-- betting on the existence of weapons of mass destruction. in syria, we have the undeniable proof that chemical weapons have already in unleashed with horrific results. the entire world can see the true, there are always risks that accompany the use of military force. a rangewhy we're taking of responsible measures in the region. event -- in this event we do not assess that a limited military strike will rule the -- release on intended actions in the region. assad's allies would be more than foolish to take on the forces of the united states or our allies. obama,ow that president

throughout his presidency, has amply demonstrated he will not hesitate to defend our nation, our citizens, and our allies against threats to our security. the limited strikes that the president plans are necessary, and appropriate. which is why they have garnered support on both sides of the political aisle. leaders haveate declared their full support. for and policy expert from the left right and center have strongly endorsed the action. there are many nonpartisan issues left in washington. this is one, or at least it should be. president obama has asked congress for their support. as the elected representatives of the american people about because he knows that investing the legislated -- legislative

branch in our policy choices helps ensure maximum potency. >> we are going to leave this susan rice taped event from earlier. >> i am buck mckeon, chairman of the house armed service committee. we have not had a chance, between us to talk, over much of this, so i do not know exactly where adam is on all of this. major overlaying concern. i appreciate the president and the administration reaching out to us, to members of congress to bring everybody up to date on things, and try to answer questions as many congress members have.

ourave had opportunity for members of the committee to ask and receive answers to their questions. now at 5:00, the principles are going to be up here to inform the whole congress on the latest happenings, the latest intelligence. we have been able to get a lot of rethinks in the last week and 10 days. many members of congress have not been able to get that, and they're just getting them permission now. tomorrow we will learn from the armed services committee and the concerned that i have is that i think it is immoral to continue to ask our men and women in uniform to go out and carry out missions without having all of the equipment, tools, training, and things that they need to return home safely.

sequestration has been hanging over their heads now for a year. they have not had a budget for the last several years. we've been operating on continued resolutions to my and it seems to me that this is an august -- this is a wonderful opportunity for us to come together to solve multiple problems. the funding for this year for the government runs out the end of this month. we have not passed the appropriation builds, we have not passed a continuing resolutions to i asked the -- continuing resolutions. i asked the president last week, i told him my concerns at the end of the meeting, he said he understood my concerns on sequestration, and he would like to fix it also. last friday i asked for a waiting we are still for response. i am sure the president is very busy this week. he has a lot on his plate. i think it is a wonderful

opportunity for many of us to come together to try to resolve the problem in syria and the problem that we are facing in our military. adam? thehank you, i appreciate bridge in would have today -- raising we had today. i want all the members to be as informed as possible on this decision. this concern about sequestration, i would not tie these issues together, but i would like to see a result -- results. -- resolved. we're working on a plan to see how we would hold assad accountable for the use of these weapons. how this counterstrike would really impact things in series. -- syria. i look forward to further briefings and hearings and getting information on what the plan is going forward. i think we're going to answer

couple of questions. >> interactive is raising your undecided -- even after this briefing your undecided? are these issues that you're not getting in these briefings? >> is something you have to think about it, it is not like a math problem or is committing get a solution. there are a lot of things you contemplate. this is a very important decision, and i'm going to give as much time as i need to myself to gather information. >> do you have a proposal that you would like to make to the president, just to get rid of the sequester part for the year? a year ortted a bill a year and a half ago now to take care of all of sequestration for a year. to move it back wall we passed other bills. those kinds of things need to be done. i think it is a great opportunity. i think people are really andsed on the continuing

ongoing problems confronting our military. the president, in the last couple of years served the troops in afghanistan, but then he cut the military branches and -- budget. to ad transfer of strategy pacific strategy and then cut the military budget. i think,sing, irreparable harm, and we need to address it. i think it is every bit as important, and i think does something, what everybody is focused, a good time to come together to fix this problem. >> what about the amendment later this week? are they considering it? >> we will see. >> do you have any reaction to the proposal proposed by the russians today to have syria give over there chemical weapons?

something, that is something that came up in the meeting. that is something that the secretary of state and the president or greg. look at very carefully. are going to have to look at very carefully. to go off don't need onto changes to just cause more delay. i think it is something that we are pursuing. i think anything that can save us from going into another war is worth pursuing. >> do you have a reaction to the russians? course i have to agree with what he said. it is not real at this point it is been offered, we have not heard the syria spots -- res ponse. for syria to give up all of their chemical weapons would be the best possible response. >> do you think that would be a credible offer, but do you think this is just a delay tactic?

>> it is hard to say at this point. >> does the it ministration give any sense of how seriously their contemplate this proposal? a we have intel, and we have military intel, we do not have the state department. that is something where that is meeting to be addressed in the process. i think right now we are talking in the hypotheticals, and until there is some chance to really look at and studied, i would just -- >> i just came from a meeting that was both republicans and democrats, and they are rightly skeptical. in the main chance, it is just first impressions right now. certainly, you have to be supped ago about it -- you have to be skeptical about it. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> you have been watching live coverage of a quick media rest conference by representatives

buck mckeon and adam smith, chair and ranking member of the armed services committee in the house. washington remains very focused on what is going on in syria and the potential military action. hissenate has introduced resolution, and members on the senate floor are talking about that. we have three of four meeting positions up on capitol hill. this one right here you can see now, we're showing you members going into a members only briefing by secretary hegel and joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey. that is happening right now, so the members are going into the sip -- secure briefing room to hear from them. the white house held a link only briefing as well this morning -- --engthy briefing this well

as well this morning. , the senate ise due to vote on his resolution. theednesday, and right now that nineis reporting republicans are leaning yes on that resolution, 17 democrats are leaning yes, but 16 republicans are leaning no, and six democrats are leaning yes. undecided, only about 52 members right now have reported in which way they are leaning, will or which way they are voting. we're watching live coverage from the capitol complex with members going into the rabbit raising. senator bob corker is live on the senate side, let's listen in to him. >> this is an important time for him.

he needs to make his case. to senateis coming up democrats tomorrow. i understand they made the same offer, or at least i hope he did, we are trying to verify that. hementioned last night that did with republicans. this is a big week. he has to make a really strong case. i did mention to him last night that i thought the comments in sweden were not particularly helpful. being thethe red line world's redline. there are many of us, me in particular, who while we care deeply about chemical weapons and certainly know that that is involved in the national norms and everything that we stand for the country, i am very supportive of this trade but a big elephant to me -- of this.

is theig elements to me help of the united states of america. commander-in-chief, whether you like him or not, whether you supportive and not, when it comes to dealing with other issues in the region and other issues around the world, that is an important these of our foreign policy, and certainly people will be watching. that he will reestablish that this was a red line for him, and for the united states of america, and take ownership of the issue. it is a big week. i know there are conversations that they meet -- that may be taking place. it is difficult to tell whether it is serious or not regarding russia and syria and the potential develop than relative -- development relative to chemical weapons. what i know is this, is that there is no way that those discussions are even real.

it is very difficult to determine if those are real statements backed by real desires to do something about the chemical weapons in syria. willw those discussions not be taking place with what happened last week in the foreign relations committee. [indiscernible] >> it is very difficult to know if it is real, what do -- under what timeframe frame, and what serious response will be. i do not think you guys will be even asking questions about how the united states foreign relations committee, the united states senate for galatians committee -- foreign relations committee had not done what we had done last week by passing authorization. president, to me, has got to make a case for the american

people. he estimate a case to the united states senate, and i'm thrilled that he has come to congress asking for this authorization. i think that was important. i support the authorization, i think he did some good we -- we did some good work last week narrowing it. thatany and ministration would send it up this way gave it very broad, and we tailored and narrowed it. i think it is a very good authorization. again, i hope to support it. it is now to the president took him to con aggress and make his case -- to come to congress and make his case. yet, to be candid, i have to call in to the person who can most townley whether this is real or not, and expect you him -- to hear from very soon. i do not know the details of it right now. there has been a lot that has

happened. would bethink we having any discussion, or would they saying anything if we did not have what we had last week interested whether the waters are muddied or not, i looking for resolution. it matters to me not if things are complex or if the water is muddy. it matters to me if we get results. if this generates a result, fine. i cannot speak to the credibility of what is being reported today. >> what you think of this french governments -- been forward on these issues. li, wherein molly -- ma the french government has been forward, and i appreciate that. i do not know what has happened

over the last 24 hours, so i cannot speak to any of that in france, but i do appreciate the leadership that france is showing on an international issue. being, i think everything is open to assumption. thank you. threats on american television made by al-assad give you pause? this,get a vote in meaning united states decides what its course of action is, and no question, all participants get a vote. we do not know what the response might be. i understand the complexities of you take action you do not know what the -- action will be on the other side.

