[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: the ouse will be in order. the chair lays before the house

a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. october 22, 2013. i hereby appoint the honorable jeff dunham to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. almighty god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. as the people's house returns, we give you thanks for those most responsible for the resolutions reached this past the reopening of government which has meant so much to the families of those who have chosen to serve their nation by their work in government. as we return the capitol is in

mourning for the loss of two men in the house, former speaker tom foley, and representative bill young. both men, a democrat and a republican, were known to be giants in the people's house. and their passing has deprived our nation of experience and wisdom in congress at a time when it is needed. bless all the members with wisdom in good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over that the legacy of these grave legislators might be carried on for the benefit of all. may all that is done here in the people's house be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule 1 i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. ms. foxx: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina seek recognition. ms. foxx: mr. speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from alifornia, mr. miller. mr. miller: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina seek recognition. ms. foxx: i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. the president has some very serious questions to answer. will he tax the american people if they cannot or choose not to buy health insurance from a website that doesn't work? will he insist upon penalizing them for withholding their personal information from a government database already rife with privacy concerns? will he continue to demand patience, blame technical glitches, and dismiss legitimate concerns from the

american public while obamacare's broken launch dominates headlines? will he give lenience to those in his administration who are responsible for these failures? it is true that obamacare's individual marketplace launched just three weeks ago, but three american t, the people would like some assurance. if government can't get its act together administering health insurance, will americans get taxed for opting out? the fair answer is certainly no. i hope president obama agrees. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. miller: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. -- i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. mr. speaker, the republican government shutdown is over and the threat of default has been averted for now. no one is relieved.

the crisis should have never happened. the shutdown really hurt our economy. standard & poor's estimated that it cost the country $24 billion. and there's something even worse. each threat of a shutdown and default shows economic growth -- slows economic growth by sowing uncertainty, it cuts jobs and income. the "wall street journal" today ran an article this morning about the confidence shutdown. the confidence shutdown was reported by the "wall street journal." washington's misadventures have extracted historically high toll on americans' confidence. a historically high toll. how high? no other time did consumer confidence plummet as far as it did in the republican shutdown except prior to the gee war in iraq and -- 2003 war in iraq and the 1990 persian gulf war. the american people don't want a government that is shut down. they want a government that son their side.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on october 17, 2013, at 11:48 a.m. that the senate disagreed to house amendment to senate concurrent resolution 8, that the senate agree to conference requested by the house. that the senate appointed a conferees. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: mursuent to clause 4 of rule 1, the following enrolled bill was signed by the speaker on wednesday, october 16, 2013. the clerk: h.r. 2775, making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2014, and for

other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. . the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to section 1002-b of the continuing ppropriations act, 2014, i hereby certify that absent a suspension of the limit under section 3101-b of title 31, united states code the secretary of the treasury would be unable to issue debt to meet existing commitments. signed, sincerely, barack obama, the white house. the the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on ways and means and printed. under clause 5-d of rule 20, the chair announces to the house that in light of the passing of the gentleman from florida, mr. young, the whole umber of the house is 431. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule

>> now you can watch us in hd. >> the annual conference on saturday. explain what the independence would look like. in late november scotland will publish a formal document spelling out the platform for referendum that is for next year in election for an independent parliament. bout 40 minutes. -- i nds, on behalf think the scottish

independence. we have traveled a substantial way but we've still got a job to do. we are entering a new chapter in our nation's history. in less than one year's time the people of scotland will be offered an opportunity of a generation. that opportunity on september 18, 2014 is this. to build a prosperous country, to create a just society, to become an independent country. for supporters across this land, this is the campaign we have been working all of our

life. it's a time for anticipation but also one for reflex -- reflection. reflection in particular on the efforts of those who gave so much. colleagues who died just a recent year, such as billy wolf, margaret yuge -- ewing, and many, many others. it was an honor to speak at brian's funeral as we celebrated the contribution of that outstanding human being. we all know that brian adam did enormous amount to encourage and inspire young people. particularly overseas to come to scotland and get involved in politics. i'm delighted to announce that the s.n.p.'s program in the scottish parliament will now be dedicated in brian adam's memory.

-- brian adams' memory. [applause] because we are stand on the shoulders of giant who carried the scottish flame alive. and how they would have relished the next 11 months. so let's keep these colleagues in our hearts as we remember how lucky we are to live in this moment. let's use that inspiration to secure scotland's place as a cruel and independent member of he community of nations. or even from the huge coalition of interest and enthusiasm

supporting the yes vote. it will be above all an act of national self-confidence and national self-belief. we the people of scotland, have by far the greater stake in the success and we are by far the best place to make decisions about our future. i know people watching right now and across the country want to learn more about independence. they want to hear about the benefits. they are hungry for information. we have undertaken to divide that information because delegates we know that more people know about independence, the more likely they are to vote yes. last month dates were held to mark a year to go to the referendum itself. the audiences were balanced between those in favor of independence, those against, and those undecided. the significant thing is this, at the end of a couple of these debates, having had the

arguments, people were then asked how they would vote. the result in both occasions a majority for independence. why? because when people hear the can-do optimism of the yes campaign against the can't do of the no campaign, then they ote yes. just a few weeks ago students were invited to listen a debate, george roberts. -- at the start of the debate, 59% were no voters. 29% were yes. after he instilled more jobs, 51% yes, 58% no. swing by my calculations of 25%.

once about a member correctly that devolution would kill the s.n.p. stone dead. according to george we should all be part fence by now. i have a message for them, the s.n.p. are the majority government of scotland. the movement for national self-determination alive and well and we intend to win this eferendum. for many people, perhaps for most people, it's the economic issues.

that matter most. we have all had the question for scotland to be independent. independence will always be heart fought on both sides. but on this central issue of whether scotland could be a successful independent country, that is in fact no longer any real debate. to start, the figures in the no campaign. the prime minister says, quote, it would be wrong to suggest that scotland could not be another successful independent country. the question is not whether scotland can survive an independent country. of course it could says alice ter-ler -- alieser. i don't make a habit of agreeing with the prime minister and allister, these days i just let them agree with ach other.

but in these statements they are undoubtedly correct and here is why. scotland is a country rich and fortunate in both human talent and natural resources. we have more per head than any country in the world. our food and drink industry is entering our golden year. scotland has been declared the world's top travel destination for this year. investment is at a 15-year high. the green energy powerhouse of urope. let's resolve this over the next year. let's never allow any of our opponents of independence to diminish or talk down the prospects of this country or the abilities of our people.

u.k. cabinet ministers coming up to tell us that the 10 plagues of egypt will descend upon an independence. you don't have to be a london minister to make a fool of yourself in scottish geography. i'm grateful for today's newspaper for pointing out -- herald newspaper for pointing out that the two highland villages, that's great. the problem is they no longer have filling stations. thinking in terms of the westminster garage, the prime minister's position is surely

untenable. he promised scotland a respectful debate. then he turns the full guns of the white you hall machine on scotland. he wants to dictate the terms of the debate. he wants the power of the vote the democratic responsibility. and that is simply not on. o here's the deal. so here's the deal, prime minister. we'll publish the white paper, and you and i must debate. prime minister to first inister. [applause] the choice is yours.

step up to the plate or step out of the debate. i'll take on which ever your ubstitute could cook up. here are some facts certainly worth debating. for every one of the last 50 years, scotland has generated more tax per head than the u.k. as a whole. without one single penny from the north sea. the income per head is virtually identical to the u.k. our economy is almost 1/5 bigger and we produce six times as much oil as we need. oil and gas is a huge bonus. continuing with the wholesale value of 1.5 trillion pounds as

something else, as a national catastrophe. perhaps it's because they are embarrassed, or so they should be. er there are not only two countries in the world with the great fortune of having huge oil resources who have failed to establish a savings fund to benefit future generations, the u.k. and the republic of iraq. that oil wealth is not the problem for scotland. the problem for scotland is that for 40 years westminster has squandered that amazing -- oil wealth is not the problem for scotland. e problem -- [applause] to the very heart of the ndependence today. no one really dares scotland could be independent. the debate is whether it should be independent.

running the official campaign against the opposition call themselves project fear. project fear is not some ensult dreamt up by the yes campaign. it is the description. the no campaign actually described themselves as project ear. one said he's opposed to independence because he doesn't want to drive off the m-6 to get his passport and start driving on the right when he comes to scotland. i have been driving on the right for some time.

the suggestion is a worthy addition to all the rest. the mobile phone charges. the annexation. bassies refusing to hold receptions. project fear. ore like project fast. the central question with the coming campaign is who should be taking decisions about scotland. those who live and work here or politicians? it's a common sense argument which is based on our experience. the record of scotland's parliament demonstrates that undeniably the case decisions should be taken here. supported unanimously by every party in the parliament. the ban of smoking in public places, protecting the national

health service from privatization, access to education based on the ability to learn not the ability to pay. and a record number of police officers on our street. and they say they have families in scotland by 1200 pounds and just about every other household bill is ricing. we have chosen a different path. a path that reflects scotland's social demographic consensus. our shared progressive values. something for nothing congresstry, really? personal care for all the people? tuition for young people to be cast aside as something for nothing? this is not a something for nothing country, but a something for something society. and this party will defend the

social progress made by our pargment. -- pargment. -- parliament. with just a case of independence we have been able to deliver policies than elsewhere in these islands. health and education and law and order, we sought to make scotland a better place. let's consider what we can achieve by extending our power over the things we don't currently control. our welfare system, our economy, our energy supplies, our international security. because there is no doubt that we are paying a heavy price for westminster decisions. on wednesday i met with the prime minister in london. the joint ministerial committee. i wanted to give you a taste of

three aspects of that meeting. to give an idea of the perspective between the governments. not just between the governments but between the political cultures in these islands. prass the t, fundamental issue facing our society as we move out of the recession. scotland is the only country in urope with a dedicated youth employment minister. scotland, any youngster between ages of 16 and 19 about job education and training, gets offered of help within four months. it's quick intervention and effective. european proposal to extend this. westminster opposes it not because it's not a good idea, but basically it's a european idea. we need that freedom to respond to european initiatives in the best way for scotland. not tell a proposal and training for youngsters to stop

it. i'm delighted to announce an initiative today. the allocation of 60 million pound package supported 43 projects across the country. supporting more than 3,000 jobs. the development after new gateway, to investment, all of these projects will support vital opportunities for our young people. and you know what? the fight that comes from european is something that will not concern the young people ho have been fitted one job.

the committee, a discussion on the great cultural events being held on these identify lan. the olympic games was a great event. the commonwealth games will be a great event. but one of the reasons, one of the many reasons we all feel close to glass go 2014, is we are not financing great games out of money which should be going to good causes. more than a year after the olympics, scottish good causes are still waiting for the promised to turn 140 million pounds of lockly funding which was taken to fund the london games. in contrast, every penny piece of funding from the commonwealth games and its legacy is being delivered by the scottish government, the city of glass go, and sponsorship. it will be the greatest sporting event that scotland has ever seen.

[applause] unforgiveably targeted at some of the most vulnerable in our society, delegates in the 1990's, the poll tax became a symbol of why devolution was necessary. the bedroom tax is becoming a symbol of why independence is necessary. [applause] remember, it was opposed by 90% of scottish m.p.'s in the house of commons, yet it still passed. it penalizes 80,000 households in scotland, 80%, including a person with a disability. in august was contend by a special represent tour of the united nations the chairman of

the conservative party said it was grateful she was comment -- disgraceful. the disgrace is the united nations representative was forced to comment on an injustice in 21st century scotland. that's a disgrace. the delegate, let us be clear, one of the first acts of the s.n.p. and government of an independent scotland will be to scrap the bedroom tax. the independence to date allows us to explore every aspect of the national light and ask ourself the question does it have to be like this? i don't believe it does. 0 years ago the previous labor

westminster government fell off he royal mule. next month we were reminded of a painful life. regardless what people think in scotland or believe, westminster is determined to sell scotland's public assets, they will find a way. in the face of massive public opposition and ignoring the issues of all scottish m.p.'s, we were privatized by overnment we didn't elect. it's equivalent of selling 10 pound notes for a five and alling it a success. it's their latest installment of westminster's privatization obsession. we as a government have the power to protect, we have succeeded. despite privatization elsewhere

in the u.k., scottish water remains in public hands and lo and behold scotland now has the lowest average household water bill in these islands. [applause] the s.n.p. government will bring the royal meal back into public 457bd. - hands. governments exist to reconcile collective action and individual aspiration. a socially committed postal service, are essential

platforms which allows business to grow and communities to prosper. scots are famed across the world for our own entrepreneurial spirit. we don't need lectures. the westminster economic system ain't working for scotland. economic performance in areas greater in the u.k. than any other european nation. it's one of the biggest gaps between rich and poor in the developed world. the fourth most unequal society on the oecd. that means that people find it harder to get on and get good jobs. and it means something else. that sense of inequality, it offend the very basis of a good society. it stifles ambition. no independent scottish government would ever accept such an appalling waste of alent and potential.

it's a choice between two futures. you can accept the status as an economic region of an unbalanced and unequal system, or embrace the powers of the national economy. the power to compete, to grow business for scotland, to ensure our best and brightest can realize their ambitions in their own country, if they so choose, that is the economic prize of independence. [applause] as a boy and w up all along the way i have conscious of the fires, right now that plant is idle and cold.

as the stand -- off tens, it grows. let us inject some common sense into this position. to the union, to the management fire up the plant and negotiate against the background of a working facility not one which is in mortal danger. incorporating, fire up the lants and do it now. friends, no one in this party claims that an independent scotland will be able to wish away global competition. we'll still be affected by it. influenced by it, and often challenged by it. no one in this world will stop

it. there is a difference which can make the difference. an independent scotland will have the parliament with the full range of powers and the people will have a government which is on their side. elegates right now our westminster government that people in scotland overwhelmingly rejected is giving tax cuts to millionaires at the same time cutting the income of the lowest paid. a year ago, almost the scottish government announced we are bringing rward a new living wage of seven pounds, 45 pens an hour. that covers 160,000 people in scotland working for central government at agencies, and national health service. as part of what we call the social wage. the contract between the people of scotland and their government. it gives people the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. with independence we should have the aspiration to achieve

a living wage for all workers, not just those under the responsibility of government. explain how we intend to encourage the private sector to move towards the living wage. today i can announce further steps in achieving that ambition. 70,000 people in scotland receive the minimum wage. the minimum wage has failed to increase in almost a decade. in every single year since the recession started in 2008, that minimum wage has failed to keep up with the cost of living. if elected on independence, the scottish government would establish a work commission. the central pillar of that commission will be to set a minimum wage guaranteed. can i announce today this guarantee will ensure that the minimum wage rises at the very least in line with inflation. let us pledge that never again will wages at the lowest paid

in scotland fail to keep up with the cost of living. [applause] independence guarantee, the lowest played scots today would e a total of 675 mounds better off. friends, work must pay. we must ensure work pace by raising the skills of labor not by reducing people to despair. as we move into this crucial year for scotland, we accept, we relish the challenge that some of the people of scotland with information necessary to set the opportunities of

independence. i can now pronounce that the scottish government will publish the white paper of independence on tuesday the 26th of november. [applause] above all, the white paper shall do two things. first, it will spell out the platform that we will establish for scotland between the reverend dumb next year and first election for an independent scolish parliament in the spring of 2016. that will be clear. the independence is not at its heart this party or this administration or minister, but about fundamental democratic choice for scotland. the people's right to choose a government of their own.

secondly, the white paper will set out our vision for scotland. the why of independence. the scotland that we seek. we seek a country t. constitutional protecting not just the liberties for the people but the rights of the citizen. we seek a country where we make work pay not by humiliating those with disabilities, but by strengthening the minimum wage. we seek a country where key public services remain in public hands. we seek a country where business prospers, where the public are protected against the abuse of monopoly power. we seek a country where the right to health and education are based on human need and ability, not on the size of your wallet. we seek a country which understands its contribution to

culture and creativity as part of an international framework. we seek a country which judges its contribution how useful it can be to the rest of humanity. not on how many warheads can dance. the late great ian banks said once that independence would boost morale of the nation. you know what you believe would be the shear energyization of a whole people. the energy, that energy can be felt already across scotland. people are starting to imagine a better life, a better country. we are truly privileged. in less than one year's time we can stop imagining it and start

building. building the scotland we know is possible. and we should remember as we do so that scotland has been in a home rule generally for more than a century. the recent chapters of our story, people have been asked to vote. twice they said yes. so it's our privilege in this generation to determine the next chapter of that story. when the pages have yet written speak to generations yet unborn of this time and this place about scotland today, what is the story they'll tell? they can say we who live at this special time recognized the priceless moment for what it was. those who saw this chance did not balk at it. those given this moment did not let it pass by. that we scotland's independence generation reached out and grasped an opportunity of a lifetime when it came our way.

we will not on the morning of the 19th of september next year wake up and think to ourselves what might have been. we shall wake up that morning filled with hope and expectation ready to build a new nation which is both prosperous and fair. after almost a century of scotland moving forward to this very moment, ask ourselves these simple questions, if not us, then who? if not now, then when? friends, we are scotland's independence generation and our time, our time is now.

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

> let's go on with it. >> u.s. house will return to session at 5:00 eastern today to debate bills dealing with student safety and adoption of foster children. another naming a veterans medical center for the late congressman bill young who passed away on friday. he was the longest serving republican house member. his tenure spanning 22 terms. see the house live when they

return at 5:00 p.m. here on c-span. reminder this coming thursday the house energy and commerce committee will hold a hearing examining the implementation of the health care law with reports of numerous glitches in the website healthcare.gov. we expect that will be the focus of the hearing. it gets under way at 9:00 a.m. eastern on thursday on c-span2. also coming up friday, road to the white house 2016 with the annual ronald reagan dinner, ncludes remarks by potential presidential candidate ted cruz. will begin at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. c-span student cam video competition asks, what's the most important issue congress should consider in 2014? make five to seven-minute documentary showing varying points of view and be sure to include c-span video. the competition is opened to all video and high school students for the grand prize of $5,000.

this year we doubled the number of winners in total prizes. entries are due by january 20, 2014. for more information visit stuned cam.org. >> british foreign secretary william hague hosted a meeting with foreign ministers and representatives of the syrian opposition in london today and focused on supporting the syrian national coalition in a political transition in preparation for the geneva 2 conference, scheduled for early november. his remarks last about 15 minutes. followed by secretary of state, john kerry, on the same issue. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. we have just concluded an important and productive meeting of the foreign ministers of the friends of syria core group. including a meeting with the president of the syrian national coalition. we have met, as you know, against the backdrop of the syrian regime's escalating use of indiscriminate and

disproportional force against the people of syria. they are using torture, artillery, air attacks, laying siege to desperate people, and presiding over the creation of a humantarian catastrophe. members of the opposition national coalition have spoken powerfully in our meetings about people under siege, about people starving, women and children in detention, and the record of abuse which the people of syria are subjected. the only sustainable way to end this conflict and the suffering of innocent syrian civilians is through a political transition in syria. and the purpose of our meeting today has been to send a signal of our resolve, our unity, and our determination in bringing it about, building on the diplomatic progress made during the u.n. general asemilast month. we have agreed a number of

important steps today. first, we agreed that we would put our united and collective weight behind the u.n.-led geneva 2 protest, which must lead to establishing by mutual consent a transational governing body with full executive powers. that is set out in the gun neevea communique of june 2012. by definition mutual consent means it can only be agreed with the consent of the syrian national coalition. so assad would play no role in that future government of syria. second, despite the enormous challenges faced by the syrian opposition, we urged the national coalition to commit itself fully to the geneva 2 process and to lead and form the heart of any opposition delegation, geneva offers the syrian people the best hope to improve their lives. third, we agreed with them that we will provide the intensive political and practical support that will be required to give

the geneva 2 process the best chance of success. we agree the set of principles attached to today's communique which has just been issued, that undermine the unity of our approach to the geneva 2 process as the friends of syria core group. we agreed the syrian opposition, including moderate armed groups, moderate opposition, represented by the syrian national coalition, continue to meet our strong collective backing, there can be no peaceful and political settlement in syria without the participation of the moderate opposition. so we pledged our further support to them. the president attended lunch which has just concluded, of the syrian national coalition, he made clear in september in new york his support for the geneva 2 protest, but of course he has to carry others with

him. by the time of his general assembly meeting at the end of next week, he will be able to speak to you about that later. we are as clear as he is that assad has no role in a peaceful nd democratic syria. he has asked us to do our utmost to bring humanitarian relief to areas under siege and to ensure that women and children who have been detained are released in the run-up to geneva. of course these are things which we strongly support in any case, and we ask for the support of other nations in the world, including allies and supporters of the assad regime to bring these things about. the united kingdom will continue to support the national coalition in its efforts to help and protect the syrian people through the more than 20 million pounds in support of the opposition that

we provided this year. this is support that helped to save lives and provide services to the syrian population, including search and rescue equipment and training, power generators, communication, support and training, to civil administrations, between now and the geneva 2 conference, we plan to announce a further package of u.k. support, including substantial nonlethal support to the national oalition, and working with general eterrorist of the military downcy. this will likely take the form of communications, medical and logistics equipment. it will help them to save lives on the ground. none of us have lost sight in all of this of the deeply humanitarian disaster. as winter approaches the risks are growing to nearly seven million syrians in need. this is compounded still further by the actions of the

regime. the u.n. emergency relief coordinator said yesterday that the u.n. continues to be denied access on the ground. so those in need of humanitarian assistance, by obstacles placed by the syrian regime. in suburbs of damascus, many innocent syrians remain trapped as a result of the regime siege tactics. this is unacceptable and full and uninhibited access for humanitarian aid to people in eed must be allowed. from the 11 countries that met today, we encourage others to do the same through further funding pledges and we'll be pressing the case for humanitarian access as called for by the u.n. security council on the second of october. the u.k. is the second largest humanitarian donor to the syria conflict with over 500 million pounds of aid allocated to date. yesterday we announced a further 15.5 million pounds of

lifesaving support to palestinian refugees both inside syria and in neighboring countries. including food for over 150,000 people, and clothing for people in need of urgent help. our 11 countries will continue to work closely together in the weeks leading up to a geneva conference, to ensure it has the best possible chance of success. and that the people of syria finally get the political transition that they so desperately need and so very much deserve. thank you very much, indeed. have we got time for a few questions? >> i was struck by what you said this morning when you said if the opposition don't have a role in these talks, all they'll be left with in syria is assad or the extremists. you yourself just said that the national coalition spoke of assad's record of utter abuse and oppression. so failure is very high. success is very slim.

you're seriously saying the syrian people will be left with a brutal dictator or a bunch of jihadists? >> i'm saying that is what we have to avoid. that is the case for backing, for assisting the syrian national coalition who we have been meeting today who are a moderate opposition. who are committed to democracy against sectarianism. committed to a peaceful future for all communities in syria. really what i'm arguing what, i was organizing this morning is that you can't have a peaceful solution -- arguing this morning is you can't have peaceful solution without a big role for people like that who believe in a nonsecretarytarian democratic syria. that's why it is important to try to convene a peace conference, a peace process in a conflict that is still worsening, and that is feeding extremism.

sectarianism and extremism are growing all the time this conflict goes on. and that's why it's important we work so closely with them, that we don't abandon them. we keep faith with them. and the 11 countries involved, including the united states, turkey, leading arab states, ourselves, france have made very clear to them today that through a geneva 2 process we'll be with them every step of the way giving them the support that they need, as well as the practical and administrative support necessary to carry out such a negotiation. . >> your definition of mutual consent agrees with the coalitions that assad can play no role. but you know that the russians, iranians and the syrian government's definition of mutual consent agreed last year is that he can play a role. and so aren't you setting a precondition for geneva and why would those three countries i named go if that was a

precondition? >> well, we're not setting a precondition for geneva. we're making clear our expectations of the outcome. but, no, we're not setting a precondition. our only condition, which is referred to in the communique, we make this clear in the communique, is that it's necessary to accept geneva 1. for the parties that go to geneva 2, to be working on the basis of the geneva communique of the 30th of june, 2012. which was very clear about creating a transitional governing body with full executive powers, drawn from regime and opposition. but by mutual consent. and mutual consent when implemented means what it says. it means that those there from regime and opposition are there by consent of the others. that's very clear what that means for a future role for

assad. but excepting that, the regime's acceptance of that or the russian acceptance that have is not a precondition of convening a geneva 2 meeting. next question. [inaudible] >> foreign secretary, you have managed to make some progress today on the agenda for geneva 2? isn't one of the problems that if talks are a big part of that, since president assad has made very clear as recently as yesterday that he has no intention of going, indeed wants to go up for a presidential election the next time, is no fundamental inherent problem with that kind of struck tier for those talks? >> i don't want to minimize in any way the difficulties and the enormous challenges in making a success of geneva 2 as

it has become known. and your questions are all reflecting the immense difficulties that would be involved. nevertheless, we believe it is very important to begin that process for there to be a political process. the most important diplomatic agreement that we've made on syria since we began 2 1/2 years ago is that agreement in geneva in june of last year. that is common ground for all the permanent members of the security council and including russia and china, and so building on that through a process, a u.n.-led process, yes, maybe a very difficult process but it's a process rather than an event. it isn't a meeting that takes place in one or two days and everybody has reached agreement. it is the beginning of a process. that is very important to try

because the alternative is for a more and more protractive conflict in which neither side in my view would be able to achieve a complete military victory over the other. so there will have to be a political settlement one day. would it be difficult to bring about? yes, it would. but we agreed in late september in new york, again, among the perm fent five members of the security council, that we would all do our best to convene such the erence, working with u.n. so this meeting today is part of that. this is three of those permanent members of the security council with our close friend and allies, doing our best to make sure that such a conference takes place. but we should be under no illusions about what a very ifficult process it will be.

