investors and endanger our economy. this type of economic brinksmanship is extremely dangerous. the majority's games are compounded by their disinterest in repealing the sequester. as we speak, the sequester is preventing thousands of cancer patients from receiving life-saving treatment, keeping thousands more children from receiving the education. think 70,000 is the figure through the head start program. this simply won't go away because we -- tragically, the majority's willingness to endanger our economy is not new. in august of 2011, the majority headed down the road to default for the first time in our history. by threatening to default on our debts. despite the opportunity to reach compromise with the administration, the majority

plated a zero some political game and because of their actions august, 2011, was the worst month for job creation in three years. the dow jones industrial average plunged 2,000 points, and our nation's credit rating was downgraded for the very first time. the effects were very real and very dangerous. a responsible legislative body would never head down that road again a second time, but that's exactly what we're doing here today. for more than 225 years, this chamber has been dedicated to preserving the order and stability of our government. even in the most partisan of times. despite their differences, generation after generation of legislators has known that when it comes to the integrity of our nation, we must succeed together or else fall alone. dangerously in the last two years, the majority has taken

step after step to undermine the central pillar of our government, including the proposal that they put forward today. we frequently done so through closed legislative process, and while the majority states today's legislation is moving forward under a structured rule, it is only structured for the members of the majority. for the second time this week, the majority's bringing forth a rule that denies consideration of a single democrat amendment. as a result, we debate a dangerous proposal and one that puts china before the welfare of the american people and the economic stability of the united states. yesterday, the speaker of the house was asked if the proposal laid before us would indeed pay china before paying u.s. troops . he admitted that it would and said, quote, listen, those who have london us money, like in any other proceeding, if you

will, court proceeding, the bondholders usually get paid first. same thing here. unquote. that simple statement tells us what we need to know. i refuse to put china's interests before the interests of the american people, and i refuse to sit silently as the majority moves us one step closer to default. i urge my colleagues to please vote no on today's rule and the underlying legislation, and i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york reserves her time. the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions. mr. sessions: thank you very much. one of the members of congress that i spoke about that not only brought pieces of this legislation to the ways and means committee, but really as part of a debate for our conference and to the american people is our next speaker. i'd like to yield if i could at this time five minutes to the gentleman from elk grove, california, congressman mcclintock. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for five minutes. mr. mccoc