to display any degree of, i do not know what you might call it, arrogance, or you do not know what he other side is going to do. i do not think that is something , i know it is not way on my igh on my mind. the potential is there now quite iraq, iy, in a rock -- sat down with the king of jordan three weeks ago. it is already de-stabling jordan and lebanon. i understand the complexity of taking action. at the same time, i do think that we have other regional efforts, and i think it is very important for us to take a strong position regarding what

happens. i strongly support it, and i understand some very unfortunate things could happen as a result. action,r is taking no and what comes of that. i think those risks are greater than taking the kind of action that some described in private by our military leaders. said?t can what -- be >> i think a lot more clarity can come from his comments on what our position will be in syria. also, over the longer haul, over what our plan is. as i mentioned, i am very involved in the syrian issue. i was in syria before this came, and i am been back in the region three times this year. i am dismayed at this oninistration's lack of --

syria. i'm dismayed that we would publicly state that we would support them, and then to be humiliated in the refugee camps, we have not done the things we would told the -- we told the world we would do. strong on thevery fact that he has made a statement about what his red line is the it is his red line, and certainly the international isms and what his policy relative to syria and not over just the next few weeks, but the long-term. we have together make that term -- make that happen. i do support this authorization. , had we taken different actions earlier would we be here, i do not know. i think based on where we are

today, what we know today, i really do believe the authorization that we have crafted is the right course of action for our country. the president is the person that has to got to sell this to the american people, and he to sell it to the united states senate. i couldn't stress that more strongly last night. i hope he will rise to vacation and do the things he needs to do over the next several days. they do all very much. very much.u all corker,was senator bob republican of tennessee. he is at the very northern tip of the capital where the subway -- underground subway goes back to the senate office buildings. halfway in the capitolis the new visitor center. here is a stakeout position as it is called, where members are walking into a members only

briefing. s the serious situation -- situation, joint chiefs hegel and dempsey are there. we will continue to look at live events that are happening here in washington this evening on syria. we want to hear your voices on the congressional debate over syria, whether or not the house and senate should vote to support military action. we'll begin with a call from 10 in florida on our republican line. quickt a couple of points. i'm totally against this. reading the international newspapers, the killer leave the russian newspapers, 12 people were arrested with smuggling is easy toand it

draw the conclusion that the rebels or somebody among the it to is using to -- drag us into the conflict. birth defects are through the roof. endsurgeon needs to go in country opened but the fire out outside your body. iraq? do you feel about iraqwas totally against war in 1991. >> that was tim in florida, and this is jill in texas. i'm not for this war in syria , i do not think it is relevant, i think it is just a cover-up.

what is america, what are we going to demonstrate by going into syria? it is not iraq where you have the oil. africa, theret of is nothing for us there. what are we doing, what is the benefit? >> that was joe in texas, and this is robert in michigan. >> thank you for excepting the call. i'm totally against this thing, the veryen from beginning. i'm a veteran, my family is filled with them. i think iraq is a proxy for saudi arabia, and i think this llyjust total lead -- tota focusing on petrodollars. it has to stop right now. >> if you want to make a comment on our phone lines go to our .acebook or www.c-span.org

you can also make comments below previous comments. no to aican people say strike against syria. to ignores continues the american people, that. he will finally be obvious to a comment on our facebook page from danny says that we have ine powerful people congress, and i'm sorry i past the age to serve. the we're showing you is capitol visitors center, which is under the rotunda, underground on the east side of the capital. , museums, but it also has secure facilities for members of congress to go in for these types of members only

secure briefings. that is what we are watching members walk by. minutes ago,t 25 so some members are showing up a little belated, but that is why you're not seeing many members. we want to show you another shot were media is hanging out a little bit outside the capital. some senators are walking down to this position on the way back to the offices, and as they do they are talking about syria. the senate majority leader on c- span2 is talking about the resolution to the senate. they're coming to the floor of the senate on their own coats of and senator indiana has spoken. kirsten gillibrand of new york has also just recently spoken. some are for, some are against, and some are not sure where

they're going. we'll continue to take your calls and track these live events. it'snd quincy mats as jews -- in massachusetts. >> i am against this whole situation in the middle east. i've been against it for a long time. i believe that we should just take all of our troops and get out of their totally. i'm fed up on what is going on. of it't even take care does it people dying on the -- innocent people dying on the streets. tired of the countries. i am done with that, but i have just had it. tim on the democrats line. >> i'm totally against the war two. i think it is russia's place,

because it is in their backyard to deal with the problem. i think the russian president over there as more a cowboy and more sophisticated will -- then our own president. i'm a democrat, and i'm ashamed of what we have in the united states office. no leadership at all good it is is only not a leader, but the wrong person for the job. it comes to a redlining chemical viewns, is that in your needing to be any sort of international response? countriese other backing hemp, yes, because even bush, because even i didn't like had the backing of other countries. he didn't just go in there wanting to go in there to prove his point. this president is wrong. he needs to grow up.

>> that is tim and ohio. greg is in north carolina, on the independent line. >> good day, how are you? i would like to say that i syria.letely against we need to look after our people and the united states. we need to secure our own borders. nobody is for this, it seems. and rechecktep back ourcountry -- protect country. if anybody makes a threat on the united states, that is my red. you do not read the united states -- threaten the united states that's how i feel about it. -if you cannot get through on the phone line, you can go to #

cspanchat. molly says we should take action in syria, they are getting away with a clear violation in universal warlock. we will have to wait from here -- to hear from that group later. hillary clinton was at the white house to talk about a different event protecting wild, exotic animals, but took questions on syria. -- wel show you two that will show you that a little bit later. susan rice spoke at a think tank today. we showed you that. we will be showing reaction. now it is time to hear your voices.

lois, pennsylvania, democrats line. in favor.t issue.ve it is a you a u.n. >> joe, las vegas. >> i do not believe we should be going in alone. i do not have faith in this president. he lied about benghazi, fast and furious, but i do not trust him. if it was possible to get you .n. backing, that is a different story, and to go it alone, i do not back that. it is a heinous act what happened in syria, and if we cannot get the u.n. to access, but to go alone with this president, i cannot go for that. it makes no sense. >> thank you for calling in.

a member of the house intelligence to midi, came to the stake out earlier. here are his remarks. >> hi. where do you think things stand with regard to trying to convince house republicans? you were at the white house today. >> basically -- let me just turn this thing off -- sorry. the white house and met with denis mcdonough, and it is going to be difficult to move individual members of congress. others who support the concept of the attack. the president addresses the nation and the white house makes

an effort. that will hopefully change the public nature of the debate, and there will be less difficulty to bring republicans along. the president has to show -- basically, mr. mcdonough wanted us to give some advice as to how republicans could be persuaded. he showed that this is a national security threat. it is not just syria, not just the atrocities, as bad as they are, and to tie in israel, jordan, what the stakes are for the united states and the connection between serious and air ran -- between syria and air iran if we do not take action now, and to make sure that he has a comprehensive plan, saying that congress is needed, and that he cannot act. it is his red line. he has to make firm he has a

plan that intends to follow through in the. some of the democrats want to show it is a limited attack, but if he expects republicans to come on board, we do not want on attack for the sake of an attack. >> did you get the impression that was taken into account and will be incorporated? >> we will see. they have competing interests. now they have given it to congress. that is what makes this more difficult. i have a good relationship with ms. mcdonough, and they will take it into account as much as possible. if he wants the public of votes, a chance, he has to show us a comprehensive strategy, that he is strongly behind it, and this is really in our national

interests to follow through. >> have you ever been asked to the obama white house on advice on how to lobby members of congress or the broader american public? >> i worked with the clinton white house on several issues. this is the first time for the obama white house. >> what does that tell you? >> it shows you they need the votes. this is a serious issue and they realize their message has not worked, and i give them credit for reaching out, and hopefully it can work, but it is getting late. a lot depends on what he says tomorrow night. he cannot say he is going to do a better job than president bush. it has to be an american unified national effort and he needs to show he is serious about it. >> why is there a message not working? what do they need to say differently? >> i have not heard a can hear argument.herent

has the president shown by his body language that this is serious to him, because not to trivialize it, but to say all week, two weeks ago, that approval was not needed, and then to say that he was going to add approval, and then the optics of it, going to play golf, owing to sweden, saying that it is not his red line -- it did not show a seriousness of her business. to show how are serious this is to the world, and he has a conference of plan. >> is the dye already not cast? we have been talking this for eight days and it does nothing to move the meter. it is almost a recoverable. >> we will have to see. we can never underestimate the power of the white house, the bully pulpit of the president,

and if he and all the elements of the white house reached out -- the president can make a strong statement in, if members of the staff can't reach out individual members, to show them the importance, and it can be done. i would never underestimate the power of any president to influence public opinion, but it has to be done in a way that emphasizes the national security interests, not just syria, as tragic as it is what happened to those children in syria, we have to show how it directly relates to the american >> lives. what does the president need to say to sway public opinion? >> he has to show and find his way to do it it that this is an ,merica's national interests and it involves the entire region, and the access or alliance between syria and iran and if we cannot stop stearate

to enforce the red line, how can we expect iran? the immediate ones will be israel, jordan, the middle east, and the axis alliance between serious and iran and how that threatens the united states. president fails to get support, do you think you should go ahead with the military strikes? >> i believe the president has the legal authority to do that. it will be up to him to evaluate at that time. let's go one step at a time. i felt from the beginning that the president had the authority to do it, which is why i thought it was a mistake on a type of mission such as this to be creating 535 commanders in chief. >> any thoughts on russia? secretary clinton was outside the white house.