>> the saudis seem to be losing patience with this process. they're talking about limiting their contacts with washington. are you worried that, in the context of an attempt with iran, that the saudis will walk away and that the coalition you have of the friends of syria will fall apart as a result? >> the communique that we've just published is authored by all 11 countries, including saudi arabia. and it's important that it is a communique. this is a text fully agreed between all the 11 members. this is not just a statement from the chair. this is an agreed communique. of the 11 foreign ministers. and the meeting has been attended by my colleague, the prince, the foreign minister of saudi arabia. he's been sitting next to john

kerry throughout the meet sogs there is no limiting of contact between saudi arabia and the united states, in the meetings we've had today, they've been very much saying the same things. and so this statement has the full agreement and authority of saudi arabia just as it has of the united states, the united kingdom and the other countries involved. as you'll be able to hear later i think in this room from john kerry and from the president of the national coalition, i'll let them expand further on this. thank you very much, indeed. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> good afternoon, everybody. thank you for your patience. it's a great privilege to be back in london and to be here with all of my fellow ministers who are part of the so-called

london 11 which has been the principle support group and organizing entity to assist the syrian opposition. and i want to thank our terrific host, foreign secretary william hague, who n a very effective focused meeting this morning and who has welcomed us with great and traditional hospitality. we're happy to be here. we also want to thank the joint special representative, brahimi, who is out in the region now meeting with various parties in preparation for the possibilities of the geneva conference and we're grateful to him and to his team for their efforts. needless to say, we came here to london -- i think this is the fourth or fifth meeting that i have taken part in as

art of the london 11, in order to reaffirm the international community's strong commitment to trying to end the bloodshed in syria. and to try to bring stability to that war-torn country and to provide sanctuary and ultimately an opportunity to return to their country for the millions of refugees and displaced people. when we last met, we spoke with one voice about the need to move towards a transitional government. with full executive authority, by mutual consent. those are not my words, those are the words of the geneva communique of june, 2012, known as geneva 1. and in that communique, the

united nations and other representative entities and many countries, including russia, signed on to a communique which called for a transition government in syria. at we did today was increase convening ent to the of the geneva conference, for the specific purpose of implementing the geneva 1 communique. our reed to increase today coordinated assistance to the opposition, including to the syrian opposition coalition. the legitimate representative of the syrian people. and we also committed to do more to assist the brave people who are on the ground in syria.

we also agreed to direct military aid exclusively through the supreme military council from those countries who have chosen to do so or are able to do so, as they fight, that is the supreme military council, fights to curtail the influence of extremists, to isolate the extremists and to change the balance on the ground. now, as these efforts all occur simultaneously, we are convinced based on the meeting we had here today that those increased efforts will create their own synergy that will help the opposition to continue to be able to grow stronger. so far the united states has committed a significant amount of funding to both the humanitarian effort and to the effort to assist the syrian opposition.

we've now totaled shy of $2 billion, the largest proportion of it, i might add, humanitarian assistance, and we are proud that the united states is the largest humanitarian donor in order to try to ingest the growing humanitarian catastrophe that exists on the ground. president obama recently announced that the united states will provide an additional $339 million in humanitarian assistance on top of the more than billion that we've already put in. but one thing is clear. and one thing really was made even more clear in the meetings that we had this morning. i don't know anybody, including the ussians, and others in region, who are not part of the

support group, who believe that there is a military solution to this conflict. it is clear that both sides will continue to fight and to fight and to fight. d in the end, the greatest victims, the people who suffer the most, are the syrian people themselves who are driven from their homes and killed in the most wanton violence and who are having the most increasingly profound impact on surrounding countries that are seeing their lives affected as a consequence of the outflow of refugees. this war will not come to an end on the battlefield, i believe, and i think most people believe. it will come to an end through a negotiated settlement. joint special representative brahimi and the russians and we have come together and

consulted closely in an effort to try to define a path forward for convening the geneva 2 conference as soon as it is practical to do so. and special representative brahimi is making his judgments now. there will be a meeting, you will hear shortly from the syrian opposition. they will be meeting in about -- a little more than a week's time for their own general assembly, make their own decisions, and subsequently other decisions will be made with respect to this. but we believe the london 11 that came together today, europes and arabs, turks, members of this support group me together and all agreed that it is imperative that we try to get to the negotiating table and try to save the lives and to save the existence of

the state of syria itself. he only alternative to a negotiated settlement is continued, if not increased, killing. we've seen children anyway pammed. we've seen -- nepal amed. we've seen -- napalmed. we've seen university students bombed at their desks. we've seen hospitals, which are supposed to take care of people, become the targets. this is a tragedy and right now it is one of the great tragedies on the face of this planet. and it deserves the focus and intention of all of us to try to bring it to an end. we believe that the path of war will simply lead to the implosion of the state of syria. it will lead to the rise of extremist groups and extremism itself. it will lead to more refugees spilling over the borders and putting strains on surrounding countries.

and it will further destabilize the region and lead ultimately to thedy didn't gration of the syrian stale -- the dedidn't gration of the syrian state. all of this makes this challenge a global challenge, an international challenge, of the greatest proportions. so that's why we're here. that's why we came to london today. to demonstrate our support for the moderate opposition and to create the conditions for settlement that implements the geneva communique and brings the bloodshed to an end. our job, as the 11tate states who form the core group of the friends of syria, is to do everything in our power to help the opposition be able to come together with a strong unified position and a representative body at geneva so that they can negotiate effectively. the agreement that led to the strong and unprecedented u.n.

security council resolution to eliminate syria's chemical weapons, actually the concept first floated right here at is podium in this room, that initiative has become a very important step forward in this overall effort. the organization for the prohibition of -- prohibition of chemical weapons is now making progress on the ground, on identifying syria's chemical weapons and destroying its mixing and filling equipment. and everyone here should ask themselves, if it is possible for us to have an agreement, which allows people to get on the ground and go into communities and get a hold of emical weapons, is it really not possible for us to have people on the ground who can go in and get food and medicine to people who are starving and

dying for the lack of it? surely we have the ability to be able to do that and that is something we are going to focus on increasingly in the days ahead. the united states has also provided armored vehicles to the united nations to support the u.n. and the opcw efforts to verify and destroy syria's chemical weapons and we're going to continue to explore ways to do more. but i just have to say to all f you, we cannot stop there. removing the chemical weapons does not remove the crisis. and it doesn't remove the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding before the world's eyes. it doesn't change the situation for people who are under fire from assad's artillery or his bombs, his airplanes, his scuds. assad continues to deploy ballistic missiles and other

conventional weapons and he's using his air force to rain down terror on the people of his country. innocent men, women and children are starving, as i mentioned a moment ago, while the assad regime continues to block humanitarian access. so i think the stakes could not be more clear. the killing of well more than 100,000 people, innocent men, women and children, the destabilization of an entire region, the displacement of millions of people inside of syria, the creating of refugees by the millions outside of syria, and the potential for a beautiful and ancient country to be fully destroyed by sectarian and extremist violence is what is at stake here. and that is why the 11 of us are committed to pursuing every avenue available to bring this

tragic conflict to an end. i want to just end by saying that the geneva communique is more than a piece of paper. and it should not be a forgotten level of diplomacy. it is the road map that leads to a new future and it's a future that can end the bloodshed in syria, can respond to the humanitarian catastrophe and it rids the country of violence -- violent extremist groups. that's our goal. what we seek is a unified, pluralistic syria, one that is representative of all of its people's aspirations, one that protects minority and majority alike, all religions, all points of view, all politics, all sectarian affiliations. curds, christians, and any other minority group. must be protected.

so, that is our goal, that's what brought us here. we're in the important days of trying to make this conference happen. i believe it can. and we're going to stay at it until it does. on that i'm happy to answer any questions. >> the first question will be from michael gordon of "new york times." >> -- [inaudible] -- one purpose of the meeting today was to bolster the moderate syrian opposition and the communique talks are boosting up support for that but there are no specifics. can you tell us specifically what concrete support, financial, military or material, will be given to the opposition as a direct result of today's meeting? and a related question, is the communique was a host of confidence-building measures, the release of people who have arbitrarily detained. are any of these steps to be taken prior to the holding of

geneva 2 or are these long-range goals for the culmination of that negotiation ? and lastly, have all of the moderate opposition committed to attending geneva 2, the communique makes clear that there's no role for assad in a transitional body but it may take quite a long time for there to be such a body since it's by mutual consent. indeed it may never happen and people like -- have asked for an upfront commit thament assad will go before attending have. all the moderate opposition agreed to attend and if not what are you going to do to persuade them to attend? >> let me clarify. let me be absolutely clear. the opposition is not saying that assad has to go before this negotiation. that is not what they're saying. that is the formula that this process was stuck in before i went to russia last may and met with president putin and foreign minister laverave and it was agreed that we needed to

get to the conference in order to have the discussion. and reach mutual agreement. you can't reach mutual consent if you're not talking to anybody. there's no mutuality. there's no potential of consent. so the fact is that you have to go and engage in a discussion and then see what the opposition -- see. what the opposition has said is their condition is that the intent of this is to see that assad goes, which in fact is what happens if you implement geneva 1. geneva 1 contemplates a transition government by mutual consent, the full executive authority. there isn't anybody in the world who believes that the opposition is going to give consent to assad to be part of that. now assad also can veto other people. so the trick here is to find the people who would be

acceptable to both sides, who would have the respect of the syrian people, and be able to manage a transition government that allows the people of syria to choose their future. but one thing is guaranteed. there's no way that mutual consent includes bashar al-assad. and the position of the united states has not changed. we believe that he has lost all legitimacy, all capacity to govern the country. and therefore it's hard to imagine any resolution in any other way. now, he obviously has different plans. we understand that. but the russians have said that he accepts geneva 1 and the russians have said that they will make sure that the regime is there and negotiating in good faith and we accept the ian statements on face

value and we expect them to be there and negotiate in good faith. the opposition has told us in the past that it's their intention to do it. but they have to make up their mind and their new format in about a week when they meet for their assembly and none of us are going to prejudge or precondition what they will choose to do in that process. >> mr. kerry, saudi diplomats are letting it be known that they will limit their dealings with washington in protest at what they see as the lack of action on syria. what's the saudi foreign minister told you about that? is this a serious rift with your saudi allies? and secondly, do you think this conference in geneva will happen next month or not? or are the prospects as gloomy as today's very english weather? [laughter] >> i thought it was pretty nice

out, actually. t didn't seem all that gloomy. first of all, the prince, who is the foreign minister of the kingdom of saudi arabia, told me yesterday at a meeting that we had in paris, two meetings we had, actually, and again today that saudi arabia is taking part in, working with, cooperating with us and saudi arabia today signed on to this communique. and was part of its formulation in the discussions we had today. so all i can tell you is that saudi arabia and the united states agree on a great deal here going forward. we work closely with saudi arabia on a range of regional, political and security issues, including syria, iran, middle

east peace, egypt. we're still working with them on those. know that the saudis were obviously, you know, disappointed that the strike didn't take place and have questions about some of the other things that may be happening in the region. it's our obligation to work closely with them, as i am doing. the president asked me to come and have the conversations that we've had. i think they were very, very constructive. and i am convinced we are on the same page, as we are proceeding forward, and i look forward to working very closely with our saudi friends and allies. >> you know, i believe the conference can happen next month. i'm hoping it will happen next month. both foreign minister lavrov and i in our conversations with u.n. officials, have expressed our hopes that it can happen next month. but obviously there are other players and we're not going to sit here and we don't have the

right to make decisions for other players. they're independent and they have to exercise their own rights here. the opposition has a series of steps that it's taking. we respect those steps. you'll hear from president -- the president and we respect their process by which they need to decide how to come to the table if they come to the table. i'm confident that in the end the opposition will decide this is in their best interests. you can win at the negotiating table. while it may take a long time and a lot of loss of life, a lot of bloodshed and potential destruction to win on the battlefield. so i think they see that. i think they see something very positive in that. and our hope is that this conference can begin. it will never be easy. i don't want to suggest to anybody here that just because everybody says yes and you have the conference and you go to the meeting that this is going to be easy.

it's not. but it is far better to be at that table, working diplomatically, laying out a groundwork and a framework, and allowing nations to come to the table and help to work their will as to how we can resolve this crisis. and it would be irresponsible on all of our part simply to let this mayhem and chaos grow at the expense of the syrian people and the region while we do nothing. that is obviously unacceptable. so the best thing to do is try to get to that table and that's what we're trying to do. >> i'd like to go back to some of your comments about the saudi issue. how do you square what your takeaway was from the prince yesterday to what the other prince was quoted saying today. you don't think it's going to

be a durable shift away or durable problem, policy issue between saudi and the u.s. but how would you answer specifically some of the issues that theys have had with u.s. policy, specifically that the -- they would say that the u.s. has done little to back the syrian opposition, they would say that the u.s. picked the wrong horse in egypt when it worked with the muslim brotherhood and they would -- >> what? >> when they worked with the muslim brotherhood. when the u.s. worked with the muslim brotherhood. and they would say they fear that washington is cutting a deal with iran that would hurt saudi interests. >> well, i'm very familiar with their concerns. and as i say, i spent a really delightful and very, very constructive several hours highness, th his the prince. and we discussed every sing of one of these things -- single one of these things. and i explained exactly where the united states is coming from, what we think about each of these issues.

and we will continue to consult with our saudi friends as we always have in the past. and i think -- i think the prince and i left that meeting with a strong, agreed-upon sense of what is important to both of us and of how we are going to continue to work together in order to achieve our ends and our goals together. now, i saw the comments that were printed today. they were printed from several days ago. before this conversation took place. i think people need to touch base and kind of get a sense of -- from the prince himself, who is the foreign minister, exactly how he sees this. but i will tell you that on egypt, both of our countries want to see a successful return to an inclusive democratic government, with progress on the interim government's

specified road map. we want to see that. and while, yes, the united states engaged diplomatically with the prior government, the prior government was elected by the people of egypt and duly sworn in. and we have interests in the region that mandated government-to-government dealings. but we understand fully the failures of that government. we understand fully some of the deep-rooted feelings with respect to the brotherhood in that region. and i think the united states is perfectly capable of making distinctions between its own philosophical groundings and alues and the necessity to government-to-government, do things with respect to security , peace process, sinai and

other issues of national consequence to us. on the middle east peace, saudi arabia has been a critical partner. just yesterday we reaffirmed the saudi commitment to the -- the saudi commitment to its own initiative. a very significant initiative. the prince's description of the -- of his vision and the saudi vision for the peace that rates for israel, providing we can move the process which they are committed to and very much a part of, we can move that forward. they are a partner in that effort through their role in the arab league, as well as their authorship of the arab peace initiative. addition, we both share saudi arabia and the united

states share with almost every other country in the region deep concern about iran's nuclear program. and its impact on the region. and we had a very frank conversation yesterday about that. i think they understand exactly what the united states is engaged in and i reaffirmed president obama's commitment that he will not allow iran to have a nuclear weapon. and i reiterated our position in any negotiation that our eyes are wide open, actions are what will speak to us, not words, and no deal is better than a bad deal. so i think there's a clear understanding in our relationship going forward and i have great confidence that the united states and saudi arabia will continue to be a close and important friend and ally that we've been.

>> final question. >> secretary kerry, i wanted to ask you, about the transitional governing body. once there is an agreement on this, it's meant to have full executive powers. but would it be possible for president assad to remain as president, hand over some powers, and then run for the elections as he speak about yesterday and he's spoken repeatedly? and the communique says that this is not to be an open-ended process. can you see a time frame for it? if i can ask you also about iran. since your meeting with the foreign minister, you have seen the iranians being more constructive when it comes to syria? thank you. >> well, with respect to syria? well, syria wasn't the topic of our conversation. the topic of our conversation was their nuclear program. >> [inaudible] >> we have not seen a significant change in that period of time with respect to syria. and needless to say, it was certain -- it would certainly be welcome and it would be a very important sign with

respect to good faith in terms of resolving the regional issues and showing a desire to have stability over business as usual. so we would certainly welcome that. but it was not a topic of the conversation. and i want to stress that. we were unique lie talking about how we would proceed with respect to the nuclear negotiations. assad and the time frame, it means what it says. the language is very clear. there, uage says that you know, should be no delay in this process. that this will not be open-ended. and that it ought to, if you're acting in good faith, be able to be completed in, you know, within months, within some

period of months. that gives you a time frame. and, you know, i think that it would be wrong to prejudge what that is. we will know if they're serious very quickly. it's not hard to show you're serious about setting up a transitional government. and i think very early on we'll be able to see if people are offering up real people who have real capacity to do it, who could legitimately be acceptable to both sides, rather than offering up people who have blood on their handles, who are a mere continuation of the assad regime itself. so this will not be hard to discern. and finally, with respect to assad himself, and his continuance, the question you asked, that's for the parties to negotiate. that's not for us to predetermine. the key is that you have full executive authority that is transferred. that means you're not, you

know, playing games and someone isn't pulling the strings from behind the scenes and the people who are there are legitimately moving for all syrians to protect all syrians and send a message about a fair, free, transparent, accountable, accessible election for everybody to be able to choose the future of syria. that's the standard. and within that standard the parties will have to decide. it's not our decision to make. if two sides negotiate -- you have two sides negotiating. others will be there but this will be, you know, negotiated by the opposition, represented by one delegation, by the syrian opposition, who will bring others in with them, but one delegation on each side and they will make that decision. >> thank you, everyone. >> thank you all very much. good to be with you. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> well, in just about an hour and a half, the u.s. house will

return to session. at 5:00 p.m. eastern. they'll debate bills dealing with student safety and adoption of foster children. there will also be another bill naming a veterans medical center for the late congressman bill young who passed away on friday. he was the longest serving republican house member. his tenure, over 22 terms. you can see the house live when they return right here on c-span, again starting at 5:00 p.m. eastern. coming up this thursday, the house energy and commerce committee will hold a hearing looking into the implementation of the health care law. with reports of numerous glitches on the website, we do expect many questions on that. that hear willing get under way at 9:00 a.m. eastern, thursday on c-span 2. and coming up this friday night, road to the white house 2016 from the annual ronald reagan dinner. there will be remarks by potential presidential candidate texas senator ted cruz among others. live coverage hosted by the iowa republican party starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern here or c-span.

>> just hours after the japanese attack on pearl harbor and before her husband addressed the nation, first lady eleanor roosevelt was on the radio talking with america. >> good evening, ladies and gentlemen. i'm speaking to you tonight at a very serious moment in our history. the cabinet is convening and the leaders in congress are meeting with the president. the state department and army and navy officials have been with the president all afternoon. in fact, the japanese ambassador was talking to the president at the very time that japan's air ships were bombing our citizens in hawaii and the philippines and sinking one of our transports loaded with lumber on its way to hawaii. by tomorrow morning, the members of congress will have a full report and be ready for action. in the meantime, we the people are already prepared for action. for months now the knowledge that something of this kind might happen has been hanging over our heads and yet it

seemed impossible to believe. impossible to drop the everyday things of life and feel that there was only one thing which was important -- preparation to meet an enemy no matter where he struck. that is all over now. and there is no more uncertainty. we know what we have to face and we know that we are ready to face it. >> watch our program on eleanor roosevelt at our website, c-span.org/firstladies or see it saturday on c-span at 7:00 p.m. eastern. and we continue our series live monday as we look at first lady betting truman. -- beth truman. c-span's student cam video competition asks, what's the most important issue congress should consider in 2014? make a five to seven-minute documentary showing various points of view and be sure to include c-span video. the competition's open to all middle and high school students with a grand prize of $5,000.

this year we've doubled the number of winners and total prizes. entries are due by january 20, 2014. need more information? visit studentcam.org. maryland congresswoman donna edwards held a forum on women's economic agenda in her district at the first baptist church today in maryland. house democratic leader nancy pelosi and maryland senator barbara mccull i ask also discussed the importance of women to the american economy and their economic agenda focusing o'ing on women. initiatives include raising the minimum wage, equal pay for women and affordable child care. this is about an hour and 10 minutes.

>> wow, wow. good morning. good morning. so i'm congresswoman donna edwards and i represent maryland's fourth congressional district. welcome to the fourth district. [applause] i am really delighted, one, to see this packed house. and it wasn't really difficult to do with all of the work that we do around the community, and in this region. centered around some of the most fabulous women you find anywhere. so thank you very much for joining us today. i have the privilege of representing this congressional district and representing a state that the center for american progress has said is the number one state for women in the country. [applause] now, of course, we take great pride in that but we still know we have a lot of work to do. i'm honored, really hoden -- really honored to be here today with our senior senator, our

mentor, our friend, our senator barb, senator barbaramy cull i ask. and most delighted to welcome somebody who is not a stranger either to prince georgia's county or to maryland or to the fourth district, our democratic leader, nancy pelosi. [applause] i want to take a special moment to thank even in his absence pastor john jenkins sr. and the community here -- i almost said my church, at first baptist church of glen arden. nd the shabat consistian academy. we did a tour of the academy and saw some of the amazing learning that is going on at the earliest age here at the academy. and so it's our delight to be able to be here and to share

hat with first baptist of glen arden. and to know that you're such a truly great partner in our community on a whole range of things. and that at this church you don't view just what you do inside the walls, but you say that your service is outside the walls of the church and it really shows in the academy and the faces and the energy of those young people. i also want to acknowledge, and i see them, so many of our elected officials from the region, and i want to take a minute to acknowledge them and to know that we're just really delighted that you also could join us because whether you're mayors or you're in our county, representing our county, or you're statewide, you understand the importance of the work that we're engaged in together. so i want to recognize our states attorney, angela

alsobrooks. i probably should have said first my good friend, dear friend, carmen walker brown, who is representing lieutenant governor anthony brown here today. welcome, carmen. [applause] brayfoy who represents a district in the maryland house of delegates and is the chair of the legislative black caucus. [applause] marlin glen, the clerk of the circuit court here. thank you, marlin, for joining us. [applause] let's see. and we have -- i keep -- i'm going down the list but i should just actually look at you. delegate araianna kelly. thank you for joining us. delegate aruna miller. also from montgomery county. my friend, sister and soulmate

and childhood friend, valerie irvin, a member of the montgomery county council. mayor of a tremendous city, a lot of energy, of forest heights here in maryland, jacklin goodall. and i don't think that i've missed anyone. because i'm looking around. but thank you all very much for joining us. you know, when leader pelosi got together with the democratic women's working group, i chaired the democratic women's working group, and thathes the -- and that is the women members of the house of representatives and we talked with each other and among us and also with a lot of our allies out in the community and running grassroots organizations, about what was needed in this next step, to really fulfill its true economic agenda for women. and we decided, and we knew that if we could formulate that agenda, we know that when women

succeed, america succeeds. and at the core of that success there's things that many of us have worked on and different pieces over the years, but we wanted to put them together. and so visiting these 4-year-olds and 3-year-olds here today and seeing their energy reminded all of us of the importance of investing in early learning, investing in quality, affordble and accessible child care. there's probably not a one of us in this room who doesn't have an experience that we can recount about child care. my own, you know, personally, when my son was -- he's now 25, but sometimes when you rount these stories it feels like yesterday. yesterday of paying late fees when you show up late because you're rushing through rush hour traffic, to pick up your child. and seeing the look on his face, but also the people who work at the child care facility. having maybe even made a bad choice like i did once about

child care, because it was all that i could afford and it turned out that it was a place that really wasn't safe for him. he ended up with meningitis and i almost lost him. and so all of us struggle in different ways around this issue and so we want an agenda that says that if we invest in early learning and we invest in quality, affordable, accessible child care, that it expands opportunities for women, opportunities for them to succeed in business, in their professions, to succeed at home. we also know that it's important for us to have equal pay for equal work. [applause] now, leader pelosi and i know that in the house of representatives that we get paid the same as our male counterparts. but we also know that our sisters and friends and women around the country don't have that same experience. and the importance -- can you imagine what a family loses when they lose 25% of their

income because one family member is not paid equal to their counterparts at work? and then of course a significant part of this agenda is that when we struggle as care givers, whether it's caring for ourselves or for our family members, for our children, and we may need to take a day off, if we're not paid for that day off, can you imagine the decision that you have to make? i know i had to make it as a young mother, to just either go to work sick or take my kid to work with me sick, curl him up in a corner, i've done this before of a room, while i have a meeting, because i can't afford to take off and i couldn't afford to stay home with him. and these are the struggles that mothers face, families face all across this country. so i'm glad that you've been able to join us today because we know that if we make an investment in this agenda and that's an investment that's going to require the grassroots support of leaders like

yourself all through all of our communities so we can make it a reality for women and families. so i want to thank you again for being here because this is about improving the lives of women and families and the health of our nation's economy. because when you do invest in women in this kind of way, then we invest in the economic success and health of our country. and so, i'd like to have you join me in welcoming some folks who are representatives frankly of a lot of stories that can be told really throughout our communities. and i want to welcome to the microphone a good friend of , who is real leader in montgomery county. she's originally from egypt. but she's been a re-resident of montgomery county for over 40 years. she openness -- owns and operates three child care centers. and what an amazing progressive

woman. she provides paid sick leave for her employees and i'd like to -- to you welcome her. [applause] so that she can tell us why and what it means. imi. >> good morning. oh, yes, ok. [laughter] yeah. that's better. hey, listen. oh, thank you very much, donna. thank you for. this i'm all about empowered woman. so let's get all empowered. get our wings and fly. yes. my name is mimi and i do own three child care and i have a story to share with you. it is an investment. you are absolutely right. and affordable child care could happen. ok?

i have in my child care, i offer my staff sick paid leave. the reason i do that is because instead, if that teacher who comes to my child care, and she is sick, she's going to get the kids sick. so it's going to cost me money. if you think about business, it's going to cost me more money if i don't give her the sick day leave. so i offer sick day leave for all my staff. also what really breaks my heart, and i have seen it on a daily by a circumstances ok, we have -- basis, ok, we have a policy. a child has to be free 24 hours of fever. it breaks my heart when i see children coming into the school in the morning and coming and telling me, ms. mimi, can you please take care of me because my mom have to go to work? and i'm sick. you know what this parent does? they get their child tylenol, four hours, just four hours so they can go to work, report

that they have gone to work, and then they get a call from me, hi, your child is sick, you need to come and pick him up. well, what happened at this time? the child is contagious. so the germs spread. so the diseases infect. you hear about child care or school sometimes, they close. why? because the child is sick. and they go to school -- they go to school. so i'm here all to tell you, it could be done. i'm in business to make money and nobody gets in business to lose money, right? so, even though i am paying sick day leave, i'm still making money. so it could be done. it could happen. can work out we together, also when it comes to subsidized money. i have parents who cannot afford to pay the co-pay, ok, because they cannot match. so what i do is i offer them a scholarship. well, maybe i'm an exception,

ok? maybe i just have a good heart. but how can i have -- how can i get my message to every child care business, to all the state governments, to everybody who is involved in this, to help this industry, to help those parents? we have all women that work and remember, we're going -- [inaudible] i am here to tell you, please help us. everybody, it is an investment and you need to invest money to get the result. thank you very much. i look forward to seeing you. [applause] >> thank you. i don't need the stool so i'm going to stand back a little bit. [laughter] senator, i heard that. [laughter] i want to take a moment to introduce our next guest. maher even evans arthur graduated in may from the

university of maryland in baltimore county. was a b.a. in gender and women's study and political science. she was a first generation college student who went back to school after being a stay-at-home mom for two years. when she was looking to go back to school, she had to engage in some important financial considerations. pay the tuition or pay the daycare. and so i'd like to welcome to the stage maureen evans arthur. [applause] >> good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> so, yes, as congresswoman edwards said, my name is maureen evans arthers and in may i began the first person in my family to mr. ayotte: tend college. [applause] thank you. but it wasn't necessarily easy and it almost didn't happen. because of the extremely high cost of child care. so today i stand before you not only as a mcnair research fellow, but also as a mother of

a 7-year-old boy named noah. d i was a stay-at-home mom and i loved it. when i decided it was time to go back to school, i did the normal things, supplied recommendation letters, and essentially just kind of went through that same process that we all remember. but then i had to look at child care and so i went to not one and not two but to eight daycare providers where i lived in howard county and the average cost was $1,100 per month. and with the math, that ends up being over $13,000 a year. and so i was really torn. my husband and i. i felt lucky that we only had one child when tons of my friends had multiples. and i was also lucky that he was 24 months old and he was considered a toddler and not an infant because infant care, as many of you might know, is $300

to $400 more expensive than the $1,100 that they quoted me. so i found myself asking, do i even go to school or do i continue to be a stay-at-home mom until he's school-aged, which for him, because he had a late october birthday, would not be until he was 6 instead of 5. so it was very difficult and we just said, you know, we can't afford child care on our own. and as a nontraditional student, i received a combination of merit-based loans so i should not have had -- i essentially got free tuition and books. so i shouldn't have graduated with any student loans whatsoever. but i ended up having to take out almost $30,000 in student loans in order to subsidize child care costs and what my husband and i could not afford. however, i also feel like i'm lucky. i've been out of school for six months and i've been starting to apply for graduate school, but in that process, my husband and i will have to factor in my loan repayments into our already packed family budget just because affordable child

care and safe child care aren't synonymous and as congresswoman edwards touched on, we originally enrolled my son in -- i guess would you call it a subpar child care agency, that was about $600 less a month, and within three weeks he had pneumonia. he was rushed to the hospital with a 105-degree feesker and instantly i said, you know what, we have to pay the costs. it's not worth my son's life and the stress. and at that point i thought, i'm just done. i'm not going to do school, it wasn't meant to be. then my husband really pushed me to do it and we ended up taking out student loans. and i actually feel like i lucked out, with only $30,000 of student loan debt. 3/4 of which was because of child care. but i was lucky that i only had to pay it for 2 1/2 years as opposed to four years. my son was old enough to eventually attend a preschool that aligned with my school schedule. so i was able to pick him up and go to class when he didn't have to be in child care. and so honestly, if my son had

been younger and we had to pay those infant prices, i probably wouldn't have gone back to school. and so understanding the cost associated with child care actually remains one of the reasons why my husband and i will not be expanding our family. which is unfortunate. and too many smart and extremely motivated women end up having to forego and education or a leave of fulfilling a career in order to make sacrifices for their children. and so that's why i and millions of other families like mine really need the women's economic agenda to make sure that these difficult choices become a thing of the past. so, thank you so much for having me. [applause] >> thank you very much. you can see that when you hear stories like that, we just say, we have to do it, we really do have to do it differently. and next to the stage i want to welcome danelle buckman.

she's a 37-year resident of clarksford, maryland, who was fired after a pregnancy-related incident by a small employer. she was not covered by the federal family and medical leave act. the new labor department study actually shows that neither of the 40% of work force -- neither are the 40% of the u.s. work force. [applause] >> thank you. it's a true honor to be here. i live in howard county, maryland. i'm here today because in june, 2010, i almost died during child birth. no, it's not the 19th century. the truth is that danger surrounding pregnancy and child birth still exist.

fmla is designed to help families in emergencies like circumstances like mine. the fmla was an historic law that took place 20 years ago and i'm thankful that many fought so hard for its passage because it meant that tens of millions of families to keep their jobs when health crises arrived. but it's been two decades and like i was, a significant portion of the work force is not protected. that's why i'm so excited that the congressional leaders here today are working with others in congress a new proposal designed to support families when they're out of work for pregnancy, childbirth or to take care of ill family members. having to take that time off without pay causes huge financial strains from families. the time i spent out of work for recovery and job searching resulted in a very rough couple

years financially for my family. we were very fortunate to have family and friends support but many people are not so lucky and that's why i ultimately decided to speak up and share my story, to be a voice for women who may not have one or to hopefully inspire others to get involved. no woman or man should have to worry about his or her financial security when serious medical issues or complications arrive for themselves or a member of their family who need their care. it's long past time for leave for this country. thanks so much. [applause] >> thank you very much. you know, i sat here and sometimes you can skip lines but i wanted to make sure we wanted to make sure we hear from guests and sharing their stories which are repeated across this country. while there's not been a greater fighter, not just in

maryland, but all across the country for women. we get to call her our own, senator barbara mikulski was elected to the united states senate in 1986. she is -- and she was the first democratic woman elected on her own right and in her own right. [applause] we had the great privilege of being able to celebrate senator mikulski as the longest serving woman elected in her own right in the united states senate. [applause] these days we like to say that she is the chair of the powerful senate appropriations committee. we like to say that in maryland. she is a champion of women, she is the dean of the women in the senate, she's a mentor for

women in the senate, a mentor for women in the house. she truly does nurture us. you can tell that senator mikulski, when i first met her, the first thing she shared with me was not all that other stuff. she shared with me that she was a social worker. i think that is so fundamental to the way that she thinks about the needs of women and families and all of our communities all across the country and that's the kind of leadership that she brings in the senate. she will tell you that i'll do t too, that when the lilly ledbetter fair pay act was signed into law, signed by newly sworn president barack obama, it was senator mikulski who led the fight in the senate, our leader who led the fight in the house. [applause] and so please join me in welcoming our great favorite senator, senator barb.

[applause] >> good morning, everybody. i'm just delighted to be here at this forum, making sure that america's children are taken care of in the best childcare program that the world can offer. and shouldn't a great country be able to do that? and you know what, for me it's just a delight to get through the last 17 days that we have been through of slamdown, shutdown politics. and to be here with this wonderful turbo team of donna edwards and speaker pelosi working with real issues that the american families have, that we can come up with real solutions. and this is what i am so

delighted -- why i am so delighted to be here. during the last several days, there's been a lot of focus on obamacare. well, obama does care, and that's what we're going to talk about here today. [applause] and then it's going to be, well, what can we afford? well, dear friends, somehow or another, we can somehow afford war. now it's time we start taking care of the needs of the american people and begin to build our country again. [applause] and i am so pleased to be the the dean onored to be of the women in the united states senate. that means i am the longest serving. friends, it's not how long you serve but it's how well you serve that makes the difference. and now with 20 of us, 16 democratic women and four republicans, we're working with real issues and we want to

extend our hand and our friendship and our clout and know-how at every assignment and every committee assignment to move an agenda forward, to really help american families. now, we the women of the senate, joining with our colleagues, we work on the macroissues. yes, big budget, big foreign policy, big stuff, but you know what, we work on the macaroni and cheese issues. what we bring to the table is what's happening at the kitchen table, what are families talking about, what are they trying to sort out? the kinds of conversations these three wonderful women had, to go to school or not to go to school, the stresses on the family with danelle. she worked for me. she worked with me many years ago. i was taller, she was shorter.

[laughter] now here she is, the executive director of a hospice program and look at what she's been through. we've got to focus on the macaroni and cheese issues and that's how we'll impact the macro issues of our country. we need to if he cuss on our families. and that's why i'm so proud with this turbo team in the house -- what the turbo team in the house has done. led by congresswoman donna edwards, the democratic congresswoman's caucus, speaker pelosi at her back encouraging her and helping her in every way possible to come up with this agenda. and we know what the agenda is because we talk with you, we've met with you, we've listened to you and we know that for the american women and american families, first of all, the most important thing in addition to love, you need an income.

you need an income that is reliable, that is predictable and means you can have a living wage and this comes to why we need to raise the minimum wage in this country. [applause] and we have to make sure that equal pay for equal work. as many of you might say, senator barb, don't we take care of that with lilly ledbetter? well, lilly ledbetter overturned a supreme court decision that had time limits on when you could bring the suits, but we are for something called paycheck fairness which means when you bring a suit you're not going to be harassed and that you have a right to know what the person standing next to you is paid. most women don't know who -- what the guys are making. and it's not that they don't want to tell you. they'll be fired if they want to be a pal and partner with you.

so we want to finish the job we began with lilly ledbetter and we want to make sure we pass paycheck fairness so we truly have equal pay for equal work and you can pursue that agenda in your workplace. that's number one. number two, we believe when you work you should also have the confidence that you're going to have health care. and this is why we supported the affordable care act. we believe in the affordable care act because all of us know as we work, as we were out there in the communities listening to you, particularly stening to the stories, like danelle and maureen and mimi, that the fact is that for just being a woman was a pre-existing condition and they looked for every excuse that they could find to take your health care away from you. and we said, hell, no. our mammograms won't go, our

health care won't go and being a woman in america will no longer be counted as a pre-existing condition. did you -- [applause] so in some states, if you had a cesarean, they dropped your insurance. in eight states, if you were a victim of domestic violence, they counted it as a pre-existing condition. so when that guy whose name -- i will not mention in the house, that's trying to huff and puff and blow it away, he says he wants to repeal it and he wants to replace it. i say we will never turn back that being a woman in the united states of america will no longer be regarded as a pre-existing condition. and if you got your health care, you get to keep it. [applause] and then there's the third issue which is education. and education is not only k-12

which we see the wonderful academy we have here and our public schools and our great public school teachers, but education begins from hour one, from day one, from week one, and that's where we come to childcare that's available, affordable, safe and is also educational. we're not talking about warehousing our children. we're talking about taking care of our children. it's called childcare. child education. and that's why we want to really focus on expanding the opportunities to make childcare more available, more affordable, definitely safe and have quality standards where those children have the opportunity to be able to learn and to be regular school ready. that's what we're working on. and in the senate i'm taking the lead on childcare. one of the very first things we want to do is make sure in

debate we keep the childcare tax credit. we need to keep the childcare tax credit where you can take up to $3,000 a year as a tax break on -- for childcare. now, if we can give tax breaks to send jobs overseas, we can give tax breaks to american families for able to afford childcare. let's keep that childcare tax credit. [applause] and then for those women who are looking to move ahead in life, that when we look there we also want to re-authorize the community development childcare block grant. that's where i've taken the lead in the senate and forged bipartisan coalitions and we want to pick it up in the house. the childcare development block grant is the primary federal grant program to provide childcare assistance for working families. it was last re-authorized in

1996, and in fact every major program, helping families and children was done under the clinton administration. nothing has happened since then, and now it's the barack obama generation with the new generation of women leadership to make sure we move this forward. nothing new has been done since 1996. no more. in maryland, there are 14,700 families that are served by that program. in the whole country, a million and a half children received that help. so we're putting together to refresh, to reform and to renew the childcare development block grant. that is what was on the agenda in the senate. we've already moved it through the health education committee. 've had the support of two republicans. there are, you should know, real republicans who are

compassionate conservatives. you remember that phase? and there are those -- [laughter] i find them -- seek and you shall find. [laughter] and so our agenda in the senate is to join with our sisters in the house to work in common cause with their agenda, the agenda they put together and to be able to move this forward. so we want to be sure that in if all of the debate that when more s said and done, gets said than gets done, but now it's time to do the job. and you know when you have an easy job, you know who to give it to. when you have a tough job, give it to the women and we'll get it done. may the force be with us. [applause] >> thank you very much, senator mikulski.

that's right. when you have a tough job, give it to somebody who can get it done. you know, as you can hear, i mean, the ideas of an economic agenda for women that really envisions quality, affordable and accessible childcare, that envisions equal pay for equal work, raising the minimum wage, expanding opportunities for women, the idea of providing family and medical leave so women have the flexibility that they need to make sure that they and their families succeed. and there has been no greater champion of this economic agenda when women succeed, america skeds, than there is our leader, 25 years-plus in the house, just inducted into the women's hall of fame. say congratulations, our leader, former speaker, going to be speaker again, nancy pelosi. [applause] >> good morning, everyone.

i hasten to add, when i was inducted into the women's hall of fame last weekend, i was following in the footsteps of the longest woman in congress, senator barbara mikulski, who preceded me. i was so honored, barbara, you know how thrilling it was, that you would be joined by 19 house democratic women members and people were thrilled when the women came to the stage, all of those women joining us in seneca falls. so much has been said already about when women succeed, america succeeds, an economic agenda for women and families. i want to put it in historical perspective and talk about where we go from here. much of that has been said as well. want to thank mimi and danelle and maureen about the testimony we need. the personal stories are the strongest. the strongest testimonies we can have and the evidence upon which we want to base our policy.

to do so with all of you here under the auspices of congresswoman donna edwards is an honor indeed and to be joined by so many women of so many official families of the region as well, thank you for honoring with us with your presence and blessing the community with your leadership and service. and to be here with senator barb, as she and i went to the same high school some years ago, and i've been following her career and then big fan and admirer of hers and she's a champion on all of these issues and she and i and donna predicate our priorities on the experience of the american people. as has been said. i want to join others. thank reverend jenkins for voting -- inviting us here today, providing this auspices and to go to the academy was something quite remarkable, to see the children and the attention, the quality,

affordable attention that they are receiving was quite remarkable. and the sabak christian academy. just extraordinary. so here's the thing, at the beginning of this congress, we now had passed the affordable care act, we started to work on the implementation on it. i'm going back to last january. we said, what is it that we can do to change the environment for women so it's no longer a matter of incrementalism, doing a little bit better, it's about doing something very different to unleash the full power of women? when we first won the house in 2006 and the senate then, we were thinking about survival, because as congresswoman barb said, so much had been done for a number of years. so it's about survival. and then we -- when president obama became president, it was about success, about taking people to a higher level. then we were on the mission to

ve -- not only survival, success, but to be about transformation, to take people to another height, that anything, maureen, that you decided to do, mimi, the people that you see, danelle, anything is possible. i hearken back to our founders and our forbearers, so we decided, what would these particular issues be. so we had a series of meetings around the country, east coast, west coast, and everything in between to hear what would it be. we had done the affordable care act, as senator barb said. no longer being a woman is a pre-existing condition. remarkable. remarkable. then the violence against women act was accomplished in a bipartisan way eventually and finally. and that was important. but we were just focusing on the workplace. just specifically, many items on the agenda, we wanted to

prioritize, what could transform the respect for work of women in the workplace? and we listened to women across the country and we developed and worked with associations ke the fair pay coalition, aauw, ywca. they had been working on these issues for a while and came one these three things that had been emphasized. pay, raise the minimum wage. 62% that get the minimum wage are women. we must increase the minimum wage. we did it the first 100 hours when we had the majority in the house and senate in 2007. we raised the minimum wage. but it's time to raise it again and it's long overdue. raise the minimum wage. as senator mikulski has been the lead on, the paycheck fairness act. it's about paycheck fargese. imagine we make -- in many parts of the country, women make 77% of what men make for the same job, same time worked. that's like saying, you're going to work from january,

february, march, for free compared to what your male counterparts would do in the same job. that's just not right. it's just not right and we have to pass the paycheck fairness. now, that's one point. to go back to what has been said, to re-emphasize to go forward, this is about -- we pass lilly ledbetter, first bill the president signed. we had been working on it for a long time. we had the president to sign it so that was a beautiful an accomplishment and he wanted that to be a signature issue for him. and that was great. but as the senator said, that's about what recourse you have. it's not about establishing that you should by law have the pay. and then so we have -- paycheck fairness in the house and senate. congresswoman rosa delauro has been the leader on this subject and many of the subjects, as senator mikulski, has been said, not only sponsor but champion. then we talk about paid lead.

family medical leave was a great thing. 20 years ago. that, remember, senator barb, was -- one of the first bills that president clinton signed. we had been working on it for a while. we now had a president to sign it. took great pride. that was 20 years ago. as has been said, 40% of women in the workplace do not qualify because -- they don't qualify -- businesses are not large enough to cover. but nonetheless, it's unpaid by and large. it's unpaid. you have to have paid leave. maybe not the full length of the time of family medical leave but some paid leave, and we have that legislation, healthy families act. so these are all possible. we have the bills. it's just a decision. it's about our maneuvering inside but it's about the outside mobilization and that's why we're so glad to see so many leaders on this issues -- these issues. and third is childcare.

this is the most transformative. we talked about seneca falls and being inducted in the hall of fame and all the rest, and that time 165 years ago these women, imagine the courage they had to declare that all men and women are created equal and as such we demand to have equal station to which we are entitled, they said. standing on their shoulders, we're standing on their shoulders. the right the vote came decades later. when it came women given the right to vote. women demanded for it, fought for it, marched for it and the rest. so that's going to take for this. you had that and you had women in the workplace leaving home. that was revolutionary during world war ii. women paying their share of the war effort, putting in their fair share. then you had now women in the workplace and higher education of women, women in the professions. women just having the choice to

stay home or be in the workplace at whatever level. but the missing link throughout the whole time was affordable, quality childcare to really enable women to make -- to unleash their power for themselves, for their families, for our economy. as mimi said, this is about making our economy grow. if we unleash the full power in the economy, two to three points, our g.d.p. will increase two to three points. it just will. it's really important. now, senator mikulski, on this subject and the senator talked about the block grant and the tax credit and that's all important, but we also have to go -- use that as a basis and go further. lilly ledbetter, we have to go further. family medical leave, we have to go further. child block grants, tax credit, has to go further. it was on president nixon's desk and he vetoed it for social or cultural reasons.