and i saw what she said on russia. i do not want to get ahead of the administration. they will evaluate that. this is something very new. see how real it is, whether or not this will be a dealing tactics and how much of a role we want to give russia as far as having an influence of what goes on in the middle east. ok? thank you. >> would you trust the russians? >> it is a question of laying it out, and then you have to lay out the situation. i do not want to speak for them. sometimes you have to shake hands with the devil. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> that was peter king of the house. also a member of the intelligence committee, speaking to cameras earlier today. we will put the phone numbers back up on the screen. we want to hear your voices. the president is having lunch with senate republicans tomorrow

on capitol hill, and there is a hearing at 10:00 a.m., and it is with secretaries kerry and hagel dempsey. chiefs head we will bring you this live at 10:00 a.m. you can watch it there. next call on congressional action on syria comes from christina in san diego. republican. >> hello. >> hi. >> i am thoroughly against this because our president has flip- flopped so many times. first he drew the red line. now the world through the red line and the world has clearly said that england was going to go with us, and they went to the parliament and they said no. so i think honestly that there is no american interest.

they have proven no threat to the united states. it would be illegal for a president to actually go and do a military action against syria. >> did you feel differently about the iraq war or consistently? >> actually, i felt we should have gone to a rack -- to iraq because we felt that the terrorist that attacked us are coming from that area. it is the reason that i felt we should have gone there. >> 20 about the potential use of chemical weapons? potential usehe of chemical weapons, it is wrong. it is devastating that these children have suffered so, but he has waited this long? he could have convened congress convened 48 hours to

congress, and he did not. he played golf. >> memphis, please go ahead with your comments. >> this is terry in memphis. i'm a democrat on a republic of line, because i am from tennessee. i urge my senators to vote yes thehis authorization to use armed services in syria. >> why do you support it, why do you support military action? we areain reason is that overlooking the fact that we are in the middle east and we have to look out for our national interests trade one of our national interests is protecting israel. israel has been an ally of ours, and if we let this guy assad had his way, and what is to prevent him from harming his bombs with these chemical weapons and

dropping them on israel? sometimes we get so selfish about our personal interests that we overlooked and national interests of our neighbors as well. we live in an international community, and actually the world -- before world war ii. thank you for calling in today. are live from texas. what are your thoughts? the situationhat is is very dire. have is an that i and whatn with iran the president needs to do is direct warning that

, they willack israel have consequences. must.at is an extreme simplyainst this strike because of the escalation that it would incur. --ple do not understand that >> i think we got the idea from your call. 1500 peoples in were killed indiscriminately by chemical weapons. some thing has to be done. and victor is calling us from tucson on our democrats line. hi, victor. >> i just wanted to say these weapons of mass destruction in serious is -- that syria is

harboring and continuing to deny them using them, we need to get in there. he need to get everybody on the right page and realize this is something that has to be stopped. these atrocities are happening over and over and over eerie elderly, women, people are getting gassed and nothing is done about it. the president needs to get in there. this should have happened long ago. those are my sincere feelings. >> how did you feel about the iraq war? >> seeing that nothing was really found there, weapons of distraction, nothing that could take out tens of thousands of people in one shot, i was leery about it. in all the proof that has been put out in this syrian investigation and the u.n. investigation, we have to do

something. that is what the united states stands for. we are the world's authority. we need to get in there. >> another tweet. you can see the handle that this person tweets on. we have yet to see proof of assad's involvement. how can we make such a decision without it? the rush to judgment says a lot. jim in idaho, democrats line. >> hi. i just do not see how we can not take action. this man is not our friend. anybody that thinks he is is foolish, and there is nothing that is going to keep them from coming over here and attacking us on our soil. just look what happened with al qaeda and osama bin laden. >> that is jim in boise, idaho, and again, senator reid in the senate has introduced the syrian

a solution. members of the senate are going up to the floor from time to time and speaking about it. a couple that have spoken were senators dan coates, and he stated that he was unsure about how he was going to vote, even though he was at the white house earlier today. senator ben nelson of -- bill nelson, democrat of florida, is in support of it. senator barbara mikulski from maryland said she was in support of the syrian resolution. other members who have spoken, senator bob menendez, supporting it as well. from time to time, members of the senate are going down to the floor and voicing their opinion on this issue. a former member of the senate and former secretary of state was at the white house complex today to talk about a separate issue, but she was asked about syria. and here is hillary clinton. >> before i get to the subject

at hand, i would like to say a few words about syria. debateous and important is underway in congress and around kitchen tables all over america. this is a challenge that has catalyzed the kind of debate that i think is good for our democracy. as you know, this is a fluid situation with statements from russia, syria, and others in the last several hours. i have just come from a meeting with president obama are we discussed the latest development , and three points in particular are at the heart of the decision our country and our congress has to make in the days ahead. first, as the president has said, the assad regime's in human use of weapons of mass destruction against innocent men, women, and children

violates a universal norm at the heart of our global order, and, therefore, it demands a strong response from the international community led by the united states. second, the international community cannot ignore the ongoing threat from the assad regime's stockpiles of chemical weapons. whether they are used again against syrian civilians or transferred to hezbollah or stolen by other terrorists, this is about protecting both the syrian people and our friends in the region. the world will have to feel with this threat as swiftly and comprehensively as possible. now, if the regime immediately surrendered its stockpiles to international control, as was suggested by secretary kerry and the russians, that would be an

important step. but this cannot be another obstruction.lay or and russia has to support the international community's efforts since early or be held to account. it is very important to note that this discussion that has taken hold today about potential international control over serious's stock -- over syria'ss -- over stockpiles, to could take place over those supporting syria like russia. as has been emphasized many times, and i did so as secretary of state, the broader conflict in syria is a threat to

regional stability and security of our allies and partners. as well as a humanitarian catastrophe for the syrian people and those neighboring countries attempting to absorb nowreds of thousands, more than 2 million refugees. achieving a political solution that ends the conflict is in the interests of the united states. it will require an intense and dramatic effort guided by the roadmap that was agreed to by the international community in geneva last year, in june of 2012. there was an agreement we hammered out that pointed the way forward. we need to get to the opportunity begin such negotiations to move toward a resolution. the president and i discussed these challenges today. i will continue to support his

efforts, and i hope that congress will support them as well. on your screen, the newest capitol complex. also reefingseum, rooms for members of congress, and there is a secure room where members of congress can go to hear members-only briefings, and that is where they are right now. several hundred of them, 435 of them in the house, on hundred in the senate, i do not know exactly how many are in there, but they are listening to defense secretary hagel and joint chiefs chair dempsey talk about the administration's position on potential syria action. this is why we have that live picture there. we saw them come in.

we also have another camera on the senate side. this is at the very northern tip of the u.s. capitol. down below their where they come down the escalators, the senators can take little subway cars to their senate office buildings. this is all underground. this is all part of the underground comics in the capitol, which is busy as a beehive when the congress is in. you can walk from the house of the senate underneath the ground, all the way across, through various tunnels. right now we are getting your reaction to the ongoing washington debate and congressional debate as well on syria and whether military action should occur. the numbers are going to go up on the screen. you can also contact highway of facebook, facebook.com/cspan or

cspanchat, and we will work those comments in as well. chris, you have been patient in tucson. the head with your comment about syria, congress, the president, etc. >> i have two issues. have given hime two weeks of that is we are thinking about this, so how effective will a strike going to be? the second issue i have with this is can we afford to go into another conflict with russia over syria? honestly, can we? >> chris in tucson, and this is ron in west lake village, california, democrats line. opposedactually always to the iraq war, and on the case my opinion isink

a bit different. i think it is a very complicated issue. it is a decision that is going to have to be made. something has to be done. assad should be tried as a war criminal. the u.s. is the only country that really has the capability of imposing something on them. >> why is this in your view different than iraq? >> the level of intelligence. during iraq, it was more like we think we he has these it was more like we think he has these weapons. intelligence says it has been used by them. hele in iraq it was we think has these weapons. it is more confirmed now.