some guys probably said that. whatever it was. but nonetheless -- that's a long time ago. this is our mission. we must have -- this is the most transformative thing we can do for not only women and their families, for men and their families as for our economy. now, just to say a couple things. first of all, we've been listening to stories across the country. you heard some eloquent ones today. what mimi said about kids going to work -- school sick, we hear it all over the country. one woman that we invited in new haven at rosa delauro's home. she got up there. she was telling her story, how she went from a single mom, this, this, got a job. her own success story. she said, let me tell you what i see in my job. i'm a bus driver, school bus driver. and i see kids -- i pull up to the stop -- i know exactly what's going to happen. there will be a mom with tears in her eyes putting a child on the bus that she knows is sick

but she has no alternative. she has no -- if she calls in sick -- not go to work, she'll be docked a day of pay which she can't afford. if you do that a couple times, you won't have a job. can't be counted on. different view. nonetheless, if she were to hire, can't afford the childcare, she has no paid sick leave, she has no alternative, child gets sick, throws up, talk about colds, all the rest -- you can just -- you can just -- you know the story. you know the story. and then you hear stories of a mom, a woman, young woman pregnant, she's working. she has to do heavy lifting. pulls a muscle, whatever, the doctor -- goes to the doctor. ask your boss if you can do some other work for the next few months because you shouldn't be lifting things. and the doctor -- the boss says, you don't have to lift

anything any more because you don't have a job any more. and this happens. it's happening here and now in the greatest country that ever existed. but you know what, we're going to change that. we're going to change that because we're going to mobilize and bond across the country, focus on a few things. we are going to stipulate some facts that senator mikulski referenced. when you educate children, you're doing so much. this is the key to everything for our country. and so head start, our motto in san francisco and head start, parents -- children learning, parents earning. so when you cut head start in order to reduce the deficit, you -- the children are losing, the teachers of the children are losing. so many can't work. i tell you this, nothing brings more money to the treasury than the education of the american people. whether it's early childhood, k-12, higher education, postgrad, lifetime learning for

our workers, nothing -- so when somebody says, i'm cutting head start to reduce the deficit, that's one of the dumbest, with stiff competition, mind you, one of the dumbest suggestions they can make. ok. [applause] so we'll talk some more about some of these things as we go along. but understanding that these are not -- these are increasing the deficit, increasing the deficit. i'll just close by saying this one story that i heard a couple weeks ago in new york when we had the -- a gathering such as this. a mom -- just going to tell you this one story, barbara. and then i have to go. this woman, a young woman gets up there. she has five kids. hispanic woman. english second language. every challenge -- beautiful resource. some would call it a challenge. we call it resource.

she tells the story, got the job. supervisor of the region. she was coming to give testimony at the hearing as we heard from mimi, maureen and danelle. i'm so confident now but i wasn't confident before this audience and making this speech. i practiced it on my children last night. and the 4-year-old, after it was over, 4-year-old who was in head start, making the pitch for head start, she said after i gave my speech, i said to the children, what do you think? do you have any questions? and my 4-year-old, who was in head start, i just have one question, mom, who gave you permission to use my name in your speech? you go, girl. it's about self-esteem. it's about children learning. it's about being ready for the future. it's about the children, as senator mikulski began her remarks. thank you all very much. [applause]

>> senator mikulski, i know she has to leave. before you do, i want to say a very special thank you for your leadership and for being here today. thank you. [applause] and just as senator mikulski makes her way out of the room, i didn't know if there were any questions. what i want to hear from everybody is that you're ready to work on this. are we ready to work on this? [applause] and leader pelosi couldn't be more perfect timing because on saturday, here in prince george's county, the women's commission -- i know there are

representatives here, we are going to have how many, 500 women? 700 women who are going to be at our women's commission meeting talking about these issues on saturday and so the women who are here in this room get to take this message out to them. and so thank you already very much. i'm looking right here because i know that's going to happen, right? excellent. and so -- maybe we have a chance for a couple of questions. yes, ma'am. >> hi. >> why don't you use the microphone right over here? thanks. >> good afternoon. my name is simone gregs and i'm the president and found irof all the love, which seeks to raise awareness about autism and the importance of early detection. in the african-american and hispanic communities, african-american children and hispanic children have the highest number of autism related cases reported in the united states.

so as you move forward in your agenda, i hope and pray that you don't forget about the mom who has a child with special needs, because most of the time -- all issues are important, but the mother who has the child with autism or disability is left out. they're discriminated against because the daycares can't accommodate. i'm sorry. they can't accommodate the children who have the disability. so i don't know what can be done. and i'm determined it not give up the fight. i don't mean to hog up the time but i just want to say that i had an opportunity to travel to new york this past weekend to go and support that mom who is

missing the nonverbal autistic child, vanessa fontaine. so i can't in good conscience say i am not about all the love and i am not helping a person or a woman in need. so please keep that family in your prayers and please let me know if there's anything that i can do, because i'm committed to helping women and empowering women. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much for sharing that. i mean, i think that part of what you hear as well is the importance of having, you know, when we say quality and affordable and accessible childcare, that has to mean for all children. and i think all of us here in this room have to embrace that notion so that we understand what it is we're fighting for. and in -- you know, in one case it may be the autistic child, but in another case it may be a child with other kinds of

needs. it doesn't mean that those children, you know, can't learn and that that parent can't be supported, but we have to make sure that when we understand what we mean about affordable, accessible childcare that that's what it is. >> my daughter, her passion in life, she's a teacher of children with special needs. she lives in houston, texas. my son-in-law, married to another daughter, lives in arizona, he's a teacher for children of special needs. it amazes me they never burn out. it's a blessing. it really is. so our conversations, whether it's at the dinner table when we're together, on the phone when we're not, it's all about what are you doing with children. of course, the autism issue has expanded, the number of children. we always want to put them in the forefront because they fall into a couple categories. of course, childcare. but also affordable care act. and so no longer will these

children, their pre-existing condition medical condition, be a barrier from receiving the health care they need. we have to have the race sensitivity, the special needs they have, and we have to respect them for who they are and what they can do, not judge them for what they cannot. and this is the spirit that we bring to that and thank you for your sharing your passion, your love on this subject. it's really important to our country. there are tens of millions of families that are affected this way. most of them feel that it's a blessing from god and in is their challenge in life. but it's to our country as well. our judgment on us will be how we meet that challenge. so thank you. [applause] >> we probably have time for maybe one or two more questions. yes, ma'am. >> thank you, again,

congresswoman donna edwards and our leader, ms. pelosi. we know that our wonderful president had a global, if you will, town hall meeting where people logged in and it was an effort that allowed many groups, such as this, organized event to log in and have a discussion which included states across our wonderful united states. i was wondering if in terms of trying to move this forward and to allow others who may not have been present here today, obviously, to engage in this and allow this movement to grow across our wonderful united states. if we can look to see how we can put together a forum of events that would take place and include everyone throughout the united states, log in and we can all engage and we can

move in a very powerful way forward. >> well, originally, we had a children's summit a few years ago and then tried to address some of the issues that sprang from that. hundreds of people coming to d.c. who were -- had constituencies, in other words, they headed up an organization or this or that. then we talked affordable care act. some of the things that sprang from that. we were now after having around 20 of these around the country and more on the schedule, i just had one in sacramento on friday. i went home for a day to california to do that. we're talking about putting something together in d.c., but to do it, as you described, globally. now, because of the visibility of what we're doing, i don't mean to take credit for this, i'm sure they were thinking about it anyway, but the white house is going to be putting something together springing from some of this. if they take the lead, of course, that will be even better.

it's a higher platform, a bigger soapbox than the rest. but we intend to be moving in a forward direction so that one of the reasons to do this is we want to change policy. but the other thing is to give people hope. most women out there struggling making the minimum wage have no idea that people are fighting for them in washington, d.c. they think no one is paying attention. they are trying to do two or three jobs. they're not reading the policy pages. when they do, they are not hearing people talk a whole lot . this is central, core to the sfreng of our country. that's another reason to have it to be highly visible. we wanted to hear from people. it wasn't something we conceived, but it was something that came from the conversation. so that's why these first meetings have been so valuable to us about women making -- really had not even heard about people taking out student loans to pay for their childcare.

there was a whole different take on us. so that's important. you listen, you learn. we plan to do that. we'd like for the white house to do it and maybe we do both. we'll see how -- what the timing is on it. but thank you for that suggestion. but understand the role that congresswoman donna edwards plays in all of this. and i thank you for sending her to the congress. she's been pivotal on it. you know what, she hears an idea, she acts upon it. she -- [applause] you know she comes with great values, concerned about everyone in our community. you know that she has a vision about a fairer america which is really where people have opportunity and that has been part of her life's work. you also know that she's smart. she knows these issues and she listens either confirm or -- not deny but enhance, whatever

it is, and she has planned to get things done. i hesitate to even speak in front of her because i know pretty soon we'll have a list and a timetable and all the rest of what we're going to do about it. you know what, that's the leader, people are drawn to her. and they know donna has a plan, it's going to work, it's going to make a difference, it's going to make progress and that's, as i say, leadership. i want you to know the confidence -- i know you all respect her and hold her in high esteem here. i want you to know that esteem is shared in the congress of the united states, on both sides of the aisle. [applause] >> thank you, leader pelosi. you are just reminding me, as we close up and we'll take one more question, early on when we began to launch, we were using some of our allied organizations to begin to get the work out. we did google chats. we've done, you know, twitter

conversations. things like that. and i think that what you shared with us, though, is an idea of even in our community here how we can take it more broadly and so i think, leader, you're right. even as you were talking, i'm picking off ways in which we can actually act on the suggestion because i think it's a really good one. and that now that we have this room gathered here, each one of you knows another 20 people. we have thousands out there. and so in is a message that really can be spread, you know, broadly so we can't just talk about it but we actually get something done. >> and work with -- >> state and local officials to e able to do that. we'll be able to take one last question. >> thank you so much. speaker of the house, i guess i'm getting ahead of myself. thank you so much for the great work that you're doing congresswoman pelosi and congresswoman edwards.

this coming saturday we are going to be -- the prince george's county commission for women along with prince george's community college will be hosting a forum to deal with all of the issues that you highlighted today. and we're excited about it. the goal of the forum, again, the engage women in legislative process and just connect with issues on education, safety and health. it's called women engaged, empowered and educated. so we're excited about it. there are fliers out there on the table. please join us this coming saturday as we really do bring awareness to the issues that you guys have discussed. thank you so much. >> in a is so wonderful. the combination of that interaction that you will have there and that we're talking about technologically, i was on the phone just a couple -- you'll november when it is when i tell you -- a week ago right before we took the vote and i was on with the a.f.g. and we

had 26,000 people on the phone. so thank them for what they were doing to try to end the shutdown but that was our only east coast call. then we had the west coast call. tens of thousands of more people. the technology of today will enable us to get this mission accomplished when we talk about affordable, quality childcare. children learning, parents earning, these kids being ready and donna talks all the time about how different it is when they have a head start with preschool and going on. i mean, this is -- this is -- get back to mimi's point. this goes back to the competitiveness of the united states economy, the investment in education. investing reduces the deficit, grows our economy. so although we're doing it because we -- it's the right thing to do for individual aspirations, it has an impact on our economy. when it's women focuses women even more so. i am going to close by saying i

was visiting my daughter in xas, in houston, she's a teacher of children of special needs. she was -- we were in church. houston is a conservative place. big, full packed house, catholic church, sunday morning, and the priest gave a beautiful sermon. he said, what i want you to take from today, it's just not necessary for you to come here. it's not all right for you to come here and pray on sunday and leave here and pray on other -- prey on other people during the week. i said, wow, come to our debates on food stamps, where they cut $40 million, and the rest of that, so there is a debate going on that we want ully engaged on to bring their threct and public service --

intelligent and public service to. people trying to raise their families or reach their own aspirations. it goes back again, it goes back to the founders, life -- this is about the affordable care act, too. life, a healthy life, liberty, pursue your happiness in a way that is good for you. it's good for america. when women succeed, america succeeds. [applause] >> i'll just say, let's give our leader, nancy pelosi, a big round of applause. thank you very much, mimi, maureen, danelle, for being with us today, in her absence, senator mikulski, all of it is appreciated because it will take all of us together doing this. thank you so much. i'll put the microphone down. thank you.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> it's a short legislative week in the house this week, but they will gavel in in just

over 10 minutes. four bills on the agenda this evening, including ones dealing with student safety and adoption of foster children. live house coverage at 5:00 p.m. eastern. later this week, the house will also consider -- actually later today, will consider a bill to name the veterans' health center after the late congressman bill young who passed away last week. his funeral is later this week in florida. we'll have live coverage of the house in 10 minutes or so. a discussion on gerrymandering on this morning's "washington journal." host: from time to time viewers like you will send us suggestions for segments and we'll turn them into a segment. the topic is gerrymandering and the viewer who gave the suggestion was john middleton a c-span viewer. mr. middleton, why did you want to send us this suggestion? john middleton, are you there? let's try one more time for mr.

middleton. caller: hello. host: thanks for joining us. why did you want to learn about the topic of gerrymandering? caller: i have been watching various media, including c-span over the last several weeks with the discussion of the deficit and the tea party came about. and i got a very clear impression from the media that gerrymandering was something new and nefarious and had been invented by the tea party and that's how they got to be so powerful. but i didn't think that was the case. it's not new at all. so i just thought it was very interesting, the media's current portrayal of gerrymandering and the actual history of it being so very different. host: how long have you been interested in this topic? caller: oh, 50 years. i'm an american history major, so i've always been interested in it. host: talk a little bit then of the things you've learned maybe

watching this network or your own studies, what do you think of gerrymandering? what do you think people would be interested in it? caller: gerrymandering is a longstanding american tradition, not something necessarily we should be proud of but it's been there for a long time, going back to the era of the founding fathers. you know, reshaping districts to sort of get the voters -- one party or the other wants has been around for hundreds of years. and democracy seems to have thrived nonetheless. host: john middleton, i don't know what state you're calling us from and do you see the effects of gerrymandering from your own state? caller: i'm calling from florida and, yes, if you just look at the map, you certainly

do see some unusual looking shapes, voting districts, but then again, the population in florida is sort of quite skewed towards the coastal regions and it's very sparse in the middle. so it's not entirely unusual that you would see odd looking haped districts. i am not an expert in florida, per se, but i don't know if one party or another or one faction or another is getting an unfair advantage. host: we have a guest on set to talk about the details of gerrymandering. what is the one thing you'd like to learn in this segment? caller: i'd like to understand how better districts are shaped and reshaped and who really makes the decision and what bearing does the -- every

10-year census have on it. host: john middleton is a c-span viewer and suggested this segment today so we'll oblige him and talk about this discussion. thank you first of all for the suggestion and thank you for calling in. caller: thank you for having the segment. host: of course if you at home would like suggestions for segments, we set aside a special email for you. that is wjviewer@c-span.org. as promised, joining us onset is john wasserman, editor for activities in the house. mr. wasserman, you heard mr. middleton talk about his from. what is jerry mannedering? guest: it's not new -- host: what is gerrymandering? guest: governor gary of massachusetts, we call it gerrymandering, we call it gerrymandering but his name was gary, the definition of

gerrymandering is essentially manipulation of political boundaries for partisan or other gain. i heard someone say it's lord of the flies on steroids and i think it's an appropriate way to think about it. it's uniquely american flaw some would say in our political system. and other single member district, representative democracy, redistricting to update where people live and draw equal political districts is a bureaucratic function that's relatively nonfrofle. in america, it's absolutely a partisan game that's played by oth sides tanned we see both sides in various states doing it. after the 2010 census, it was republicans who were able to gain the most political advantage and win more seats in the house even though they won fewer votes for congress. host: so talk a little bit about the process. what goes into the steps of changing these political districts within a state? guest: well, every 10 years we get fresh census data and we

constantly need to update our political boundaries to reflect not only changes across state lines and apportion seats among the states but also then to redistrict within states to reflect where people have moved. so this is done every 10 years after each census. so we just went through a round of redistricting in 2011 and 2012 following the 2010 census. but there are some states where party control will change in the middle of a decade and certain parties will re-evaluate their lines in the middle of the decade. in 2004, in texas tom delay, who was then majority leader of the house, a republican, didn't like the fact that texas was mostly republican state and elected mostly democrats to the house. in 2004, republicans in texas engineered a new plan that eliminated a lot of democratic seats and gave them basically what we have now which is a 2-1 republican majority from the

state of texas. host: and so are the decisions to change the boundaries of these districts made by state legislatures only? guest: no. in 36 some-odd states, redistricting is the responsibility of the legislature. voters should be choosing their politician, not politicians choosing their voters. in seven states we have commissioned that are either bipartisan or nonbipartisan in a is responsible for redrawing the lines. the largest state that has a nonpartisan commission is california. and california implemented a reform in 2006 and 2008 for the 2010 round of redistricting that took power away from the state legislature which was democratic and put it in the habbeds of a 14-member citizen commission and that commission was made up of several partisan but several independent citizens and they were prohibited from taking into account the residences of incumbents and any partisan

data in drafting lines. and the result was you had lines that through i believe 12 sets of incumbents into the same district so they had to find new districts in which to run for a lot of incurveents it was a lot of challenging and you saw a whole lot of turnover in the 2012 elections. host: our guest to talk about gerrymandering, you can ask questions on this as well. 202-585- 881 for republicans. 02-585-3880 for democrats. and 202-585-3882 for independents. you have given us a map of north carolina to kind of help in our discussion and help illustrate it. here's the map. what are we seeing? guest: one old ax yum of tombs ndering is if is for your inkembents.

what they were able to do was take a map that had elected seven democrats and six republicans prior to redistricting and engineer a map that would elect up to 10 republicans. they actually ended up winning nine seats. what they did in this map was to employ two age old tactics of packing and cracking. packing is a term used for trying to pack as many of your opponents' voters into overwhelmingly democratic districts as possible. so you see some snake-like districts like the 12th district stretching from charlotte to the greensboro area that packs democrats into an overwhelmingly democratic seat. you also see the fourth district in the raleigh-durham area triangle, stretching intoify yetville, north carolina. -- into fayetteville, north carolina. his is the upside down praying mantis and these districts seem

to defy continuity. they pack voters into a small heavily concentrated district and keep the rest of them for yourself. the other tactic is called cracking. in western north carolina, there's a city called asheville which has become increasingly liberal over the course of the last decade. it's become a source of democratic votes. what republicans were able to county, split bunkum if you see asheville, into two different districts as to dilute the voting strength of democrats who live there. host: district 11? guest: yes. the 11th district, the very west of the state, used to elect heath shuler, a pretty moderate democrat, a blue dog, former redskins quarterback. but he retired after republicans redrew the lines and the 11th district elected mark meadows. mark meadows, even though he's a freshman congressman, was the congressman who circulated a letter around the house that

got 80 signaturing that urged speaker boehner and republican leaders to pursue a strategy to shut down the government unless obamacare was defunded. this is a real-world example of how gerrymandering can have a very legitimate impact on the way we deliberate policy. host: we'll continue on in our conversation. want to give-on-opportunity to talk our guest. gene is from honolulu, -- jean is from honolulu, hawaii. she is on our democrats' line. good morning. caller: good morning. yes. i'm very very much concerned about this. in hawaii we do have a commission that does the appointing. however, the people who appoint the commission members are legislators. i believe the governor does appoints. two

however, because they're appointed by legislators, we do e -- it's not done just very objectively. >> the house is gaveling back in so we'll leave this. a reminder, you can always see "washington journal" live every morning. the house taking up several bills. votes at 6:30 eastern. now live to the house floor. la. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 185. the clerk: house calendar number 57. h.r. 185. a bill to designate the united states courthouse located at 101 east pee can street in sherman, texas, as the paul broun united states courthouse. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. barletta, and the gentleman from indiana, mr. carson, each will control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. barletta: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 185. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. barletta: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. barletta: h.r. 185 would designate the united states courthouse located at 101 east pecan street in sherman, texas, as the paul broun united states courthouse. during world war ii, judge paul broun enlisted in the united states navy. in 1950 he graduated from the university of texas school of law and started a law practice in sherman, texas. in 1953 he served as an assistant united states attorney for the eastern

district of texas and later as the united states attorney. in 1985 he was appointed by president ronald reagan to serve as district judge for the eastern district of texas. he served as a district judge and then as a senior district judge until his death in 2012. i want to thank the gentleman from texas, mr. hall, for his leadership on this legislation. i think it is fitting to honor the service of judge brown to this nation by naming this courthouse after him. i support passage of this legislation, thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mr. carson: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. carson: mr. speaker, i rise support of h.r. 185 which designates the united states courthouse in sherman, texas, as the paul brown united states

courthouse. judge brown was a highly respected member not only of the federal judicial community but also in the sherman, texas, community. after serving in the u.s. navy n world war ii, he returned to texas to continue his education and received his law degree from the university of texas law school in 1950. in 1953, mr. speaker, he was appointed as an assistant united states attorney for the eastern district of texas. in 1959 president eisenhower appointed judge brown as the united states attorney in the eastern district where he served until 1961. he returned to private practice in sherman from 1961 to 1985. and enjoyed a reputation as an outstanding civil litigation lawyer. president reagan later nominated him to become a federal judge in the eastern district of texas in 1985. judge brown presided over cases

that involved bank and savings and loans failures of the 1980's and early 1990's as well as many intellectual property and patent cases. judge brown was also a prominent member of the community serving as board member of medical plaza hospital. president of the sherman school board and president of the optimist club of sherman. judge brown assumed senior status in april, 2001, and later died in 2006 after 21 years of distinguished service on the federal bench. this designation is a fitting tribute to his career as a veteran and respected jurist. i urge my colleagues to support us in supporting this -- colleagues to join us in supporting this. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. barletta: mr. speaker, i wish to yield four minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. hall. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields. the gentleman from texas is recognized for four minutes. mr. hall: thank you, mr. chairman. i too rise in support of h.r. as has been stated, the bill designating the united states courthouse located at 101 east pecan street in sherman, texas, as the paul brown united states courthouse. judge brown was an outstanding federal judge who passed away on november 26, 2012, after 21 years of very distinguished service. judge brown was my good friend, beloved ed judge and member of sherman, texas, community. judge brown represented the finest qualities of jurisprudence, hanging on his wall in the sherman federal courthouse was socrates four qualities for a good judge. to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly and to decide impartially. judge brown embodied all of these qualities and he dispensed justice accordingly.

he was highly regarded, well respected and was a role for many. judge brown was the youngest of a family of six, raised on a farm in texas. he graduated from denson high school and although under wage, he was able to get his parents' consent to join the united states navy when world war ii broke out. he served as -- on a mine sweeping in both the atlantic and the pacific theaters and as a part of the occupation forces in japan. he was discharged as an electrician's mate, second class in june, 1946. he returned to his studies and received a law degree in 1950 from the university of texas, before being called active duty in the korean war. he saw combat aboard a mine sweeper which was sunk by mines. he received an honorable discharge in december, 1951. judge brown worked as an assistant u.s. attorney in texicana under his mentor, good

friend and eventually fellow colleague on the bench. he served as assistant u.s. attorney from 1953 to 1959 and then followed in the judge's footsteps as u.s. district attorney from 1959 to 1961. while there, he met and married frances morehead and the two returned to sherman are we practiced law. in 1985 senator phil graham recommended him to president reagan for a new judge's position created by the eastern district of texas. and he was confirmed that year. held court in bomonth parrish and as the case load grew, he presided over the sherman courthouse exclusively. premier cases over the years included intellectual property, patent cases and criminal cases, precipitated by the bank and savings and loan failures in the 1980's and 1990's. in recent years, he noted the increase in a drug case and

expressed his regret that in spite of all the efforts that had been made to prosecute drug dealers, the nation is not making much progress in curtailing the use of drugs. no matter what type of cases came before him, judge brown always enjoyed the work and ran an efficient and orderly courtroom. his personal ethics and judicial integrity were remarkable and his reputation for punctuality is legendary. i ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the life of a great american, outstanding public servant and respected jurist. the bill has the support of the federal judges in the eastern district and i ask for your support of 185, designate the u.s. courthouse in sherman, texas, as the paul brown united states courthouse. thank you and i do yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. barletta: mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana has already yieldled back. -- yielded back. mr. barletta: mr. speaker, i

yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 185. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- mr. barletta: mr. speaker, i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana indiana seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2083 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2083, a bill to

amend the elementary and secondary education act of 1965, to require criminal background checks for school employees. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from indiana, mr. rokita, and the gentleman from california, mr. miller, each will control 20 minutes. chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana. mr. rokita: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on h.r. 2083. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rokita: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 2083, the protecting students from sexual and violent predators act and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rokita: mr. speaker, a report released by the government accountability office in december, 2010, examined 15 cases where individuals with histories of sexual misconduct were hired or retained as teachers, support staff, volunteers and contractors in 1 --

contractors. in 11 of these 15 cases, those individuals had previously targeted children. despite the fact that states have varying policies intended to protect children from sexual predators and predators in schools, the g.a.o. determined the policies were largely inconsistent and insufficient. according to the report, states don't consistently perform pre-employment background checks and when they do conduct these checks, they're not always fingerprinted or connected to the national criminal data bales. there was widespread agreement on both sides of this aisle that more must be done to protect students. we have worked with our colleagues to advance legislation that will ensure that every school employee, from the cafeteria workers, mr. speaker, to the administrators, to the janitors, to the teachers, principals and librarians, that everyone is subject to a complete background check that includes the f.b.i. fingerprint identification system, and the national sex offender registry.