the other thing, i believe if you have the ability to create direct change, it is your responsibility to do it. syria is in a state of complete devastation with the civil war. the u.s. is the only country with the means to come in and really hold assad account of all for his actions -- assad accountable for his actions. it was mass murder. >> this is david in west union, ohio. >> hi. how are you? i wanted to say, first of all, i support our president and the congress and what ever decision they make. i do not think we should go back to working, but i'm not military i do not know what is best for the nation, but i'm sure they will do the best they can and make the right decision.

thank you. >> calling from iowa, also on the independent line. you're on c-span. >> yes, i am against the military action in syria. >> why? >> i think we need to fix all our problems in this country first and i think that would keep the president and congress busy for quite a wild. we would not have to worry about trying to start something in a foreign country. >> and that is jim in iowa. did you feel the same way up doubt libya, iraq? did you feel the same way? >> i was against iraq. i was for afghanistan. i was afraid iraq was a trap. we feel for it. we have sunk so much money and time into it. now we cannot stand up for the things we should stand up for. >> i want to remind you that

house and senate, many members of the house and senate are in closed-door briefings with secretary hagel and joint chiefs chair dempsey. here is outside of that chamber where they are meeting. you can see the media stakeout is there waiting for members to come out of that, and if they do and speak to the cameras, we will try to bring that to you live. the house is due to come back into session at 6:30 p.m. eastern time, about a half-hour from now. there is some thought that that time is now lose because of this session going on. so we will be here with you live until at least 6:30. we will find out what is going to happen, what is going on, when they come back into session. they will be voting on two matters unrelated. we heard earlier members talking about how they would like though close -- the votes to happen in

the house this week. the senate is due to vote on wednesday on its resolution. the president is due to have lunch with senate republicans tomorrow at noon up on capitol hill. and there is a hearing again tomorrow, the same group that met last week with the senate, but the hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., and this is hagelaries kerry and and joint chiefs chair density, all meeting with house armed services committee, and this will be live on c-span3 tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. that house and senate will be in session on c-span and c-span2. in a house, 430 five members. about 239 have voiced an opinion , and at this moment, 32 members are leaning yes, 156 are

leaning no, and 93 are undecided. that equals about 281 members or so, i little more than half. 217 votes needed to pass or not pass a bill. you can see 156 are already know or leaning no, according to the hill newspaper. 435 total members. 217 needed to deny or pass anything. we will take another call here from michael in alabama on the republican line. what do you think about this> >> guesser, i think it is a bunch of crap. i'm a vietnam veteran. i think obama is trying to [indiscernible] i think they need to bring all our troops home and get them over here. thank you. >> roy is in texas.

hi. >> thank you for taking my call. >> go ahead, sir. >> i do not think we have any business in syria regardless of what side we help. they both hate us. they are taking our minds off of benghazi and other scandalous things. this is a guy version of facts. >> roy in texas. patricia on facebook. i do not believe in getting involved again in the middle east. it has been a quagmire for many years and will continue to be after we put millions of taxpayer dollars over there. just read the history books on that area. hudda writes in --

bob menendez of new jersey and theer of tennessee are chair and ranking members of the senate foreign relations committee. he spoke on the senate floor a little bit earlier today. >> we come to this chamber as we have many times before to make one of the most difficult decisions we are tasked to make among which is the authorization of u.s. military power, this time in syria, to respond to the horrific attack, including the use of chemical weapons of august 21 that took the lives of over 1429 syrians, including at least 426 children. the world is watching, and

america is waiting to see what we do in this chamber in response to the threat the world faces from those who crossed lines of human decency and used chemical weapons against anyone anywhere in the world. of that august 21 attack are sickening, and in my view the world cannot ignore the inhumanity and harbor of r of assad did -- the horro what assad did. i do not take the responsibility authorized military force lightly or make such decisions easily. i voted against the war in iraq, when every public polls said it was popular to vote for the war. i have been a strong advocate of a more robust draw down in

afghanistan. but today i urge my colleagues to support this tightly crafted, clearly focused resolution to give the president authorization to use military force in the face of this horrific crime against humanity. now, yes, there are clearly risks to any action we authorize , but the consequences of inaction, the the consequences from standing out from fully upholding the norms of international behavior are greater and graver still. future humanitarian disaster in syria, regional instability, loss of american credibility emboldenedworld, an iran and north korea, and disintegration of national -- of international law. this vote will be one of the most difficult any of us will be asked to make, but the american

people expect us to make those hard decisions and to take hard votes. they expect us to put aside political differences and personal ideologies, to forget partisanship and preconceptions, to even not necessarily follow where the wind is blowing. this is a moment i believe for profiles in courage, a moment for each of us to do what we know is right, based on what we know is the best interests of the united states regardless of what the political pundits will say. to be clear, authorization senator koror and i are introducing, and, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be listed as a action, is for focused with a clear understanding that american troops will not -- will

not be on the ground in comment. we have worked closely together to put politics aside, wade the facts, and pass a resolution that we believe is in the national security interests of the american people. i have said before and will say again this is not a declaration of war, but a declaration of our values. i want to thank senator corker. the ranking member, who has been a close partner in helping to taylor and focus the language of this resolution so it reflects the will of committee, the interests of the people, and at the same time gives the president authority he needs to respond to serious use of -- to syria's use of chemical weapons. what do we know? as i was in new jersey listening to citizens who came up to me, concerned, and it is important to say what we know? what we know is clear,

notwithstanding assad's interviews and denials. according to the the classified intelligence assessment, we know with high confidence that the syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack in the damascus suburbs on august 21. we know the buck stops with assad in his interview denials aside, we know he controls the regime's stockpiles of chemical agents, including mustard, sarah gas, and has thousands of vehicles capable of delivering them under his control. it is inconceivable and defies all logic that he would not know about the preparations and deployment of these perfect weapons. we know personnel involved in this program are carefully vetted to ensure loyalty to the regime and the skirting of the program. we know that chemical weapons

personnel from the syrian scientific studies and research center, touches a subordinate to the regime's ministry, were operating in the damascus suburbs from sunday, august 18 into early on the morning of wednesday, august 21, near an area that the regime uses to mix amico weapons, including sarin. and human intelligence, as well as geospatial intelligence, have shown regime activity in the preparation of chemicals prior to the attack, including the distribution and use of gas masks. and we also know that way or the attacks -- where the attacks took place, were from where the faces where assad controls into areas where rebels were fighting. and we know that the rebels do not have the wherewithal to have

the type of artillery that ultimately delivered these chemical weapons, nor do they have the access to these chemical weapons. of all these face facts, how can we be skeptical about assad's involvement? the buck stops with assad when it comes to these weapons. some are skeptical that we have not done enough to allow diplomacy to work. the fact is we have tried diplomacy. we have gone to the united nations on many occasions, and it has only bought assad more time. not was stranding -- notwithstanding russia hostile action -- offered to take action, which is only on the table because of the threat of the use of force, let's not forget it has been their

intransigence that brought us to this point in the first place. weekact is on august 28, a after the attack, russia blocked a united nations security council resolution that called for all necessary measures to be for anyd simply called state that uses chemical weapons to be held accountable. the russians cannot even accept a resolution that simply said that any state that uses chemical weapons should be held accountable. on the day of the attack, august 21, russia blocked a security council press statement, a simple press statement, expressing concern that chemical weapons might have been used. they could not support an expression of concern. on august 6, russia blocked another press statement what coming the news that a human investigations -- that a you and u.n.tigations -- a

investigations team would investigate these sites. a resolutionlocked , vetoed a resolution calling for an end to violence in ria, vetoed a draft resolution that would've condemned human rights violations. they blocked a press statement calling for humanitarian access to a besieged city and calling for syrian authorities to provide the united nations with humanitarian access. all of these actions that simply would have put the u.n. in a position to observe and possibly help they blocked. over the course of the conflict in syria, united states government, specifically the state department, has met consistently with its allies and partners as well as with syria's

neighbors to help repair the region to detect, prevent, and respond to the potential use of proliferation of chemical weapons. i think as ambassador power acknowledged in her remarks at the center for american progress united states, has regularly engaged with russians and iranians to attempt to get them to use their influence to stop the assad regime from using chemical weapons. and that very same day, on september 6, the united states and 10 other countries issued a statement condemning the assad regime's use of chemical weapons. since then 14 nations have also signed on to the statement.

it is only the threat by the president and this resolution that would drive russia anterior to the possibility of a negotiating table. the facts are clear. we have tried diplomacy. this action is not a choice of force or diplomacy. it is about both. it is about enforcing international norms that would leverage necessary you and action and bring about a political solution. youthose who want to see and security council action, those who want to push syria to sign an agreement, this resolution is the best half to getting there. let me finally say to my colleagues who believes that the authorization of the use of military force will be nothing more than -- i have heard this phrase several times -- than a

pinprick. this resolution will have your filevault con -- -- this resolution will have verifiable consequences. i believe this will prevent the proliferation of chemical weapons and their use by others in the world. the resolution will have clear consequences, but at the same time it is also not open ended. it appropriately narrows the scope, duration, and brett of the authority rented to meet congressional concerns. it is tightly tailored to give the president necessary and appropriate authority to use military force to respond to the use of weapons of mass protection in syria, the national security interests of the united states, allies, and partners, and the great syria's it has a to use these weapons in the future. it has are carmen for the determination that the use of military force is necessary, that appropriate useful means to

prevent the use of chemical syria has been used, and united states has a plan to achieve the goal of responding to the use of weapons of mass destruction by the syrian government and that the use of military force is consistent with broader goals of u.s. strategy toward syria including achieving a negotiated settlement to the conflict. and limitations specified as the resolution does not authorize the use of united states armed forces on the ground in syria for the purposes of combat operations, assuring there will be no boots on the ground. that authorization would end days, and congress would have the opportunity to pass a resolution of disapproval. provides for integrated strategy for seriocomic including a and plannedrrent

policy toward syria and a status report to the congress. has taught ustory harsh lessons when it comes to the use of chemical weapons. the images we have seen of children lying on the floor on august 21 were not the first images the world has ever seen of the harbors of chemical attacks. we saw them nearly 100 years ago in world war i. if we do not learn from and live by the weapons of the past, if we fail the test of history, they're destined and doomed to repeat it. if we allow the use of chemical weapons despite the world's harel at the gruesome and arafat use of those used at the beginning of the last century, and we risk the same harbors in the century. the test ofail history. others say that we cannot allow anyone to use chemical weapons again, that we can never allow such weapons to fall in the hands of state actors and

terrorists who would unleash them against america and america's allies around the world. i wonder make sure the ranking member gets time, i asked my. and be entered into the record. i believe this is in the national interests of the united states, and i passionately urge my colleagues to think about the consequences of inaction. i will be happy to yield to the ranking member. >> the senator from tennessee is recognize. >> i would like to thank the chairman for his comments, for of historical and offices what has occurred, and his comments regarding our ability to work together on this. i want to reiterate a point that the chairman made through his comments. i do not think any of us know whether the offers today that have been made from russia and the responses that have been given from syria -- i do not think we have any idea whether

there's credibility at present. what i do know is there would the absolutely zero conversation about that had our committee not passed an authorization on a 10- 7 vote and if we were not taking this up this week. i want to commend the chairman for his leadership on this issue. i have enjoyed working with him on this issue. i have enjoyed working with him on all the issues a lot of to syria and all the other things that we have done on a bipartisan way. it has been the tradition -- i know it has been the tradition of his body and when it comes to this, to set aside partisanship as was mentioned that moment ago and do things that are in the best interest of our nation. there is nothing more -- >> this is live. >> ambassador rice is in there, and let's understand a week after benghazi they had confidence that a video had

caused the attack on our consulates and that was not true. questioning intelligence, when you get answers that there is still developing intelligence, get back to me, i think it has to be conclusive. for those in which that matters, i am more concerned about the absence of a plan that actually makes additions for the syrian people and their neighbors better as a result of this raid. >> do your colleagues feel the same way? >> i believe they do not have the votes because they do not have a plan that meets the needs of the syrian people, the syrian committee, lebanese, shortly means. -- jordanians. all of them have concerns. youhat you are saying is doubt the evidence that the thinker is pointing at assad for this chemical attack? >> what i am saying is when

asking specific questions about evidence that should be available, director clapper did not have the answers to that, the evidence, but told me they are still in the process of developing it. i cannot go into specifics, but the fact that my questions coming, leads my concerns that more should arrive. still in that process of doing that investigation. that is due in a week. that is the timetable that people need to look to. my concern is are we giving a red light to chemical weapons and green light to another 100,000 people and displacing of other millions of serious? that is -- millions of syrians? i work with chemical weapons in the military many years ago.

the facts are currently not being presented as can supposedly as to that. i have confidence they will get us the fax, but it will leave the same questions, if you cannot eliminate the chemical weapons, you cannot stop the displacement of people and the loss of hundreds of thousands of more lives, then what purpose does the strike serve? >> what does this tell you about where this figure comes from? >> you would have to go to them for that. that avidence more about chemical weapon attack occurred or are they are trying to pin it to the assad regime? the do not know where classified line is. i only want to make clear that i asked russians for which the answer is we are working on the, the answer is coming. >> [indiscernible] efer ton i would do

ambassador rice, but my understanding is they are looking at it and would pursue it. that exit question of should we ingoing to a vote if that fact would serve the purpose they claim is most important, preventing the use of chemical weapons, when in fact an actual military strike will not eliminate assad's ability to deliver chemical weapons. >> are you considering delaying a vote? >> i cannot speak. >> do you think this is -- >> we did a lot of things with the soviets during the cold war that were positive, including work on nonproliferation and so on. my statement earlier that putin a smaller butt of still evil empire that opposes the united states and block s

it, has continued to support syria for purpose that are not good, i stand by. if the russians can in this case get weapons out of the hands of all parties come that is something we should work on. in fairness, russia will continue to support the assad administration the matter what they do. >> this meeting -- [indiscernible] >> he is still an evil man. >> would you be willing to -- [indiscernible] >> if in fact putin and for the sake of his sponsored nation -- if putin can get weapons out of the hands of assad for purposes that are in his best interests, then we should work with him. frankly, again, russians may or may not be able to deliver to us the elimination of chemical

weapons, but neither can this military strike. thank you. >> thank you. you're watching live coverage on c-span of capitol hill and some of the events going on up there with regard to potential .ongressional action on syria that was represented darrell issa coming out of the members -- only briefing with joint chiefs chair dempsey, and susan rice. we will wait for under members to come out. if they stop at the microphones, we will go live to then. the house is due act in at six: 40 5 p.m. eastern, so we have about -- the house is due back at six6:45 eastern. facebook.com/cspan.

you can vote on the pole, or make a comment at the top of our facebook page and continue the conversation there as well. if you go to twitter and want to #cspanchat, weg, are excepting those comments as well. >> thank you for taking my call. i support the president and the process and the resolution the .enate has hammered out it is a process. i have to say that anyone who childrens,bies and bullies do not understand the process, do not understand

restraint, and it is only violence that will stop them. and for these people that are saying no, they are so naïve to think that we would not be -- with this task in our country, you are naïve at best. a response do you think the u.s. should make? >> i am not sure that i think is what is being hammered out. i think what has been suggested ay be workable, but suggestion, is there a consideration, and the use of sanctions by the united nations if possible on the basis of the investigation and going forward with -- we cannot tell at this point, but i support the

president. >> that is lily in columbus, ohio, on the democrats line calling in. on the republican line up next is dora from nottingham, pennsylvania. and ilo, i am republican, am very sure that this is perhaps a quid pro quo for president obama to get some of his legislation he wants for his health care, and it is a win-win for halliburton, because if you look at the hiring practices now for the defense industry, for security firms, it will be a good year, and a way for the tea party to not look so bad when they pick whoever they want to pick. it is a win-win for republicans in any case. >> marry in california on democrats line. you are on c-span. >> i wanted to say that i like the rest of the american people,

i am against this war because it is based on lies just like iraq. the american people do not support al qaeda. we do not support cannibals who eat the hearts of soldiers. we do not support people who behead priests. we do not support [indiscernible] head to the dog. this is not what america stands for. we should not be supporting al qaeda in syria. these are terrorists who are terrorizing the people a syria. in may of this year, in turkey, syrian rebels were caught with gas. raq, iraqis found a cell of syrian rebels with sarin gas. inspectors, the

rebels had used sarin gas -- that was her testimony. mary will leave it there, in glendale, california. washington is laser focused on yria situation today. opened the issue in the senate. the senate will vote on that on on wednesday. tomorrow, a meeting at 10:00 a.m., meetings with hagel, kerry, the house armed services committee. the congressional black caucus was at the white house today, meeting with white house staff and the president, and they did not do a media availability

after their time at the white house, so we were unable to hear from them. that happened today, and that was about syria as well. the deputy national security adviser to the white house briefing along with jay carney. the president is having lunch with senate republicans tomorrow susan rice is that the closed- door briefing on capitol hill. tank.so spoke at a think i believe it was a center for american progress. she spoke there this morning. all of this is available at our website, www.c-span.org/syria. you can find all these events as they continue going on. right now we are listening to your voices. alex is on our republican line.

thanks for taking my call. we are in a really big catch-22 situation. if we don't go through with what the president had said, it will give a green light for other countries to use chemical weapons. just confiscating something like that after he has killed 1400 less people -- i don't believe that is punishment. into syria -- he had said there would be retribution for it. terrorist attacks or full on attacks via the government, or his allies. host: are you in the military? caller: yes. branch?at ranch --

caller: the army. host: were you deployed to afghanistan or iraq? caller: not as of yet. -- whogood friends word were deployed. we should handle the situation very carefully. have ourselves in a very big catch-22 situation. there's no good ending to this. host: what's the talk amongst the troops? a lot of us, we don't want to go into syria. we're hoping that the situation will be resolved -- to have to leave

you here. another member of congress coming to the podium. meetinge out of that realizing and being reminded that the president is strong. said, let's goho out and do the strike. now it's up to congress to either work with him, or not. i'm looking forward to his speech tomorrow night. i think it will be a major hisch, and that will be moment to convince not only congress, but the country that his proposal is the appropriate one. >> after friday's briefing, you said the people were struggling as to how syria is relevant. >> i even said to the president today when we spoke that i thought it was very important that he do that.