now, today we have an opportunity to finish the fight by sending this bill, the protecting students from sexual and violent predators act, to the senate. h.r. 2083 will require states that receive funds under the elementary and secondary education act to have policies and practices in place that ensure each school employee is subject to a complete national criminal background check. now, mr. speaker, a similar provision was offered by two of my colleagues and good friends. both from pennsylvania. mr. fitzpatrick and mr. meehan. and that provision was included in the house-passed student success act from last month. the protecting students from sexual and violent predators act is commonsense legislation that will help ensure students in schools across the country -- to ensure that they're safe from sexual criminals. so, all that being said, mr. speaker, i simply urge at this time my colleagues to support h.r. 2083 and i will reserve

the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i thank mr. rokita for introducing the bill. and mr. fitzpatrick and appreciate their assistance. mr. speaker, when parents send their children to school each morning, they expect they would come home safe from harm. day in and day out, millions of teachers, staff and administers do their utmost. sometimes in downright heroic ways to put their students' safety first, but despite these efforts, there remains a steady stream of stories from across the country involving students who have been abused by someone in a position of trust in the schools. just this past summer, a music teacher in silver spring, maryland elementary school sexually abused 15 minors over a eight-year period in my home state of california, a student was convicted of throwing a

5-year-old boy with a disability kicking him and was transferred to another school but not fired due to legal limitations. the superintendent of the school district acknowledged that police were not informed after that horrible incident. to make matters worse, even after her conviction, this person was allowed to keep a desk job through the rest of the school year, still had her credential and simply moved to a new school to teach, putting more children at risk. we should be doing everything we can to prevent these abuses. the very fundamental place to start is to not employ predators in our school in the first place. after i requested an investigation, in 2010, the government accountability office uncovered a wide range of cases in numerous states of convicted sex offenders who had previously targeted children working in schools side by side with those children. in some cases, these schools had unknowingly hired a sex offender. this happened because the state laws were inconsistent with how they require students -- schools to conduct background

checks of their employees and what types of crimes are covered. in other cases, the government accountability office found the districts knowingly passed on a potential predator or abuser to another school or school district, allowing the offender to resign instead of reporting him. although every state requires some background checks, the checks are not always thorough. g.a.o. found in some states they check some licensed teachers but not other states don't some require criminal history checks of contractors to public schools. the g.a.o. also found that at least half of the states lack any rules to ensure that child abuse allegations are not suppressed by school officials. and only a few states require recurring onduct background checks on employees. the significant differences in the way schools screen perspective employees leaves to gaps in student protection. but a child's safety shouldn't depend on the state in which they reside. a patchwork of state laws fails

to protect all children, it's simply not good enough. we need a minimum national standard to keep children safe from sexual predators and other dults. this bill closes the loopholes. it would create consistency across states' background check policy, requiring public schools to conduct comprehensive background checks for any employees or applicants for employment with unsuperadvised access to children, using state criminal, child abuse registries and the f.b.i.'s fingerprint database as well as to periodically update these checks. contractors in public schools with unsupervised access to students are also subject to the same background checks under this bill. it would prohibit school districts from hiring or retaining anyone who has been convicted of certain violent crimes, including crimes against children, crimes involving rape or sexual assault or child pornography.

schools must be a place where faculty and students can focus on teaching and learning without fear of emotional or physical harm. keeping students safe requires a coordinated effort from teachers, principals, superintendents, community partners and parents. the vast majority of school staff is trustworthy and works hard every day to support students' learning needs. i honor and respect their work which is so central to the success of this nation. the criminal background checks required in h.r. 2083 are essential to ensuring that are schools and school districts are doing everything they can to protect schirn. mr. speaker, keeping children safe isn't a partisan issue. it's a moral obligation, and that's why i'm pleased to see the strong bipartisan support from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for this legislation. i want to thank the co-sponsors, mr. fitzpatrick, mrs. mccarthy, ms. slaughter, ms. wilson, mr. rangel, mr. holt and mr. cohen, and working with chairman kline, mr. rokita's staff to clarify

several provisions from the original bill that i introduced in may, including the states must periodically repeat and update background checks on employees based upon state and local policy that is publicly transparent. school districts may share background check results with each other for the same employee. school employees could appeal the results of a background check if it's inaccurate or incomplete and establish their ploit eligibility if the check -- employment eligibility if their check was corrected. congressman ellison and congressman bobby scott have introduced legislation that seeks to support this goal and i will work to ensure if this bill moves forward in the senate. i want to thank again chairman kline for his working on the sensible solutions that will protect children across the country and i also want to thank the respective staffs for their diligence and thoughtfulness in moving this legislation. i ask my colleagues to support

this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mr. rokita: i thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fitzpatrick. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for three minutes. mr. fitzpatrick: i thank the chairman, mr. rokita, and i rise in strong support of the legislation on the floor today. it's a bill which if passed by the house and carried by the senate to the president will go a long way toward protecting students in our nation's schools. and so i thank the ranking member, mr. miller, for bringing this bill up today and for bringing to light an issue that is compromising student safety throughout our country. h.r. 2083, the protecting students from sexual and violent predators act of 2013, will ensure consistent and comprehensive school employee background checks in all states. the bill also includes language from a bill i introduced, the jeremy bell act. this piece of the larger bill blocks federal funding to schools that knowingly hire or

frfer teachers involved in sexual misconduct. the jeremy bell act is named after a 12-year-old west virginia elementary school student who was sexually abused and murdered by his principal, a man that had a long record of sexual misconduct but who was allowed to transfer and leave schools without punishment and without informing new districts. in the 2010 government accountability office investigation's report, it was found that inconsistent state laws regarding background checks facilitated the hiring and transferring of sexual predators in our schools. if by cutting off funds to schools that knowingly pass the trash, we can save one student from jeremy's fate, then this bill has succeeded. overall, this bipartisan bill includes student safety measures, including requiring background checks for school employees, a commonsense method to better protect our children in their schools. in testimony submitted to a field hearing i held in

philadelphia last congress, roy bell, jeremy's father, expressed his outrage and his sadness that our education system had failed to protect the life and innocence of his 12-year-old son. unfortunately with jeremy's father passed away this weekend and it's on his behalf and on ehalf of all parents and students that i will continue to pass legislation that protects our students. so today i ask my colleagues to consider this legislation and its impact on families across our nation. mr. speaker, i encourage quick ssage of h.r. 2083 by both chambers and to be signed into law by the president. i thank the chairman and i thank mr. miller for his work on this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. miller: i want to thank the gentleman, mr. fitzpatrick, for his comments and for his support of this legislation. we had a couple other speakers that are supposedly coming to the floor. do you have anybody? no.

well, then, i guess -- the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserves or does the gentleman yield? mr. miller: i guess i have to yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mr. miller: i yield back the balance of my time. mr. rokita: i thank the gentleman. i thank the speaker. i yield myself the remainder of the time on our side. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: go ahead. mr. rokita: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california as already yielded back. does the gentleman ask unanimous consent to -- mr. miller: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from minnesota. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman from california ask unanimous consent to reclaim his time? mr. miller: i reclaim my time

with mr. ellison's speedy time. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for two minutes. mr. ellison: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i think it's important to recognize that all of us who are parents or members of congress, no matter what walk of life we may travel in, want to make sure that our children are safe, are well taken care of and the people that care for them at their school are qualified to do so and don't present a danger to them. at the same time, i think it's important that we recognize that when we put barriers to employment that are lifetime bans, that are not sensitive to certain realities as it relates to people overcoming criminal backgrounds. prophylactic rules that don't put -- we do run the risk of doing a good thing but doing too much of a thing and thereby leading to some unexpected and unwanted

results. i've had the privilege of talking to ranking member miller about some concerns i before us the bill today. i think that the concerns are well within mr. miller's frame of mind and he and i have talked and he's indicated to me that he's willing to work with me to refine the bill to the degree that we can ensure the protection of -- and the safety of our children at school and at the same time we don't set out precedence that creates unwarranted and unnecessary barriers to employment. at this time, i don't think i need to go into the details of each of those, suffice it so say if the gentleman would agree we did talk and would refine the bills as best we can, i'd appreciate that. mr. miller: if the gentleman will yield? mr. ellison: i yield. mr. miller: i spoke to you this morning. we'll continue to work with you. we tried to draw the line at

serious felony violent crimes that people have participated in with respect to the ban. in terms of drug arrests or whatever, there's a five-year window that we started and we'll be glad to continue that conversation. mr. ellison: thank you very much. i just want to point out we talked about inaccurate information. it's important that we make sure the records we're using are the right records and accurate records. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. miller: if the gentleman will yield for just two seconds. that's why an appeals process is included in this legislation. mr. ellison: thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mr. rokita: mr. speaker, i yield myself the remainder of our side's time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rokita: and just to clarify, mr. speaker, the gentleman on the other side has no further speakers and has yielded the remainder? mr. miller: i have no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman from california yield back? mr. miller: i yield back. mr. rokita: today's debate has

only underscored again the importance of moving forward with the sensible and responsible legislation. not only will the protecting students from sexual and violent predators act ensure all school employees undergo a complete background check, it will also help states implement policies and practices that prohibit the hiring of anyone who refuses to consent to background check, makes a false statement in connection with the check or has been convicted of a violent or sexual crime against a child. there is absolutely no reason we shouldn't all stand united in support of this critical legislation. so once again, i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 2083, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 2083, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3205. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3205, a bill to re-authorize and restructure the adoption incentives grant

program and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from washington, mr. reichert, and the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. reichert: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and to heir remarks include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under consideration. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. reichert: mr. speaker, i to urge support for h.r. 3205, the promoting adoption and legal guardianship for children in foster care act . obviously i look old enough to be a grandfather and i am a grandfather, a proud grandfather of six. but two of my grandchildren are adopted grandchildren.

i was a foster grandfather, my daughter and her husband were foster parents for a while, and they ended up finding two children that they really wanted to include as part of their family. and these two children today are 9 and 10 and soon to be 10 and 11 here in the next few months. they were three months old -- 3 months old when they came into the house as foster kids and now are adopted and a part of not only my daughter and her husband's family, but a part of the entire family, the reichert household has been blessed with their presence. d they have a hope for a successful future with a loving family and this is what this bill is all about. to encourage parents across this country to adopt foster children. but i also had the opportunity

as the sheriff and as the a very to watch from close-up view of what foster homes looked like. as i walked into those homes as a police officer, as a how tive, and questioned some of these places could even be foster homes. and foster kids running away from home and ending up on the street and not having a place to call their own, not having a place where they could go to have thanksgiving, to have christmas, bouncing from one foster home to the next. not knowing who to call mom or dad. we've got to fix that. we need to encourage parents across this country to adopt our foster children, to give

them that opportunity. the other good thing about this bill is it's bipartisan. so in fact i think -- i can't think of a more important or more bipartisan topic than promoting adoption. for our children. that's why we're here today. this is an area where both parties have worked together toimprove outcomes for children -- to improve outcomes for children and it's been working. in the 10 years through 1987 through 1997 the number of children in foster care rose dramatically, climbing from 300,000 to 537,000. that surge in foster care case loads is one of the reasons why congress led by the current ways and means chairman dave camp passed the adoption and safe families act in 1997. that law was designed to ensure more foster children were quickly adopted when they couldn't return and live safely with their parents. the adoption incentives program created as a part of that law

was one key measure to encourage more adoptions of children from foster care. in short, it rewards states if they increase the number of children living in foster care for adoptive homes. it worked since the passage of the adoption and safe families act, foster care case loads have fallen dramatically. after peaking at 567,000 in 99, foster care case loads have fallen almost 30%. at the same time adoptions from foster care increased in the late 1990's and remained much higher than before the 1997 law's passage. now today we are here to support h.r. 3205, the promoting adoption and legal guardianship for children and foster care -- in foster care, which will build upon the successes of the adoption incentives program. this legislation extends that program and improves the way we reward states that help more

children leave foster care for loving adoptive homes. first, it improves the formulas behind these awards to make sure that even as foster care case loads continue to come down, states continue to get rewards from moving children into adoptive homes. second, it continues to promote adoptions that have proven hardest to achieve by adding a special award for the adoption of teenage children. we should never give up on trying to find life-long homes for these children and this legislation steps up the intendtifics for states to do just that -- incentives for states to do just that. and third, we add a new award for guardianship which is an important development -- excuse me, development in the child welfare world, that is allowing thousands of children to leave foster care and live safely with relatives. this bill also requires states to focus funds on postadoption

services which help children and families after adoptions have been finalized. and finally, the bill would extend for three years the family connection grant program that is focused on helping children in foster care reconnect with family members. because funding for that program needs to be offset, we included a commonsense paid-for which builds on a current procedure for recovering overpayments of unemployment insurance benefits. under current law, states may offset federal income tax refunds to collect these overpayments and 2/3 of states do that today. this legislation would require all states to use this procedure. which will increase overpayment recovery and results in this legislation, reducing the deficit by $24 million over the next 10 years. as chairman of the ways and means human resources subcommittee, with jurisdiction over this program, i'm pleased to report that the process

behind developing -- developing this bill has been totally bipartisan and open. first we held a subcommittee hearing in february featuring nonpartisan experts on adoption and child welfare. then we worked together with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to develop draft legislation, which was made publicly available in early august. we then worked together to incorporate that public feedback, improving in many ways the legislation that chairman camp and i and ranking members levin and doggett introduced on september 27. i want to thank the subcommittee's ranking member, mr. doggett, who joins me on the floor this evening, as well as our chairman, mr. camp, and ranking member mr. levin, for their support of this legislation and for their help throughout this development. this will move us a step forward to -- closer -- and closer to ensuring that more children living in the united states live in permanent, loving homes and receive the support they deserve. i invite all members to join us

in supporting this important bipartisan legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. doggett: thank you, mr. speaker, and, thank you, chairman reichert, chairman camp. mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, abused and neglected children in the foster care system are among the most vulnerable children in our communities. these children have the same needs, desires and dreams as all young people. they need a safe and loving home. they want and deserve the opportunity to learn, to grow and to fully experience life. a successful adoption provides foster children with these necessities and gives them the opportunity to achieve their full god-given potential. investing in the success of our foster children is not only good for them, but in so many communities it's the difference between those young people becoming a community asset and a community liability.

it's about reducing future unemployment, homelessness, team pregnancy and incarceration. this bill contributes to our continuing efforts to address these issues and to provide permanent homes for abused and neglected children. i'm pleased that mr. heaven -- that mr. levin and i could work with chairman camp, chairman reichert, to develop this bipartisan legislation, to not only extend some important programs, but to make a number of positive changes. mr. reichert has outlined some of these. i would add attention to a provision that i authored to help ensure that children don't lose assistance simply because their guardian dies. as a long-term member, long-time member of the congressional coalition on adoption and a member of the foster youth caucus, i am pleased that we could take these steps in the right direction on a bipartisan basis, to help these young

people. the legislation both continues and improves the incentives now provided to the states when they increase the rate at which foster children, who cannot return home, find mr. ayotte: do notive family. these new -- find an adoptive family. this will now be focused on adoption of older foster children who are sometimes more difficult to place and who have found difficulty in securing a permanent home. additionally, for the first time the bill will reward states for helping youth leave foster care to live with permanent legal guardian. recognizing the importance of maintaining the link between family and children in foster care, the legislation also extends a relatively new but expiring program known as the family connection grants. these grants go out on a competitive basis to local organizations and state agencies to support various approaches for improving

connections between foster families and their children. including linking grandparents to supports and services when they become the primary care givers for children who would otherwise be in foster care. another provision that i care about greatly is strengthening of the requirement that adoption funding be spent on promoting adoption rather than being diverted to other purposes. most notably, this legislation requires states to fully reinvest the funds into postadoption services and other child welfare activities, when these amounts were made available by an increase in federal funding for adoption support. in total, this legislation will continue the progress we've made over the last 15 years in moving foster children into permanent homes. in my state of -- home state of texas, san antonio has been viewed as a particular model of success for adoption. each month bear county hosts an adoption day event that allows

families to complete their adoptions in a single day. these are proceed thags have allowed children to have shorter stays in foster care and to move more quickly into stable homes. judges in bear county understand that they're responsible for getting children who experience abuse and neglect into a safe foster environment and responsible for placing that child with a permanent family if it does not become safe for the child to return home. these improvements in the local adoption system have been encouraged and utilized by important local child advocates like district judge peter sakai and costas, san antonio. they've allowed for faster and more efficient placement of foster youth into permanent families. mr. speaker, i appreciate the opportunity to participate in this bipartisan effort and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. reichert: mr. speaker, i yield as much time as he may

chairman of the ways and means committee, mr. camp. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you. i want to thank the chairman of the human resources subcommittee for yielding and for his leadership on this very important issue. i rise in support of this legislation, which is designed to encourage the adoption of more children from foster care. i spent much of my career promoting adoption of children by loving parents because every child deserves a loving and safe home. as an attorney in private practice i worked with parents and children in the foster care system. those kind of experiences provided much of the background for changes in landmark adoption legislation i and my colleagues on the ways and means committee crafted in 1997. called the adoption and safe families act. that legislation stream lined the adoption process to help more children in foster care quickly move into permanent adoptive homes. it's also for the first time -- it also for the first time offered incentives to states to safely increase the number of children adopted from foster care.

it worked. in the decade following that legislation, the number of u.s. children adopted from foster care increased by 71%. and the years since, adoptions have continued to remain higher, even as the foster care case load started to decline. overall, almost 300 children have been adopted as a result of the increases in adoption since 1997. one study even estimated that the federal government saved $1 billion over eight years by ensuring children were adopted instead of remaining in foster care. that's the successful incentive program this legislation extends and updates. we add a new award for states that increase adoptions of older children, who are the hardest to adopt and have the worst outcomes if they emans pate from foster care without a own. to call their we also had a new award for increases in guardianship. when family members step up to care for their nieces and any of ayes, grandsons and grand -- nephews, grandsons and granddaughters. and this ensures states remain their commitment to

postadoption related services so children may truly have a family forever. i noted that this legislation is fully paid for by a simple and real reform. requiring states to reduce federal income tax refunds when someone wrongly gets an overpayment for unemployment benefits. those savings not only cover the cost of this legislation, but reduce the deficit by $24 million over the next 10 years. that's a win-win for children, for families and taxpayers alike. the bottom line is this, children in foster care deserve a place to call home. not just father a few months or -- for a few months or years but for good. we've already seen great progress in increasing adoption since the program was created in 199 and it's our hope that we can continue this progress with this bill. i thank my colleagues who joined me in introducing this legislation, mr. levin of michigan, mr. reichert of washington state, and mr. doggett of texas. they are all leaders on these issues in the committee and this house and i value their help in developing and advancing this legislation.

i would also like to recognize the public comment we received in crafting this bill. a draft bill was posted on the ways and means committee's website in august and the public was given a month to provide their thoughts on how to ensure more children are adopted. we're grateful for the public's comments and their participation in this process. i encourage all of my colleagues to join us in supporting this bill in the house and i hope the senate will act as soon as they can so we can continue to move even more children from foster care into permanent loving homes. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. doggett: mr. speaker, surely no member of the house has expressed more interest in this subject than the founder of the foster youth caucus, our colleague from california, ms. bass, to whom i yield three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for three minutes. ms. bass: thank you. thank you, ranking member doggett. i rise today in support of the

promoting adoption and legal guardianship for children and foster care act. -- in foster care act. i want to thank chairman camp and reichert and ranking member doggett for their ongoing commitment to our nation's foster youth. as co-chair of the congressional caucus on foster youth and the congressional caucus on adoption, i sincerely appreciate your leadership and partnership on this issue. since he 1997, when the adoption incentives legislation became law, we have seen a significant reduction of the number of kids in foster care and more importantly an increased number of kids in forever families. yet, there are still over 400,000 children in our nation's child welfare system, many awaiting the stability and love of a permanent a numberly. unfortunately, studies show that a foster youth, especially those who age out, are much more likely to experience poverty, unemployment, homelessness, incarceration and compromised health after they

leave foster care. each year nearly 30,000 teenagers age out of foster care without a permanent family. we know this is unfair and unacceptable. we must strengthen policies that help find forever families for our nation's foster children, especially our older youth. i'd like to focus my remarks on one of the noteworthy aspects, the enhanced support for legal guardianship. we can ultimately help more kids find permanent families, often with relatives. today's foster care system looks much different than the child welfare system of previous decades. while children continue to be placed in foster homes with strangers or in group homes, with an half are placed a relative caregiver, a grandmother, aunt, uncle or older sibling. in fact, in my district in los angeles, relative caregivers are the largest foster care providers. research shows that foster placement with relatives are good for children. they often allow children to stay in their schools, receive

continued support from their community and culture and feel connected to families that continue to love them. despite the importance of relative caregivers, they face unique obstacles. becoming a caregiver commanges lives in every way, physically, emotionally and financially. stable middle-class families or seniors who live on their life savings are often pushed to the brink of poverty because they have accepted the unexpected financial burden of caring for a child. as a nation, we should take the extra steps needed to support family members that heroically step up to care for children in times of need. additionally, i strongly support the family connection grants re-authorized in this bill. these grants help to strengthen families, support kinship care and prevent youth from entering or re-entering foster care. before my time in elected office, i was honored to advocate for kinship and guardianship resources alongside relative caregivers at the community coalition's kinship and action program.