>> when you spoke to him today, did he explain -- >> yes. you will hear it. let me finish. i have get to a vote for it i have got to vote -- vote. i have got to vote. [inaudible] [laughter] it was a great meeting with the president. he spent an hour with us. [inaudible] >> i don't know, you have to ask them. -- him. [inaudible] proposal the russian if there's a way to disarm assad, we should try to pursue that.

i don't see the president slowing down. will look at that proposal, try to figure out how practical it is. i think he will be doing everything in his power to persuade the american people and as to his road forward. >> does the russian -- >> i don't believe that option would have been put forth if the president had failed to strongly state his position. that is something the press is missing. people keep asking about his legacy. before this matter came before the congress, there were people who were saying, if he was not doing enough -- that he was not doing enough in syria.

now he has said where he wants to go, and asked the country to come with him. i think he's waiting to see what congress does. allill be addressing us tomorrow, and i'm looking forward to that speech. thank you. that was representative of elijah cummings, democrat of maryland coming out of the closed-door briefing. us reporter with his back to it was talking early in the conversation with congressman cummings, that is chad per room -- of fox news. more continue to wait for members to come out of the close briefing, elijah cummings was at the white house with the congressional black process. -- aucus -- caucus. the president stopped into that meeting. when he said he had to vote, i think he was referencing a

congressional black caucus vote rather than houseboat. -- a house vote. it has been reported that the senate is delaying a test vote on authorizing u.s. military strikes against syria. majority leader harry reid says it would not be beneficial to hold the vote while international discussions continue regarding serious use of chemical weapons. -- syria's use of chemical weapons. get your views again. we have a few more minutes before the house comes back into session. dan tweets in, we should stand with the president if he would seek a diplomatic solution. on our independent line is alice in tarzana, california. i was involved with relief work with children after

world war ii. there were two children in holland who were terribly scarred. the only troops that were near them were the american troops. of thesee photographs children that needed a great deal of plastic surgery. if my story is true, then the american troops used phosphorus on the continent during world war ii. host: thanks, alice. joseph is in indiana. caller: first off, i don't believe in obama. well, i do believe that it should be done because of chemical warfare. i'm a 60-year-old vietnam veteran.

my feeling is, there's not a politician that's going to deny him now. he's going to get his airstrikes, which is wrong. i don't believe in putting ground troops out there, because they will all die. have enough problems in our country, and we should fix our problems first. why are we the big boy on the block? it's wrong. host: jacksonville, florida, on our republican line. i don't believe congress should vote on going into syria, like the man said ahead of me. we were born in the war, 1930's and 1940's. i disagreed with being in afghanistan and iraq. our young boys are dying before they have a chance to live. we are against the serious situation because of the

retaliation it will put on us and every american in the world. host: if chemical weapons were used, should there be some kind of retaliation? there should be a diplomatic way to work it, not go out there and just start killing everybody. we don't know who is good and who is bad in this country. host: larry in augusta, georgia. i would like to say that as far as i'm concerned, bashar al-assad is another hitler. we cannot afford to have another hitler in the middle east. the consequences for the whole world is very serious. makeomment i would like to concerning the ships stationed off the coast is that if the u.s. strikes and were to

accidentally hit the russian port in syria, it could lead to world war iii. this is carol on our democratic line. caller: hi. thank you. .'m from los angeles president obama is a noble guy who is doing the right thing. i'm a hundred percent hot -- behind him. let the people in our country and congress please get behind him now. president obama is doing the right thing. it's not going to lead to world war iii. thank you. it's for our security and israel's security and the security -- let's go in and do the strike. host: the house is due to come in and about four minutes.

they are in recess, subject to the call of the chair. the business they are conducting tonight is not about the syrian relations. ands business of the house, votes they will be taking on unrelated bills. we are not sure if that time is going to hold. not many members have come out from this members only briefing. we will show you the outside of the capitol visitors' center. willis where the members walk by when they leave this closed-door briefing. only a few have walked out. as you can see, we have our cameras there and we are live in case they do. a caller from jersey city, new jersey. syria, we have to go

there. [indiscernible] if we did not go there, the war will be continuous. this guy is a nazi, like hitler. he's killing all his people. no way to stop him. somebody has to stop him. we have to support president obama. thank you very much. host: the next call comes from patrick from lake city, florida, republican. i have a son-in-law who has been over there four times. anybody that has seen the children dead, laying on the seen theyone who has

burns on them, the huge amount of damage and human toll that assad has taken would be remiss in saying that we should not do anything with regards to going in there and doing the right thing, which is going in and making a strategic, well-planned attack on their sites. mr. obama has said he does not want to hit the palace or assad, but taking him out will be the number one way of showing the world that we mean business. we need to do it. i don't want to do it. come on, folks. let's vote for this. is speakingesident to the nation tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern time, and you can watch that on c-span. brandon in new york, democrat. i'm not for the serious strike.

however, i feel that our representatives in congress need to do a better job at listening to the people of our country. i come from a very liberal state. my state idea how senators are swaying on this issue. i know my local congressman has already came out and said he is for it, and he hasn't even spoken to the people of his district. syria, but hitting our representatives need to do a of getting the people out there to our state and understanding how we feel about i think a lot of them are voting off of their conscience. when you are elected into office to represent the people, they should be out there with the people, getting first-hand from them and not just their conscience and not just what they are hearing from the president. thank you. the senate is in session.

nothing is going on right now. nobody is speaking. there is a quorum call. senators have been coming to the floor and talking about syria off and on, all day and all evening. there could be some more action there. here is the house back in session. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. proceedings will be -- will resume. votes will be taken if the following order, h.r. 052 and h.r. 2054 by the yeas and nays. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vot remaining electronic votes will be ducted -- conducted as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the motion of the gentleman from nebraska, mr. terry, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2052 as amended on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title

of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2052, a bill to direct the secretary of commerce along with the heads of other departments and energies to conduct an interagency review and report to congress on ways to increase the global competitiveness of the united states in attracting foreign direct investment. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended? members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] >> there have been a number of debates this afternoon.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 379, the nays are 32. present one. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2844 as amended on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2844, a bill to amend the communications act of 1934, to consolidate the recording -- reporting omgations of the federal communications commission in order to improve congressional oversight and reduce reporting burdens. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended.

members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 415, the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pusuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal which the chair will put de novo. the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the journal stands pproved. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. but the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct, the house is not in order. he house will come to order.

he house will come to order. members and staff will please . move their conversations for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, last friday the department of labor released figures that unemployment decreased to 7.3% in august, the lowest rate in 4 1/2 years. while seemingly good news if you look below the surface, labor force participation fell toits lowest level in five years with only 2% of the working age americans being employed. with the employment declining, it can be said the growing rate of americans no longer trying to find a job. other 1 million americans are struggling to make ends meet

with tens of millions more struggling with underemployment. the solution to our national employment crisis is straightforward. we must get a handle on the out of control debt, a cumbersome and out of date tax code and bloated regulations. i encourage my colleagues to focus our work on breaking down these barriers to employment. our constituents deserve as much. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek reck necessary? >> i ask unanimous consent 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 and recognize the great work of the hindu american foundation which is having its annual northern california gala and dinner one week from saturday. there are over two million hindus in the united states and the hindu american funation

works to educate people about the religious faith. mr. swalwell: i'm proud to stand with the hin due american foundation -- hin duh american foundation to -- hindu american foundation to work on issues mportant taos. i've co-sponsored h r. 717, reuniting families act, to enable people in the united states to be reunited with family members abroad, co-sponsored house resolution 47 which tchainls postal service to adopt a commemorative holiday. saturday's dinner will have the dinner for the foundation's supporters. i look forward to attending the gala and hearing from my colleague here in the house, ms. gabard of hawaii, the first

hindu to be elected to congress. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from indiana seek ecognition 1234? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. walorski: mr. speaker, after 9/11 september became national awareness month. to prepare for disasters and emergencies in their own businesses and communities. recent events such as hurricane sandy, boston marathon bombing, the west texas plant explosion, deadly tornadoes in oklahoma and flooding in my own district reinforced the need for preparedness planning. mr. brooks: as chair of the homeland subcommittee on emergencied preparedness communications and as congressional co-chair of the national preparedness month, i urge all members to promote preparedness activities in their districts.