today, i'm greatly encouraged that the bill before us encourages permanent families of all kinds, supporting both adoption and guardianship throughout the nation. i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bipartisan legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. reichert: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from indiana, distinguished member of the ways and means committee, mr. young. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. young: thank you, mr. speaker. nearly 3,000 hoosier children are currently eligible for adoption while living in foster care. now, i know all of us can agree that these children and the over 100,000 children in the united states eligible for adoption deserve a stable, permanent and loving home. while there's no doubt our foster care programs provide an essential service, i strongly believe as a proud father of four young children and someone who provided free legal service to those who wanted to adopt,

there is no substitute what a loving family can -- we must do everything in our powers to see that children everywhere receive the best upbringing possible. this legislation represents a step forward in finding these children caring and supportive homes. by extending the adoption incentives program, we effectively encourage and incentivize states to help adopt more children out of foster care so these children can lead happy, healthy and successful lives. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. doggett: mr. speaker, at this time i'd yield three minutes to my colleague from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. speaker, i ask to address the house, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent. let me thank the managers of this bill, the gentleman from

washington, and the gentleman from, as, my colleague we would say on the floor, the great state of texas. this is a very important measure that i've had an opportunity to engage in. couple years back, i would say more years than i'd like to remember, former congressman mike andrews, and myself were co-chairs of the foster grandparents program in houston. and it drew me to the importance of both foster care and adoption. i've also spent some time with senator mary landrieu, which many know, is a very strong advocate of the idea of adoption and legal guardianship for children on foster care. one of the new phenomenons that we are seeing more and more is the phenomenon of aging out for foster care children. and so i rise today to support r. 3205 and compliment the

co-chairs of the foster care caucus, of which i am a member, congresswoman bass, chairman -- co-chair marino. and really ask my colleagues to support this important initiative. i'm very proud to co-sponsor this legislation, and as a co-chair and founder of the congressional children's caucus, now almost 20 years, i'd like to say i strongly support it. the more time we can say something positive about children in a bipartisan way on the floor of the house, the more of a national statement and commitment is seen by those who are in the various vineyards in our county, state, city government who work to protect our children. foster children cares for families by providing suitable permanent living. many are placed in foster care due to parental abuse and neglect. n harris is county, 3,088 were

aken into foster care. 2,444 children in children's protective service custody are placed in permanent living in harris county in 2011. this is the right direction to go. as of september 31 -- september 30, 2012, 1,740 children in the houston region are still waiting to be adopted. on average, children state in the system for almost three years before either being reunited with their families or adopted. what a wonderful statement to know there are families or adults that love you. many times those adoptions are amongst family members. many times the grandparents take the children. let's thank them, because that's the program i was on to give rand r rest. frequent moves, different schools, our children need loving care. they need stability. many times these foster parents

provide that kind of stability. many foster children have been separated, not only only from their parents but their siblings. and it can be detrimental, emotionally, psychologically -- mr. doggett: i'd yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: and so this legislation, which re-authorizes and restructures the adoption incentive grant program will help enhance, cultivate the foster care system by making a program that is beneficial. mr. speaker, i was not able to come to the floor for h.r. 2083. i also, as a co-chair of the congressional children's caucus, focusing on the abuse of children, want to salute and support protecting students from sexual and violent predators act and ask this floor to support both of these initiatives because when we speak for children, we speak for america. i hope we will also see soon an anti-bullying and prevention legislation on the floor, mr. speaker, to make that public statement. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman for his yielding and i want to little support little

audrey's in houston for the work they have done for children in houston, texas. thank you very much for the work you do. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady yields. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. reichert: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. doggett: mr. speaker, hopefully the senate will respond to our strong show of bipartisan support by moving this legislation this year, and with that i would yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. reichert: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert in the record letters of support for this legislation from christian heritage center for family finding and youth connectedness, seneca family of agencies, the donaldson adoption institute, hillside family of agencies and voice for adoption. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. reichert: and i want to echo the words of mr. doggett. i hope the senate does act on this. there are three things i'd like

to highlight as we wrap up this evening's discussion on foster care. three things that this bill does. one, it cuts the deficit. two, amazingly in this time of partisanship, this is a true bipartisan moment that we all ought to stop, pause and take recognition of. this is about children. cuts the deficit, and this is one that we can all come together and support. why? because it's for our kids. it's for the kids across america who need a home. i mentioned two of my grandchildren who are foster children. were foster children. are now adopted. they were drug-addicted babies. crack cocaine, heroin and meth. and these kids today have a home. and as a grandparent standing on the sidelines of a soccer game watching emma and breyer

play soccer, knowing where they came from, the moms lived on the streets, drug-addicted moms, these kids have hope, they have a future. when the game is over, they run to the sidelines and they yell papa. it's the greatest feeling in the world. we owe that kind of life to every foster child. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3205. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection -- mr. doggett: mr. speaker, on that i would request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking

this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately twelltwell and potential hires. later on this evening they'll debate a bill that would name a veterans medical center in florida after late florida congressman bill young. we'll have live house coverage

when they return for votes at 6:30 eastern. and later in the week, we're expecting the house to consider a water resources bill. we spoke about that and the rest of this week's agenda in congress with a capitol hill reporter. billy house is congressional leadership correspondent for national journal d. it's a shorter week in the house this week because of the funeral for the late bill young in florida. but they will take up that water resources bill. what's in this legislation? >> depending on who you talk to, army corps of engineers projects, dams, water ways and that sort of thing. $10 billion worth of projects, re-authorizations, but they emphasizes it de-authorizes $12 million. from the republican leadership math it is a negative $2 billion, conservative groups

have already begun attacking it it is filled with items that shouldn't be in there and the overall authorization of spending and 90 amendments before the rules committee. all that process in rules should take another day or so. we expect it on the floor by wednesday. >> it passed in the senate by 83-14, the majority of the opposition coming from senate republicans. how will house republicans approach the vote when it comes up in the house? >> that's a good question. we are waiting for groups like the heritage action group to say whether they are key voting, this is a no for conservatives and that has a lot of influence. taxpayers for common sense have come out expressing objections to not only how projects are selected but how the amounts and some of the exact projects. they are usual member items.

>> in the house committee rooms, energy and commerce this week begins the hearings on the implementation of the health care law and the problems with the web site. a couple of things. when will they hear from secretary sebelius and how does this fit into republican legislative strategy in terms of their efforts toll defund or delay the implementation of the health care law? >> the secretary is not expecting to be testifying until next week, but contractors will be appearing before the health and energy committee. and oversight committees this week to explain some of the snafus. this is a legitimate area of inquiry. i think most people believe -- as to why these problems happened. one of the things that i think is fair to raise, they will continue through the next weeks and months. , fines mind in february

are supposed to be imposed if people don't sign up. this is a legitimate area of inquiry. how it fits into the overall repeal obamacare, perhaps this is something they should have waited and done instead of shut down government. could have argued that. but it is a legitimate area of inquiry. >> the senate being out this week, the budget conferees that were apointed last week won't be back together until next week. when are they set to meet next week and what are the first couple of major issues they have to resolve between the two competing versions of the budget? >> well, you're right. they don't meet until next week, probably wednesday. that has not been set in stone yet. they could meet later in the week, although most of the house members will be adjourned as

many go to attend the late representative bill young's funeral in florida. but the date has not been set. wednesday is most likely. in that opening meeting, you can expect 29 members to read opening statements, i suspect, highlighted by the two co-chairs. that would be patty murray of washington and paul ryan of wisconsin. i think they have to agree first of all, whatever bottom line spending levels now exist that they are using the same basis and that will probably be the first couple of things to tackle. and what exactly they hope to achieve whether long-term, certainly not a 10-year plan, but will they pursue of getting through the fiscal year, two years or doing some shorter period? keep in mind, they have december

13 to issue a report on what they would like to see happen. january 13 is when the current short-term spending plan runs out. so those are the deadlines they have to discuss. >> billy house, follow his reporting at nationaljournal.com. thanks for joining us. >> since our conversation with billy house, it has been reported that 10 groups including the heritage foundation sent a letter to house members to vote against the water resources bill. and also, too, on thursday, the house energy committee holding a hearing on the implementation of the health care law. they are going to hear from government contractors. 2. at 9:00 ook on c-span >> c-span student cam video competition asked what's the

most important issue congress should consider in 2014? make a five to seven-minute documentary and include c-span video. the competition is open to middle and high school students with a grand prize of $5,000 and we have doubled the number of winners. entries are due by january 20, 2014. >> the chairman of the white house council of economic advisers said the government shutdown damaged the economy and said the effects of the shutdown will be seen in the october jobs report and answered questions. >> president's chairman -- chairman of the president's council of economic advisers, many of you know him. today, because of the shutdown is jobs day as you know and he'll mention that at the top, t he is here to give you

quantitative look at the economic effects of the shutdown and how those effects were negative for the economy and for the american people. i'll turn this over to jason. he will give you remarks at the top and here to take questions about his analysis and other job and economic issues and i will return to the podium to take your questions on other subjects. thank you. >> thank you, jay. this morning, we found out that the economy added 148,000 jobs in the month of september. the unemployment rate kicked down to 7.2% and those are both the of a steady trend of unemployment rate. that pace of job creation is below what we can be fully satisfied with and the conversation we would be like to be having is the conversation about how to add to jobs.

instead, what we did in october was self-inflicted wound that will subtract from jobs when we eventually learn the jobs number for october. economists like jobs day because it's a fresh look of what is going on. this jobs day was delayed several weeks and covers data from september, which was before the very significant changes that happened in october. so one thing we have been trying to get a handle on is what the economic consequences of that economic shutdown and debt limit brinksmanship has been. the first lied gives you a number of private sector estimates of the consequences and showed that g.d.p. growth 6/10's.ced from 2/10 to these are useful and informative and based on predictions. they say if government services

cease for this amount of time or money, we have a multiplier model, here is the consequence for g.d.p. and not based on actual data and don't capture the full set of effects on confidence, on uncertainty on things like oil drillers not getting permits, homeowners not able to get mortgages. what we tried to do was look at actual data on the economy and the next slide shows some of the data we looked at. these are all indicators that are available on a daily or weekly basis. the most recent set is available through october 12. covers about three-quarters of the shutdown or first half of october and the eight indicators tell a very consistent story. sales growth as shown in the first two indicators slowed in the first half of the month and one survey said 40% of consumers

cut back on their spending because of their uncertainty. u.i. claims sored. the job creation index slowed. economic confidence fell to the lowest level in years. steel production fell and mortgage applications slowed as well and that is a direct effect of the shutdown. what we then tried to do is take all of these indicators, each one of them is individually noisy and tells you only part of the picture and try to extract a consistent economic signal from all of these indicators using something that my colleague, who s a member of the council of economic advisers wanted to make sure we got it in the briefing and you see it in the next chart. the blue line is an index that combines all eight of these

vearls into a consistent measure of the economy. if you look in the path, generally tracks job growth and job construction and it is a measure of the economy and it goes very sharply in the first 12 days of october. similar size, not quite as large sharp falls and the euro zone crisis in 2012. and if you calibrate that fall, you see the circle there at the end, translates into 0.25 percentage points. 120,000 fewer jobs than we would have had in the month of october. and that is based on the data we have through october 12. as we look at more of october, those numbers could change and could potentially get worse. this just underscores how unnecessary and harmful the shutdown and the branchings

manship was for the -- brinksmanship was for the economy and later today, we will have the report out that provides the math deer i have vacation of all of this for those of you i know will be turning to the appendix of that report. it's a clear story. private sector forecasters, you see it in the actual data, that it was a significant and unnecessary self-inflicted wound that we shouldn't be repeating. >> will this trend continue? we still have the threat of another shutdown? >> i certainly hope it doesn't and there's no reason that it should. we're now going through regular order with a conference committee on the budget. there is time to figure these things out. there are significant opportunities when it comes up and pront, more medium

long-term deficit reduction and the president will be urging the conference committee and the congress to do exactly that. >> given if there is another shutdown, how concerned is the white house that a cumulative effect of a week -- impact we may have seen over the last three weeks? >> we have had a private sector that has led the recovery throughout this past year and we have had the euro zone crisis, he sequester, the shutdown and brinksmanship and we continue to see the private sector adding jobs. we would like to see them add more jobs and whether it's investments in infrastructure rather than being an obstacle in the way of that job creation by adding uncertainty and having this type of shutdown. in september, you did see job creation, 148,000 jobs.

unemployment rate came down. that's consistent with the roughly two million jobs a year of a three-quarters reduction in the unemployment rate. we want to be pushing this in the right direction and not what we did in october. >> is there a chance we go back into recession and what does this do for the global economy? are we bringing them down as well? ripple effect around the world? >> i don't want anyone to overstate. growth .25% off the rate and fewer jobs for october. the shutdown and the brinksmanship are moving us in the wrong direction, but this isn't the type of catastrophic economic effects we would have rimbinged of risked if we

actually hit the debt limit and default on our obligations. we didn't go all the way to the end. but even getting close to it is moving you in the wrong direction, not the right direction. don't lose that big picture trend. we have had 43 months of job growth. that unemployment rate has come down steadily and we aren't satisfied where it is. >> what about global impacts? >> certainly we heard from the head of the i.m.f. last weekend and a number of others that this had global economic ramifications and i think -- we are still a leader in the world economy. we are having the strongest growth rates of any of the comparable countries and we're still a key force in driving that global economic growth. but again, we don't want to do anything to imperil that or change that and that's why the

president is out there urging that we don't repeat anything like this shutdown or this debt limit brinksmanship. >> do you see any economic impact with the problems with the healthcare.gov web site or do you think that would have no negative effect if the problem is improved? >> when it comes to the web site, people are working round the clock to fix that and the enrollment process is a six-month process and that's what you are focused on in that regard. the things that matter most in the a forwardable care act is health premiums are going at the slowest rate in 50 years. that helps businesses and job creation and helps wages. you don't have people locked into a business because they need to keep their insurance. people are more free to move jobs to jobs. get a raise and help

entrepreneurship. and you are seeing more affordable and new options for small businesses. you will see the affordable care act being good for the job market and good for the economy. i don't think anything about healthcare.gov in the past three weeks changes that bigger story. >> thank you, jay. and thank you, jason. mentioned -- twice sequestration and putting it on par with the euro zone crisis and recent government shutdown. do you have hard evidence that the cuts in sequestration are a negative effect on the recent jobs situation that you described and are causing a diminished job creation in the job sector? >> a reasonable estimate comes from the budget office a said that the sequester would cost us $-- 750,000 jobs and that worked

out to be 60,000 jobs per month. think if you had an extra 60,000 jobs. ben bernanke had testified referring to similar numbers, number of private sector forecasters have seen that as well. if you look at the pattern of growth, the job creation over the course of the year, it is consistent with those types of estimates from c.b.o. and others. >> i'm confused by your statistics. you say 0.25 drop in growth and you say a loss of 125,000 jobs. if we have lost 0.25 in growth, we would have gained 125,000 jobs? >> let me clear, i'm talking about october, so the data we saw today was for september.

and second of all, this is a change from what otherwise would have happened. so if we hadn't had a shutdown and hadn't had the debt limit briveragesfer brinksmanship, we would have had x jobs created. we are x minus 120,000 jobs created in the month of october. this is the delta or the measure of the cost of the shutdown and the brinksmanship. fewer private forecasters have predicted new growth. 6/10's casts are two to of a percent. they are predicting positive growth but less than they were before. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> we now return to our regular programming and i'll go to julie.

>> i just have one question on a eparate topic. w details about syrian grandmother who was hit. i wonder how these reports are squaring with the president's to make sure no civilians are killed and what the president is going to say about these drone strikes. >> let me start with the beginning your question, we are reviewing these reports carefully. as a part of his commitment to transparency and in a address on may 23, president obama laid out the legal and policy framework for the u.s. counterterrorism strategy. the president addressed the issue of civilian casualties and he made clear that it is a hard fact that u.s. strikes have

resulted in civilian casualties. he made clear there is a wide gap between u.s. assessments of such cashts and nongovernmental reports. to the extent that these reports claim that the u.s. acted contrary to international law, we would strongly disagree. the administration has repeatedly emphasized the extraordinary care we take to make sure that counterterrorism actions are in accordance with all applicable law. the president addressed why the united states may choose to undertake strikes using drones. he said conventional air power and missiles are far less precise and likely to cause more civilian casualties and more local outrage. invasion is viewed as occupying armies and unleash unintended consequences and result in large numbers of civilian casualties and empower on those who thrive on violent contact. i think it's important to note by narrowly targeting our action

against those who want to kill us and not the people they hide among, we are choosing a course of action least likely to result in loss of life. they are precise, lawful and effective and the united states does not take lethal strikes when we have the ability to capture terrorists. our preference is to detain, interrogate and prosecute. we take care to make sure our counterterrorism actions are in accord answer with international and applicable law and consistent with u.s. values and policy. of particular note, before we take any counterterrorism strike outside areas of active hostilities, there must be near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured and that is the highest standard we can set. i think we have demonstrated in the policies we have adopted and

the strategies that we develop and execute that we take the matter of civilian casualties enormously seriously and that the actions that we take, we take mindful of the absolute need to limit civilian casualties and to, in this case, reach a standard of near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured which is the highest standard. are >> you are confident that the strikes are going to meet that standard? >> i am confident that gsh again i can't speak about specific operations but the policies that the president spoke about in his speech meet international and domestic legal obligations and meet the standards set of near certainty that i just mentioned and the president is committed to undertaking these activities with the greatest possible transparency and we will continue to share as much information as possible with the american people, the congress

and the international community consistent with our national security needs and the proper functioning of the executive branch. >> jay, today the house oversight committee asked what the chief information information officer and can you explain how they were involved and when they were aware of all these problems? >> as i mentioned yesterday and the president mentioned in the rose garden, we are focused right now in the administration on identifying and fixing the real problems that exist with the healthcare.gov web site. and h.h.s. and c.h.s. launched a tech surge that is well under way bringing some of the most talented experts to bear on this problem and they are working 24/7 on fixing the web site. we aren't interested in monday

morning quarterbacking. we acknowledged he is not and no one in the administration is satisfied by the performance of the website thus far and the consumer experience it has provided. the goal here was not to build a website. the goal was to create marketplaces for insurance that would make it possible for millions of americans, for many of whom for the first time in their lives, the ability to purchase quality health care insurance or health insurance at prices they could afford. d -- we understand and acknowledge the problems that consumers are experiencing and have experienced with the web site every day. improvements are being made. i discussed some of them yesterday and so did the president. every day, we are seeing more indications of more and more

americans getting access to affordable health insurance they did not have before. the news out of ohio, the significant decision taken there, a state with a republican governor, which is now joining other states with republican governors to adopt the expansion of medicaid, which will provide insurance to several hundred,000 but a significant null of -- several hundred thousands. we are focused on the americans out there who have a high interest in and demand for the product that the marketplace is oviding and it's on our fact that the website has not functioned as it should and the reason why we made clear there are other avenues available to americans with this deep interest in finding affordable

health insurance to shop for that insurance and to sign up for and apply for that insurance. and that's happening. and meanwhile, we have an enormous -- not an enormous number, but a number of very qualified people involved in the provides of making improvements, identifying problems, isolating them and fixing them. >> will the white house cooperate with this committee? >> we cooperate with all congressional oversight committees. as the president said yesterday, rooting for failure in this case, no matter how much you violently oppose the affordable care act, perhaps even if you voted 45 times to defund it repeal it or sabotage it and perhaps if you voted to shut the government down and cause economic harm to the american people because you are so opposed to a bill that provides affordable health insurance to millions of americans, you ought

not celebrate with the fact that americans are struggling with a website and trying to obtain insurance. we should be focused on those americans. the struggles they may be having pale in comparison lacking affordable health insurance. it's not about who's to blame for gitches in a website. we need to fix those problems and making the information that the american people want available to them in an efficient way and that's what we are doing. >> the saudis is saying there are going to be a major shift? saudi relations away from the united states. are you seeking more information about it? >> i can tell you that secretary kerry has spoken at length about this today coming out of meetings with the saudi foreign minister and had candid and productive conversations on these issues. the united states and kingdom of

saudi arabia have a long standing relationship and consult on security issues, including iran, syria, the middle east peace process and egypt in terms of the prince's comments, i would ask you to turn to him. our core national security issues, the united states and saudi arabia have a very strong and stable relationship and while we do not agree on every issue, when we have different perspectives, we have honest and open discussions and i can point you to very constructive positive meetings that the secretary of state had with his audi counterpart in paris. >> particular reactions to saudi arabia rejecting on the u.n. security council? >> a seat on the united nations security council allows members to engage on issues including syria, iran and egypt and middle

east peace process. whether or not saudi arabia takes a seat on the council is its own decision. we will continue our cooperation on the hope of shared challenges we face including the issues that the security council takes up directly. we have disagreements with saudi arabia on some issues but we work through them and discuss them in honest and open conversations. we also have a core relationship in national security areas that is very stable -- [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] following order. suspending the rules and passing h.r. 185 by the yeas and nays, h.r. 3205 by the yeas and nays, and agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal, de novo. the first electronic vote will

be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conducted as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the quelt -- gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. barletta, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 185, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: house calendar number 157, a bill to designate the united states courthouse located at 101 east pecan street in sherman, texas, as the paul broun united states courthouse. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill? 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.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 402, the nays are 1, zero recorded as present. 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.

unfinished business is vote on the motion of the the gentleman from washington, mr. reichert, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3205 on which yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: a bill to re-authorize and restructure the incentives grant program and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. 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 402, the nays 2/3 being in the affirmative, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal which the speaker -- 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 yes have it. >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi seek recognition? >> i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vet will rise. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 275 and the nays are 116. two answering present. the journal stands approved.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from washington eek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i have a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the clerk: house resolution 383, resolved that the house has learned with profound sorrow of the death of the honorable thomas s. foley, former member of the house for 15 terms and speaker of the house of representatives for the 101, 102 and 103 congresses. resolved that in the death of the honorable thomas s. foley of the united states and the state of washington have lost a

valued and eminent public servant and citizen. resolved that the clerk communicate these resolutions to the senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the diseased. resolved that when the house adjourns today it adjourn as a further mark of represent to the -- respect to the memory of the deceased. the speaker pro tempore: please take your conversations off the floor. is there objection to the consideration of the esolution? without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the house will be in order. please take your conversations off the floor. for what purpose does the

gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 384, resolved that the house has heard with profound sorrow of the death of the honorable c.w. bill young, a representative from the state of florida. resolved that a committee of such members of the house as the speaker may designate together with such members of the senate as may be joined be appoint to attend the funeral. resolved that the sergeant at arms of the house be authorized and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying out the provisions of these resolutions and that the necessary expenses and connection therewith be paid out of applicable accounts of the house. resolved that the clerk communicate these resolutions to the senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. resolved that when the house adjourns today it adjourn as a

further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that i may here after be considered to be the first sponsor of h.r. 2248, a bill originally introduced by representative markey of massachusetts for the purposes of adding co-sponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule 12. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on the additional motion to suspend the rules on way recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered. or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. any record vote on the

postponed motion will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3302, to name the department of veterans affairs medical center in bay pines, florida, as the c.w. bill young department of veteran affairs medical center. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3302, a bill to name the department of veterans affairs medical center in bay pines, florida, as the c.w. bill young department of veterans affairs medical center. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. miller, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. brown, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members would have five legislative days with which to

revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material they may have on h.r. 3302. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: thank you very much, mr. speaker. today is bittersweet, as we mark both the passing of a congressional stalwart, chairman c.w. bill young, and pay a fitting tribute by naming the bay pines veterans medical center in his honor. mr. speaker, while the raw numbers themselves may speak volumes for his dedication to america, it's his personal qualities that i admired the most. when i came to congress in 2001, bill young was one of the first members that welcomed me here. it was on this floor in this chamber, that bill young introduced me to the members of

this house the night i was sworn in. since then i came to regard him not only as a mentor, not just a colleague, but a friend. a personal friend. chairman young served the 13th district of florida and the people of the united states for over 42 years. he was the senior member of the florida congressional delegation and was the senior republican in both the house and in the senate. counting his years in the florida legislature, bill young served over 50 years in public service and worked with eight presidents. bill will be most remembered for his devotion to america's defense and especially to the men and the women in the armed forces. having served in uniform for 15 years as a member of the national guard and reserves, bill was the go-to guy on

defense issues here in the house. he dedicated his legislative and personal energies to improve the quality of life for the men and the women who served and as a result those who wear the uniform and face ur foes have improved base housing today, better medical care, increased pay and the best equipment. members know bill best for his work as chairman of the house appropriations committee from 1999 to 2005. and he continued to serve as chairman of the subcommittee of defense until the time of his passing. but bill young was much more than a defense expert. he has also been a leading advocate for increased medical research. bill worked to double federal medical research funding and funding to increase immunization rates for preschoolers, to improve public health programs and to find

cures for parkinson's and alzheimer's disease. just one example, the c.w. bill young morrow donor recruitment and research program registry lists more than nine million volunteer donors for patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases. that simple list has provided he gift of life to more than 50,000 individuals. to completely describe the contributions of a man who served in this body for over 42 years would take hours. so with that, mr. speaker, on behalf of the entire florida delegation and all those who knew and searched with him in this house and in the other body, i offer our most sincere condolences to his wife beverly and his sons, rob, billy and patrick. he was your husband and he was your father.