encourage your constituents to build and maintain emergency kits, develop an exercise emergency plans and participate in local preparedness activities. i also urge members to learn more about how local response organizations are using social media and encourage your constituents to follow local responders on twitter and facebook. national preparedness month is also a good time to thank our firefighters, police officers, emergency managers and their families whose persistent sacrifices make our country more secure and more prepared. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, a report released last week by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration examined the relationship between climate change and the extreme weather events from last year. the report found compelling

evidence that human -- us, climate change, crbletted to many of the extreme weather events seen around the world last year, including some of the droughts seen in the central united states, as well as elevated sea levels that contributed to the unprecedented levels of funding -- of flooding in new york city after superstorm sandy. a report based on the work of 78 scientists concluded that climate change has an impact on extreme weather events. these storms and droughts are endangering lives and livelihoods and costing taxpayers billions of dollars. unfortunately we are failing to address these threats in the house of representatives. mr. mcnerney: the republican majority of the house has refused to acknowledge the overwhelming scientific evidence that the planet's climate is changing and that human activity is a major contributor to this change.

ch -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. paulsen: to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman voiced for one minute. mr. paulsen: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to recognize national ovarian cancer awareness month. this past weekend i joined neighbors to help kick off the annual minnesota ovarian cancer alliance walk and run. each year thousands come out to this event in a park to raise awareness and education of ovarian cancer, to raise funds for research and to give support and hope to local women and their families that are touched by this devastating disease. in 2013 alone, the american cancer society estimates that about 22,000 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed and 14,000 women will die of ovarian cancer in the united states. this last march i met with a group of doctors and nurses from every major health system in the twin cities to discuss cancer care and prevention and i'm pleased to co-sponsor

legislation that ensures that cancer patients get the care they need. mr. speaker, the powerful stories of hope that i heard this weekend are just a fraction of what we see in our community as we work on our shared goal of making cancer a thing of the past. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. are there any other members who seek recognition for one-minute speeches? for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek -- seek recognition? the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, in the midst of serious discussions on america's next step forward, on issues involving syria, i rise simply to talk about local issues and issues impacting many americans.

one of them has to do with foster care and the situation of foster care in my own state. one dealing with children who have haged out -- aged out in the city of houston and there are no facilities for them to be able to utilize, except for a few and like little audreys which is under siege and which we're trying to draw the attention of the community to try to help those children and young people who have no place to go. and then to provide more counselors for foster care children so they have a lifeline while they're in the foster care system. finally, some good news. i want to salute the zion ministries, the church that i joined yesterday, where they received their mark of historic preservation in the fourth ward friedman's town area. in our local communities, good things are happening and challenges are happening. and i hope that as we look at these hard decisions, we'll be able to work with our communities as well on some of the important issues they face. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. are there any other members who seek recognition for one-minute speeches? the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. young of florida for today and for tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the request is granted. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i was unavoidably detained in a classified security briefing on syria and missed h.r. 2052, the global investment in american jobs act of 2013 as amended, and i would have voted aye. h.r. 2844, federal communications commission consolidation act, would have

voted aye. and the journal vote, i would have voted aye. and would ask that these votes be placed in the appropriate section of the congressional record. ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman's equest will be placed in the record. ms. jackson lee: thank you. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from virginia, mr. forbes, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. forbes: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the subblingt of our special order -- subt of our special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. forbes: mr. speaker, i appreciate the opportunity to come to the floor tonight to talk about our first freedom, religious liberty. as we recognize the 226th

anniversary of the signing of our constitution on september 17 , constitution day, i'm hosting this special order as founder and co-chairman of the congressional prayer caucus, a bipartisan group of more than 90 members of the house of representatives dedicated to protecting religious freedom in america. and preserving our nation's rich spiritual heritage. i co-chair this caucus with my good friend, mr. mike mcintyre, a democratic member from north carolina, who unfortunately cannot be with us this evening. faith and religious freedom are not partyline issues. members of the congressional prayer caucus gather each week in the united states capitol to pray for our nation. we leave political labels at the door and we join in prayer for one another and our country. on september 17, our nation will mark the 226th anniversary of the signing of the constitution in independent hall, philadelphia. the bill of rights, the first 10 amendments to the constitution, was soon to follow. religious freedom is not --

religious freedom is the very first thing named in the first amendment. it is our first freedom and it is a fundamental human right. but as president ronald reagan so accurately observed, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. our freedoms are fragile and how quickly we forget their importance. an annual survey by the museum institute's first amendment center revealed that only 26% of americans are aware that religious freedom is a first-amendment right. we are forgetting our first freedom. it is this amnesia that results in the subject gation of the fundamental right of religious freedom. just last month, a justice of the new mexico supreme court recognized that their decision to uphold fines against a wedding photographer who declined to photograph a same-sex wedding meant that the photographer is now, quote, compelled by law to compromise the very religious beliefs that inspire, end of quote, her life. but the justice called this

trampling of religious freedom, quote, the price of citizenship. the price of citizenship, no. religious freedom is the very thing the pilgrims sought when they landed in plymouth and struggled to survive in a new and unknown world. religious freedom was so important to our founding fathers that it was the first freedom they named as bearing protection from the government. it's not the price of citizenship, it is the hallmark of the american spirit of freedom. the american people recognize that the new mexico supreme court's decision is wrong. a recent rasmussen poll revealed that 85% of americans believe that a wedding photographer who has a deeply held religious belief about marriage has a right to decline to photograph a same-sex ceremony. even still, we see weekly reminders that religious freedom is being trampled in the name of tolerance. the supreme court's decision in the united states vs. windsor has given validation to the basic -- basely false argue

thament only reason anyone has to support traditional marriage is bigotry. we've forgotten president obama's observation in 2012 that there are people of goodwill on both sides of the marriage debate. over the last few months alone, we've seen so many injustices, like the oregon bakery that's been forced to close its doors because of the advice ral hate mail, threats and boycotts they received simply for living their lives according to their faith. as some workers protest for higher wages we see businesses like hobby lobby that pay their full time workers significantly more than minimum wage fighting for the ability to keep their doors open and their workers employed because they dare to operate their business according to the dictates of their conscience. we see an attack on the sbeg rift of the -- integrity of the military chaplainsy, an institution that exists to support the free exercise of religion for our brave service members as they leave home and family behind in a harsh and

foreign environment. and we see service members like senior master sergeant monk fighting to maintain their careers in the military because they dare to hold a traditional view of marriage. in iran pastor languishes in the notorious prison because of his christian faith. he's an american citizen who's been wrongly sentenced to eight years in prison because he dared to hold a certain religious belief, torn from his wife and two young children. as we approach the one-year anniversary of his incarceration, we need to make sure that we realize that his fight for freedom is a reminder of how important it is that we remain a beacon for the fundamental right of religious freedom and the ability to live your life openly and freely on the basis of your convictions. we must defend the pastor and advocate for his immediate release to the safety of his family. as we honor constitution day, let us remember the fundamental right of religious freedom enshrined in the first amendment.

members of the prayer caucus have not forgotten our first freedom. we stand ready to guard and protect it. i'm proud to partner with my good friend, mr. mcintyre, in leading this extraordinary group of members known as the congressional prayer caucus. i'm so pleased to be joined this evening by my colleagues who are working to protect religious freedom in america and around the world. and at this time i'd like to yield five minutes to my good friend, mr. tim walberg, from michigan. mr. walberg: i -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may not yield blocks of time. mr. forbes: i recognize mr. walberg. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. walberg: i thank my friend from virginia and, mr. speaker, i appreciate the opportunity to speak on an issue of ultimate importance tonight. the first amendment liberties. we go back to those brave men whose shoulders which stand -- we stand upon here in the chambers today. people like jonathan witherspoon

who said a republic once equally poised must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty. and congressman forbes, we are standing for that virtue today. we are standing for that virtue in a country that sadly has walked away from it and accepting it out of hand. and assuming that there will be differences, there will be a theological differences, there will be religious differences, but america was known from its inception as a place where we could be free to have those foundational principles. benjamin franklin himself said this will be the security for maintaining our nation, a nation of well-informed men which have been taught to know and prize the rights god as given them cannot be enslaved. it is the ignorance of tyranny

-- so i went to some statements in the constitutions of our states. specifically those states that were our 13 colonies. to look at what our framers and founders, those back in the states that said we want a federal government but we want a federal government that comes under the control of the states. what did they say about religion, those fers amendment liberties? i looked to just three of them, or picked out three. i picked them out related to the highest offices of of our land. the first was new york. our attorney general, eric holder, born, raised, educated in new york. new york state in its constitution says the free exercise and enjoyment of and worship fegs without discrimination or preference shall forever be

allowed in this state to all humankind. that was new york. i went then to the state of delaware. that state of our vice president. in that state, the preamble to the constitution starts out by saying, through divine goodness all people have by nature the rights of worshiping and serving their creator according to the dictates of their conscience. that's delaware. ultimately i went to the last state i looked at and i went to that because our president comes from illinois, but that wasn't one of the 13 colonies, my friend from virginia will inform me. so i went to massachusetts, where he was educated. harvard law school. article 2 in that constitution sayses the right as well as the duty of all men in society publicly and at the stated seasons to worship the supreme

being. the great creator and preserver of the universe. no subject shall be hurt, molested or restrained in his person, liberty or estate for worshiping god in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience. mr. speaker, i would say those are the foundational principles that led to the adoption of our constitution. and ultimately the first amendment. so a danger comes when we come to areas like prayer, where we greece, newipality, york, fighting a case, greece vs. galloway, for the opportunity to continue their tradition of opening with prayer. patrick henry. said an appeal to arms and the god of hosts is all that is left to us. an pie el -- an appeal. isn't that a prayer? an appeal to god.

an appeal to arms and the god of hosts and all that is left to us but we shall not fight our battle alone there is a just god that presides over the destiny of nations. the battle served not to the strong alone. is life so dear or peace so sweet to be bought at the chains of slavery? then a prayer, forbid it. as for me, give me liberty or give me death. so today we come to a situation in our country where we have people who are saying basically the same thing. give me liberty or give me death. give me the opportunity to pray. give me the opportunity to worship without big government collapsing on me. mr. speaker, there are enemies of our freedoms and they've somehow caught it right -- --

there are enemies of our freedoms and they have caught it right. america alin said etc. has three strengths its atriotism and its religion and its emotional life. break those we will defeat them. i end with this. patriot, a president, a believer in prayer, president eisenhower said, atheism substitutes men for supreme creator and this leads inevitably to domination and dictatorship. he went on to say we must jealously guard our foundation in faith for on it rests the ability of the american individual to live and thrive in this blessed land and to be eable to help other, less

fortunate people to achieve freedom and individual opportunity. these we take for granted, but to others they are often only a wistful dream. in god we trust. our motto. often we've heard the words of this wonderful american motto. let us make sure that familiarity has not made them meaningless for us. we carry the torch of freedom as a sacred trust for all mankind. and then our president eisenhower concluded, we do not believe that god intended the light that he created to be put out by men. i thank my friend for allowing me these statements tonight and may we stand firmly to the point that ultimately our first amendment liberties and even

more than that, the god blessed opportunities will be applauded in this land. >> i thank the gentleman from michigan for his great leadership for these words on fers amendment rightsing we have another great leader on first amendment rights, doug lamb born from colorado, it's a pleasure to have you teent and i'd love to yield to you for any comments you may have. mr. lamborn: i thank my flend and colleague, representative forbes of virginia, for his leadership in this vital area of religious lead ship and for putting this time together. i rise in support of our constitutionally granted right of religious liberty and in support of our military. i am grateful to our nation's mel tear and i am privileged to represent thousands of men and women in uniform who serve as the five military installations in my district. ur mill tear is made up of

broif men and women of all faiths but there's a growing pattern of discrim nation against our men and women in arms. earlier this year, an army eserve training brief listed catholics, evangelical christians, sunni muslims and some jews as religious groups, along with groups like hamas and the k.k.k. asked ian chaplain was to remove something he'd written ex-plinning the orgeneral of the phrase, "there are no atheists in fox holes." officials in the pentagon have nsulted with a radical islamist who -- radical atheist who called christians an enemy. he's calling on chaplains who share their faith with service

members claiming that speaking about our christian faith constitutes unconstitutional religious proselytizing. this is an affront to our civil liberties and demeaning to this nation that's always believed in the first amendment freedom of self-expression. religious freedom is an integral part of america's greatness and has been a pillar of our nation from the very beginning. we must remain firmly committed to defending religious freedom. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. forbes: i thank the gentleman for his hard work in this area, for being with us tonight. we heard to to mr. walberg mention patrick henry and from the state that patrick henry came from, my good friend rob wittman, thank you for being here and your fight in all this. mr. wittman: thank you, representative forbes. i want to thank you for your leadership on the congressional prayer caucus, making sure we got together today to recognize

the importance of today's date and the efforts by our forefathers to make sure we have the liberties and freedoms to make sure we can practice our religious beliefs here. i'm pleased to be here as a member of the prayer caucus and joined with my other colleagues on the prayer caucus to honor constitution day and he religious freedoms of our citizens. september 17, 201, marks the 226th anniversary of the signing of the greatest governing document the world has ever known, our constitution. religious freedom is the very first freedom protected in the first amendment and just as chairman forbes has spoken of, it was really a discussion that took place years ago in virginia. governor patrick henry, there in the church at st. john's, there in richmond, got up and spoke about the importance of individual liberties and freedoms and the importance to make sure that we as a nation had a constitution that preserved those and as you know, he led that fight to make sure

that james madison, the author of the constitution, provided in the constitution just those individual liberties and freedoms. in fact, i think a lot of folks don't know he voted against ratifying the constitution originally because it didn't contain those basic individual liberties and freedoms an it was his work that made sure we enjoy those individual liberties and freedoms today based on our tuge. it was that first amendment that read, congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. in today's world there are far too many obstacles for too many of our citizens to truly practice what is promised in the first amendment. there are channels to religious symbols. religious freedom for members of our military is under attack. air force, senior master sergeant phillip monk was recently dismissed from his position and reassigned after he

refused to voice his opinion when his commanding officer asked him if he could agree with her belief that openly voicing a religious or moral opposition to same-sex marriage is discrimination. he stood by his beliefs and paid the price professionally for that. religious liberties are threatened for many each and every day. the commonwealth of virginia as has been eloquently stated has a direct tie to that first amendment. stated govern quor patrick henry's efforts there but also thomas jefferson, also was very, very adamant in passing about preserving those freedom -- religious freedoms. the virginia statute of religious freedom was authored by thomas jefferson and james madison and it stays. no man shall be compelled to frequent any religious place of worship or ministry whatsoever nor shall be enforced,

restrained in his body or goods or otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or beliefs but that all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. thomas jefferson, the second president of the united states, in one of our nation's founding father -- and one of our nation's founding fathers, understood the need for protecting our natural right, those provided to us by our creator, those protected by our government, all of which were more important to him than any other element of what he espoused in the creation of our government. he knows that none meant more to him or our nation than the free throw dom of religion. the statute declares that compulsory religion is wrong. that no religion should be forced on an individual and that the freedom of religion is a natural right. the statute's doctrine and principle have inspeared vedges

throughout the commonwealth -- inspired individuals throughout the commonwealth and across our nation. come mas jefferson requested that three of his greatest accomplish. s be listed on his epitaph. free tom of religion was so important to him that the virginia freedom of -- virginia statute for religious freedom was listed along with founding the university of virginia and writing the deck la rare of -- declaration of independence as his three greatest accomplishments. thomas jefferson believed in that freedom of religion and the -- it lt ultimately facilitated a path to complete religious freedom in the united states as we know the discussions that took place took place based on that virginia statute of religious freedom that was eventually included in in the first amendment to our constitution. it is our duty to ensure that the congress continues to protect our first amendment freedoms for now and for future

generations and i want to thank all of my colleagues in the congressional prayer caucus to make sure that we remember each and every day as we are here the practice of religious freedom and make sure that we understand our projection of that freedom is what makes us the great nation we are today. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. mr. forbes: mr. wittman, i thank you for your dedication to first amendment rights and the military and one of the deep thinkers we have in this area and all forms of policy, especially as it comes to first amendment liberties is james lankford of oklahoma. we're delighted to have you here tonight, love to hear your thoughts. mr. lankford: thank you. the right to believe. we in america have this unique thing, the right to believe or the right to not have a belief at all. but if you have the belief, y