to us bill was a friend. and we will miss him dealer. mr. speaker, i -- deerly. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time -- dearly. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida is recognized. ms. brown: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. one of my favorite songs is "let the work i've done speak for me." i rise today to pay tribute to chairman bill young who passed on and whose dedication to america's servicemen is well known to his fellow floridians as well as to all who serve in this house of representatives. taking care of our nation's men and women in uniform was his passion. he often called them kids because he cared for them as deeply as if they were his family. chairman young was an officer

and a gentleman. he served for nine years in the american national guard, during his decade in congress he and his wife beverly regularly visited the hospitals, combat troops there in florida and here in bethesda. they have arranged travel for military family members of those who were having trouble paying their bills, here in the house at the appropriations committee and any other ways he could find. he was tireless in his work on behalf of servicemen, veterans and their families. i worked with him when we were having to finish a new courthouse in orlando. this was just after the oklahoma city bombing and all of the new security requirements that were added to protect the buildings and the people in them. the project was $9 million overbudget but the chairman came to the longest town hall meeting ever held here on the

capitol. everyone had to say the chairman was a gentleman as always and wanted what was best for the people of florida, regardless of party. when it he case also came to funding for research. chairman young knew how important cutting-edge research is and making it a priority to find the funding to help future generations of americans. every year bill young was a keynote speaker at the memorial day program in bay pine. he initially worked with president gerald ford and the appropriations committee in 1976 to replace the original hospital building. at one point he went so far as to personally show the president where the building was and how badly it was leaking. he was very proud of the new hospital, which opened in 1983. he was thrilled when they named the road in circling it the bill young road.

the v.a. medical center at bay pine has many services to complete all their health care services that the hospital provide, but in addition there's service for care givers, dental service, extension care and service for seniors. along with programs that help homeless vets. in addition, the women's veterans health care program at bay pine focused on wellness education, preventive health care, disease management and care for the emotional well-being of women veterans. today we go one step further in honoring the man who made the v.a. medical center at bay pine a reality. today we take a step of naming the whole facility after bill young. it is a most appropriate tribute to name the center whose mission it is to coordinate the care for wounded men and women who served their life and that was their

mission. mr. speaker, as we say good-bye to our friend and colleague, chairman bill young, would this bill, we can honor his service in the way i know he would appreciate most deeply. having his name associated daily and directly with the highest level of care for our military veterans. i thank chairman miller for bringing it up today and i urge my colleagues to spoth it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. -- >> i yield one minute to the dean of the fle delegation, ms. ros-lehtinen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: i appreciate the gentleman for yielding me time. i appreciate that he's gotten the florida delegation working

in a bipartisan manner to honor this good man and warm friend, congressman bill young. bill was a true patriot and a tenacious public servant, dedicating his life to his constituents in pinellas county and as you heard from some of our previous speakers, his accomplishments are so varied and many, creating a national bone marrow registry, improving the quality of life for active duty personnel, our national guard, our reserves, our veterans, protecting thousands of jobs in his area, preserving mcdill air force base, improving florida's environment. these are just some of bill's many accomplishments. bill was always willing to lend a helping thooned members of our entire state delegation with projects that were important in our local community. for example, he helped me to fiend the funds to dredge the miami river --

mr. miller: i yield the gentlelady 30 seconds. mr. -- ms. ros-lehtinen: to help the air force base after hurricane andrew. but also he was a consummate gentleman, maintaining civility with his colleagues, a trait we no longer honor as we should. bill was an example here in congress. it was my privilege and high honor to serve with him, what a great privilege. i thank the gentleman for yielding me time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady from florida yields back. mrs. miller: the gentleman -- mr. miller: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentlelady from florida. ms. brown: i yield three minutes to mr. hoyer.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: bill young was my friend. he was a gentle man in every sense of the word. he was an example for us all. i will have the privilege of speaking on thursday at his request, at his funeral. bill and i served on the appropriations committee for 23 years together. then i left when i became majority leader. ll young was, as i said, a gentleman who cared about each and every individual in this house. more than that he cared for each and every person who served in uniform. in our armed forces. he and beverly displayed that as congressman miller has said on a

weekly, daily basis. i'm a democrat, bill was a republican. didn't make any difference. he was an american, i was an american. and we served our country together. no one served it better than ill young. he chose to see our differences as slight and our common purpose as great. he always chose civility over partisanship. he was a skilled legislator on behalf of the people of pinell las county, florida, on behalf of florida, on behalf of his country. on behalf of the members of the armed forces and the defense of this country. he was a champion of our men and women in uniform. veterans and their families. all of whom, wherever they

lived, he viewed as his constituents. this bill to rename the v.a. hospital in bay pines, florida, which i am proud to co-sponsor, is a fitting tribute to his devotion to our veterans and our troops. though he represented florida longer than any member of this house in history, he was originally from a hardscrabble coal mining town in pennsylvania. it was there he learned many lessons about the hardships facing working families and the need to ensure that opportunities were in their reach. he never forgot that. he was a great member of this body. a very powerful member of this body. an extraordinary, influential american. but to all of us, he was bill. to all those he came in contact with, he was bill.

he was a person who understood the needs, the fears, the aspiration the hopes of his people and the people of our country. my thoughts are with beverly, with bill young's family, the people of florida's 13th district, this house has lost a great member. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has ex-peered. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. miller: at this time i would like to yield one minute to the gentleman from florida, mr. mica. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mica: mr. speaker and my colleagues, it is absolutely fitting that we take this step and name our veterans hospital on the west coast of florida after a great american a patriot a hero for our veterans, bill young. probably more than anyone in the house of representatives or congress, i've known bill young,

i think, longer, he and i were both aides to the first republican congressman since the civil war, bill cramer, he was an aide before i was, but we met together more than -- worked together more than 40 years ago. so i rise tonight not only as a colleague but as a personal friend and political ally of a great human being, someone with -- who put his heart and soul into his position, who loved our service men and women and whose great legacy will be all he has done to honor their memory and today, tonight, we honor his memory with renaming bay pines veterans hospital for bill young, my friend. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman reserves his time. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. brown: thank you.

at this time i would like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. bishop. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bishop: i thank the gentleman -- the gentlelady for yielding. i rise in support of this bill to rename the bay pines medical cent erans afares medical for the florida as the c.w. bill young veterans affairs medical center. this is a great tribute to one of our dearest colleagues. indeed, bill young will be forever known as one of the strongest supporters of our military and veterans in the history of this congress. his staunching and unyielding support of our military and veterans is legendary. likewise, he was a true champion for his district and a fount of knowledge about the chronicles of the u.s. house of representatives. bill young will be missed in washington as well as in florida.

he, along with the late congressman jack murtha, were not only great friends and mentors to me, but their wives, beverly and joist, also friends -- and joyce, also friends to my wife. chairman murtha and champlee young were neither democrat or republican when it came to national defense. regardless of which one was the chair and which the ranking member, the members of our military would be taken care of. i am proud to have served on that committee under both of these great leaders. with bill's death, we have lost one of the true remaining statesman. our thoughts and prayers are with beverly and their entire family. we have lost one of our great statesmen, and i have lost a friend and mentor. while we could use every word in every language spoken by mankind we would not have enough words

combined to adequately thank bill young for his service. but i'm pleased to join my colleagues in passing this resolution to rename the bay pines veterans affairs medical center in florida the c.w. "bill" young department of veterans' affairs medical center. it has been said you make your living by what you get. you make your life by what you give. bill young gave so much to so many for so long. he will be greatly missed. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. miller: as the gentleman alluded to, over 200 co-sponsors, i would announce to the house tonight, we had 379 original co-sponsors of this piece of legislation. i would like to recognize the vice chairman of the veterans affairs committee, the gentleman from florida whose district abutted mr. young's, mr.

bilirakis, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. bilirakis: thank you so much. 379 co-sponsor, what a wonderful testament, what a wonderful man, a great man. i rise to strongly support this legislation. over the past five decades, chairman young selflessly served florida and the tampa bay area, leading many initiatives to promote economic growth, create jobs of his -- of which his contributions to the military and veterans in particular are immeasurable. in the 1970's he paidplayed a significant role in winning support for the bay pines veterans administrationor allowing the facilities to support almost 100,000 of our heros in our area today. with this funding, bay pines was able to increase the size of its campus, replace the hospital, and now offers a wide variety of

services to these veterans in their backyard because of chairman young. chairman young has left behind a rich legacy in support of our heroes, especially those in the tampa bay area. by naming this important facility in his honor, we will provide a lasting monument to remember our great friend, chairman bill young. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. miller: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. brown: i would like to yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from florida whose district butts up to congressman bill young's district, kathy castor. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. castor: thank you very much. i thank my colleague from florida for yielding the time and for her dedication to the nation's veterans as well. i rise in strong support of esignating the bay pines

medical center the c.w. "bill" young v.a. medical center. i'm a proud co-sponsor this resolution. i would like to thank chairman miller of florida, congresswoman brown and for all of our colleagues for hon norg bill young with such a designation. i have been fortunate to serve alongside bill young for the seven years i have been here, seven out of the 4 years that mr. young served in the congress. we represented st. petering burst and the tampa bay area -- st. petersburg and the tampa bay area together. i know i speak for my predecessors when i say that congressman bill young was a gentleman and an outstanding partner for the interests of the tampa bay area and the state of florida. it is very appropriate that we honor bill young by naming the bay pines v.a. medical center after him. he was a fricksture at the bay pines veterans day and memorial

day ceremonies every year. but more importantly, he was a fixture when there was no ceremony. when he would visit wounded soldiers in the hospital or at their homes. when there was no fanfare. and he just determined that it was just his desire to ensure that the service members and their families restheaved care that they deserved and that they had earned. many facilities at the mcdill air force base in tampa are state of the art due to mr. young's attention. i was grateful for the help he provided me when mcdill and those who worked there were in need. he boosted our efforts in mcdill means mobility when we tried to expand a megs at the base. when i brought to the attention that the department of defense was not assisting veterans and their families who qualified for

medicare, he helped cut through the red tape. many point to his earmarks and legacy in the area in a number of ways. our drinking water reservoir is the bill young reservoir. programs at st. petersburg college, programs at exart college, we are so proud mr. young initiated the national bone marrow donor program at all children's hospital in st. petersburg. but it was decades ago through his leadership that the bay nes medical center was created. it's now the fourth largest veterans hospital in the country. it serves veterans across west central florida and employs many talented care givers. it's a fitting tribute to this remarkable american to name the v.a. tissue the bay pines medical center in his honor. 'm proud to co-sponsor the resolution. his sincerity and dogged

advocacy for our nation's men and women in uniform and veterans will be missed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. miller: i'm proud to yield one minute to the gentleman from florida, mr. diaz-balart. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. diaz-balart: you know, we literally could be here days speaking about the many accomplishments of chairman young. and those days would not suffice. i got a chance to work with him on the appropriations committee and i will tell that you so many times i went to him for advice, for help. bill young was one of those people that you always went to. -- went to when you needed help, when you needed advice. he was such a wise, such a wise man. and since, as i said a little while ago, since we would never have enough time to talk about all his great accomplishments, and you've heard not only about his accomplishments but just

the fact that was an incredibly honorable, caring, wise and a statesman is the word that comes to mind, and since my time is limited, i just want to echo something that i heard -- i'm not quite sure, mr. speaker, who said it, but somebody i heard said, ray ed that to be a great man -- i read that to be a great man, you first have to be a good man. that e's anybody that that phrase reminds us of it's bill young. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. brown: i would like to yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is ecognized. ms. jackson lee: i'd like to thank the gentlelady from florida, the ranking member of

the committee on veterans, ms. brown, and i'd like to thank chairman miller. week of worked together and thank you so very much -- we've worked together and thank you so much. i want to also thank the ranking member of the appropriations committee, mrs. lowey. thank you for allowing me to share this evening the comments and the appreciation, respect i have for bill young. first of all, i'd like to say what everyone else has said. what a great american. what a great patriot. what a great public servant. and, bill, may you rest in peace. bill was on the floor, congressman young, chairman young, was on the floor of the house just a few weeks before he passed and i think that's important to note, that he was working every single day to make america better. he loved soldiers and veterans, he loved their families and it's highly appropriate for him to have his name so honored as named as a veterans hospital. i want to say that it is

particularly important to note that congressman young was able to speak to kings and queens and generals and people of high places, but he was best when he was talking to everyday people, to the soldiers that he loved. he came from humble beginnings, starting with his single parent, his mother, losing his home early in life, living in a hunting camp. that he would not be the generous-hearted person that he is today but he was really what america's all about. the american dream. i remember his commitment to our soldiers and his easy ability to work across the aisle. as someone who advocated for soldiers suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, i want to let his family know how dedicated he was to providing extra resources to the thousands upon thousands of soldiers who returned from iraq and afghanistan, who needed extra help with posttraumatic stress disorder. he was very kind to those of us who were concerned about breast

cancer and women in the united states military who may have experienced breast cancer. and working with me this past session, in fact, the last two sessions, to provide -- ms. brown: i yield an additional minute to the gentlelady. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, another minute. ms. jackson lee: i thank the distinguished gentlelady from florida. he worked with me over the last two sessions, mr. speaker in providing extra funding for both posttraumatic stress disorder, a center that is in houston, texas, but also dealing with additional research for triple negative breast cancer that might have an impact not only in the military population of women, but also with women around the nation. bill was like -- if i might, congressman bill young, chairman bill young, was like that. always extending, always sharing. he has a special place in my heart because my mother is from -- my late mother is from st. petersburg, florida. but i would say he should have a special place in the hearts of all americans because if you ever want to see exemp flied a

grand -- exemplified, a grand and stately gentleman who had nothing in his heart but the love and respect and admiration for this nation, it is our dear friend, the honorable billing young. to his family, i -- bill young. to his family, say to them, we loved -- i say to them, we loved him and we ex tends our deepest sympathies. thank you, my dear friend, you have served well and i hope you will rest well. may god bless him and god bless his family. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from florida voiced. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. womack. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for one minute. mr. womack: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank chairman miller for this time. mr. speaker, i rise today to join the chorus of people remembering our friend and the chairman of the defense subcommittee of appropriations, bill young. chairman young, as you know, spent five decades of his life in this chamber, fighting for a better america for both his constituents and our country. as the dean of the republican conference he was a leader and

a counsel to colleagues young and old, republican or democrat. mr. speaker, i'm the newest member of the defense subcommittee of appropriations. i was fortunate to receive his mentorship. i learned from his fearless, unparalleled support of our troops and our veterans and i admired his out the speaker:en and unwavering commitment to -- his outspoken and unwavering commitment to what was in their best interest. ed a a veteran myself of over 30 years, i was also a beneficiary of his incredible support of those who wear the uniform. while his presence will be forever missed, the bill young department of veterans affairs medical sent already serve as a small and fitting remind that are this institution, our men and women in uniform, and america are undoubtedly better off because of bill young and i'm proud to support him. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. miller: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms. brown: yes, mr. speaker. can you tell new how much time we each have now?

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady has 4 1/2 minutes. the gentleman has 10 1/2 minutes. ms. brown: thank you. i at this time would like to yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. lowey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. mrs. lowey: low mr. speaker, i rise -- mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this bill. for more than 40 years bill young served his district and this institution with integrity and honor after having served our country in the army national guard for nearly a decade. as chairman of the appropriations committee, his leadership, advocacy for our men and women in uniform and our veterans was unsurpassed. at a time when political

culture too often devolves into hostility and compromise is a dirty word, bill young was always a gentleman who consistently reached across the aisle. he would share with me his visits with his dear wife beverly to wounded warriors to bring them comfort. how happy those visits made him. it was such a pleasure to serve with him. and he will be truly missed. renaming this v.a. facility in his memory is a tribute to his legacy. you'll be missed, my dear friend. rest in peace, god bless you and god bless america. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. we have no more speakers

requesting time and we're prepared to close if ms. brown is prepared. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. miller: thank you, mr. speaker -- ms. brown: thank you, mr. speaker. first of all, let me that are thank chairman milling -- let me thank chairman miller for organizing this tribute to chairman young. in closing, you know, i often say, when you're born, you get a birth certificate. and when you die you get a death certificate. and that little dash in between is what you've done to make this a better place. and i don't know anyone that's done more than chairman bill young. and it's my honor having the opportunity to serve with him, his leadership for the florida delegation. i mean, week of gone through tough times, but i can tell you he has always been a gentleman d i really -- when i first began, i said that one of my favorite sodges is "let the work i've done speak for me."

clearly he's done his work and as paul said, you know, he has kept the faith. he's done his job. it's left up to us to continue his great work. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. miller: mr. speaker, tonight i want to thank all the members on both sides of the aisle for their kind words that they have said for our friend, bill young. and i sincerely hope that the words give beverly, rob, billy and patrick some measure of consolation. while we'll no longer have bill's personal and wise counsel to go to, that beautiful veterans medical center will bear his name and it will give witness, witness to his many years of service to america and her defenders.

i want to thank my good friend, ms. brown, for her help in bringing this bill to the floor and the over 375 co-sponsors that we have brought on this piece of legislation. i respectfully ask all members to join us in supporting this piece of legislation, h.r. 3302, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 3302. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the chair now entertains requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, plain and simple, the shutdown stalemate was unacceptable. the impasse should have been resolved weeks before october 1 when the house began passing funding bills through regular order. now, i argued that the strategy of defunding the health care law would not succeed. considering most of its programs are funded through mandatory spending. i did however believe that forcing the debate was necessary in order for congress to actually start dealing with the challenges we face. the president's health care law is without a doubt one of those challenges, mr. speaker. the law was sold as a way to

lower insurance costs and expand access but in reality it's reducing access, breaking the budget and harming consumers. we force thed senate to join us in addressing our larger budgetary issues, including debt and deficits, which undoubt lid will lead us back to a discussion of this flawed health care law. this debate would never have taken place if senate leader reid had his way. concerning the ongoing failures with the obamacare exchange, it's certainly a dewe will now be able to have. the american people deserve as much. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair lays before the house the following personal request. the clerk: leaves of absence requested for mr. aderholt of alabama for today, mr. danny dastes of -- davis of illinois for today and october 23, mr. gingrey of georgia for today, mr. honda of california for today and ms. roybal-allard of california for october 22 and october 23.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests re granted. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from california, mr. ramendi is recognized for 10 minutes -- for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. garamendi: i thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate this presentation. we had one of those very important moments to recognize the long service of one of our colleagues. nd as we listened to those eulogies, we should be reminded of the awesome responsibilities that we share here in the house of representatives. bill young, obviously, felt

those responsibilities deeply and carried them out for an extraordinary length of time, 43 years. we are thankful for his service, for his memory and also for what he has taught us about per see rnings and sted -- steadfastness. it's working across the aisle and finding the middle grouped that i want to spend time on ,onight, like my 434 colleagues when we finished voting last thursday, we all left this chamber, i think in a rather somber mood, realizing that 16 days had past and our government was shut down. and the likelihood of damage to america and americans. when we got home, i suspect all of us, and i know it certainly

was my case, confronted by our constituents. and they were not happy. in fact, they were angry. they were angry that their government, the government of the strongest, most powerful nation in the world, wasn't operating because its legislative body had failed. and we had failed to find the common ground, that we had failed to really protect this nation and americans. there was a grand debate over the affordable health care act and then went into some other kinds of concerns and then ultimately wound up somewhere about the deficit and about the default. at the end of that process, i don't think americans really much cared what the debate was about. what they cared about was the

very nature of our government and whether it would be able to operate. it was a heavy toll. it was a heavy toll on our nation. it's estimated it was well over $24 billion hit for the economy. and i know in my own district, it was a tremendous hit. i had -- as i got off the plane here in washington, d.c. returning today from california at the airport ready to fly back to california was the chancellor of the university of california-davis. she caught me as i got off the plane and she said, expressed her deep concern, the deep oncern that it had for her and her operation. she went on to discuss the critical research that, mr. speaker -- rules committee here? no.

i'll continue on. i see one of my colleagues has arrived. i was told that rules committee might be coming with some -- i would be happy to yield. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 385, resolution providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 3080 to provide for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the united states, to provide for the con servings of water and related resources and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. the gentleman from california. to garamendi: i was happy yield particularly since the issue has to deal with the water resources development act. i'll come to that in a few

moments. but i would like to talk about the effect of the shutdown on the yuft of california. research projects that were under way simply stopped. next to me on the plane was a woman running a health and nutrition program from the u.s. department of agriculture that was associated with the university of california-davis, shut down for 16 days and the enormous challenge of starting back up, shut down and starting back up. loft efficiency and loft research. those kinds of problems are repeat throughout my district. at the air olks force base, several thousand employees were furloughed. lake county who perform services for victims of domestic abuse and rape had to reduce its

services. the university of california and u.s. department of agriculture weren't able to operate. farmers who needed to get loans at the service septemberer couldn't get them, right in the middle of the harvest season. companies that needed licenses from the department of commerce to export advanced technology had all of their orders on hold and some of them were lost. in the far north of california, the wildlife refuges were closed during the opening of the duck season and antelope and in my own district, an annual standdown for struggling veterans had to scramble for money to recover the department for money that was not made available. small business administration wasn't able to approve small business loans. the entire economy of the united states lost over $24 billion. the economic growth of the nation probably lost as much of

a half of a percentage point. and for what? for what? it's hard to even begin to describe what the argument was all about, over the affordable health care act, an act that is providing health care services to over four million young men and women who are able to stay on their families' health insurance, seniors who are getting prevent tive health care services. it goes on and on. here we are once again, where do we go tomorrow? well, tomorrow, we begin once again the struggle to define this government's future and to define the future of america. i'm going to spend a few moments talking about that struggle, because on january 15, there will be yet one more crisis point, a focal point upon which the issues of government will be

leveraged one way or the other. we have seen five such crisis points in the last three years and each one, a crisis building up to a point where the american economy doesn't know what to expect and therefore does not make the critical investments and does not attempt to grow because they don't know what the economic political future will be. we are going to endure that not just once in the next three months, but twice, january 15 will be the first opportunity for the next crisis, a crisis that will be about opening government or not. because once again, it will be a funding crisis, will we be able to appropriate the money to operate the federal government. on february , will there be an additional debt crisis? a default cliff will be reached. so the american economy, like a

race horse at a gate, hearing the trumpet, looking for the gate to open, ready to get out there and charge down the track, the american economy will face once again that gate slamming shut on it even as it wants to grow, even as that great american race horse economy wants to race down the track, that has the opportunity to shut. the uncertainty will be there once again. it is in the interest of republicans and democrats to end these manufactured crises and put in in place a long-term stable policy, one that allows this government to make the critical investments to grow the economy and put in place a tax policy that is sensible and long range and helps to balance the budget, that makes the necessary cuts of those programs that are not essential and maintains and even enhances those that are

essential. let me put up on the board just for a moment some of the numbers that we're dealing with over the next couple of months. i don't say this is a good chart but it is a bit confusing but we eed to understand this number. this number is suggested to be the federal budget for the 2014 year. back in 2010, the actual amount we $1 trillion, that's what actually budgeted and spent that year. that was 2010. there was some growth that the president recommended for the federal budget. what actually happened was quite different. what actually happened is down here in these lower numbers. this year, the house republican budget, otherwise known as the

, an budget, called for $1 095,,,. in 2011, the debt crisis came up once again and the 2011, august, 2011, compromise said we would ,000,000 in the 2014 budget. he senate said we spent, $1,066,000,000. what did we actually do? what we actually did last week was to authorize an expenditure of $986 billion. a huge difference. $217 difference of some

billion less than recommended by the president. what does this number mean? this number means across this nation, vital programs in the military, vital programs in education, in health care, in agriculture, in every activity of the government except those of medicare and social security and medicaid, were substantially reduced. that put an enormous drag on the economy. not only was the economy faced with a 16-day shutdown, but also faced with a shallow and less robust federal government, laying off people all across this nation. for the university of california-davis, it meant that $40 million of re-- research programs were not funded, simply stopped. this kind of effect on the nation's budget or the nation's

economic activity is going to continue. and in the year ahead economists predict it will continue to cause a slowdown in the growth of the economy, lowering tax revenues, increasing the deficit and creating higher unemployment or at least not reducing the unemployment rate in this nation. we need to change that. we need to set in place a different policy. and here's where i want to go with this discussion, what is it we really need to do to grow the american economy, to make sure all the runnings on the economic ladder are in place and providing the opportunity for every american to have a decent job. hard-working americans want to go to work and have a job to support their family and meet the needs of their own personal, their family needs and participate in their communities in a meaningful way with a good middle-class job. there are ways that we can do

that. nd one of them is what we call the make it in america agenda. the make it in america agenda involves seven different policies. international trade policies. instead of giving away our jobs to some foreign country, making sure our trade programs actually encourage economic growth at home and not encourage economic growth in china. that there be a tax policy that ends unnecessary tax loopholes, rebates for those companies that are profitable. for example, the top 20 american corporations, about half of them pay little or no corporate income tax. the tax system is set up in such a way that they are able to avoid their fair share of the cost of government. and so, we need to make sure that the tax policies of the

united states are wise, that they support economic growth, that they don't provide unnecessary tax breaks and loopholes to those individuals and corporations that don't need them. i'll give you one example of a huge tax loophole. the five biggest oil companies in america, five biggest together receive somewhere between $4 billion and $5 billion of reduced taxes every year. this is the most profitable industry in the world. why are they getting subsidies? why are we subsidizing them? why is the american taxpayer subsidizing the most profitable industry in the world, the oil industry? just one example of subsidies, tax subsidies, tax breaks that ought to be removed and seriously looked at. we can significantly increase the revenue to the federal government by eliminating these unnecessary, unwise and quite foolish tax breaks and subsidies that many corporations and some

individuals receive. . .. right now in the united states is in the midst of an energy boom. it's reducing the cost of energy. all across this nation we're seeing the affect of this in the coal industry as natural gas is replacing coal-fired power plants, reducing greenhouse gas emission, all that have a very, very good thing. also we need to continue to move toward sustainable energy, the green energy systems, wind, solar, hydro, electric, geothermal, other kinds of sustainable energy policies. with regard to -- i'm going to skip down here to research because this is one where we have a real opportunity to tie together the research agenda with the energy agenda. an example, we know that most of the oil that's produced in

the united states and imported is used for the transportation industry. recently the transportation department provided a grant to the university of california-davis to do some research on sustainable transportation. the world's top scientists have concluded that there really is such a thing as climate change and it poses a very serious threat to humanity. the most recent report came out less than a month ago and concluded that we're in for some very serious troubles ahead, unless we are able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. a good deal of which comes from the transportation industry. the good news is that we, as the american public, through this government can rise to the challenge and communities like the one i represent in davis, california, are leading the way. the university of california-davis has received a

cutting-edge research grant for the research into transportation systems that are sustainable. that are not relying as much or fuels n the carbon gasoline and decemberle. so what are they? plug-in -- decemberle. so what are they? -- diesel. so what are they? many kinds of transportation batteries and the like are going to be part of this research. the department of transportation asked the university of california-davis to lead a national center for sustainable transportation. this new consortium will support policymakers as they implement real-world strategies to address the climate change and other threats. in other words, by combining research and energy, we can move away from the dependence upon oil and particularly

foreign oil, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. and so as you go through this make it in america agenda, certainly energy policy will be coupled with the research ealingd. -- agenda. another part of this is the labor. is labor ready to accept the kinds of challenges that we're going to find in the new modern manufacturing sector? o we need to invest in the labor movement -- in labor so that we have a well educated labor force and the re-education of those men and women that have lost their jobs. just two decades ago we had nearly 20 million americans in the manufacturing sector. today it's probably closer to 11 million. that means some nine million americans that once had jobs in the manufacturing sector are no longer employed in that sector. they need to be re-educated either for advanced

manufacturing technology or in other sectors. and so the labor force is constantly evolving and one of the roles of the federal government through the department of education and the department of labor and commerce is to provide that re-education necessary as one of the old manufacturing technologies moves, dies out and new ones come along. so the labor force is able to move into those new jobs. and so you see the combination of education and labor. these things work together. on the educational side, it's been shown many, many times that an education really needs to start in pre-kindergarten. yet one of the effects of sequestration, together with the government shutdown, was a significant reduction in pre-kindergarten education. in my district, some 6,000 young people were unable to

participate in the head start program. not just for 16 days, but for the many days out ahead. so they will enter kindergarten substantially behind their peers. providing an anchor to the economy as they move through their educational process, quite possibly becoming one of the high majority or the high percentage of students that drop out of high school. so as you move down this make it in america agenda, we come down to one that's had a fundamental investment and that's the infrastructure system. we have the very high unemployment rate. no doubt about it. one of the ways to immediately employ americans is to build the foundation for economic growth. these are all part of the foundation for economic growth. this is the concrete and steel when we talk about infrastructure. these are the roads. the airports. the railroads. the mass transportation system.

-- systems. the sanitation systems. the water systems. and so infrastructure becomes a critical part of any of the efforts that we need to make to rebuild america, to provide the foundation and to put americans back to work. there's some very interesting research that's come out of . is and here's a piece of it. for every dollar invested in infrastructure, $1.57 is punched back into the economy -- pumped back into the economy. so if, for example, the federal government were to undertake the robust infrastructure program that the president put forth a year ago and reiterate it in his state of the union speech this last january,

ctually february, and we passed legislation, as he wanted, to put $50 billion additional into the infrastructure program, the economy would not only be spending the dollar, it would be getting back $1.57 for every one of those $50 billion that the president wanted to put into america's infrastructure. men and women would be working. the economy would begin to move forward more rapidly. and we would begin to see the kind of economic growth that this nation needs to have, that the men and women that are unemployed or those who are seeking better jobs would want to have, and we would be laying the foundation for future economic growth. so we must keep this in mind. there are several things that can be done in this regard. one of them you just heard about during the brief interpretation when the rules committee came here to put before this house tomorrow and

the days ahead the water resource development act. this used to be a biannual legislation that congress would pass every two years to put in place the water resources, the development of levees, transportation systems such as the locks and the rivers and the channels, the portlands, other kinds of water transportation -- ports, the other kind of transportation systems. you had all of these critically important infrastructure projects that are in the water resources development act. it's been five years since there's been a water resource development act. but we have a chance now to push forward in this house of representives in the next few days an extremely important infrastructure piece of legislation. the goods in is -- news is there's -- the good news is there's a good chance we'll do it. the bad news is it's inadequately funded.

there's not sufficient money in that program to build the kind of things that we must have. so what are we going to do? one of the solutions was again proposed by the president in his infrastructure program that he presented to congress that has really not been acted on yet and that was an infrastructure bank. a bank that's been in existence in europe for almost 30 years now. one in which it's a public-private partnership in which the government invests money, private investors can also invest, that money would then be available for those kinds of infrastructure projects that are cash flow projects. for example, a sanitation system. a toll road, a toll bridge, an airport, a water system. all of these kinds of infrastructures have fees associated with them so there's a cash flow that's generated sufficient to pay off the loan that is made available through the infrastructure bank. such a program is being introduced here in the house of

legislation since at least the early 1990's. doesn't exist. never been passed. although every year one or another member of the house of representatives, i know congresswoman rosa delauro has introduced this for at least the last 15 years, but never acted upon. and you have to wonder why. this seems to me to be eminently wise that we would create an infrastructure bank. the federal government can borrow money today, a 10-year ote was just over i think 2.6% for a 10-year note. that's really cheap money. borrow that money, put it in this bank, loan it out at 2.8% to various cities, counties, water systems and build the infrastructure. that's cheap money. gives us a chance to get the economy going, employ people, build the foundation for economic growth and raise

taxes. not by increasing the tax rate, but by people paying taxes because they're now working. what a novel idea. people who work pay taxes. just as we ought to be doing. so this is the couple of ideas about how we can move the economy forward. there's another piece of this make it in america agenda and it's this. h.r. 1524. i like this piece of legislation. it's one i've introduced. and what it basically says it if we're going to build those clean energy projects, you know, the wind, the solar, the advanced fuel, the hydrogen systems, all of which are subsidized by your tax money, then your tax money must be spent on american-made. american-made wind turbines,

american-made solar panels, let's make it in america. why should we spend your tax money to buy steel from china to build the san francisco -oakland bay bridge? i'm sure your answer would be we shouldn't. but we did. 6,000 new jobs in china, zero in america, supposed to be 10% cheaper, turned out to be 10% more expensive because there were flaws in the steel, the welds were not satisfactory. no, no. that is american taxpayer money. that american taxpayer money should have been used to buy american-made steel, creating a new high-tech steel mill, not in china, which is what happened, but rather in america . so we ought to be buying america. we ought to be using our tax money to buy american-made goods and services and that's

exactly what this bill does. this is part of the make it in america agenda. i'm going to show you one other little picture here. trains don't run upside down so let me make it right side up. this is an electric locomotive. brand new. ade in sacramento, california. by siemens, a german manufacturing company. one of the world's biggest manufacturing companies. what in the world are they making electric locomotives for amtrak in sacramento? why are they doing that? well, for years siemens has had a light rail trolley manufacturing plant in sacramento. in the american recovery act, the stimulus bill, there was some $600 million for the

purchase of 80 locomotives to replace the aging locomotives n the east coast amtrak lines. dded to that $80 million was a sentence that said, this money had to be spent only on american-made locomotives. we can make locomotives in america and they did, in sacramento, california. probably a couple thousand jobs, suppliers from all over the nation providing the parts, the electrical systems and the rest or this lobbying motive -- locomotive. made in america, because someone in the stimulus bill added a sentence to an appropriation and said this money must be spent on

american-made locomotives. we can do that with every one of our expenditures or many of our expenditures, using your taxpayer money on american-made goods and services, a wise thing to do, which incidentally, was first suggested by george washington and alexander hamilton. you want to go back to the founding fathers, use some of their ideas, where they aid, alexander hamilton in a report to george washington said that the federal government should use its purchasing power to support american industry. buy american, make it in america, use american taxpayer money on american-made workers. not a bad idea. and we need to pass that kind of legislation here. i'm going to take a few more moments and talk about one of the great challenges that we have. i want to start with this man

who seemed to understand what it took to rebuild and to move the erican economy and society forward. this is actually on one of the monday youments at the franklin lano -- monuments at the franklin delano roosevelt monument. i explained to them why this was important during the great depression. and why it's important today. roosevelt said during the height of the depression that the test of our progress is not whether we will add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the

abundance of those who have much we provide it is enough for those who have too little. now most of us have an image of the great depression, the food lines, the hungry, the unemployed. america's gone through something not as desperate but nearly so. the great recession. beginning in 2008, millions of americans lost their jobs, as many as 10 million. even more lost their homes. and there was a lot of hurt upon our land. we have been working now since 2008 to restore the american economy. the stimulus bill was one such way, proposals for the president to rebuild the american

infrastructure to educate our kids and host of other things that he called the american jobs program. incidentally, not taken up here by our house of representatives on the republican side, but he recommended to address this fundamental issue. how do we provide enough for those who have too little. how are we doing? how is america doing in meeting the challenge that franklin roosevelt laid out? the answer is seen in this chart d the answer is, not well at all. we are miss rably failing to meet the challenge that franklin roosevelt laid out during the great depression. here's what it is. of the economic growth since 2009 to 2012, the fraction of

the growth that went to the top 1% -- this is the new wealth that was generated by the american economy, the growth in the economy, the wealth, the growth in the economy, the top of all of that wealth that was generated. 99% of the nters, 5% ican people got to share of the wealth that was generated by the american economy. this is a great tragedy. tragedy n unparalleled in the american economy. his isn't a three-year period. this is a phenomenon that has

been going on in the american economy where the rich get richer and the great majority of americans are standing still. when i'm out in my district and i hear people talk about their lives, they're talking about the fact that they are literally standing still economically. and poll after poll indicates that the american public knows and understands this. when asked how they're doing, they say they are treading water and not moving forward and doing the best they can to hang on and do their best to hang on, to not go under. we have to address this phenomenon. this doesn't happen because of the weather. it doesn't happen because of god or some other mysterious force. this happens because of policy.

policy that this congress, together with the senate and even the supreme court and the president put in place, a policy that is skewing the nature of the american economy in such a way as to add great wealth to those who already have great wealth and little to those who have very little. we need to adopt policies to change this. on the floor of the house of representatives. there should be a piece of legislation to raise the minimum wage. $10 is the bare minimum. california, my home state, did that. raised the minimum wage. that's good. that's good for everyone. even those businesses, small and large that are going to pay that higher wage, because what it does is to share the wealth

that's generated by this economy, providing those at the bottom, those hard-working men and women who are at the bottom, the opportunity to sustain their families, to sustain their livelihood. that's but one. but if we make those critical investments that create economic growth, particularly education and job training and put in place the manufacturing programs that enhance manufacturing, we'll see this will begin to change and we'll see the 99 percenters begin to take their fair share of the wealth that they are generating. it's the men and women that toil wherever they may be in the federal government, in the state governments, in the manufacturing, in the fields of america, wherever they may be, those are the men and women that are creating wealth. i understand capital.

it has a roll in this -- role in this, capital. men and women who toil are not getting the wealth that they helped to create. this is a challenge. tax policy is part of it. policy such as minimum wage, the role of the labor unions, putting pressure on the system so that the men and women that are working in those businesses are able to share more of that wealth. they are all part of that system and we need to pay attention to it here on the floor. 99 t's keep in mind the the years 2009in -2012 received 5 prgs of the total wealth generated by the largest economy in the world, the american economy. public policy means a lot.

over the next several days, this congress is going to deal with some profoundly important questions, the question of the role of the federal government, will we have another sequestration debacle on january 15? we could. the current sequestration in which the military is saying is a disaster for them, the education community, the research community, the transportation community, the health, the social welfare community all say the sequestration is an unmitigated disaster. they know. and the american public will soon know that on january 15, the second shoe will fall and another $105 billion will be taken out of the economy beginning on january 15, unless this house of representatives and the senate, together with the president, come up with a viable alternative, one in which

the growth of the economy can be assured, in which the continuing austerity programs that are holding back an incredibly powerful race horse called the american economy, is put aside and we put in place those policies that create economic growth. we have an enormous challenge. mr. speaker, i thank you for the time. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

r. garamendi: i have a motion. mr. speaker, i do not have a motion. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january , 2013, the gentleman from arizona, mr. franks, is recognized as the designee of the majority leader. mr. franks: well, thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the united states loses several hundred of our greatest, those heroes of the greatest generation, every day. i speak of the world war ii

veterans, whose valor, courage and sacrifice stopped the evil shadow of the swats sticka falling across humanity. lar ompcrmphmpl. e, a veteran of the battle of the bulge. nguist. d-trained li gerard went home on october 6. he was 93 years old. gerard was a renaissance man. he was a translater, a language teacher and preffesor at several universities and colleges. he was also a talented draftsman, a violinist, a photographer, a recording

engineer and furniture maker. he was born in massachusetts in 1920. the oldest of eight children and the son of a noted school teacher who encouraged his artistic talents. mr. speaker, 1933, at age 13, gerard entered the see himary of the mereist order but left at 21 to study at boston college where he received his bachelors and masters. he studied romance languages. in the outbreak of world war ii came and interrupted his studies and served with the second armored division and at normandy and at the battle of bulge. his ability to speak french landed him to communicate with gel begans and the french. through all of this, he found time to make sketches of the

villages in the country side in england and europe. he continued his studies until he received his masters from harvard. while stationed at the southwest of england, he met his future wife, his beloved joyce. at a village dance just weeks before d-day, they were married 1947.ober 18, . . . he's left behind his best friend and loyal wife joyce, his two sons, six grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. but, mr. speaker, they shall all meet again and gather together some day. mr. speaker, gerard was a godly man, a devoted patriot and a willing soldier. a committed husband, father and

friend. this national treasure will be missed and we, his fellow americans, are forever grateful to this noble champion of human freedom. god bless gerard. now, mr. speaker, i'd like to change the cadence here a bit and talk about iran and the danger that they pose to the entire human family if they ain nuclear weapons. mr. speaker, in 2012 -- mr. speaker, i'm going to have to change subjects again. and talk about, sometimes, you know, it's the water on the inside of the ship that sinks it rather than the water on the outside. and, mr. speaker, right now we have water on the inside of our ship. because sometimes the constitution itself is being gnored by this administration.

mr. speaker, in 2012 the supreme court narrowly and specifically upheld the individual mandate at the heart of obamacare. under congress' general taxing power. the court noted specifically that, quote, even if the taxing power enables congress to impose the tax on not obtaining health insurance, any tax must still comply with the other requirements in the constitution. unquote. in short, mr. speaker, obamacare was upheld as a tax. the supreme court did not and has not yet considered a challenge to the affordable care act's taxing provisions on the ground that it violated the origination clause in the united states constitution and it most certainly did exactly that. mr. speaker, the origination clause is found in article 2, section 7 of the constitution, it state, all billses for raising revenue shall originate in the house of representatives.

and creating obamacare, senator harry reid took an extremely -- an entirely unrelated built, h.r. 3590, containing just 714 words, that did not raise taxes. and then stripped it of everything but its bill number. he then put the 400,000-word obamacare that raised taxes in 17 different places, in this empty-shell bill. through this bit of legislative trickery, mr. reid claims that obamacare originated in the house, when in fact every last provision of obamacare, including the largest tax increase in american history all came from the senate. mr. speaker, this sort of procedure absolutely ignores and vacates the founders' intent and it renders the origination clause of our constitution completely meaningless. if it is allowed to stand, the origination clause in the constitution is a dead letter. mr. speaker, this is not a small or marginal issue.

the principle behind the origination clause was the moral justification for our entire war of independence. its importance was expressed through the virginia house of burgesses, the stamp act of congress, and the first continental congress, all of whom petitioned the crown and parliament in england for redress of their grievances. it was these realities in mind that caused the origination clause of our constitution to be written and without it at the core of the great compromise of 1787, the 13 original states would never have agreed to ratify the constitution. when our founding fathers wrote the constitution, they knew it was for a vital purpose and they knew that it was vital for the power to raise taxes, to originate in the people's house. whose members are closest to the elect rat with two terms, with two-year terms rather than the senate whose members sit unchallenged for six-year terms. and do not proportionly

represent the american population. and of course already enjoy their own unique, separate senate powers intentionally divided by the framers between two chambers. if we as members of congress who took a solemn oath to defend and protect the constitution, including its origination clause, fail to assert this right and responsibility, as the immediate representatives of the people and those most accountable to them, we dishonor the founders' memory and fundamentally abrogate our sworn oath to uphold and defend the constitution of the united states from all enemies, foreign and domestic. mr. speaker, this fall the u.s. court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit will hear an appeal in the case sisle vs. h.h.s. as to -- cecil vs. h.h.s., as to whether it violates the constitution. i urge my colleagues to sign on to h.res. 153 and to join me in an amick us brief that i will be filing with the court, along

with 31 other members of congress currently. and this brief expresses our collective conviction that the passage of obamacare was and is unconstitutional. mr. speaker, obamacare was the largest tax increase in american history. the united states supreme court specifically and officially ruled it a tax. consequently, under nancy pelosi and harry reid, the house and the senate, in passing it in the manner that they did, cat gorically violated the origination clause -- categorically violated the original nation clause. it is now the duty of the judiciary to strike down obamacare as a clear violation of the origination clause. the failure to do so is an abrogation of their judicial oath to the constitution and undermines their relevance as an institution. it would also, mr. speaker, allow the obama administration to blow yet another huge hole

in the constitutional fabric of this noble republican -- republic. mr. speaker, daniel webster said it this way. he said, hold on, my friends, to the constitution. and the republican for which it stands. for miracles do not cluster and what has happened once in 6,000 years may never happen again. so hold on to the constitution, for if the american constitution shall fall, there will be anarchy throughout the world. mr. speaker, i hope that the court will take those words seriously and i hope when they hear obamacare, they will do can the right thing, they will simply read the origination clause and understand that if they let the president blow through this, if we walk away from this, we simply undermine our credibility and our oath and we render a critical part of the constitution that was

vital to this republic ever coming into existence. we render that part of the constitution, as i said earlier, a dead letter. now, mr. speaker, i guess it all comes down to sometimes making sure that we understand as the people that the constitution was put here to really protect three basic s and that's the right to live, the right to be free and the right to own property. and hopefully that will allow us to pursue our dreams in the best way we know how. but none of those things can occur if our national security is significantly undermined or threatened. and, mr. speaker, i believe that it is today. so let me shift gears one more time. mr. speaker, the greatest security threat in the world today is that of a nuclear-armed iran. and now iran is once again the news of the moment. as talks have begun between the united states and iran,

american leaders, given the charge to protect america's national security, must not be charmed by wolves in sheep's clothing. when innocent civilians in syria are measureslessly attacked by chemical weapons, the obama administration was caught on its heels in a foreign policy quandary. america was reminded again that the united states must always be vigilant and embrace an international relations framework which enables proactive engagements rather than merely reactionary crisis response. i desperately hope that these discussions will proceed in the context of that grave reality, that the human family will face if nuclear weapons fall into he hands of jihadists in iran. mr. speaker, to use this slightly amountered words of our secretary of state, quote, in a world of terrorists and extremists, we ignore these risks at our peril. we simply cannot afford to have

nuclear weapons become the i.e.d. or car bomb of tomorrow. neither our country nor our conscience can bear the cost of inaction. an action that will reinforce the prohibition against nuclear weapons is an authorization of military force in iran. we are talking about actions that will degrade iran's capacity to use these weapons and ensure that they do not proliferate. with this authorization. the president will simply have the power to make sure the united states of america means what we say. now, i can't say actually unquote, mr. speaker, because those words were changed just slightly. actually, these are indeed the essential words of secretary kerry's recent justification for attacking bashir al-assad's regime. however, when he said syria, i inserted iran. and whenever he said chemical weapons, i inserted nuclear weapons.

mr. speaker, this is a line of reasoning the administration chooses to stand behind. then we simply cannot refute the parallel argument related to a nuclear iran, which poses an exponentially greater threat, a greater threat to national security of the united states than chemical weapons in syria. secretary asserted that mr. obama, quote, means what he says, but, mr. speaker, if the world truly believed that this president means what he says, the chemical weapons crisis in syria would never have occurred in the first place. secretary kerry said of the crisis in syria that north korea and iran were closely watching our actions. well, i don't disagree with him, mr. speaker. but the converse is actually far more true. syria has been closely watching mr. obama's inaction toward north korea and iran since he became president. and consequently assad felt he could use chemical weapons on